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Top Pop Artists on Rhapsody Online

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 Lady Gaga
Raised on a musical diet of Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, Lady Gaga brings a sense of theatrical fashion and attitude to her dance-inspired, electro-rock performances. Named after Queen's "Radio Gaga," the pop fashionista took the fast lane to success, starting at age four when she learned to play piano by ear. At 14, she began performing at open-mic nights in and around New York City's Lower East Side. After graduating from Convent of the Sacred Heart school (the elite private institution Paris Hilton attended), Gaga earned a coveted spot at the famed Tisch School of the Arts. Soon after, she started writing songs for the Pussycat Dolls, and at age 20, she was signed to Interscope Records. In 2009, she became one of pop culture's most ubiquitous figures, with the songs "Just Dance" and "Pokerface" dominating the pop charts and her public antics (Kermit dresses! A possible penis?) dominating discussions from TMZ to the blogosphere. Though Gaga's 2009 tour with Kanye West was cancelled, the fact that she was the one to call it off only confirmed her status as one of pop's reigning divas. - Jamie Sanchez

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:52 Drake (1)
A biracial, half-Canadian, half-American heartthrob offspring of a multigenerationally musical family who first shot to fame in the early '00s playing an injured high school basketballer on TV's Degrassi: The Next Generation, the rapper born Aubrey Drake Graham is an unlikely candidate to serve as hip-hop's latest great hope. But that's what he's been shaking out as, ever since his self-released 2007 mix tape, Comeback Season, brought him to the attention of Lil Wayne, the first of several superstars he has managed to collaborate with before even releasing a debut album. The list now includes Kanye West, Mary J. Blige and others, and it shows no signs of letting up, especially given Drake's starring role in two of 2009's more inescapable summer hip-hop singles: his own "Best I Ever Had" and Young Money Entertainment's "Every Girl." As with the early Kanye, Drake's persona bridges the gap between street smarts and backpacker emo; it's clear, too, that he can sing as nimbly as he raps. Talk about a future multithreat; he doesn't even need to cross over to acting, because he's already been there. All this from a guy whose debut album, Thank Me Later, isn't due until late 2009. - Chuck Eddy

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:17 Glee Cast
Have you ever been listening to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" and thought, "You know what would sound really freaking awesome? This song, performed in multi-part choreography by a high school glee club"? Well, friend, 2009 was your lucky year, then. Fox premiered Glee, its musical-comedy about a high school glee club full of underdogs and misfits with fabulous voices and their plucky Spanish teacher leader (played by musical theater actor Matthew Morrison). Then, the network quickly began an unconventional marketing campaign: they started releasing the cast's "Glee-ful" pop covers as singles -- and it worked. One after another, the slick, show choir versions of "Don't Stop Believin,'" Kanye West's "Gold Digger," Rihanna's "Take a Bow," Heart's "Alone" and Queen's "Somebody to Love" made their way onto the pop charts. While the camptastic aesthetic is certainly part of the appeal, most of the credit goes to the talented cast, which includes musical theater vet Lea Michele as an uber-ambitious social pariah/would-be star with killer pipes, Cory Monteith as the sweet but clueless popular jock/Journey fan and the inimitable Jane Lynch as a Machiavellian cheerleading coach. - Rachel Devitt

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 Usher
By the time he entered puberty, Usher had a record deal and a gold album. By the time he graduated high school, he was one of the most visible artists in R&B. Between 1994 and 2004, he released six albums, appeared in several films and earned multiple platinum records. However, 2004 was the year he reached the upper echelons of superstardom, thanks to the chart-topping, Lil Jon-produced "Yeah!" His subsequent album, Confessions, netted him three Grammys and sold 11 million copies. In the four years that followed Confessions' release, Usher found himself embroiled in a series of widely publicized controversies surrounding his mother, who was also his manager until Usher "resigned her." In 2008, he got back in the spotlight for musical reasons with the ubiquitous summer jam "Love in This Club" from Here I Stand. After that album, Usher again found his personal life making headlines thanks to his drama-ridden divorce from Tameka Foster. This time around, he channeled his struggles into his craft, namely the edgier, introspective 2010 album Raymond vs. Raymond. - Rachel Devitt

