Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Kristen Stewart Tops List of Highest-Paid Actresses


Studios are notoriously stingy when it comes to paying young actors for the first film in a planned franchise. Forget about the $10 million they would have had to shell out to get a big name an up-and-comer is lucky to get $800,000.

That changes dramatically when it comes to the third and fourth films in a series. Suddenly, the star becomes indispensable and the studio has to pay up. And that's why Kristen Stewart has vaulted to the top of Forbes' annual list of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood.

At this point, could anyone else play Bella Swan in "Twilight"? Probably not; if the studio tried to switch in another actress, fans would revolt. So for the last two "Twilight" films, Stewart has been able to demand an estimated $12.5 million per film, plus a share of the profits.

The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes
Her two co-stars, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, get paid the same, but Stewart earned more than them this year because of "Snow White and the Huntsman." Stewart's earnings between May 2011 and May 2012 totaled $34.5 million, helping her rank 43rd on our Celebrity 100 list. (The list measures a combination of money and fame.)
At 22, Stewart is the youngest woman on our list by 16 years. The next youngest is Kristen Wiig who is 38. Last year Stewart ranked 5th on our list of the Highest-Paid Actresses tied with Julia Roberts. This year Roberts ranked 6th.

The World’s Highest-Paid Models
Women are still paid less than men in the movie business. The 10 actresses who make up our list earned a total $200 million compared to the $361 million brought in by our top 10 men.


 
To determine who the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood are, we considered upfront pay, profit participation, residuals, endorsements and advertising work. We talked to manager, agents, lawyers and other in-the-know folks to come up with our estimates. We did not deduct for things like agent fees or the expenses related to being a celebrity.

The World’s Most Powerful Musicians

Ranking second on our list is Cameron Diaz. Her recent comedy "Bad Teacher" was a surprise hit, bringing in $216 million at the global box office. That's a decent haul under any circumstance but an especially good result for "Bad Teacher," which cost only $20 million to make. Diaz had a deal to take home a nice chunk of the film's profits, which were substantial.

Add that to her earnings for films like "What to Expect" and "The Green Hornet," and we estimate Diaz earned $34 million between May 2011 and May 2012.

Kristen Stewart - $34.5 Million
At the young age of 22 Stewart earned more than any other actress between May 2011 and May 2012. Most of that money came from "Twilight" where Stewart stars as Bella Swan. But she also earned big buck for starring in "Snow White and the Huntsman."

Cameron Diaz - $34 Million
Diaz' 2011 film "Bad Teacher" was a quiet hit. It earned $216 million on a tiny budget of $20 million. That massive profit helped Diaz earn $34 million between May 2011 and May 2012. The funny lady took a smaller upfront on the film in exchange for a large share of the profits.

Sandra Bullock - $25 Million
Bullock's most recent film, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," was not a box office hit but the actress is still in demand. Her 2009 film, "The Blind Side" was the kind of massive hit studios dream about. Bullock earned $25 million during our time frame thanks to money she still brings home from "The Blind Side" and the upcoming big-budget sci-fi flick, "Gravity."

Angelina Jolie - $20 Million
Even when she's not starring in a big studio flick, Jolie still earns millions from residuals and endorsement deals for companies like Louis Vuitton. Jolie also attracts plenty of attention wherever she goes.

Charlize Theron - $18 Million
Theron is in the middle of a major career surge that kicked off with the 2011 movie "Young Adult." The film might not have earned a lot of money (it brought in only $23 million) but it gave Theron the kind of buzz she hasn't had in several years. Following up with "Snow White and the Huntsman" and "Prometheus" didn't hurt. Theron is also the high-profile face of Dior.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Christina Aguilera's Best and Worst Looks on 'The Voice'

Christina Aguilera's Best and Worst Looks on 'The Voice'
"The Voice" coach has people talking about the attention-grabbing ensembles she's been wearing on the show.Suzy Byrne, Yahoo! TV

Christina Aguilera put on quite a show Monday night when she took the stage to perform on "The Voice." The coach put her famous curves on display in this bedazzled corset bodysuit, fishnet stockings and Christian Louboutin platforms, an outfit that immediately got people talking.




