24-Carrot Gold Trivia Quiz

Answer: Thank-U

To "dangle a carrot in front of someone" is an idiom that is generally taken to mean to tempt someone with something unrealistic or unattainable.

The lyrics to 'Thank-U' include verses that ask a series of reflective questions (such as the bit where carrots make an appearance) and a chorus that offers thanks to various different situations or places. This includes the country of India, which Morissette had visited in the year prior to the song's release. It was included on her fourth studio album 'Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie' that achieved gold or platinum certification in over 25 countries worldwide.

The incorrect options are all songs from Alanis Morissette's 1995 album 'Jagged Little Pill' - the one that brought her to international attention.

Answer: Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars (real name Peter Gene Hernandez), a singer from Honolulu, Hawaii, was signed by Atlantic Records in 2009 and released his multi-platinum debut album, 'Doo-Wops & Hooligans' in 2010. The album included 'Runaway Baby' (which was later released as a promotional single) alongside his first two number one singles on the Billboard 100 (as well as several other charts worldwide) 'Just the Way You Are' and 'Grenade'.

At Super Bowl XLVIII, Mars performed five songs (and a drum solo), including one with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a final performance dedicated to the US Armed Forces. At the time it broke the record for the number of viewers of the half-time show - 115.3 million - although this was broken straight away the next year by Katy Perry. (For the record the Super Bowl XLVIII was won by the Seattle Seahawks who defeated the Denver Broncos 43-8.)

The incorrect options were all headline acts at various Super Bowl half-time shows (Beyoncé at XLVII, The Black Eyed Peas at XLV and Bruce Springsteen at XLIII).

Answer: Stereophonics

Stereophonics were formed in Wales in 1992 and the original line-up consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Kelly Jones, bass guitarist Richard Jones (no relation) and drummer Stuart Cable. Although Kelly Jones was also the band's main songwriter, both 'Carrot Cake and Wine' and 'A Thousand Trees' are credited to all three band-members.

'Carrot Cake and Wine' also appeared on the band's 2006 album 'Live from Dakota', which featured recordings taken during their world tour in 2005. The compilation gained gold certification in the UK for selling over 100,000 copies.

The incorrect options are all English bands active in the 1990s. 

Answer: Cheeseburger

These carroty lyrics are from 'Cheeseburger in Paradise', a song that is basically about a sailor's craving for fast food after living on somewhat healthier rations while at sea. It is one of Jimmy Buffett's more famous songs (it reached number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978) and as such was included on his first greatest hits album, 'Songs You Know by Heart'. That compilation, first released in 1985, has since received multi-platinum certification.

The title was also used for the name of a US chain of themed restaurants based around the premise of the song - getting to eat burgers on a paradise islands. Buffett formerly held a financial interest in the company.

The incorrect options are all popular fast foods, but don't feature in the lyrics of this particular song.

Answer: Oklahoma!

'Oklahoma!' tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain falling in love with ranch-owner and farm girl Laurey Williams. It is based on the play 'Green Grow the Lilacs' by Lynn Riggs and originally opened on Broadway in 1943. It was the first collaboration between the composer Richard Rogers and the lyricist Oscar Hammerstein and was turned into an Academy Award-winning film, starring Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, in 1955. The film's soundtrack album achieved gold certification in 1958 and has since gone on to achieve multi-platinum status.

The musical is set in 1906 in the then Oklahoma Territory. The title song 'Oklahoma', which appears in Act II, describes the landscape and agricultural strengths of the area and acknowledges Oklahoma's impending future statehood - Oklahoma became the 46th US state in 1907 and picked 'Oklahoma' as its state song in 1953.

The incorrect options are all other musicals created by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Answer: Will Smith

Will Smith initially performed under the name The Fresh Prince, as part of DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince alongside friend Jeffrey Townes. He first came to prominence when NBC created the popular sitcom 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' for him. His first solo album 'Big Willie Style' was released in 1997 to coincide with Smith's starring role in the film 'Men in Black', for which he also recorded the theme tune. The inclusion of the song 'Men in Black' probably helped the album along to a top ten position on the Billboard 200 chart and international multi-platinum certification.

Smith's acting career has been equally successful, with two Best Actor Academy Award nominations for playing Muhammad Ali in 'Ali' in 2001 and Chris Gardner in 'The Pursuit of Happyness' in 2006.

The incorrect options are all other rappers who have appeared in Hollywood movies - for example Eminem was in '8 Mile'; 50 Cent appeared in 'Righteous Kill' alongside Robert De Niro and Al Pacino; and Snoop Dogg was Huggy Bear in the 2004 remake of 'Starsky & Hutch'.

Answer: The White Stripes

The White Stripes consists of former husband and wife Jack and Meg White, from Detroit, Michigan. For 'Well It's True That We Love One Another' they teamed up with British singer-songwriter Holly Golightly and all three sang various lines of the song and had their names featured in the lyrics. The song, written and composed by Jack White, appeared on The White Stripes 2003 album 'Elephant', but was not released as a single. The album was highly successful, reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart for two weeks in April 2003, and gaining platinum certification in several countries worldwide.

Just in case you were wondering, Holly Golightly is pretty much the singer's real name (she was born Holly Golightly Smith), which is more than can be said for the heroine of Truman Capote's 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' - as the character's real name was Lulamae Barnes.

The incorrect options are all other musical duos.

Answer: Cheerful

'Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3' was a top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart in August 1979 (fittingly peaking at number three). The list of 'cheerful' things was an eclectic mix - including Russia's Bolshoi Ballet, not getting electrocuted, the Marx brothers and yellow socks in addition to the drink made out of pulped root vegetables and an unlikely facial expression for a bird of the Psittacidae family. We're also forever left wondering what could possibly have been included on parts one and two, as Ian Dury and The Blockheads never recorded those songs before Dury's death from cancer in 2000.

The song's title was also used for the name of a greatest hits album released in 1999 - 'Reasons to Be Cheerful (The Very Best of Ian Dury & The Blockheads) - that achieved gold certification.

Answer: Paul Weller

The Style Council were formed in Woking, England in 1983 by Paul Weller (who had previously been a member of The Jam) and Mick Talbot (formerly of Dexys Midnight Runners, amongst other bands). Between 1983 and their split in 1989 they made it into the top ten of the UK singles charts with seven of their songs, including 'Walls Come Tumbling Down!' which peaked at number six in May 1985. Although the single didn't make it to number one, the 1985 album it was included on, 'Our Favourite Shop', did manage to grab that coveted spot on the UK album chart and also achieved gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

After his stints in both The Jam and The Style Council, Paul Weller released his first solo album (imaginatively titled 'Paul Weller') in 1992 and has gone on to record many more that have made it to number one in the UK. However, he has not had the same level of success internationally.

The incorrect options are all other former band members who have gone on to have successful solo careers. Phil Collins was with Genesis, George Michael was a member of Wham! and Robbie Williams was in boyband Take That. 

Answer: White Christmas

'White Christmas' was written by Irving Berlin for the film 'Holiday Inn' and first performed by Bing Crosby on Christmas Day, 1941. It is one of the most successful songs of all time, selling in excess of 100 million copies worldwide. Unsurprisingly, it has also been covered by an astonishingly long list of singers including (to name a very few) Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Marley and The Wailers and Sheryl Crow. Lady Gaga added her name in 2011 when she included the track on her EP 'A Very Gaga Holiday', which included songs she had performed on her one-off TV show 'A Very Gaga Thanksgiving'.

It didn't achieve anywhere near the level of success of the original or even other cover versions - suggesting that the original wasn't ever in need of a new verse about snowmen and carrots.