:''"Unclassified" redirects here. See also, Unclassified (album).'' :''"State secrets" redirects here. See also, state secrets privilege.''

Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation. There are typically several levels of sensitivity, with differing clearance requirements. This sort of hierarchical system of secrecy is used by virtually every national government. The act of assigning the level of sensitivity to data is called data classification.

A distinction could be made between formal security classification and privacy markings such as "Commercial in confidence".

Some corporations and non-government organizations also assign sensitive information to multiple levels of protection, either from a desire to protect trade secrets, or because of laws and regulations governing various matters such as personal privacy, sealed legal proceedings and the timing of financial information releases.

Government classification

The purpose of classification is ostensibly to protect information from being used to damage or endanger national security. Classification formalises what constitutes a "state secret" and accords different levels of protection based on the expected damage the information might cause in the wrong hands.

Classification levels

Although the classification systems vary from country to country, most have levels corresponding to the following British definitions (from the highest level to lowest):

The highest level of classification of material on a national level. Such material would cause "exceptionally grave damage" to national security if made publicly available. '''

Secret

Such material would cause "grave damage" to national security if it were publicly available.

Confidential

Such material would cause "damage" or be "prejudicial" to national security if publicly available.

Restricted

Such material would cause "undesirable effects" if publicly available. Some countries do not have such a classification.

Unclassified

Technically not a classification level, but is used for government documents that do not have a classification listed above. Such documents can sometimes be viewed by those without security clearance.

Clearance

Depending on the level of classification there are different rules controlling the level of clearance needed to view such information, and how it must be stored, transmitted, and destroyed. Additionally, access is restricted on a "need to know" basis. Simply possessing a clearance does not automatically authorize the individual to view all material classified at that level or below that level. The individual must present a legitimate "need to know" in addition to the proper level of clearance.

Compartmented information

In addition to the general risk-based classification levels above, often there are additional constraints on access, such as (in the U.S.) Special Intelligence (SI), which protects intelligence sources and methods, No Foreign dissemination (NOFORN), which restricts dissemination to U.S. nationals, and Originator Controlled dissemination (ORCON), which ensures that the originator can track possessors of the information. Documents in some compartments are marked with specific "code words" in addition to the classification level.

Nuclear information

Government information about nuclear weapons such as nuclear warheads often has an additional marking to show it contains such information.

Sharing classified information between countries

When a government agency or group shares information between an agency or group of other country’s government they will generally employ a special classification scheme that both parties have previously agreed to honour.

In example the marken ATOMAL, is applied to U.S. RESTRICTED DATA or FORMERLY RESTRICTED DATA and United Kingdom ATOMIC information that has been released to NATO. ATOMAL information is marked COSMIC TOP SECRET ATOMAL (CTSA), NATO SECRET ATOMAL (NSAT), or NATO CONFIDENTIAL ATOMAL (NCA).

In cases where a country wishes to share classified information bilaterally (or multilaterally) with a country that has a sharing agreement, the information is with the countries it can be shared with. Those countries would have to maintain the classification of the document at the level originally classified (TOP-SECRET, SECRET, etc.) with the appropriate caveat (USNZ, AUSGE, CANUK, etc.).

NATO classifications

For example, sensitive information shared amongst NATO allies has four levels of security classification; from most to least classified: # COSMIC TOP SECRET (CTS), # NATO SECRET (NS), # NATO CONFIDENTIAL (NC), and # NATO RESTRICTED (NR). A special case exists with regard to NATO UNCLASSIFIED (NU) information. Documents with this marking is NATO property (copyright) and must not be made public without NATO permission. In general documents with this classification, aren't cleared for internet-transmission either, unless clearly marked with RELEASABLE FOR INTERNET TRANSMISSION. Documents that can be made public however, should be clearly marked with NON SENSITIVE INFORMATION RELEASABLE TO THE PUBLIC.

International organisations

European Commission, has 5 levels, EU TOP SECRET, EU SECRET, EU CONFIDENTIAL, EU RESTRICTED, and EU COUNCIL / COMMISSION. (Note that usually the French term is used)

OCCAR, a European defence organisation, has three levels of classification: OCCAR SECRET, OCCAR CONFIDENTIAL, OCCAR RESTRICTED. .

By country

Most countries employ some sort of classification system for certain government information. For example, in Canada, information that the U.S. would classify SBU (Sensitive but Unclassified) is called "protected" and further subcategorised into levels A, B, and C.

Australia

National security classifications in Australia comprise TOP SECRET, SECRET, CONFIDENTIAL, RESTRICTED and UNCLASSIFIED. Background checks for access to TOP SECRET material are carried out at either of two levels: at TOP SECRET NEGATIVE VETTING (TSNV), or at the even more stringent and expensive TOP SECRET POSITIVE VETTING (TSPV) level, depending on the extent of required access to TOP SECRET material and on the potential damage to national security should such material be disclosed to unauthorised parties. Most background checks for access to TOP SECRET material are carried out at the TOP SECRET NEGATIVE VETTING level.

Australia also has a non-national security-based classification system that is used in areas of the Federal Government not directly related to national security matters. This system is used for information whose compromise would not directly threaten the security of the nation, but the release of which could threaten the security or interests of individuals, groups, commercial entities, government business and interests, or the safety of the community.

HIGHLY PROTECTED, which broadly corresponds to SECRET in the national security system.

PROTECTED, which broadly corresponds to CONFIDENTIAL in the national security system.

''X''-IN-CONFIDENCE, which broadly corresponds to RESTRICTED in the national security system. Examples of ''X''-IN-CONFIDENCE markings include, among others, STAFF-IN-CONFIDENCE, COMMERCIAL-IN-CONFIDENCE and LEGAL-IN-CONFIDENCE.

In addition, documents marked CABINET-IN-CONFIDENCE, relating to discussions in Federal Cabinet, are treated as PROTECTED.

Canada

Background and hierarchy

There are 2 main type of sensitive information designation used by the Government of Canada: ''Classified'' and ''Designated''. The access and protection of both types of information is governed by the ''Security of Information Act'', effective December 24, 2001, replacing the ''Official Secrets Act 1981''. To access the information, a person must have the appropriate level of clearance and a Need to know.

Special operational information

SOI is not a classification of data ''per se''. It is defined under the ''Security of Information Act'', and unauthorised release of such information constitutes a higher breach of trust, with penalty of life imprisonment.

SOIs include:

military operations in respect of a potential, imminent or present armed conflict

the identity of confidential source of information, intelligence or assistance to the Government of Canada

tools used for information gathering or intelligence

the object of a covert investigation, or a covert collection of information or intelligence

the identity of any person who is under covert surveillance

encryption and cryptographic systems

information or intelligence to, or received from, a foreign entity or terrorist group

Classified information

Classified information can be designated ''Top Secret'', ''Secret'' or ''Confidential''. These classifications are only used on matters of national interest.

Top Secret: This applies when compromise might reasonably cause exceptionally grave injury to the national interest. The possible impact must be great, immediate and irreparable.