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:15 Black Eyed Peas
Hailing from Los Angeles, the Black Eyed Peas date back to the early 1990s, when group founders Will.I.Am and Apl de Ap parlayed their breakdancing skills into a band called Atban Klann. Eazy-E eventually signed them to Ruthless Records, although the label didn't really know how to market their non-violent sound, and their album was shelved. After Eazy passed away, they picked up a third member, Taboo, and began performing around L.A. as Black Eyed Peas. Known for their positive lyrics and lively show, complete with singers and dancers, they developed a strong buzz, which led to a deal with Interscope and their 1998 debut, Behind the Front. They returned with Bridging the Gap two years later, bulking up their sound through collaborations with Premier, Mos Def and De La Soul, among others. For their third LP, 2003's Elephunk, the group added Fergie to the mix and scored enormous hits with the singles "Let's Get It Started" (originally called "Let's Get Retarded") and "Where Is the Love?" which launched them into the stratosphere and paved the way for extensive touring, advertising work, and a Grammy Award. In 2005, they released their fourth album Monkey Business, which included the single "Don't Phunk With My Heart, plus collaborations with James Brown, Justin Timberlake, and Sting, among others. As with Outkast, BEP's creative production style and anti-gangsta/good times vibes have endeared them to listeners who generally shy away from rap music, while simultaneously lightening up the airwaves and moving millions of units. - Brolin Winning

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 Katy Perry
Katy Perry may or may not actually be gay, but she's certainly made her young career with coy, playful references to sexuality -- her own and her paramours'. The young Californian singer-songwriter first generated a heaping helping of online buzz in 2007 with "Ur So Gay," in which she accuses a disappointing boyfriend who "doesn't even like boys" of being, well, take a guess. Then, in 2008, she shot up the charts with the Sapphic sweet-talker "I Kissed a Girl." Kind of a surprising turn of events for the daughter of two pastors who wasn't allowed to listen to secular music as a kid and got her start in Christian music, releasing a 2001 album under then name Katy Hudson. Or maybe not -- if you believe the old saw about preacher's daughters and once you learn that Perry says her life changed when she discovered Queen as a teenager. By 2004, she'd worked with Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette) and the Matrix (Avril Lavigne), been signed to Columbia and been hailed by the likes of Blender as the Next Big Thing! But nothing really clicked until she released her debut, One of the Boys, on Capitol in 2008 and got her gay on. - Rachel Devitt

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 09:24 Miley Cyrus
Are you, do you have, or have you recently been around an eight-year-old girl? Then you know who Miley Cyrus is. In fact, we'd bet the young star of the Disney Channel's Hannah Montana has been an omnipresent part of your life since 2006, when her series about a regular girl who leads a secret double life as a pop star named Hannah Montana premiered, and Cyrus became tween America's biggest star. She has talent in spades: she sings, she dances, she wears couture. On top of all that, she's apparently the most well-adjusted celebrity in the world, thanks in part to her mom and her famous dad (one Mr. Billy Ray Cyrus of "Achy Breaky Heart" fame, who is also her Hannah Montana costar), who've helped her become an icon for how to do child stardom (and, for that matter, being a teenager) right simply by not spoiling their famous spawn rotten. So don't think Miley Cyrus is just going to be another young flame that burns out early. With several successful Hannah soundtracks, a tour opening for the Cheetah Girls and a Top 20 hit on the grownup pop charts (2007's "See You Again") under her belt at just 15, this girl's future looks bright. - Rachel Devitt

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 Justin Bieber
Tender-aged YouTube pop sensation Justin Bieber is an inspiration to 15-year-olds the world over as his first single, "One Time," has gotten his face all over MTV and his music on the airwaves of the U.S. and his native country of Canada. Bieber instigated a bidding war between Justin Timberlake and Usher when YouTube clips of him performing Ne-Yo, Stevie Wonder, Timberlake and Usher covers made the rounds in 2006; Bieber was just 12. He eventually signed with Usher's label, Island Records, and moved from Ontario to Atlanta, Ga., where Usher acts as a consultant on the teenager's music. His debut album, My World, is slated for release in November 2009.