Monday, April 9, 2012

Langkawi Sky Bridge in Malaysia

It's not a bridge to the sky, but it's not far from the idea! The Langkawi sky-bridge in Malaysia is suspended at 700 metres above sea level and spans 125 across the mountains,offering magnificent views of the Andaman Sea and Thailand's Tarutao Island. It's set apart from other bridges by its curves that provide different perspectives of the landscapes. Here's one of the most spectacular bridges in the world that delivers quite a pump of adrenaline.














Sunday, April 8, 2012

Titanic 100 year anniversary

Relatives of some who died on the Titanic are on a voyage to the North Atlantic site where the liner sank, to mark 100 years since the disaster.

MS Balmoral has left Southampton docks, retracing the route of the ill-fated cruise liner's maiden voyage.

The ship, carrying 1,309 passengers - the same number as were on the Titanic - is due to reach the wreck site next weekend for a memorial ceremony.

The Titanic hit an iceberg on 15 April 1912 and sank, killing about 1,500.

The Balmoral left England's south coast shortly after 14:45 GMT and will follow the Titanic's exact route - via Cherbourg in north-west France and Cobh on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland - to the spot where the liner sank.

Passengers will gather for a service to be held at 02:20 GMT next Sunday - 15 April - to mark the moment of the sinking.

Some relatives were bringing wreaths of flowers and family artefacts in memory of those who died.

Passengers making the journey, who come from more than 20 countries, include relatives of survivors, authors, historians and people who are fascinated by the Titanic story.

They will eat meals from the Titanic's original menu and attend lectures given by historians and experts.

Philip Littlejohn, grandson of survivor Alexander James Littlejohn and the only Titanic relative to have made the dive to the wreck site, said: "I'm sure my grandfather, a 1st Class Steward on RMS Titanic, would be proud to know his story will be shared with the passengers on this historic cruise.

"It will be an emotional moment when we are over the wreck site, where I dived in 2001, and where my grandfather left Titanic rowing Lifeboat 13."

Jane Allen, whose great uncle Tom Pears died in the disaster, is among passengers who have paid up to £6,000 ($9,000) to join the commemorative voyage.

"I don't think it's ghoulish or macabre at all," said Mrs Allen, from Devon.

"I've been to the World War II and I cemeteries in various places across the world. I think it's always important to remember."






Underground Lake: The Inner Beauty of Earth

Underground Lake: The Inner Beauty of Earth - An underground lake or a subterranean lake is a lake which is formed under the surface of the Earth's crust. Such a lake may be associated with caves, aquifers, or springs. They are typically very low in salinity.








Saturday, October 8, 2011

Steve Jobs


Steven Paul "Steve" Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American inventor and entrepreneur. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc.[Jobs also previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of the Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney.

In the late 1970s, Jobs along with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula and other designed, developed, and marketed one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series. In the early 1980s, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of Xerox PARC's mouse-driven graphical user interface, which led to the creation of the Macintosh. After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, Jobs left Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher-education and business markets. Apple's subsequent 1996 buyout of NeXT brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded, and he served as its interim CEO from 1997, then becoming permanent CEO from 2000 onwards. After resigning as CEO in August 2011, Jobs was elected chairman of Apple's board of directors and held that title until his death.

In 1986, he acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd, which was spun off as Pixar Animation Studios. He was credited in Toy Story (1995) as an executive producer. He remained CEO and majority shareholder at 50.1 percent until its acquisition by The Walt Disney Company in 2006. Consequently Jobs became Disney's largest individual shareholder at 7 percent and a member of Disney's Board of Directors.

On October 5, 2011, Jobs died in California at age 56, seven years after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.On his death he was widely described as a visionary, pioneer and genius perhaps one of the foremost in the field of business, innovation, and product design, and a man who had profoundly changed the face of the modern world, revolutionized at least six different industries, and who was an "exemplar for all chief executives". His death was widely mourned and considered a loss to the world by commentators across the globe.