Secret: This applies when compromise might reasonably cause serious injury to the national interest.

Confidential: When disclosure might reasonably cause injury to the national interest.

Designated information

Designated information is not classified. Designated information pertains to any sensitive information that does not relate to national security and cannot be disclosed under the access and privacy legislation because of the possible injury to particular public or private interests.

Protected C (Extremely Sensitive designated information): is used to protect extremely sensitive information if compromised, could reasonably be expected to cause extremely grave injury outside the national interest. Examples could include bankruptcy, identities of informants in criminal investigations, etc.

Protected B (Particularly Sensitive designated information): is used to protect information that could cause severe injury or damage to the people or group involved if it was released. Examples include medical records, annual personnel performance reviews, etc.

Protected A (Low-Sensitive designated information): is applied to low sensitivity information that should not be disclosed to the public without authorisation and could reasonably be expected to cause injury or embarrassment outside the national interest. Example of Protected A information could include employee number, pay deposit banking information, etc.

Federal Cabinet (Queen's Privy Council for Canada) papers are either designated (i.e. overhead slides prepared to make presentations to Cabinet) or classified (draft legislations, certain memos).

People's Republic of China

The ''Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China'' (which is not operative in the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao) makes it a crime to release a state secret. Regulation and enforcement is carried out by the National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets.

Under the 1989 "''Law on Guarding State Secrets''," state secrets are defined as those that concern:

# Major policy decisions on state affairs; # The building of national defence and in the activities of the armed forces; # Diplomatic activities and in activities related to foreign countries and those to be maintained as commitments to foreign countries; # National economic and social development; # Science and technology; # Activities for preserving state security and the investigation of criminal offences; and # Any other matters classified as "state secrets" by the national State Secrets Bureau.

Secrets can be classified into one of three categories:

Top secret (绝密): Defined as "vital state secrets whose disclosure would cause extremely serious harm to state security and national interests";

Highly secret (机密): Defined as "important state secrets whose disclosure would cause serious harm to state security and national interests"; and

Secret (秘密): Defined as "ordinary state secrets whose disclosure would cause harm to state security and national interests".

France

In France, classified information defined by article 413-9 of the Penal Code. The three levels of military classification are

''Confidentiel Défense'' (Confidential Defence): Information deemed potentially harmful to national defence, or that could lead to uncovering an information classified at a higher level of security.

''Secret Défense'' (Secret Defence): Information deemed very harmful to national defence. Such information cannot be reproduced without authorisation from the emitting authority, except in exceptional emergencies.

''Très Secret Défense'' (Very Secret Defence): Information deemed extremely harmful to national defence, and relative to governmental priorities in national defence. No service or organisation can elaborate, process, stock, transfer, display or destroy information or protected supports classified at this level without authorisation from the Prime Minister or the national secretary for National Defence. Partial or exhaustive reproduction is strictly forbidden.

Less sensitive information is "protected". The levels are

''Non Protégé'' (unprotected)

''Diffusion restreinte administrateur'' ("administrative restricted information")

''Diffusion restreinte'' ("restricted information")

''Confidentiel personnels Sous-Officiers'' ("Confidential non-commissioned officers")

''Confidentiel personnels Officiers'' ("Confidential officers")

A further mention, "''spécial France''" (reserved France) restricts the document to French citizens (in its entirety or by extracts). This is not a classification level.

Declassification of documents can be done by the ''Commission consultative du secret de la défense nationale'' (CCSDN), an independent authority. Transfer of classified information is done with double envelopes, the outer layer being plastified and numbered, and the inner in strong paper. Reception of the document involves examination of the physical integrity of the container and registration of the document. In foreign countries, the document must be transferred through specialised military mail or diplomatic bag. Transport is done by an authorised convoyer or habilitated person for mail under 20 kg. The letter must bear a seal mentioning "''PAR VALISE ACCOMPAGNEE-SACOCHE''". Once a year, ministers have an inventory of classified information and supports by competent authorities.

Once their usage period is expired, documents are transferred to archives, where they are either destroyed (by incineration, crushing or electrical overtension), or stored.

In case of unauthorized release of classified information, competent authorities are the Ministry of Interior, the ''Haut fonctionnaire de défense et de sécurité'' ("high civil servant for defence and security") of the relevant ministry, and the General secretary for National Defence. Violation of such secrets is an offence punishable with 7 years of imprisonment and a 100 000 Euro fine; if the offence is committed by imprudence or negligence, the penalties are 3 years of imprisonment and a 45 000 Euro fine.

Hong Kong

The Security Bureau is responsible for developing policies in regards to the protection and handling of confidential government information. In general, the system used in Hong Kong is very similar to the UK system, developed from the Colonial Hong Kong era.

Four classifications exists in Hong Kong, from highest to lowest in sensitivity:

Top Secret (高度機密)

Secret (機密)

Confidential (保密)

* Temporary Confidential (臨時保密)

Restricted (限閱文件/內部文件)

* Restricted (staff) (限閱文件(人事))

* Restricted (tender) (限閱文件 (投標))

* Restricted (administration) (限閱文件 (行政))

Restricted documents are not classified ''per se'', but only those who have a need to know will have access to such information, in accordance with the ''Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance''.

New Zealand

New Zealand uses the Restricted classification, which is lower than Confidential. People may be given access to Restricted information on the strength of an authorisation by their Head of Department, without being subjected to the background vetting associated with Confidential, Secret and Top Secret clearances. New Zealand's security classifications and the national-harm requirements associated with their use are roughly similar to those of the United States.

In addition to national security classifications there are two additional security classifications, In Confidence and Sensitive, which are used to protect information of a policy and privacy nature. There are also a number of information markings used within ministries and departments of the government, to indicate, for example, that information should not be released outside the originating ministry.

Because of strict privacy requirements around personal information, personnel files are controlled in all parts of the public and private sectors. Information relating to the security vetting of an individual is usually classified at the In Confidence level.

Russian Federation

In the Russian Federation, a state secret (Государственная тайна) is information protected by the state on its military, foreign policy, economic, intelligence, counterintelligence, operational and investigative and other activities, dissemination of which could harm state security.

Sweden

The Swedish classification has been updated due to increased NATO/PfP co-operation. All classified defence documents will now have both a Swedish classification (Kvalificerat Hemlig ''or'' Hemlig), and an English classification (Top Secret, Secret, Confidential ''or'' Restricted).

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom currently uses five levels of classification — from lowest to highest, they are: PROTECT, RESTRICTED, CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET and TOP SECRET (formerly MOST SECRET). Those working with such material should have the relevant security clearance and often are required to sign to confirm their understanding and acceptance of the Official Secrets Acts 1911 to 1989, although the Act applies in the same way regardless of signature. PROTECT is not in itself a security protective marking level (such as RESTRICTED or greater), but is used to indicate information which should not be disclosed because, for instance, the document contains tax, or national insurance or other personal information.

Government documents without a classification may be marked as UNCLASSIFIED or NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED.

