About the panelists:

KC Porter - This Grammy Award-winning producer, arranger and composer has chart-topping works with such Latin superstars as Carlos Santana, Ricky Martin, Luis Miguel, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Ana Gabriel, and the late Selena. Porter has also worked his magic with English-language stars, including Lara Fabian, Bon Jovi, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, 98 Degrees, Brian McKnight, Toni Braxton and Boyz II Men, crossing their hits over to Spanish-speaking and international audiences. One of his latest projects was co-writing and producing Ozomatli’s latest album, Don’t Mess with the Dragon.

Rafa Sardina – Sardina, a Los Angeles based, ten-time Grammy Award-winning mixer/engineer has built an eclectic and impressive client list in the recent years: Macy Gray, Stevie Wonder, Dr Dre, Dru Hill, Jessy Moss, Mariah Carey, Luis Miguel, Sheryl Crow, Soul Coughing, Marc Antoine, Angie Stone and Alejandro Sanz, among others. He has worked with numerous high-profile artists and producers, including Dr Dre, Camara Kambon, Lulu Perez, Babyface, Scott Litt and David Foster. Most recently, Sardina has launched a production company focusing on developing new talent in his state-of-the art studio, open since 2006.

Mark Portman - This Los Angeles-based, Grammy Award-nominated producer/songwriter/musician has worked on over 130 albums, several movies and TV shows. His roster of Latin stars includes Luis Miguel, Julio Iglesias, Alejandro Sanz, Jaci Velasquez, Cristian Castro, Luis Fonsi, Olga Tanon, Pedro Fernandez, Reik, Ednita Nazario, and Los Temerarios. He has collaborated and worked with renowned producers including David Foster, Phil Ramone, Quincy Jones, Teddy Riley and Latin producer Rudy Perez. Among his other roster of superstars are Barbra Streisand, Carole King, Carole Bayer Sager, Blackstreet, Diana Ross, Christina Aguilera, Brenda Russell, Dave Koz and others.

Sebastian Krys - Based in South Florida, this multiple Grammy Award-winning producer has over 20 top ten Billboard Latin Hits, including 9 No. 1 singles and albums. Krys has worked with artists including Marc Anthony, Carlos Vives, Sandy & Junior, Shakira, Mana, JD Natasha, Jeremias, Long Beach Dub All Stars w/Black Eyed Peas, Aterciopelados, Ricky Martin, Will Smith, Obie Bermudez, Gian Marco, Luis Fonsi, Gloria Estefan, Soraya, Mandy Moore, Jennifer Lopez, and more.

Homero Patrón – This Grammy Award-winning musician, director and composer has worked with artists such as José José, Emmanuel, Marco Antonio Muñiz, Rocío Durcal, Ray Conniff, Barry White, Tom Jones, Nana Moskoury, Raphael, Nelson Ned, Juan Gabriel, Manoella Torres, Vicky Carr, Gualberto Castro, Angélica María, César Costa, Alberto Vazquez, Charles Aznavour, and Jose Luis Rodríguez “El Puma,” to name just a few. Patrón has also produced albums for such superstars as Juan Gabriel, Lucha Villa, Javier Solís, Angeles Ochoa, Ana Gabriel, Yuri, Pedro Fernandez, Vicky Carr, Olga Tañon, Vicente and Alejandro Fernández, Pepe Aguilar, Lucero, Alicia Villarreal, Pablo Montero, Ana Bárbara, Laura Flores, Nana Mouskouri and Marco Antonio Solís.

Kiko Cibrian - Multi-talented producer, musician and vocal producer who has worked with Luis Miguel, Christian Castro, and up-and-coming artists Innis, Jesse & Joy, Patricia Manterola, Souljahz, and Frankie J, Reik, along with projects such at Billboard’s Latin Series: Best of 1997, Billboard’s Latin Series: Best of Pop 1996, along with the Sinatra Duets.

Marco Flores - Flores has produced and written over 400 songs, four of which placed number one on Billboard's charts in the same year (2000), and has achieved an impressive 14 platinum albums and 22 gold albums. His roster includes works with Richard Marx, Luther Vandross, Selena, Barrio Boyzz, Donna Summer, Toni Braxton, Bonnie Raitt, Thalia, Gloria Estefan, Carlos Ponce, Jordi, Ricky Martin, Jose Feliciano, and many more.

