Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 46

The Top-Earning American Idols Of 2015

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American Idol is entering its final season, but the stars it has minted in the past are burning bright as ever–and, lately, none more than Adam Lambert.

The Season 8 runner-up climbs to the top of our list for the first time, pulling in a career-high $10 million. Lambert’s earnings were buoyed by cash accumulatedwhile playing arena shows as the frontman of legendary glam rock band Queen.

“Adam used the launching pad of American Idol very well to have a succe...

17 Questions With 30 Under 30 Star Jason Derulo

Wiggle Room: Derulo is only 26, but he’s already responsible for a lifetime of hits. (Photo courtesy of WBR).

The Florida native got his start ghostwriting for the likes of Lil Wayne and Diddy, breaking through with debut single “Whatcha Say” in 2009. Since then, he’s notched 14 top 100 hits, including “Talk Dirty,” “Wiggle” and 2015’s “Want To Want Me.”

Derulo started the new year with a bang, earning a spot on the 30 Under 30 Class of 2016 in the music category. He answered a battery of que...

Pentatonix: Everything You Need To Know About The World’s Biggest A Cappella Act

Sing-On! Pentatonix has gone from record label reject to mainstream success in just a few years. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images).

The five members of Pentatonix–Scott Hoying, Kevin Olusola, Kirstin Maldonado, Mitch Grassi and Avi Kaplan–became the first a cappella act to make it to our 30 Under 30 list, but it hasn’t been an easy road.

After winning The Sing-Off in 2011, the group got a $200,000 record deal–and was quickly dropped. So they turned to YouTube, where their pop-rock covers hav...

12 Questions With Shawn Mendes And His 30 Under 30 Manager Andrew Gertler

Shawn Mendes and his manager, Andrew Gertler, ascended to the 30 Under 30 list together this year. (Photo: Jamel Toppin).

Canadian crooner Shawn Mendes has followed the path of countrymen Justin Bieber and Drake, parlaying a rabid online fan base into a major label record deal—and a spot on our list.

Mendes’ break came courtesy of Vine, where he gained millions of followers singing six-second covers of pop songs. Fellow 30 Under 30 2016 honoree Andrew Gertler recognized his talent, became his...

16 Questions With Halsey, Voice Of The 30 Under 30 Generation

Halsey: The singer-songwriter behind 30 Under 30 anthem “New Americana” is poised for even bigger things in 2016 and beyond. (Photo: Eric T. White).

Born Ashley Frangipane in New Jersey, the singer-songwriter renamed herself after a Brooklyn subway stop—and her moody electropop debut chugged to No. 2 on the charts thanks to “Ghost” and “New Americana.” In April she was playing 400-capacity venues; by November she had sold out Madison Square Garden. Below, she shares her inspirations and refle...

18 Questions With 30 Under 30 Audio Engineer MixedByAli

Derek “MixedByAli” Ali has had a hand in all of TDE’s releases, including Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly,” which earned the rapper 11 Grammy nominations. (Photo courtesy of TDE).

As the in-house mixing engineer for TDE, California native MixedByAli (real name: Derek Ali) has played a crucial role in Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy glory–and is set for more as the accolades pile up for this year’s To Pimp A Butterfly. The latest: a spot on our 30 Under 30 Class of 2016 music list.

Date Of Birth...

Meet Dave Free, Kendrick Lamar’s 30 Under 30 Manager

Camp Kendrick: Dave Free serves as manager of Lamar and president of TDE, the label that launched him. (Photo: John Mosley).

In a back hallway of the Wiltern theater in central Los Angeles, Kendrick Lamar is sitting on a director’s chair next to labelmate Jay Rock, dutifully waiting to welcome every single one of the fans trickling in to meet him from a line that stretches seemingly all the way to Malibu.

It’s the last show of his Kunta’s Groove Sessions, a concert series at theaters that can...

Fetty Wap Reveals What Makes Him Tick

The New Jersey native, part of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2016, offers a clear-eyed look into his rise to the top. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

Cycloptic rapper Fetty Wap rose to fame after being discovered by an intern at record label 300 in 2014. Since then, he’s become a hip-hop superstar thanks to songs like his multiplatinum hit “Trap Queen.” The song has racked up over 300 million views on both YouTube and Spotify, as well as two Grammy nominations.

The rappe...

30 Under 30 All-Star Updates: A$AP Rocky

A$AP Rocky: The 27-year-old Class of 2015 alum is our pick for all-star in the music category. (Photo: Jamel Toppin).

At our Under 30 summit in Philadelphia this fall, Rakim “A$AP Rocky” Mayers was among the last to arrive at our group cover shoot.

“Sorry,” he said with a grin, decked out in a full-length Dior coat. “I’m fashionably late.”

Indeed, nobody in the hip-hop world has been more fashionable of late. The Harlem-born mixtape maven grew up shuttling between homeless shelters, swaggerin...

30 Under 30 Music: Shawn Mendes, Fetty Wap, Halsey And The Class Of 2016

Masters of the Universe: The 30 Under 30 gatefold, featuring musicians Shawn Mendes and A$AP Rocky. (Photo: Jamel Toppin).

For most teenagers, summer job prospects are limited to mowing lawns, babysitting or working a cash register. Not so for Shawn Mendes: the 17-year-old singer-songwriter spent the dog days on tour with Taylor Swift.

“The way I keep myself sane is by thinking of it as fun”–and not a job–says Mendes, who parlayed Vine stardom into a major label deal and a chart-topping debut...