Early years
 Jobs was born in San Francisco and was adopted by the family of Paul Jobs and Clara Jobs (née Hagopian) who moved to Mountain View, California when Jobs was five years old.  Paul and Clara later adopted a daughter, Patti. Paul Jobs, a machinist for a company that made lasers, taught his son rudimentary electronics and how to work with his hands. His adoptive mother was an accountant. Asked in a 1995 interview what he wanted to pass on to his children, Jobs replied, "Just to try to be as good a father to them as my father was to me. I think about that every day of my life." Paul and Clara Jobs were his "true parents," he told an interviewer when asked about his "adoptive parents." "They were my parents," he told the interviewer emphatically. Jobs' biological parent Abdulfattah John Jandali, a Syrian Muslim immigrant to the U.S., who later became a political science professor at the University of Nevada and is presently a vice president of Boomtown Hotel Casino in Reno, Nevada, and Joanne Schieble (later Simpson), an American graduate student  of Swiss and German ancestry who went on to become a speech language pathologist eventually[when? married. The marriage produced Jobs's biological sister, novelist Mona Simpson; the two of them first met in 1986 as adults and enjoyed a close relationship, with Jobs regularly visiting Simpson in Manhattan. From Simpson, Jobs learned more about their birth parents and he invited his biological mother Joanne to some events. Jandali claims that he didn't want to put Jobs up for adoption but that Simpson's parents did not approve of her marrying a Syrian. Jandali's few attempts to contact Jobs were unsuccessful; Jobs did not contact his biological father either. Jandali gave an interview to The Sun in August 2011 when Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple; Jandali also mailed in his medical history after Jobs's pancreatic disorder was made public that year.

Jobs attended Cupertino Junior High and Homestead High School in Cupertino, California. He frequented after-school lectures at the Hewlett-Packard Company in Palo Alto, California, and was later hired there, working with Steve Wozniak as a summer employee. Following high school graduation in 1972, Jobs enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Although he dropped out after only one semester, he continued auditing classes at Reed, while sleeping on the floor in friends' rooms, returning Coke bottles for food money, and getting weekly free meals at the local Hare Krishna temple.[33] Jobs later said, "If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts."

In the fall of 1974, Jobs returned to California and began attending meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club with Wozniak. He took a job as a technician at Atari, a manufacturer of popular video games, with the primary intent of saving money for a spiritual retreat to India.

Jobs then traveled to India to visit Neem Karoli Baba at his Kainchi Ashram with a Reed College friend (and, later, the first Apple employee), Daniel Kottke, in search of spiritual enlightenment. He came back a Buddhist with his head shaved and wearing traditional Indian clothing.  During this time, Jobs experimented with psychedelics, calling his LSD experiences "one of the two or three most important things [he had] done in [his] life". He later said that people around him who did not share his countercultural roots could not fully relate to his thinking.
Jobs returned to his previous job at Atari and was given the task of creating a circuit board for the game Breakout. According to Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, Atari offered $100 for each chip that was eliminated in the machine. Jobs had little interest in or knowledge of circuit board design and made a deal with Wozniak to split the bonus evenly between them if Wozniak could minimize the number of chips. Much to the amazement of Atari, Wozniak reduced the number of chips by 50, a design so tight that it was impossible to reproduce on an assembly line. According to Wozniak, Jobs told Wozniak that Atari gave them only $700 (instead of the offered $5,000) and that Wozniak's share was thus $350.

Career 
Founding of Apple Computer
In 1976, Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded Apple,  with later funding from a then-semi-retired Intel product-marketing manager and engineer A.C. "Mike" Markkula Jr.. Prior to co-founding Apple, Wozniak was an electronics hacker. Jobs and Wozniak met in 1971 when their mutual friend, Bill Fernandez, introduced 21-year-old Wozniak to 16-year-old Jobs. Friends for several years, Jobs managed to interest Wozniak in assembling a computer and selling it. As Apple continued to expand, the company began looking for an experienced executive to help manage its expansion.