What has followed in the wake of their rapid rise may not literally be the radioactivity implied by the Fall Out Boy moniker. But when it comes to activity at radio, the band has pushed the needle on the Geiger counter of mass appeal into the red in their rapid return to action with this year’s Infinity on High.

“This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race,” the new album’s first single, hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart its first week out — the highest rock single debut since superstars Aerosmith took the honor in 1998 — and quickly leapt to #2 on the Pop 100. The song was also the #1 Digital Track & Song for four straight weeks. The album followed suit by debuting atop the Billboard 200 chart and hitting the top slot on the Digital Album chart.

The Chicago-based band has clearly secured their status as certified rock stars. But not that long ago, Fall Out Boys Pete Wentz, Patrick Stump (lead vocals and guitar), Joe Trohman (guitar) and Andrew Hurley (drums) were underground rockers playing small clubs.

They got their moniker after asking fans at an early show for band name suggestions and someone hollered out “Fall Out Boy” — the name of a comic book character enjoyed by Bart Simpson on the popular TV cartoon show The Simpsons. And the band’s impact on popular culture may well prove itself to be as indelible and enduring as that of the long-running cartoon series, which is exactly what Fall Out Boy hopes to achieve. “I want to be the biggest band on the planet,” says bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz.

With their now-gold 2003 indie album on the Fueled By Ramen label, Take This to Your Grave, the band began to garner national attention and critical notice. Stints on the 2005 Vans Warped and Nintendo Fusion tours secured their relationship with modern rock devotees.

From Under The Cork Tree then yielded two Top 10 singles — “Sugar, We’re Going Down” and “Dance, Dance” — and spent 72 weeks on the Billboard 200 album chart. Fall Out Boy also became favorites on MTV, winning the coveted Viewers Choice Award at the 2006 Video Music Awards. Last year, the band headlined their first arena tour and then immediately hit the studio to record Infinity on High (which takes its name from a phrase found in a letter written by Vincent Van Gogh).

It’s not nuclear fission that has taken Fall Out Boy to the top, but rather a fusion of punk, emo, hard rock, pop and even hip-hop and soul. It’s a signature sound that Rolling Stone recently dubbed “the catchiest rock music on the planet these days.” Now certified members of the musical mainstream, Fall Out Boy even caught the ear of powerhouse r&b producer Babyface, who helmed the recording of two tracks on Infinity on High. The breadth of their influences is reflected on the track “Hum Hallelujah,” which incorporates the chorus of the Leonard Cohen song “Hallelujah.”

Fall Out Boy also powered their climb with a strong Internet presence and interactive relationship with the fans from the band’s earliest days. Since hitting the big time, Wentz has launched a record label, Decaydance, to provide other groups the same opportunities that the band has enjoyed. To wit, he signed the group Panic! at the Disco, who have joined Fall Out Boy at the top of the charts. The bassist has also launched his own fashion line, Clandestine Industries, produced and distributed by DKNY. “I want to create a culture people are interested in,” he says.

In a unique songwriting twist, Wentz writes the lyrics for Fall Out Boy but it’s Stump who sings them and provides the music, along with the rest of the band members. It’s certainly a formula that has translated into star-level success. But Fall Out Boy ultimately hopes to create something even greater than sales in the millions, chart-topping singles and sold-out arena shows. As Stump concludes, “I just want to be the best band we can be.”

“I wanted a sound that would come out of here that would say familiar, but fresh,” he says of his eighth studio album, which he feels combines both Motown and Texas flavors. “That’s what I believe we accomplished with new vocals and new musicians.”

Hammond was also inspired by the teachings of his pastor, Bishop T.D. Jakes. “I wanted people to be able to hear the seeds that he planted in me over the last year,” says Hammond. “I followed him for many years, but now I’m up under him and I wanted people to hear what I’ve learned. I come to church and I sit and get replenished.”

Hammond has long been an innovator in gospel music. He was an integral part of the ground-breaking group Commissioned and, after retiring from that group in 1995, he went on to launch Radical for Christ. His résumé also includes a stint with the Winans as well as his successful run as a solo artist. Along the way, he’s earned a reputation as “the Babyface of gospel music” for his working in mentoring and producing other artists.

Songwriting has always been a key weapon in Hammond’s arsenal of talents. “It’s really how I convey what’s on the inside and what I’ve been through,” says Hammond, who has his own F. Hammond Music imprint. “I like to keep that simple and I’ve learned to write the way that I talk. Instead of writing in way that’s above everybody’s head or trying to impress people with words and phrases that are very flowery, I like to break it down and make it very, very easy.”