United States

The U.S. classification system is currently established under Executive Order 13292 and has three levels of classification — Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret. The U.S. had a Restricted level during World War II but no longer does. U.S. regulations state that information received from other countries at the Restricted level should be handled as Confidential. A variety of markings are used for material that is not classified, but whose distribution is limited administratively or by other laws, e.g., For Official Use Only (FOUO), or Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU). The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 provides for the protection of information related to the design of nuclear weapons. The term "Restricted Data" is used to denote certain nuclear technology. Information about the storage, use or handling of nuclear material or weapons is marked "Formerly Restricted Data." These designations are used in addition to level markings (Confidential, Secret and Top Secret). Information protected by the Atomic Energy Act is protected by law and information classified under the Executive Order is protected by Executive privilege.

Table of equivalent classification markings in various countries

! (State)	! Top Secret	! Secret	! Confidential	! Restricted
Albania	Teper Sekret	Sekret	Konfidencial	I Kufizuar
Argentina	Estrictamente Secreto y Confidencial	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Australia	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Restricted
Austria	Streng Geheim	Geheim	Vertraulich	Eingeschränkt
	Zeer Geheim	Geheim	Vertrouwelijk	Beperkte Verspreiding
	Très Secret	Secret	Confidentiel	Diffusion restreinte
Bolivia	Supersecretoor Muy Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
	Strogo Povjerljivo	Tajno	Konfidencialno	Restiktirano
Brazil	Ultra Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Bulgaria	Строго секретно	Секретно	Поверително	За служебно ползване
Cambodia	Sam Ngat Bamphot	Sam Ngat Roeung	Art Kambang	Ham Kom Psay
Canada	Top Secret/Très secret	Secret/Secret	Confidential/Confidentiel	Protected A, B or C / Protégé A, B ou C
Chile	Secreto	Secreto	Reservado	Reservado
	Juémì (绝密)	Jīmì (机密)	Mìmì (秘密)	Nèibù (内部)
Colombia	Ultrasecreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reserva del sumario
Costa Rica	Alto Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial
Croatia	Vrlo tajno	Tajno	Povjerljivo	Ograničeno
Czech Republic	Přísně tajné	Tajné	Důvěrné	Vyhrazené
Denmark	Yderst Hemmeligt	Hemmeligt	Fortroligt	Til Tjenestebrug	Foreign Service:	Fortroligt	(thin Black border)
Ecuador	Secretisimo	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Egypt
El Salvador	Ultra Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Estonia	Täiesti salajane	Salajane	Konfidentsiaalne	Piiratud
Ethiopia	Yemiaz Birtou Mistir	Mistir	Kilkil
Finland	Erittäin salainen (TLL I)	Salainen (TLL II)	Luottamuksellinen (TLL III)	Viranomaiskäyttö (TLL IV)
France	Très secret défense	Secret défense	Confidentiel défense	Diffusion restreinte
Germany	Streng Geheim	Geheim	VS-Vertraulich	VS-Nur für den Dienstgebrauch
Greece	Άκρως Απόρρητον	Απόρρητον	Εμπιστευτικόν	ΠεριορισμένηςΧρήσης
Guatemala	Alto Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Haiti	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Reserve
Honduras	Super Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Hong Kong	Top Secret, 高度機密	Secret, 機密	Confidential, 保密	Restricted, 內部文件/限閱文件
Hungary	Szigorúan Titkos	Titkos	Bizalmas	Korlátozott Terjesztésű
	परम गुप्त (Param Gupt)	गुप्त (Gupt)	गोपनीय (Gopniya)	प्रतिबंधित/सीमित (Pratibandhit/seemit)
	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Restricted
Indonesia	Sangat Rahasia	Rahasia	Rahasia Dinas	Terbatas
Iran	Bekolli serri به کلّى سرّى	Serri سرّى	Kheili Mahramaneh خيلى محرمانه	Mahramaneh محرمانه
Iraq
Iceland	Algert Leyndarmál	Leyndarmál	Þjónustuskjal	Trúnaðarmál
Ireland (Irish language)	An-sicreideach	Sicreideach	Runda	Srianta
Israel	Sodi Beyoterסודי ביותר	Sodiסודי	Shamurשמור	Mugbalמוגבל
Italy	Segretissimo	Segreto	Riservatissimo	Riservato
Japan	Kimitsu, 機密	Gokuhi, 極秘	Hi, 秘	Toriatsukaichuui, 取り扱い注意
Jordan
	I(Il)-Kup Bi Mil, 1급비밀	II(I)-Kup Bi Mil, 2급비밀	III(Sam)-Kup Bi Mil, 3급비밀	Dae Woi Bi, 대외비
	Unknown, 익명의	Unknown, 익명의	Unknown, 익명의	Unknown, 익명의
Laos	Lup Sood Gnod	Kuam Lup	Kuam Lap	Chum Kut Kon Arn
Latvia	Sevišķi slepeni	Slepeni	Konfidenciāli	Dienesta vajadzībām
Lebanon	Tres Secret	Secret	Confidentiel
Lithuania	Visiškai Slaptai	Slaptai	Konfidencialiai	Riboto Naudojimo
Malaysia	Rahsia Besar	Rahsia	Sulit	Terhad
Mexico	Ultra Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Restringido
Montenegro	Strogo Tajno	Tajno	Povjerljivo	Interno
Netherlands	Zeer Geheim	Geheim	Vertrouwelijk	Departementaal Vertrouwelijk
New Zealand	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Restricted
Nicaragua	Alto Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Norway	STRENGT HEMMELIG	HEMMELIG	KONFIDENSIELT	BEGRENSET
Pakistan (Urdu)	Intahai Khufia	Khufia	Sigh-e-Raz	Barai Mahdud Taqsim
	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Restricted
Paraguay	Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Peru	Estrictamente Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Philippines	Top Secret/Lubos Lihim	Secret/Lihim	Confidential/Kompidensyal	Restricted/Ipinagbabawal
Poland	Ściśle tajne	Tajne	Poufne	Zastrzeżone
Portugal	Muito Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Romania	Strict Secret de Importanţă Deosebită	Strict Secret	Secret	Secret de serviciu
Russia	Особой важности (вариант: Совершенно Секретно (''Sovershenno Sekretno''))	Совершенно секретно (вариант: Секретно (''Sekretno''))	Секретно (вариант: Не подлежит оглашению (Конфиденциально) (''Ne podlezhit oglasheniyu (Konfidentsial'no))''	Для Служебного Пользования (ДСП)(''Dlya Sluzhebnogo Pol'zovaniya'')
Saudi Arabia	Saudi Top Secret	Saudi Very Secret	Saudi Secret	Saudi Restricted
Serbia	Latin: Državna tajna Cyrillic: Државна тајна	Latin: Strogo poverljivo Cyrillic: Строго поверљиво	Latin: Poverljivo Cyrillic: Поверљивo	Latin: Interno Cyrillic: Интерно
Singapore	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Restricted
Slovak Republic	Prísne tajné	Tajné	Dôverné	Vyhradené
Slovenija	Strogo tajno	Tajno	Zaupno	Interno
Spain	Secreto	Reservado	Confidencial	Difusión Limitada
Sweden	Kvalificerat Hemlig (KH); Hemlig/Top Secret (H/TS)	Hemlig (H); Hemlig/Secret H/S)	Hemlig/Confidential (H/C)	Hemlig/Restricted (H/R)
Switzerland		Geheim / Secret	Vertraulich / Confidentiel	Dienstlich / Interne au service
Thailand	Lap thi sut (ลับที่สุด)	Lap mak (ลับมาก)	Lap (ลับ)
Turkey	Çok Gizli	Gizli	Özel	Hizmete Özel
South Africa (English)	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Restricted
South Africa (Afrikaans)	Uiters Geheim	Geheim	Vertroulik	Beperk
Ukraine	Особливої важливості	Цілком таємно	Таємно	Для службового користування
United Kingdom	TOP SECRET	SECRET	CONFIDENTIAL	RESTRICTED
United States	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	For Official Use Only
Uruguay	Ultra Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Vietnam	Tuyệt Mật	Tối Mật	Mật	Phổ Biến Hạn Chế
NATO	Cosmic Top Secret	NATO Secret	NATO Confidential	NATO Restricted
European Union (EU)	TRES SECRET UE / EU TOP SECRET	SECRET UE / EU SECRET	CONFIDENTIEL UE / EU CONFIDENTIAL	RESTREINT UE / EU RESTRICTED
Western European Union (WEU)	FOCAL TOP SECRET	WEU SECRET	WEU CONFIDENTIAL	WEU RESTRICTED
	EURA TOP SECRET	EURA SECRET	EURA CONFIDENTIAL	EURA RESTRICTED

