IN: Renee Rebecca Geyer (born 11 September 1953, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with "It's a Man's Man's World", "Heading in the Right Direction" and "Stares and Whispers" in the 1970s and "Say I Love You" in the 1980s. Geyer has also been an internationally respected and sought-after backing vocalist, whose session credits include work with Sting, Chaka Khan, Toni Childs and Joe Cocker. In 2000, her autobiography, Confessions of a Difficult Woman, co-written with music journalist Ed Nimmervoll, was published.

In 2000, Geyer released her autobiography, "Confessions of a Difficult Woman", after her 1994 studio album. In October 2000, Geyer performed at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney.  In August 2003 Geyer released her eleventh studio album Tenderland. The album peaked at #11 on the ARIA Charts, equalling her highest charting album in her career. Live at the Athenaeum was released in April 2004 and Geyer's twelfth studio album Tonight in April 2005.  On 14 July 2005, Geyer was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame by Michael Gudinski. At the ceremony, contemporary R&B singer Jade MacRae performed a Geyer medley, followed by Geyer singing her 1975 hit "It's a Man's Man's World".  In July 2007, Geyer was cast in the lead role in Sleeping Beauty. In 2008 she also provided a voice in the award winning claymation Mary & Max by Adam Elliot.  Geyer and fellow 1970s singer, Marcia Hines, are the subjects of Australian academic, Jon Stratton's 2008 Cultural Studies article, "A Jew Singing Like a Black Woman in Australia: Race, Renee Geyer, and Marcia Hines". Geyer delivered a two-hour master class on 3 December 2008 to illustrate her annoyance of vocal gymnastics used by singers such as, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and contestants on Australian Idol. Geyer was approached to be a judge on Australian Idol and The X Factor but declined, she criticised Hines for being "so neutral, I don't hear an opinion" and Kyle Sandilands for his comments that are hurtful. After having signed with Liberation Blue Records which teams her with former Mushroom boss, Gudinski, Geyer released the compilation, Reneesance in May 2009.

What is Tenderland?

OUT: In August 2003 Geyer released her eleventh studio album Tenderland.


IN: Ellis-Bextor was born in London on 10 April 1979 to mother Janet Ellis, who was later a presenter on BBC's children's television programmes Blue Peter and Jigsaw, and father Robin Bextor, a film producer and director: they separated when she was four. As a young girl, she appeared on several Blue Peter items, with no indication given on-screen that she was Ellis's daughter. She attended St. Stephen's School and later Godolphin and Latymer School in Hammersmith.

According to Ellis-Bextor in April 2008, recording sessions for her scrapped greatest hits collection proved fruitful, so she decided to release a fourth studio album. In October 2008, Ellis-Bextor covered the Dolly Parton song "Jolene"; the track was released on the soundtrack to the BBC2 sitcom Beautiful People. In November 2008, Ellis-Bextor recorded a track with the French DJ Junior Caldera, "Can't Fight This Feeling", for his 2009 album Debut. Released as a single in February 2010, it reached the top 20 in France.  In August 2009, she released a five-track live EP from the 2009 iTunes Festival, during which she performed previous singles of hers and a new track, "Starlight" (not included on the EP). Freemasons worked with Ellis-Bextor for their album Shakedown 2 on "Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer)", which was released as a single in June 2009 and peaked at 13 in the UK.  Ellis-Bextor's fourth album, Make a Scene, was released in June 2011. She described it as "very much [a dance album]--more so than any of my other albums."  Looking to her next effort, Ellis-Bextor said she was planning an "album that's really different. I think I need to do something different now and move on from the dance stuff. I might come back to it, but I think this album is a good way to bow out of the dance sound for now. I think it's finishing on a high." She worked with Calvin Harris, Armin van Buuren, Richard X, Dimitri Tikovoi, Hannah Robinson, Metronomy, and Liam Howe from the Sneaker Pimps. The first single from the album, "Bittersweet" (co-written by Freemasons and Hannah Robinson), was released in May 2010 and reached 25 on the UK Singles Chart. "Not Giving Up on Love" was released as the second single from the album, in August 2010 in Europe, followed by "Starlight" as the third single in May 2011. "Off & On" was the fourth and final single.

When was it released?

OUT:
June 2011.