	BMI Urban Awards Photo Slideshow
	BMI Urban Awards Song List
	Billboard No. 1s

Mariah Carey took home two of the night's top honors, including Song of the Year for her smash "We Belong Together" and Songwriter of the Year, which she shared with Miami-based producers Bigg D and Jim Jonsin. A highlight of the gala event was a special presentation to prolific songwriting and production team Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Antonio "L.A." Reid, who were named BMI Icons for their "enduring influence on generations of music makers."

Mariah Carey	Babyface	L.A. Reid

Other big winners included rapper Kanye West, who earned the Producer of the Year title for the second consecutive year; Warner/Chappell Music Group, named Urban Publisher of the Year; and Jazze Pha's "1, 2 Step," which nabbed the BMI Urban Ringtone Award. Executives from music trade magazine Billboard were also on hand to give out No. 1 Awards to the BMI songs that reached the top spot on its urban music charts.

Bigg D	Jim Jonsin

Song of the Year "We Belong Together," which Carey co-wrote, ruled the top of multiple charts for months after its release in 2005, relaunching the five-octave singer's career back into superstardom. BMI writers Darnell Bristol, Sid "Uncle Jamz" Johnson, Patrick Moten, Sandra Sully, Bobby Womack and BMI Icon Babyface were also recognized with the Urban Awards' top song prize, as were the song's publishers - ABKCO, Ballads by Design, Hip Chic Music, Mister Johnson's Jams Music, Rye Songs, Songs of Universal, Sony/ATV and Warner-Tamerlane.

Kanye West	Jazze Pha

As the best-selling female performer of the 1990s, Carey stood apart by composing all her own material, and was twice before named Songwriter of the Year (1993 and 1999). She takes the top songwriter prize for the third time this year by placing three of her own hits on the most-performed list - "Don't Forget About Us," "Shake It Off" and "We Belong Together" - all from last year's comeback release, The Emancipation of Mimi. Carey, who also wrote 1992's Pop Song of the Year, "Love Takes Time," has a total of 23 BMI Awards and 15 "Million-Air" songs that have had one million or more broadcast performances.

Sharing the Urban Songwriter of the Year spotlight were producers Bigg D and Jim Jonsin, who also had three songs on the most-played list with the co-writes "Let's Go" by Trick Daddy (featuring Lil Jon & Twista), and Pretty Ricky's "Grind With Me" and "Your Body." Formerly known as the Unusual Suspects, this Dirty South production duo has been cranking out the hits, LPs, soundtracks and re-mixes for such heavy-hitters as Trick Daddy, Pretty Ricky, Trina, Jacki-O, Cee-Lo and Pitbull since 2000.

Multiple Grammy Award-winning songwriter/producers Babyface and L.A. Reid then took the stage to accept their BMI Icon honors. As co-founders of LaFace, the record label they started in 1989, the longtime writing partners are responsible for launching the careers of such multi-platinum artists as Toni Braxton, TLC, Usher and Pink. With a vast catalog of hits recorded by such A-listers as Madonna, Mary J. Blige, Celine Dion, Eric Clapton, Boyz II Men, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Outkast, Dido, Ciara, Jay-Z and Songwriter of the Year Mariah Carey, songs penned by Babyface and L.A. have accumulated more than 40 million airplays on American radio and television.

In addition to his behind-the-scenes talent, Babyface has enjoyed his own success as a recording artist, with 11 albums that have produced more than 15 Top 10 hits. He has been named BMI Songwriter of the Year a record seven times (90, 91, 92, 95, 96, 97, 98), more than any other pop writer in the history of the company. They add to the more than 50 BMI Awards displayed on his trophy shelf, which now features his first Urban Award and his third Song of the Year Crystal received tonight as co-writer of "We Belong Together." His other Song of the Year awards include Toni Braxton's "Breathe Again" (1995) and Boyz II Men's "I'll Make Love to You" (1996). This year's top song win ties him with the Bee Gees as writer of the most Pop Songs of the Year.

With his exceptional ability to spot and develop new talent, L.A. Reid is currently Chairman of the Island Def Jam Music Group. He also served as President & CEO of Arista Records from 2000 to 2004, and is president of his own publishing company, Hitco Music, which tonight earned a pair of BMI Urban Awards for the Chris Brown smash "Run It!" and Fantasia's No. 1 hit "Truth Is." The 18-time BMI Award-winning hitmaker, who in 1990 shared the Pop Songwriter of the Year spotlight with fellow BMI Icon Babyface, most recently guided the release of Mariah Carey's Mimi CD, the mega-selling album that spawned this year's Song of the Year.