In 1978, Apple recruited Mike Scott from National Semiconductor to serve as CEO for what turned out to be several turbulent years. In 1983, Jobs lured John Sculley away from Pepsi-Cola to serve as Apple's CEO, asking, "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?"[42] The following year, Apple aired a Super Bowl television commercial titled "1984". At Apple's annual shareholders meeting on January 24, 1984, an emotional Jobs introduced the Macintosh to a wildly enthusiastic audience; Andy Hertzfeld described the scene as "pandemonium".The Macintosh became the first commercially successful small computer with a graphical user interface. The development of the Mac was started by Jef Raskin, and eventually taken over by Jobs.

While Jobs was a persuasive and charismatic director for Apple, some of his employees from that time described him as an erratic and temperamental manager. An industry-wide sales slump towards the end of 1984 caused a deterioration in Jobs's working relationship with Sculley, and at the end of May 1985 following an internal power struggle and an announcement of significant layoffs because of disappointing sales at the time Sculley relieved Jobs of his duties as head of the Macintosh division. Jobs later claimed that being fired from Apple was the best thing that could have happened to him; "The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life."

NeXT Computer
After leaving Apple, Jobs founded NeXT Computer in 1985 with $7 million. A year later, Jobs was running out of money, and with no product on the horizon, he appealed for venture capital. Eventually, he attracted the attention of billionaire Ross Perot who invested heavily in the company. NeXT workstations were first released in 1990, priced at $9,999. Like the Apple Lisa, the NeXT workstation was technologically advanced, but was largely dismissed as cost-prohibitive by the educational sector for which it was designed. The NeXT workstation was known for its technical strengths, chief among them its object-oriented software development system. Jobs marketed NeXT products to the financial, scientific, and academic community, highlighting its innovative, experimental new technologies, such as the Mach kernel, the digital signal processor chip, and the built-in Ethernet port.

Pixar and Disney
 In 1986, Jobs bought The Graphics Group (later renamed Pixar) from Lucasfilm's computer graphics division for the price of $10 million, $5 million of which was given to the company as capital.

The new company, which was originally based at Lucasfilm's Kerner Studios in San Rafael, California, but has since relocated to Emeryville, California, was initially intended to be a high-end graphics hardware developer. After years of unprofitability selling the Pixar Image Computer, it contracted with Disney to produce a number of computer-animated feature films that Disney would co-finance and distribute.

The first film produced by the partnership, Toy Story, brought fame and critical acclaim to the studio when it was released in 1995. Over the next 15 years, under Pixar's creative chief John Lasseter, the company produced box-office hits A Bug's Life (1998); Toy Story 2 (1999); Monsters, Inc. (2001); Finding Nemo (2003); The Incredibles (2004); Cars (2006); Ratatouille (2007); WALL-E (2008); Up (2009); and Toy Story 3 (2010). Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up and Toy Story 3 each received the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, an award introduced in 2001.

Play sound
Steve Jobs on computer graphics - Interview excerpt from 1995.


In the years 2003 and 2004, as Pixar's contract with Disney was running out, Jobs and Disney chief executive Michael Eisner tried but failed to negotiate a new partnership, and in early 2004 Jobs announced that Pixar would seek a new partner to distribute its films once its contract with Disney expired.

In October 2005, Bob Iger replaced Eisner at Disney, and Iger quickly worked to patch up relations with Jobs and Pixar. On January 24, 2006, Jobs and Iger announced that Disney had agreed to purchase Pixar in an all-stock transaction worth $7.4 billion. Once the deal closed, Jobs became The Walt Disney Company's largest single shareholder with approximately 7% of the company's stock. Jobs's holdings in Disney far exceed those of Eisner, who holds 1.7%, and of Disney family member Roy E. Disney, who until his 2009 death held about 1% of the company's stock and whose criticisms of Eisner especially that he soured Disney's relationship with Pixar accelerated Eisner's ousting. Jobs joined the company's board of directors upon completion of the merger. Jobs also helped oversee Disney and Pixar's combined animation businesses with a seat on a special six person steering committee.