''Original source: NISPOM Appendix B '' ¹ In addition, Finland uses label ''Salassa pidettävä'', "to be kept secret" for information that is not classified but must not be revealed on some other basis than national security. (E.g. privacy, trade secrets etc.)

Corporate classification

Private corporations often require written confidentiality agreements and conduct background checks on candidates for sensitive positions. In the U.S. the Employee Polygraph Protection Act prohibits private employers from requiring lie detector tests, but there are a few exceptions. Policies dictating methods for marking and safeguarding company-sensitive information (e.g. "IBM Confidential") are common and some companies have more than one level. Such information is protected under trade secret laws. New product development teams are often sequestered and forbidden to share information about their efforts with un-cleared fellow employees, the original Apple Macintosh project being a famous example. Other activities, such as mergers and financial report preparation generally involve similar restrictions. However, corporate security generally lacks the elaborate hierarchical clearance and sensitivity structures and the harsh criminal sanctions that give government classification systems their particular tone.

Traffic Light Protocol

The Traffic Light Protocol was developed by the G8 countries to enable the sharing of sensitive information between government agencies and corporations. This protocol has now been accepted as a model for trusted information exchange by over 30 other countries. The protocol provides for four "information sharing levels" for the handling of sensitive information.

See also

Espionage Act of 1917

Economic Espionage Act of 1996

Espionage

Freedom of information legislation

Illegal number

Official Secrets Act (UK, India, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand)

Security of Information Act (Canada)

State Secrets Privilege (US)

Wassenaar Arrangement

Wikileaks

References

External links

US "NISPOM" manual, explaining rules on classified information among other things - full title is "National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual".

Marking Classified National Security Information ISOO booklet PDF

Defence Vetting Agency. Carries out national security checks in the UK.

Los Alamos table of equivalent US and UK classifications

The Black Vault - a database of more than a half million declassified pages on many different topics, all acquired through the FOIA

The National Security Archive - a collection of declassified documents acquired through the FOIA

Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth & K. Lee Lerner, eds. ''Terrorism: essential primary sources.'' Thomson Gale, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4144-0621-3 Library of Congress. Jefferson or Adams Bldg General or Area Studies Reading Rms LC Control Number: 2005024002.

Peter Galison, Removing Knowledge in ''Critical Inquiry'' n°31 (Autumn 2004)

Parlament of Serbia, Law on confidentiality of data. Parlament of Montenegro, Law on confidentiality of data.

Category:Information sensitivity

az:Dövlət sirri ca:Informació classificada de:Geheimhaltungsstufe et:Riigisaladus es:Información clasificada fa:اطلاعات طبقه‌بندی شده fr:Information classifiée hr:Klasificirani podaci it:Segreto di Stato‎ he:מידע מסווג nl:Geclassificeerde informatie no:Gradert materiale pl:Informacja niejawna pt:Informação confidencial ru:Государственная тайна simple:Classified information fi:Salainen informaatio uk:Класифікована інформація (держави НАТО)

name	The Pierces
background	group_or_band
origin	Birmingham, Alabama
genre	AlternativeFolk rockPop rock
years active	2000–Present
label	Lizard King Records
website	Official website
major members	Allison PierceCatherine Pierce }}

The Pierces are a New York-based band. The principal members are sisters Catherine Pierce (33) and Allison Pierce (35).

Biography

Childhood

The Pierce sisters were born two years apart in Birmingham, Alabama. They traveled frequently and received home-schooling from their self-described hippie parents. Their father played the guitar in various bands, while their mother was a painter. Exposed to music and arts at an early age, the Pierce sisters grew up listening to Joni Mitchell and Simon & Garfunkel. As kids, they were encouraged to explore their creative side and would perform at parties, weddings and churches. Allison started dancing at age three, and both sisters are accomplished ballerinas.

Musical career

It was while they attended Auburn University, that a friend sent a tape to a record company in Nashville. This eventually resulted in their debut album ''The Pierces'' (2000). It featured folk harmonies and adult alternative songs. In a 2004 interview, Allison Pierce commented that the album "sort of got lost in the shuffle". Allmusic attributes the poor reception to "no label support".

On August 10, 2005, their second album ''Light of the Moon'' was released through Universal. The album was produced by Brian Sperber and featured 11 tracks that the girls either wrote or co-wrote.

On March 20, 2007, their third album ''Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge'' was released in the U.S. Produced by Roger Greenawalt (Nils Lofgren, Radish, Ben Kweller), the album has been well-reviewed, particularly for the single "Boring", which parodies celebrity socialites. The album has a darker, edgier style, at times using such diverse instruments as an accordion, a calliope, bassoons, a sitar, violins, an autoharp, and a Hawaiian lap steel. It marks a definitive change in the direction of the band, which hitherto had been known as a folk rock band.

In an interview with ''Rolling Stone'', after they were featured as a Rolling Stone Breaking Artist, they revealed that this album "felt like [their] last chance". As a result, they "just went for it, had fun".

On December 5, 2007, The Pierces appeared on the CW television series ''Gossip Girl'', playing their songs "Secret" and "Three Wishes".