BMI Producer of the Year honors went to Kanye West for the second year in a row for logging the most producer credits on charting songs. The BMI Top Urban Producers list also included Mr. Collipark, Pharrell Williams, Lil Jon, R. Kelly, Sean Garrett, Jazze Pha, Cool & Dre, Rodney Jerkins, and Songwriters of the Year Bigg D and Jim Jonsin.

Top producers Sean Garrett, Lil Jon and Andre "Dre" Lyon also made the list of double winners, picking up two BMI Urban Awards apiece, as did The Game and Pretty Ricky members Marcus "Pleasure" Cooper, Corey "Slick'Em" Mathis, Diamond "Baby Blue" Smith, Joseph "Blue" Smith and Spectacular Smith.

Warner/Chappell Music Group was named BMI Urban Publisher of the Year by scoring the highest percentage of copyright ownership in award songs (through its companies Unichappell Music, Inc. and Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.). This is the twelfth BMI Publisher Crystal for Warner/Chappell, which boasted eight songs on the most-performed list, including Song of the Year "We Belong Together" and Ringtone Award winner "1, 2 Step."

Other publishers recognized for multiple award-winning songs were Black Boy Hatchet Music, Dade Co. Project Music, Inc., Dimensional Songs of the Knoll, EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc., Ensign Music LLC, Hitco Music, Jimi Mac Music/OG Music, Rye Songs, Songs of TVT, Sony/ATV Songs LLC, Universal Music Publishing (Irving Music/Songs of Universal, Inc.) and Zomba Songs.

"1, 2 Step," written by BMI Top 10 Urban Producer Jazze Pha and published by Bubba Gee Music, Noontime Tunes and Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., received the BMI Urban Ringtone Award for tallying the most downloads during the award period. The Ciara hit was also named BMI's very first Internet Song of the Year at the 2006 Pop Awards.

In addition to the BMI performance awards, Billboard recognized the BMI-affiliated writers whose songs reached No. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Rap Tracks, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Hot 100 charts during the past year. Kanye West's "Gold Digger," featuring Jamie Foxx and writing credits by Renald Richard and the late Ray Charles, topped all four charts.]]> 2006-08-30T05:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/533482 Artists, Akwid, Babyface, Figueroa, Michael, Luna, Rigo, Musical Styles, Latin, Musicworld, On The Scene As a senior in high school, songwriter Michael Figueroa was asked a question by his academic advisor, “What will you do after you graduate?” “I have no idea,” he replied. His counselor then asked what he was passionate about. The answer to that was easy; Michael eagerly answered, “Music!” Following his passion, Figueroa has forged a successful career as an up-and-coming bilingual songwriter and composer working in the Latin music genre.

A fan of technology, Figueroa honed his musical ear for music of all genres, beats and languages by being a mobile DJ during his teenage years. Growing up with artists ranging from Jose Jose, Juan Gabriel and Vicente Fernandez, to Babyface, Brian McKnight and most recently Alicia Keys, he approached music as he heard it – in Spanish and English, in multiple genres.

He began to write and record many of his songs with the help of a small four-track recorder, and started to co-write with friends such as Octavio Gutierrez, an accomplished pianist who studied music at a conservatory in Cuba.

In 1997 his unique touch as a songwriter was tapped by Abraham Quintanilla, who at that time was launching a joint venture with EMI called Qzone Records, to write half of the CD for the group Unison on Qzone. Since then he has written songs for Jennifer Peña, Los Gallitos, Mireya, La Conquista, La Fuerza, and teen sensation Sesi, many on Qzone. Additionally, Michael has also written songs for Grammy winner La Mafia, “Objetivo: Fama” winner Anais, Rigo Luna (Machete Records) and Yolanda Perez (Fonovisa).

In 2005 Michael started working on co-writing three songs in English for the motion picture SPIN starring Fernando Carrillo and Shalim. The film is due to be released in the fall of 2006 by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Michael also co-wrote eight songs with platinum recording artist Frankie J for his new CD Un Nuevo Dia, which shipped platinum. The debut single, “Pensando En Ti,” was co-written by Michael and recently hit No. 13 on the Billboard Latin charts.

Michael is currently busy at work writing songs for artists Xtreme, Miky Bad Boy,Mayra Veronica, Amanda Coral, Ness Bautista and Dominic Marte.