Return to Apple
 In 1996, Apple announced that it would buy NeXT for $429 million. The deal was finalized in late 1996, bringing Jobs back to the company he co-founded. Jobs became de facto chief after then-CEO Gil Amelio was ousted in July 1997. He was formally named interim chief executive in September. In March 1998, to concentrate Apple's efforts on returning to profitability, Jobs terminated a number of projects, such as Newton, Cyberdog, and OpenDoc. In the coming months, many employees developed a fear of encountering Jobs while riding in the elevator, "afraid that they might not have a job when the doors opened. The reality was that Jobs's summary executions were rare, but a handful of victims was enough to terrorize a whole company." Jobs also changed the licensing program for Macintosh clones, making it too costly for the manufacturers to continue making machines.

With the purchase of NeXT, much of the company's technology found its way into Apple products, most notably NeXTSTEP, which evolved into Mac OS X. Under Jobs's guidance the company increased sales significantly with the introduction of the iMac and other new products; since then, appealing designs and powerful branding have worked well for Apple. At the 2000 Macworld Expo, Jobs officially dropped the "interim" modifier from his title at Apple and became permanent CEO. Jobs quipped at the time that he would be using the title 'iCEO.'

The company subsequently branched out, introducing and improving upon other digital appliances. With the introduction of the iPod portable music player, iTunes digital music software, and the iTunes Store, the company made forays into consumer electronics and music distribution. On June 29, 2007, Apple entered the cellular phone business with the introduction of the iPhone, a multi-touch display cell phone, which also included the features of an iPod and, with its own mobile browser, revolutionized the mobile browsing scene. While stimulating innovation, Jobs also reminded his employees that "real artists ship",[citation needed] by which he meant that delivering working products on time is as important as innovation and attractive design.
Jobs was both admired and criticized for his consummate skill at persuasion and salesmanship, which has been dubbed the "reality distortion field" and was particularly evident during his keynote speeches (colloquially known as "Stevenotes") at Macworld Expos and at Apple Worldwide Developers Conferences.

In 2005, Jobs responded to criticism of Apple's poor recycling programs for e-waste in the U.S. by lashing out at environmental and other advocates at Apple's Annual Meeting in Cupertino in April. A few weeks later, Apple announced it would take back iPods for free at its retail stores. The Computer TakeBack Campaign responded by flying a banner from a plane over the Stanford University graduation at which Jobs was the commencement speaker.  The banner read "Steve Don't be a mini-player recycle all e-waste". In 2006, he further expanded Apple's recycling programs to any U.S. customer who buys a new Mac. This program includes shipping and "environmentally friendly disposal" of their old systems.

Resignation
In August 2011, Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple, but remained at the company as chairman of the company's board.  Hours after the announcement, Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares dropped 5% in after-hour trading. The relatively small drop, when considering the importance of Jobs to Apple, was associated with the fact that Jobs's health had been in the news for several years, and he was on medical leave since January 2011. It was believed, according to Forbes, that the impact would be felt in a negative way beyond Apple, including at The Walt Disney Company where Jobs served as director. In after-hour trading on the day of the announcement, Walt Disney Co. (DIS) shares dropped 1.5%.

Business life
Wealth
Even though Jobs earned only $1 a year as CEO of Apple, he held 5.426 million Apple shares, as well as 138 million shares in Disney (which he received in exchange for Disney's acquisition of Pixar). Jobs quipped that the $1 per annum he was paid by Apple was based on attending one meeting for 50 cents while the other 50 cents was based on his performance.Forbes estimated his net wealth at $8.3 billion in 2010, making him the 42nd wealthiest American.

Personal life
Jobs married Laurene Powell on March 18, 1991. Presiding over the wedding was the Zen Buddhist monk Kobun Chino Otogawa.The couple have a son and two daughters.Jobs also has a daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs (born 1978), from his relationship with Bay Area painter Chrisann Brennan.She briefly raised their daughter on welfare when Jobs denied paternity by claiming he was sterile; he later acknowledged Lisa as his daughter.
In the unauthorized biography, The Second Coming of Steve Jobs, author Alan Deutschman reports that Jobs once dated Joan Baez. Deutschman quotes Elizabeth Holmes, a friend of Jobs from his time at Reed College, as saying she "believed that Steve became the lover of Joan Baez in large measure because Baez had been the lover of Bob Dylan" (Dylan was the Apple icon's favorite musician). The biography also notes that Jobs went out with actress Diane Keaton briefly.[citation needed] In another unauthorized biography, iCon: Steve Jobs by Jeffrey S. Young & William L. Simon, the authors suggest that Jobs might have married Baez, but her age at the time meant it was unlikely the couple could have children.

