Who the Heck is "Shorty"? Trivia Quiz

Answer: In Da Club

With my first clue, I was on my way! Numerous lists on the internet provide the birthdays of famous people from past and present, and this meant that I could massively narrow down my candidates.

"In Da Club" was the first major success for 50 Cent and was released on December 24th 2002. In 2003, the song reached the number one position on the charts of several countries, including Australia, Germany, Canada and the U.S. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson was, from here, in the public eye as much for his controversial actions and feuds as for his music. If you would like to learn more about feuds in the rap industry, feel free to take my quiz, "Shots Fired and CDs Burned - Rap Feuds".

Answer: Iyaz

A singer? That meant that my first thought of King John of England (whose birthday is also December 24th) was ruled out as a suspect.

As mentioned in the question, Shorty is a "he". I arrived at this conclusion with the help of Urban Dictionary, which stated that "Shorty" was a term originally used for a male. Now, however, the name is often applied to an attractive female, especially when used by male rap artists.

Iyaz was said to have been "discovered" by Sean Kingston, who is himself fairly new to the music industry. The two artists were brought together through MySpace, which many music acts use as a place of self-promotion. Iyaz, whose real name is Keidran Jones, is a Virgin Islander and his second release - "Solo" - was filmed in his beautiful home country.

Answer: Blackstreet

At first, this clue muddied the water slightly, as I was unsure what significance "bang-bang" had. Was it in reference to a gun? A drum?

Blackstreet is a hip-hop group which was founded in 1991 in New York City. "No Diggity" was one of their biggest successes, even appearing on the list of "Rolling Stone and MTV: 100 Greatest Pop Songs". With this song, they received help from the giant of rap music that is Dr. Dre. Real name Andre Romelle Young, Dre has been active in the music industry since 1983 and has been involved in the careers of many successful artists, most notably Eminem.

Answer: Kanye West

I became quite impressed that Shorty had had successful songs of his own. I mean, he must be really famous to be mentioned as much as he is in the songs of other artists of recent years.

Although active since 1996, Kanye West shot to fame with his debut album, "The College Dropout", in 2004. This was followed by "Late Registration" in 2005 and "Graduation" in 2007. Kanye's reputation is well known, and he has worked with many other artists such as Rihanna, Jay-Z and John Legend. However, this reputation is not limited to his music and is not entirely positive, as he gained much criticism in 2009 after hijacking the MTV VMAs and claiming that Taylor Swift did not deserve her award for best female video that year.

Answer: Keri Hilson

Much like the meaning of the term "Shorty" has evolved - from male to female - the spelling has been altered to accommodate the slang speech of many of the artists which use it. In this case the "Shorty" becomes "Shawty".

Plies has used this term in several of his songs, and even had a track named "Shawty" which was released in 2007. His other tracks include "Hypnotized", "Put It on Ya" and "Becky".

Keri Hilson has had success on both sides of the Atlantic with songs such as "The Way I Are" (ft. Timbaland) and "Knock You Down" (ft. Ne-Yo and Kanye West).

Answer: The-Dream

My search now became slightly clearer. Now knowing Shorty's birthday and his occupation, I now also knew that he was seen by many as aesthetically pleasing.

The-Dream is a successful singer, but is primarily known as a song-writer. In recent years he has had a hand in writing tracks such as Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body", Jesse McCartney's "Leavin'" and the huge "Umbrella" by Rihanna. The-Dream has also been involved in the production of singles by Justin Bieber, Beyonce and Jamie Foxx.

"Shorty Is A 10" is the alternate name for the track which originally had a title I can't use on Funtrivia.

Answer: Year 3000

A singer and a dancer? Hmmm. Perhaps the way Shorty dances enhances his attraction to both men and women?

Akon can first be seen as achieving international success after the 2005 release, "Lonely". This was taken from his debut album "Trouble". The U.S rapper of Senegalese origin went from strength to strength over the next few years, with songs such as "Smack That", "Don't Matter" and "Right Now (Na Na Na)". Akon is also credited with helping Lada Gaga achieve the success she enjoys today, having appeared on her debut single, "Just Dance".

Answer: Flo Rida

"Low" was the debut single for American rapper, Flo Rida, and it proved to have terrific staying power, remaining at the top spot in U.S charts for ten weeks. Flo Rida also had later success with tracks such as "Sugar" and "Elevator". He also worked with UK X-Factor winner, Alexandra Burke.

Answer: Caught Up

"Caught Up" was actually released by Usher who has set himself up as the mentor of Justin Bieber. Bieber is one of the "YouTube generation" - artists who have gained record deals after being "discovered" on the popular video sharing site.

Bieber seems to have become the Marmite of the pop world, with people who are familiar with his music either loving or hating him. The criticism seems to be that a 15 year old (as he was at the time of his first few tracks) singing love songs is rather preposterous. Nevertheless, the dedicated support from young female fans has allowed Justin to shoot to the top of the charts.

Answer: Ricky Martin

Congratulations if you were able to put the clues together!

Q.1 provided Ricky's birthday, which, granted, only the most dedicated of fans would have known.
Q.2 gave away Ricky's profession - a singer.
Q.3 was slightly more cryptic, as "bang-bang" alluded to one of Ricky's best known singles - "She Bangs".
Q.4 likewise referred to another Ricky Martin hit - "Livin' La Vida Loca".
Q.5 referred to Ricky's appearance in TV show, "General Hospital".
Q.6 hinted at Ricky's status as a sex symbol.
Q.7 highlighted Ricky's characteristic Latin dance moves, which made an appearance in videos such as "Shake Your Bon Bon" and "Livin' La Vida Loca".
Q.8 openly refers to Ricky's hiatus during the second half of the noughties.
Q.9 is centred on the constant speculation and eventual declaration (in 2010) of Ricky Martin's homosexuality. Ricky's "coming out of the closet" received much attention as it was suggested that he only kept it from fans as music bosses told Ricky that being openly gay would harm his record sales.