“I think the future of Latin music is more exciting than ever,” says Figureoa. “The innovation that is happening across the genres is bringing a new freedom to creators like myself – as well as the artists. Now is the time when artists, musicians, producers and writers are willing to break the mold like never before. It’s given someone like myself the green light to write songs that represent the future of music vs. what is being played on radio right now.

“My vision has always been to innovate; why can’t I mix a classic song like ‘El Reloj’ with rap? Then came Akwid. Why not fuse cumbia with reggaeton? Then came Calle 13. Why not fuse bolero with hip-hop, ranchera with rock, bachata with r&b, and do it in English and Spanish. A bilingual approach. Why not? It’s an exciting time – I’m part of a new generation in music and it’s really exciting to me. It’s my home.”

by Andrea Pelser

Babyface	L.A. Reid

The Icon designation is given to BMI songwriters and artists who have had "a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." The LaFace Records co-founders, who will be saluted with an all-star musical tribute during the ceremony, join an elite group that includes James Brown, Isaac Hayes, Al Green, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, and last year's honorees, the Gap Band.

With more than a dozen Grammys between them, including the Producer of the Year crown they shared in 1993, seven-time BMI Songwriter of the Year Babyface and Island Def Jam Chairman L.A. Reid are responsible for launching the careers of such multi-platinum artists as Toni Braxton, TLC, Usher and Pink under their successful LaFace label. The list of stars that the hitmaking pair has worked with - both together and individually - is unparalleled and includes Mariah Carey, Madonna, Celine Dion, Eric Clapton, Mary J. Blige, Boyz II Men, Dido, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Outkast, Ciara, Jay-Z, and countless others.

Hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Atlanta Writer/Publisher VP Catherine Brewton, the 6th Annual BMI Urban Awards will recognize the songwriters, publishers and producers of the top BMI urban songs played on American radio and television. An Urban Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Publisher of the Year and Producer of the Year will be named during the ceremony. In addition, the writers of the songs that reached the No. 1 spots on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop and Hot Rap Tracks charts will also be honored.

WE BELONG TOGETHER
Darnell Bristol
Mariah Carey
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds
Sid "Uncle Jamz" Johnson
Patrick L. Moten
Sandra Sully
Bobby Womack
ABKCO Music, Inc.
Ballads By Design Publishing
Hip Chic Music
Mister Johnson's Jams Music
Rye Songs
Songs of Universal, Inc.
Sony/ATV Songs LLC
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Mariah Carey
Island Records

YOU AND ME
Jude Cole
Jason Wade
Dimensional Songs of the Knoll
G-Chills Music
Jude Cole Music
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Lifehouse
Geffen Records

With The Emancipation of Mimi , Mariah Carey repudiates the rumor mills, negates the naysayers and opens up Her voice and soul to blaze a sensational return to the pinnacle of the charts. Co-writing all 14 tracks, Carey has created a lustrous suite of songs to celebrate her spiritual and professional renewal. Audiences are clearly primed, as the long awaited project is a resounding, out-of-thebox success.

Longtime fans of Carey’s signature, multi-octave balladry will delight in the glossy “We Belong Together,” as her lyrics reference listening to Bobby Womack and Babyface on the midnight radio. The retrovinyl crackle on “Mine Again” extends the legacy of classic soul that ignites with the sheer aural sensuality of “Joy Ride.”

It’s not all smooth silk and ballads, however; raising the temperature substantially, a hit-making host of hip-hop purveyors accompanies Carey squarely into the urban zone. Collaborating with Grammy-winning producers Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo — The Neptunes — on “Say Somethin,’” she and her duet partner, Snoop Dogg, smolder in tandem with a club-heavy groove. Keeping it equally authentic, Jermaine Dupri, Twista and Nelly all individually join Carey on subsequent tracks. Bolstered by a sample of Thom Bell and Linda Creed’s “Betcha By Golly Wow” as recorded by The Ramsey Lewis Trio, “Stay the Night,” a track produced by Kanye West, perfectly epitomizes Carey’s enduring appeal: timeless soul amped up with nouveau hip-hop flourishes, sparkling with radiant star power. The cover photo says it best, portraying a voluptuous, wind blown Carey posing like a latter-day Greek goddess.