Jobs was also a fan of The Beatles. He referred to them on multiple occasions at Keynotes and also was interviewed on a showing of a Paul McCartney concert. When asked about his business model on 60 Minutes, he replied:

Death

Jobs died at his home on October 5, 2011, due to complications from a rare form of pancreatic cancer. His death was announced by Apple in a statement which read:
We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today. Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts."

Jobs is survived by Laurene, his wife of 20 years, their three children and by Lisa Brennan-Jobs, his daughter from a previous relationship. His family released a statement saying that he "died peacefully". Also since October 5, 2011, Apple's corporate website greeted visitors with a simple page showing Jobs's name and lifespan next to his grayscale portrait. Clicking on Jobs's image led to an obituary that read "Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple." An email address was also posted for the public to share their memories, condolences, and thoughts.

A large number of newspapers carried news of his death on the front pages. Statements reacting to Jobs's death were made by several notable people, including U.S. President Barack Obama, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and The Walt Disney Company's Bob Iger. Wired News collected reactions and posted them in tribute on their homepage. Other statements of condolences were issued by many of Jobs' friends and colleagues, such as Steve Wozniak and George Lucas.

A small private funeral was held on October 7, 2011, according to the Wall Street Journal.



 


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Pitbull American Singer

Armando Christian Pérez (born January 15, 1981), better known by his stage name Pitbull, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer. His first recorded performance was from the Lil Jon album Kings of Crunk in 2002, after which he released his debut album in 2004 titled M.I.A.M.I. (short for Money Is a Major Issue) under TVT Records. Since then, he has released two other albums under the label, El Mariel in 2006 and The Boatlift in 2007. He then released Rebelution in 2009, which included singles "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" and "Krazy". The latter peaked at No.30 on the Hot 100 and No.11 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts while "I Know You Want Me" peaked at No.2 on the Hot 100 and peaked within the top ten spots of charts in the UK, Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands. The song reached No.1 in France and the European Hot 100 on the week ending August 29, 2009 according to Billboard magazine. He later signed with Polo Grounds Music through Sony Music and created his own label Mr. 305 Inc. Other singles from Rebelution included "Blanco" featuring Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes and "Hotel Room Service", the latter of which peaked at No.8 on the Hot 100. Rebelution went on to sell over 7.5 million worldwide digital singles and albums combined.

Pérez is also the host of his own Spanish-language program on the cable channel Mun2 titled La Esquina (Spanish for The Corner).

In 2005 Pérez and rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs co-founded Bad Boy Latino, a subsidiary of Combs' Bad Boy Records label. It primarily focuses on Latin Rap, Latin Soul and Tropical music, and has offices in Miami and New York.[4][5] Along with co-founding it, Pérez currently heads the A&R division of the label.

Pérez has become a product endorser, representing alongside Drake, Rihanna, and Trey Songz the “So Kodak” campaign for the Kodak brand and embarking on a partnership with the soda giant Dr Pepper as part of the campaign “Vida 23” for which he recorded the song specifically for it that was also featured on his album Armando.

Early life
Pitbull was born to Cuban immigrant parents who made him recite the works of poet José Martí. He encountered problems early in his career as a rapper because he was blue-eyed and Cuban American. He was also influenced by the Miami bass genre of hip hop music and has cited Celia Cruz and Willy Chirino as sources of inspiration for his music. Perez's parents separated when he was young, and he was raised by his mother. He later spent time with a foster family in Roswell, Georgia. At age 16, his mother kicked him out of their house after he became a drug dealer. He then graduated from Miami Coral Park High School and focused his career in rapping.