On August 21, 2008, "Secret" by The Pierces appeared in a promo for Showtime show ''Dexter''. In May 2009, Dutch TV channel NET 5 used "Secret" in a promo for their fantasy shows ''Charmed'' and ''Ghost Whisperer''. It also appears as the theme song for the ABC Family's original TV series, based upon the series of books by Sara Shepard, ''Pretty Little Liars''. Secret was also played over the closing credits in the movie "ExTerminators."

The duo appeared in The All-American Rejects' latest album, ''When The World Comes Down'', in the track, "Another Heart Calls". They performed the song live with The All-American Rejects in July 2009 at The List in Dallas, Texas.

On October 23, 2010, the group appeared on ''Later... with Jools Holland''. In December 2010, the sisters and their band toured with Lissie as her support act. They also performed live on ITV1 show ''Lorraine'' in March 2011 whilst promoting their new single "Glorious".

On May 30, 2011, their fourth and latest album ''You & I'' was released featuring their new singles "You'll Be Mine", "Glorious" and "It Will Not Be Forgotten" produced by darktones and released by Polydor Records. However, The Pierces have only got a label currently in the UK and are therefore focusing on widening their popularity there, later working on their homeland the US.

The Pierces played at the Glastonbury Festival in 2011.

Members

Allison Pierce: Vocals and acoustic guitar

Catherine Pierce: Vocals

Discography

Studio albums

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album details ! scope="col" colspan="2"| Chart positions |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|US Heat ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|UK |- ! scope="row" | ''The Pierces'' |

Released: October 24, 2000

Label: Sony Music Entertainment

Genre: Folk rock, Pop

| — || — |- ! scope="row" | ''Light of the Moon'' |

Released: January 25, 2005

Label: Umvd Labels

Genre: Folk rock, Pop

| — || — |- ! scope="row" | ''Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge'' |

Released: March 20, 2007

Label: Lizard King Records

Genre: Folk rock, Pop

| 25 || — |- ! scope="row" | ''You & I'' |

Released: May 23, 2011

Label: Polydor Records

Genre: Folk rock, Pop

| — || 4 |}

Extended Plays

''Love You More EP'' (Released: October 25, 2010)

''You'll Be Mine EP'' (Released March 7, 2011)

''iTunes Festival London 2011'' (Released July 20, 2011)

Singles

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Single ! scope="col" colspan="1"| Peak chart position ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|UK |- |rowspan="2"|2011 ! scope="row"| "You'll Be Mine" | 46 |rowspan="2"| ''You & I'' |- ! scope="row"| "Glorious" | 102 |}

Music Videos

"A Way to Us"

"Boring"

"Sticks and Stones"

"Secret (Slideshow)"

"Turn On Billie"

"Secret"

"Love You More"

"You'll Be Mine"

"We Are Stars"

"Glorious"

"It Will Not Be Forgotten"

References

External links

Official site

MySpace URL

Rolling Stone feature article

Category:Musical groups from New York Category:Sibling duos Category:Musical duos Category:Family musical groups Category:Sibling musical duos Category:People from Birmingham, Alabama Category:Musical groups from Alabama

fr:The Pierces it:The Pierces ru:The Pierces tr:The Pierces

name	Darren Hayes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Darren Stanley Hayes
born	May 08, 1972Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
instrument	Vocals
genre	Pop, pop rock, electronica
occupation	Singer-songwriter
years active	1993–present
label	RoadshowColumbia (1996–2005)Powdered Sugar (2006–2011)Mercury Records (2011–present)
associated acts	Savage Garden
website	}}

Darren Stanley Hayes (born 8 May 1972) is a UK-based Australian singer-songwriter. Hayes was the front man and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden, whose 1997 album ''Savage Garden'' peaked at No. 1 in Australia, No. 2 in United Kingdom and No. 3 in United States. It spawned the singles "I Want You", "To the Moon and Back", and Australian and US No. 1 "Truly Madly Deeply". The duo followed the success of their debut album with ''Affirmation'' (1999), which provided additional hits such as US No. 1 "I Knew I Loved You", and Australian No. 3 "The Animal Song". Savage Garden sold more than 23 million albums worldwide before parting ways in 2001.

Hayes released his first solo album ''Spin'' in 2002. The album sold two million copies worldwide, debuted at No. 2 in the UK and No. 3 in Australia. It delivered the hit single "Insatiable". Hayes' second solo album ''The Tension and the Spark'' marked a change of direction for the singer-songwriter, showing experimentation with electronica and darker lyrics. ''NME'' wrote about its first single, "Pop!ular" saying it was "A twistered masterclass in career reintervention...This guy is a genius." While ''The Observer'' said "This album is no folly and succeeds, often to the point of all out triumph, on its own terms." Hayes parted way with his record label Columbia Records in 2006 and started his own independent record label Powdered Sugar, from which he would release his third solo album ''This Delicate Thing We've Made'' (2007).

In mid-2010, Hayes announced the completion of recording his fourth solo album, ''Secret Codes and Battleships'', which is being mixed by Robert Orton, who is best known for working with Lady Gaga. On 17 April 2011, Hayes signed with Mercury Records' Australian division. He is set to release his new album with the label in October 2011. The first single "Talk Talk Talk" has already become a radio staple upon its release in June 2011.

Including his work with Savage Garden, Hayes has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.

Early life

Hayes was born on 8 May 1972 in Brisbane, Australia. He is the youngest of three children. He started performing for his mother in his lounge room from an early age. At Mabel Park High School, Hayes appeared in the school musicals Man of Steel (playing Jimmy Olsen) in 1988 and Bye Bye Birdie (playing Albert) in 1989. He also sang at school concerts before graduating in 1989.

Hayes declined an opportunity to attend a performance academy in favour of studying at the University of Queensland. He ended up deferring a degree to pursue a musical career.

Music career

1993–2001: Savage Garden

In 1993, Hayes answered an advertisement in a magazine placed by Daniel Jones for a lead singer for a band called Red Edge. Hayes was successful despite his voice breaking in the audition. The covers band broke up in 1994 and Hayes formed a partnership with Jones, which was initially going to be called Crush. However, there was another band in the UK which had the rights to the name so the pair called themselves ''Savage Garden'', after a phrase used by Anne Rice to describe the world through the eyes of the main character in her novel ''The Vampire Lestat''. The Savage Garden is a vision of earth in which the natural laws of the world govern over anything aesthetic or civil.

Savage Garden started recording their debut album in 1995 with producer Charles Fisher. Their first single "I Want You" released in 1996 was the best selling single by an Australian artist that year. The second single "To the Moon and Back" topped the Australian charts at the end of 1996. The third single "Truly Madly Deeply" was their second number one and was the best-selling Australian single of 1997. Their debut album, ''Savage Garden'', was the best-selling album in Australia during 1997 and the duo won ten ARIA awards.

Hayes moved to New York City to promote Savage Garden internationally while Daniel Jones stayed in Brisbane. The move proved to be successful with "Truly Madly Deeply" going to the top of the American charts in 1998. The ''Savage Garden'' album sold seven million copies in the US on the back of this success.