The daughter of a former opera singer and vocal coach — and even named for a song, “They Call the Wind Mariah,” from the Lerner and Loewe musical Paint Your Wagon , Carey, born on Long Island, New York, began vocalizing at the age of four, and was writing her own songs by the time she was attending Oldfield Middle School. The day after graduation from high school, she moved into Manhattan, where she sang backing vocals for a succession of artists, including Brenda K. Starr, who passed her demo on to Sony Music Entertainment chief Tommy Mottola at a party. As legend has it, when Mottola listened to the demo on his ride home, he subsequently commanded his driver to spin the limo around and return to the party so that he could meet the young singer. Soon afterwards, Mottola signed Carey to a Columbia Records contract, where he oversaw her meteoric rise, and eventually married her.

The Emancipation of Mimi, which Carey co-executive produced with her new label chief, Island/Def Jam’s Antonio “LA” Reid, continues an unprecedented lineage of hitmaking that began with her self-titled 1990 debut and four successive hit singles, “Vision of Love,” “Love Takes Time,” “Someday,” and “I Don’t Wanna Cry.” Her follow up, Music Box , continued her chart domination, selling an astounding 10 times platinum. Since these auspicious introductions, Mariah Carey has become the best-selling female performer of all time, with 16 number one singles capped by two Grammy Awards, eight American Music Awards, Billboard’s “Artist of the Decade” Award and the World Music Award for “World’s Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium.” The only artist to top the charts in each year of the 1990s, with the single “Heartbreaker,” she even pushed ahead of The Beatles as the artist with the most cumulative weeks spent atop Billboard ’s Hot 100 Singles chart.

“Mimi” is a nickname that those close to Carey use to address her. This new found freedom, or “emancipation” as evidenced in the title, is given an emphatic dictionary definition on the CD booklet, “To free from the restraint, control, oppression, or power of another.” As she nails a door shut on the past, her lyrics proclaim the autonomy of her new life. “I was in a beautiful house, surrounded by beautiful things, but I couldn’t be who I really was,” she told a British magazine. Soon after her marital split came the movie Glitter , released the week after 9/11, that starred Carey in an acting role. Carey told the New York Post , “The problem was (that) Glitter was about a diva moment. It was too close to my life.” A well-publicized break from her next record label, Virgin, and recovery from exhaustion kept Carey in the trades and tabloids, if not on the charts, but even her record sale doldrums were relative. Both the soundtrack to Glitter and the follow-up, Charmbraclet , moved over a million copies in the U.S. alone.

Now, with her creativity renewed, Carey plans to pen a series of illustrated children’s tales following the life of a bi-racial orphan girl. The series will be based on experiences from the singer’s own childhood, growing up in a mixed-race family. She’s also hoping to translate an earlier album, her 1994 Merry Christmas, into a family-friendly Broadway show. She told MTV, “I get a chance to live out my Christmastime fantasies vicariously through the show. I think it’s going to be fun and something families can go to see.”

On “Fly Like a Bird,” the concluding track to The Emancipation of Mimi , Mariah takes it to church with the jubilant backing of a gospel choir as a disembodied voice intros the song with this quotation from Psalms, Chapter 30, verse five: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” As she celebrates her liberation, like the bird she describes in song, Mariah Carey soars higher in a stratospheric arc of ever-ascending artistry.

Carole Bayer Sager with Ric Kipp and David Foster

David Foster wrote the melody for an anthemic song entitled “I Have This Dream,” for which Jackson had already written the title and first line of the chorus, and asked America On-Line members to submit "an optimistic and inspiring” lyric to complete the song. Jackson, Sager and Foster selected Kipp’s lyrics from over 1,000 entries, saying his words “best reflected our vision for the song.” In July, Kipp was flown to Los Angeles for a co-writing session with Sager and Foster, where the trio completed the song.
Originally from New Orleans, Ric Kipp grew up on a gumbo of blues, rock, jazz and country influences. After headlining clubs in the Big Easy and throughout the South, Kipp took his well-received roots rock band west to LA, where he won a BMI-sponsored songwriting contest resulting in an indie record deal. On a trip to Nashville, Kipp was offered a songwriting deal by publishing legend Buddy Killen. After relocating from Los Angeles, Kipp formed a roots country band and toured the South and Europe. He has recorded with Steve Earle, has had songs in film soundtracks and has a song on the current Confederate Railroad CD.

Kipp will return to Los Angeles later this summer, when Jackson will record his vocals on the project, possibly with an all-star roster of artists -- not unlike his 1985 famine relief anthem “We Are The World." All proceeds from the project will be donated to children’s relief organizations around the world.]]> 2002-08-29T18:00:00-05:00