Pitbull explained the reason behind choosing his stage name, saying about the dog "they bite to lock. The dog is too stupid to lose. And they're outlawed in Dade County. They're basically everything that I am. It's been a constant fight." After meeting Lil Jon in Miami, Pitbull was featured on Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz' album Kings of Crunk in 2002. Pitbull's song "Oye" was featured on the soundtrack to the film 2 Fast 2 Furious the following year. In addition, Pitbull also released several mixtapes, composed of freestyles and remixes of popular rap music. Campbell featured Pitbull in his single "Lollipop".

Music career

2009–2010: Rebelution and Armando
For his fourth studio album Rebelution, Pitbull released "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" through Ultra Records after his former label TVT Records went out of business. "Krazy" peaked at No.30 on the Hot 100 and No.11 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts. "I Know You Want Me" peaked at No.2 on the Hot 100 and peaked within the top ten spots of charts in the UK, Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands. The song reached No.1 in France and the European Hot 100 on the week ending August 29, 2009 according to Billboard magazine. On Dec. 11, 2009, Billboard announced their Year-End Canadian Update, placing "I Know You Want Me" at No.7 on the Hot 100 chart and No.2 on the CHR/Top 40 chart. He later signed with Polo Grounds Music through Sony Music and created his own label Mr. 305 Inc.Other singles included "Blanco", featuring Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes, and "Hotel Room Service", which samples "Push the Feeling On" and which peaked at No.9 on the Hot 100. On their second collaboration since "Go Girl", Pitbull appeared on the debut single of rapper David Rush (formerly Young Bo$$), "Shooting Star", also with Kevin Rudolf and LMFAO. An amateur video of Pitbull punching a disruptive audience member at a Colorado concert leaked on the Internet in late May 2009. Pitbull explained to MTV News that it was because the fan kept throwing cash around the stage, and after Pitbull pulled him up to the stage, he threw a stash of money right in Pitbull's face. He has been tapped by the Miami Dolphins to work alongside T-Pain & Jimmy Buffett to release a new fight song for the Dolphins. The city of Miami granted Pitbull a "Key to the City" honor on August 19.

In 2010, Pitbull performed the rap section in the Haiti benefit song "Somos El Mundo", a Spanish version of "We Are the World", that included a huge group of Latin artists led by Emilio and Gloria Estefan. He was also a featured guest on "Armada Latina", the fourth single off the album Rise Up by Latin rap legends, Cypress Hill. The song was produced by Jim Jonsin and also features Marc Anthony. Pitbull then collaborated with Alexandra Burke on the single "All Night Long". He was also featured on "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" by Usher.

Pitbull also released his full-length debut Spanish-language album titled Armando on November 2, 2010. Pitbull is also one of the most nominated artists of the upcoming Latin Billboard awards. He garnered 7 nominations for “Latin Rhythm Airplay, Song of the Year” for “Bon, Bon”; “Latin Rhythm Airplay, Artist of the Year, Solo Artist”; “Latin Rhythm Albums, Album of the Year” for Armando; “Latin Rhythm Albums, Artist of the Year, Solo Artist”; “Social 50, Latin Artist of the Year”; “Latin Digital Download of the Year” for “Bon, Bon” and “Hot Latin Song of the Year, Vocal Event” for the song “I Like It” alongside Enrique Iglesias. He also won Telehit’s award for “Most Popular Artist”. 2011 present: Planet Pit

Pitbull released his highly anticipated follow-up English album, Planet Pit, on June 21, 2011. Pitbull collaborated with T-Pain on its first single, "Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor)". Pitbull announced he’s the spokesperson for Voli Vodka, in which he holds a majority equity stake. Pitbull has also collaborated with Jennifer Lopez on her single "On the Floor". On March 22, 2011, Pitbull released his second single, "Give Me Everything" featuring Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer, and three months later, the song became Pitbull's first single to top the Billboard Hot 100. On May 2, 2011, Pitbull appeared on WWE Monday Night RAW to celebrate Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's birthday. Pitbull will be touring Australia as part of Iglesias’ “Euphoria” tour in July 2011. Pitbull appeared as musical guest on Conan on August 2, 2011.


Discography
Main article: Pitbull discography

    * M.I.A.M.I. (2004)
    * El Mariel (2006)
    * The Boatlift (2007)
    * Rebelution (2009)
    * Armando (2010)
    * Planet Pit (2011)