Alexander f rodriguez biography of george michael

This week, Billboard is celebrating the music of 20 years ago with a week of content about the most interesting artists, albums, songs and stories from 1998. Here, writer and former MTV VJ John Norris looks back on George Michael’s audacious “Outside” single and video, the stir it caused at the time, and how it holds up two decades later.   

To this day, I might be out somewhere where “Freedom ‘90” comes on, and a stranger will raise an eyebrow, smirk, even point in my direction, as George Michael declares his disdain for “the boys on MTV.”

The fact that my longtime employer figured its way into a lyric about artistic emancipation, as emblematic of the lemming-like pop conformity from which the artist sought to be emancipated in the early ‘90s — well, it’s a miracle that this one-time boy from MTV got to interview famously press-averse George even once. That I was able to do it five times, I consider a privilege. His was a unique life and career, showcasing superhuman musical talent but fueled as well by a pugilistic determination to do things his way, including the unexpected way he was to come out as a gay man. It was the thorniest decision of all, and one that ultimately was done for him.

There are many great memories of those interviews and other times spent with George, but the one that makes me smile the most is the one where he seemed, at long last, personally free and at peace: a live MTV special 20 years ago this fall, called George Michael TV. On it, the singer joined me for the premiere of “Outside,” one of the unlikelier PR wins in pop music history, a beyond-cheeky video celebrating getting busy en plein air that was not only b

American baseball player (born 1975)

This article is about the baseball player. For others of the same name, see Alex Rodriguez (disambiguation).

Baseball player

Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseballshortstop, third baseman and designated hitter and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners (1994–2000), Texas Rangers (2001–2003), and New York Yankees (2004–2013, 2015–2016). Rodriguez is the chairman and chief executive officer of A-Rod Corp as well as the chairman of Presidente beer. He is about to purchase a controlling interest in the National Basketball Association's Minnesota Timberwolves with Marc Lore. Rodriguez began his professional baseball career as one of the sport's most highly touted prospects, and is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

With a career .295 batting average, Rodriguez amassed over 600 home runs (696), over 2,000 runs batted in (RBI), over 2,000 runs scored, over 3,000 hits, and over 300 stolen bases,