In New York City, Hayes wrote ''Affirmation''. He had recently divorced his wife of several years. Parts of the album reflected the pain from the end of the relationship. ''Affirmation'' was released in 1999 and proved to be another hit with lead single "I Knew I Loved You" going to number one in the United States and the album selling six million copies by the end of 2000. The pair played the title track of the album at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Hayes moved to Sausalito, California in 2000. He became the public face of the duo doing most of the media. Hayes announced that Savage Garden had broken up in October 2001 during an ''off the record'' chat with an Australian journalist. When confronted with this information during the early morning hours, before an unrelated interview, Jones denied the break-up of the band. However, it appears that Jones did not believe the reporter was accurately quoting Hayes and denied what he thought was yet another breakup rumour. Still, the fact that Jones took a back seat in all promotional activities for ''Affirmation'' seems indicative that Jones was not content to remain within Savage Garden as it had operated in the past. ''Savage Garden'' had sold over 23 million albums by that stage.

In 2005, manager of Savage Garden, John Woodruff confirmed that Jones had announced his intention of leaving Savage Garden prior to the promotion for ''Affirmation''. Woodruff criticised the media for their treatment of Hayes. The duo have never issued a united statement regarding the situation, yet Hayes has guaranteed that the group will "never by any chance" reunite.

2002–present: Solo career

2002: ''Spin''

Hayes recorded his first solo album, ''Spin'', which was released in 2002. The album was produced by Walter Afanasieff, the producer of ''Affirmation''. ''Spin'' carried on in the same musical vein as Savage Garden, with a less soft rock sound and more edgy R&B vibe, although the first single "Insatiable" was a ballad, reaching Number 3 in Australia. Other singles "Strange Relationship", "Crush (1980 Me)" and "I Miss You" also performed well in charts. The album reached the Top 5 in Australia at Number 3, and in the UK at Number 2. It also reached the top ten in Denmark, Sweden and Finland. In the United States, the album failed to make the same impact of Savage Garden's previous releases, reaching Number 35 on ''Billboard''. It was later re-issued with a bonus disc consisting of some live and studio tracks.

2003–2004: ''The Tension and the Spark''

Hayes spent two years working on his second solo album, ''The Tension and the Spark''. Other than the track "I Forgive You", which was produced with Madonna collaborator Marius De Vries, the entire album was produced by Hayes and Robert Conley (with whom he had previously toured and recorded "Crush (1980 Me)" for ''Spin'' and "Do You Believe" for Specificus). The album marked a bold change of direction from Hayes. Conley's production was almost entirely electronic, with acoustic instruments buried under walls of sequenced sounds. Although artistically this was a huge step forward and earned Hayes the strongest praise of his career, it seemed to alienate a large portion of his audience who were expecting another album of radio friendly pop songs. The first single "Pop!ular" was released on 12 July 2004. This single reached Number One on the US Dance Charts, and fared well in the UK. Hayes' follow-up single, "Darkness", charted in the lower regions of the ARIA top 50 charts.

One of his out-takes from the ''Spin'' sessions, "When You Say You Love Me", was an Australian top 20 single in April 2004 for Human Nature off their ''Walk The Tightrope'' album, and was then re-recorded in 2008 featuring Hayes himself. It was also covered by American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken for his ''Measure of a Man'' album.

2005–2006: ''Truly Madly Completely'' and parting ways with Columbia

In 2005, Hayes recorded a track he wrote with Robert Conley called "So Beautiful", which is included on the Savage Garden greatest hits compilation ''Truly Madly Completely: The Best of Savage Garden''. The compilation also includes a second track by Hayes called "California". Both of these tracks harken back to Hayes' early sound, although still retaining some of the electronic flourishes from ''The Tension and the Spark''.

On 9 July 2006, Hayes announced that he had parted ways with Columbia Records after ten years and 24 million album sales together.

The tour following this release saw Hayes play the iconic Sydney Opera House, certainly a highlight of his career to date. The performance was recorded and released on a DVD entitled ''"A Big Night in with Darren Hayes"''.

2007–2008: ''This Delicate Thing We've Made''

Hayes finished recording his third solo album ''This Delicate Thing We've Made'' in 2007. The album is a double-disc, with 25 tracks. A lot of the tracks were co-written with Robert Conley, and a great deal of the album was written with and produced by Justin Shave, who played keyboards for part of Hayes' ''Time Machine'' tour. The album was released on 20 August 2007 on Hayes' own independent record label, Powdered Sugar, while the first single "On the Verge of Something Wonderful" was released in Australia on 28 July 2007 and in the UK and on-line on 6 August 2007.

On 9 April 2007, Hayes released the album track "Who Would Have Thought?" from ''This Delicate Thing We've Made'' as a teaser track on his official website, as well as his MySpace profile. This was accompanied by an animation for the song created by his partner, animator and director, Richard Cullen. Around April 2007, remixes of the album track "Step into the Light" were being played in clubs around the world. The album version of "Step into the Light" was released as a teaser on Hayes' official website and MySpace on 30 April 2007.

During the first half of 2007, Hayes performed selected songs from the album in small exclusive gigs around the world. Tickets for several of these much sought after shows sold out in under ten minutes. In June 2007, Hayes embarked on a small tour of USA and Canada, stopping in New York, Toronto, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, along with the band Temposhark. The shows were well received with very positive reviews.

On 30 June 2007, Hayes headlined the London Gay Pride at Trafalgar Square. He performed "I Want You" and "On the Verge of Something Wonderful" as well as a medley that included "Pop!ular".

In July 2007, Hayes announced The Time Machine Tour that would start out in the UK, and then move on to Hayes' home country Australia.

On 29 July 2007, "On the Verge of Something Wonderful" was the most selected music video on The Box in the UK.

On 20 August 2007, ''This Delicate Thing We've Made'' was released in the UK, America and Australia.

Hayes finished touring this release with 'The Time Machine Tour' in the UK and Australia, where he played venues such as The Royal Albert Hall and the State Theatre in Sydney. His stage was again designed by Willie Williams and included a large bridge that could extend over the first few rows of seats. On the final night at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Hayes' hometown of Brisbane the performance was recorded in HD for a DVD release. The Time Machine Tour DVD came out in two editions; the special edition which was limited to 2000 copies and contained a four panel, fold out, gleaming white box, a 32 page color booklet with 300 photos and notes from the artist, and the regular edition. The special edition DVD, which was only available from Hayes' website, was shipped to purchasers on 1 July, and the regular edition which was available in shops was released on 22 July.

Hayes did a mini tour in the US in November and December 2007, making appearances at Borders stores and performing two shows in New York City and Philadelphia.

On 18 December 2007, Hayes announced "The Side Two Tour". The show toured the UK in February 2008 and featured Hayes performing songs from ''This Delicate Thing We've Made'' that were not featured on "The Time Machine Tour", in a more intimate setting.

2009–present: ''We Are Smug'', Signing to Mercury Records and ''Secret Codes and Battleships''

On 19 April 2009, Hayes teased via Twitter that he was preparing another album. On 8 May, Hayes announced, via his MySpace page, that he and Robert Conley had produced an album together titled ''We Are Smug''. The ten-track album, with a fair amount of experimentation with both lyrics and music, was made available via a link from his MySpace page, and was made free to download to gauge acceptability of Hayes' shifting musical styles. The album is heavily electronic with some heavy beats. It also contains some explicit content. Both Hayes and Conley share vocal duties on this album.

Hayes signed to Sony ATV Music Publishing for a worldwide deal in August 2009. Emma Banks from CAA UK came on board October 2009 to represent Hayes for his touring plans around the new album.

Although the album was completed before the holidays in 2009, Hayes announced in early 2010 that he had more song ideas and he was going back into the studio, which delayed the album another year. Hayes completely finished his fourth solo album in mid-2010, working with top writer/producers from around the world and having the record mixed by Robert Orton (Lady Gaga).

Darren also recorded a song for the Finn tribute album "He Will Have His Way", a cover of "Not Even Close". It was released on Halloween 2010.

On 17 April 2011, Darren announced that he had signed a record deal with Mercury Records/Universal Music Australia. Darren will release his fourth studio album on the label mid-2011. The first single titled "Talk Talk Talk" was announced in May and was released on 24 June. The single will contain a cover version of Madonna's "Angel" as the B-side.

It was announced on 20 June via Hayes' Facebook page that his new album would be titled ''Secret Codes and Battleships''. Hayes also confirmed the release month for the new album would be October, following the release of a second single in September. Five track names have been mentioned in interviews with Hayes; "Don't Give Up", "Blood-Stained Heart", "Cruel Cruel World", "God Walking Into the Room" and "Black Out The Sun".

He announced on Twitter on 22 July that he was shooting a second music video. On 14 August, Hayes revealed in a radio interview that "Black Out The Sun" will be the second single from ''Secret Codes and Battleships''. He later confirmed on Twitter that this song will be the single for the UK and other international markets, while "Blood-Stained Heart" would be the second single in Australia. He will shoot a video for the track in early September.

Personal life

Hayes married a childhood sweetheart, makeup artist Colby Taylor, in 1994. They were still married when Savage Garden "skyrocketed to fame around the globe in the late 1990s." They separated in 1998 and were divorced in 2000. Much of the lyrics for the band’s second album, ''Affirmation'', dealt with his divorce. He recorded ''Affirmation'' in San Francisco mid-1999 and eventually bought a house there. He also maintains a base in London since 2004.

Hayes was upset when Simon Amstell, an openly gay U.K. comedian asked Hayes about his sexuality before he had actually been out. He was outraged by Amstell's lack of respect for his privacy but later said that event made him realize that he needed to be honest. Hayes started coming out as gay to friends and the head of his label, Sony in the early 2000s. He married (via a civil partnership) his boyfriend of two years, Richard Cullen, on 19 June 2006 in London. Though public speculation about his sexual orientation had been present throughout his career, he is famous for keeping his personal life private. He announced the event the day prior on his official website. Before the announcement Cullen's name had appeared on the website as the designer of the cover for Hayes' single "So Beautiful". Hayes and Cullen live in London.

Hayes is a well-known ''Star Wars'' buff and has been since childhood. He also collects ''Star Wars'' memorabilia and he even auditioned for a role in ''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith''.

Discography

Studio albums

2002: ''Spin''

2004: ''The Tension and the Spark''

2007: ''This Delicate Thing We've Made''

2011: ''Secret Codes and Battleships''

References

External links

Darren Hayes Official Website

Darren Hayes Official Facebook

We Are Smug

Darren Hayes Official Twitter

Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:Australian male singers Category:Australian singer-songwriters Category:LGBT musicians from Australia Category:People from Brisbane Category:Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom

az:Darren Heyz ca:Darren Hayes da:Darren Hayes de:Darren Hayes es:Darren Hayes fr:Darren Hayes gl:Darren Hayes id:Darren Hayes it:Darren Hayes he:דארן הייז kk:Даррен Хейз nl:Darren Hayes ja:ダレン・ヘイズ no:Darren Hayes uz:Darren Hayes pl:Darren Hayes pt:Darren Hayes ru:Хейз, Даррен fi:Darren Hayes sv:Darren Hayes th:แดเรน เฮย์ส tr:Darren Hayes

Name	Ingrid Michaelson
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Ingrid Ellen Egbert Michaelson
Born	December 08, 1979
Origin	Staten Island, New York, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, ukulele
Genre	Indie pop, indie folk
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician
Years active	2002–present
Label	Cabin 24 Records
Website	TwitterYouTube
Domestic partner(s)	Greg Laswell (2009 - present)
Past members	}}

Ingrid Ewe Ellen Egbert Michaelson (born December 8, 1979) is a New York-based indie-pop singer-songwriter, known for her single "The Way I Am". Her music has been featured in episodes of several popular television shows, including ''Scrubs'', ''Bones'', ''Grey's Anatomy'' ''The Big C'' and ''One Tree Hill'', as well as in Old Navy's Fall 2007 Fair Isle and Opel's/Vauxhall's Meriva 2010 advertising campaign.

Biography

Michaelson was born to artistic parents. Her father is a composer and her mother is a sculptor. Michaelson took up piano at age four, and trained until seven at Manhattan's Third Street Music School, continuing for many more years at the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island's Dorothy Delson Kuhn Music Institute. While there she met vocal coach Elizabeth McCullough, who worked with her through high school. She is a graduate of Staten Island Technical High School and Binghamton University, where she received a degree in theater. While at Binghamton University she was a member of the Binghamtonics, a co-ed acappella group, as well as the Pappy Parker Players, an improv comedy group, and the theatre repertory company under Sue Peters. Her time at Binghamton is mentioned in the song "The Hat". She grew up doing a musical theater group called "Kids On Stage". Later in life, she became a director until she decided to pursue her career in music.

Toward the end of 2008, she opened for Jason Mraz on his Europe tour, touring in the UK, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and France among others. In the second half of 2009, Ingrid began her "Everybody" tour of the United States and Europe which continued in 2010.

Television appearances

A number of Michaelson's songs have been used in the TV series ''Grey's Anatomy''. "The Way I Am" was featured in "Six Days (Part 2)" (January 11, 2007), garnering attention from viewers. "Breakable" was featured in "Staring at the Sun" (16 November 2006). "Corner of Your Heart" was featured in "Testing 1-2-3" (13 September 2007)."Keep Breathing" was featured on the May 17, 2007 season 3 finale, "Didn't We Almost Have It All". "Giving Up" was featured in the 22 May 2008 season 4 finale, "Freedom". "Turn to Stone", a new B-side single from her upcoming album, ''Everybody'', was featured in the 7 May 2009 season 5 episode, "What a Difference a Day Makes". "All Love" was featured in the second hour of the Season 5 finale. "The Chain" was featured in the 1 October 2009 season 6 episode "I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watchin' Me". On January 21, 2010, "Everybody" was played on Season 6."Everybody" also appeared on "Brothers & Sisters" Season 4 Episode 14.

Four of her songs have also appeared in ''One Tree Hill''. "Masochist" was featured in Season 4, Episode 13: "Pictures of You"; "Overboard", was used in Season 4, Episode 14: "Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers"; "The Way I Am" was used in Season 4, Episode 19: "Ashes of Dreams You Let Die"; and "Can't Help Falling In Love" was used in Season 6, Episode 23: "Forever And Almost Always". Other appearances include "The Way I Am" and "Breakable" in ''The Real World: Denver'', as well as "The Way I Am", "Die Alone" and "Far Away (Untitled)" in ''The Bad Girls Club''. "Breakable" was also featured in Season 2, Episode 3: "The List is Life" of ''Kyle XY''. Old Navy featured "The Way I Am" in their fall/winter advertisement. "Are We There Yet" was featured on the ABC family show "Make it or Break it"

On Valentine's Day 2008, Michaelson was the musical guest on ''Good Morning America'', and the following day she appeared on ''Live with Regis and Kelly''. She has also appeared on VH1, ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'', ''The AT&T Blue Room'', ''Live From The Artists Den'', NPR's ''Bryant Park Project'', ''The Rachael Ray Show'' and ''Last Call with Carson Daly'', where she performed with Joshua Radin.

Her song "Be OK" appears in ''The House Bunny'', episode 15 of the second season of NBC's 2010 series ''Parenthood'', a Traveler's Insurance commercial, a Mott's Apple Juice commercial featuring actress Marcia Cross., and a Ritz Crackers commercial in 2011. It was also used in a season 4 episode of ''Ugly Betty''.

Michaelson recorded a duet with Sara Bareilles called "Winter Song", which featured on the ''The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs''. An animated music video was released to accompany the song. They performed the song on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' on December 9, 2008. This was also featured in ''Grey's Anatomy''s fifth season. "Winter Song" was also featured on the eighth episode of season 4 of ''Brothers & Sisters'', the seventeenth episode of ''Scrubs'' season eight, and on the fifth episode of the third season of ''Army Wives''. Michaelson and Bareilles performed the song at the 2010 National Christmas Tree Lighting.

Her song "Starting Now" appeared in ''Pretty Little Liars'' on July 20, 2010 in the seventh episode of season 1, "The Homecoming Hangover".

Her song "You and I", from the 2008 album ''Be OK'', plays over the credits of the 2010 romantic comedy ''My Girlfriend's Boyfriend'', starring Alyssa Milano, Christopher Gorham, Michael Landes, Tom Lenk and Beau Bridges.

Part of her song "Everybody" was featured in 2010's Ramona and Beezus.

Additionally, her song "The Chain" was featured in the CW show Hellcats, season 1, episode 12 "Papa, Oh Papa" on January, 24, 2011.

Her song "Maybe" was featured on the ABC medical drama "Body of Proof" in the episode "Society Hill", the sixth episode of the first season. It was also used on the USA network show, In Plain Sight, in the episode, "I'm a Liver, Not a Fighter," in Season 4.

Her song, Sort Of, was used on the advert for the internet browser Google Chrome. The advert premièred during the champions league final in May 2011. Her song "Turn to Stone" was featured on The Vampire Diaries in the episode "As I Lay Dying", the season 2 finale on May 12, 2011. On June 15, 2011 "Turn to Stone" was used for a contemporary dance routine on So You Think You Can Dance.

Her song "Keep Breathing" was featured on The Big C in Series one, Episode 2 towards the end of the episode

Collaborations

In 2006, Ingrid teamed up with William Fitzsimmons on his album ''Goodnight'', which was released that same year.

Ingrid and her friend Sara Bareilles co-wrote "Winter Song" which was featured on ''The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs'', a compilation of both original recordings as well as classic holiday tracks sung by a lineup of female singer-songwriters. Ingrid also worked with Bareilles, performing "Winter Song" for the President Obama and his family as well as many spectators at the National Christmas Tree Lighting in December 2010.

Ingrid provided back-up vocals on two songs from PlayRadioPlay!'s album ''Texas'', including "I'm a Pirate, You're a Princess" and the title track, "Texas".

Ingrid provided back-up vocals on Greg Laswell's album, ''Take A Bow'', which was released on May 4, 2010. Collaboration was done on the songs "Take Everything," "My Fight (For You)," and "Come Clean."

Ingrid's band includes Allie Moss and Bess Rogers on guitar, who are singer/songwriters in their own right. Allie Moss released a 2009 EP entitled ''Passerby''. A single from the EP, "Corner", has been picked up by BT for their BT Infinity television commercials in the UK. Other band members include Chris Kuffner (guitar), husband of Bess Rogers, Saul Simon-MacWilliams (keys) and Elliot Jacobson (drums).

In 2010, Ingrid co-wrote a song entitled "Parachute" with Marshall Altman which was covered by singer Cheryl Cole on her debut solo album ''3 Words''; it hit number 1 in the UK. Ingrid initially felt the track was "so poppy" that she could not release it herself. However, after the song was reworked by "Everybody" producer Dan Romer to make a more "interesting, funky production", Ingrid released the song as a personal single. To date, the song has received two separate music videos.

Of the release of "Parachute" and upcoming material, Ingrid explained in a 2010 interview with Billboard.com, "I just felt like I wanted to put something out. I'm not ready to put a full album out, so we thought we'd put this out and see how people take it or don't take it," saying that she expects to release her next album, "probably in the middle of next year."

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"
''Slow the Rain''		* Release date: January 10, 2005	* Label: self-released	Compact disc>CD, music download	—	—	—	—	—
! scope="row"		* Release date: May 16, 2007	* Label: Cabin 24 Records	* Formats: CD, music download	63	17	1	6	100
! scope="row"		* Release date: October 14, 2008	* Label: Cabin 24 Records	* Formats: CD, music download	35	13	—	2	—
! scope="row"		* Release date: August 25, 2009	* Label: Cabin 24 Records	* Formats: CD, music download	18	7	—	—	—

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions								Album
		! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"
2007	! scope="row"	37	20	15	—	36	51	69	—		US">Music recording sales certification	Album
! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"
2007	! scope="row"	37	20	15	—	36	51	69	—		US: Platinum
2008	! scope="row"	91	—	—	—	45	—	64	174
2009	! scope="row"	—	27	14	38	—	—	97	—
2010	"Everybody"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

References

External links

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:Binghamton University alumni Category:People from New York City Category:People from Staten Island Category:Musicians from New York City Category:American singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American pianists Category:American sopranos Category:American guitarists Category:Ukulele players Category:American folk musicians

de:Ingrid Michaelson es:Ingrid Michaelson fr:Ingrid Michaelson it:Ingrid Michaelson nl:Ingrid Michaelson pl:Ingrid Michaelson pt:Ingrid Michaelson ro:Ingrid Michaelson ru:Майклсон, Ингрид uk:Інгрід Майкельсон