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 Michael Jackson
It doesn't really matter if Michael Jackson bullied the world's media into calling him the King of Pop in the early 1990s or if they just started using that sobriquet on their own. Either way, he earned it. Whether singing "I Want You Back" as the 11-year-old frontman of the Jackson 5, breaking the MTV color line with the explosive "Billie Jean" or defending the world's downtrodden and misunderstood (himself, that is), Jackson set the standard for pop singing, songwriting, dancing and, let's face it, weirdness for the better part of a quarter century. He came of age in the Jackson 5, then moonwalked out of the family's clutches and into his own universe with three groundbreaking albums made with producer Quincy Jones. Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad blended soul, funk and rock influences into a taut dance-pop that transformed the sound of radio for the rest of the century. Singers and producers from Madonna to Timbaland are still trying to catch up. Prosecutors and paparazzi have been playing catch-up, too, with some of Jackson's questionable life choices, and since the late 1990s, he has seemingly spent more time in the tabloids than on the pop charts. On June 25th, 2009, Michael Jackson passed away at the age of 50. - Matty Karas

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 Ke$ha
Don't judge Ke$ha by her first single. Sure, the hip-pop hit "Tik Tok" positively wallows in the concept of guilty pleasure: Ke$ha extols the virtues of partying 'til the "po-po shut us down" and brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack and winds up sounding like something born of a one-night stand between Lady Gaga, Paris Hilton and the Black Eyed Peas. But the brash singer-songwriter is more than just a ton of fun or a one-trick party girl. Raised in Nashville by her semi-famous but often struggling songwriter mother, Kesha Rose Sebert grew up alternating between living on food stamps and hanging out in recording studios. She fell in love with country music and was determined from an early age to be a rock star. By her senior year of high school, she had been accepted to study psychology at Columbia, but instead dropped out to move to L.A. and pursue music. Her gamble paid off: By early 2009, she'd co-written a hit for the Veronicas, sung back up for Britney Spears and met famed producer Dr. Luke. Dr. Luke set up her breakthrough gig singing the hook on Flo Rida's hit "Right Round" and began working with Ke$ha on her debut, released by RCA in early 2010. - Rachel Devitt

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 09:24 Enrique Iglesias
As the son of Julio Iglesias -- perhaps the most famous singer in the Spanish-speaking world -- Enrique was born to stardom. He recorded his demo tape under a false name, not wanting to be seen as the son of Julio, but the relationship was ultimately a factor in the blockbuster success of his first record in 1995. Possessing a strong natural voice that is well suited to both romantic and dance material, he sings confidently in Spanish and English. His first monster hit, the power ballad "Experiencia Religiosa," topped the charts in every Spanish-speaking country. Teaming up with top writers and producers, he continued with eleven No. 1 hits in a row on the Billboard Latin charts. His song "Bailamos" began his crossover career, and soon after he was performing at the Superbowl. The ultimate marker of success is that three Spanish soap operas are named after his songs. Although his father is still revered, Enrique's popularity has now eclipsed his father's, as any Latina teenager can testify. - Robert Leaver

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 Rihanna
Talent and a dose of good luck got Barbados-born Rihanna signed to Def Jam when she was 16 years old. She was discovered by producer Evan Rogers during his island visit in 2003, and went on to impress Def Jam CEO Jay-Z so much that he grabbed her for a multi-album contract. The singer's first single, "Pon de Replay," was released in June 2005, with the full album Music of the Sun dropping a month later. But her big break came in 2006 with the release of the single "S.O.S." and the subsequent album A Girl Like Me. The single, which sampled Soft Cell's "Tainted Love," was one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially popular songs of that year. Though Rihanna had basically moved away from dancehall, she was moving toward a new aesthetic that married R&B, synth-pop and hip-hop. She continued in this direction with 2007's Good Girl Gone Bad, which featured the infectious singles "Umbrella" and "Shut Up and Drive." In early 2009, she was assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown en route to a pre-Grammys party; that November, she released Rated R, a highly personal album with an unmistakable darkness. - Sam Chennault

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:15 Beyonce
Beyonce Knowles, the leader of Destiny's Child, always knew she wanted to be a star. She formed the first incarnation of Destiny's Child in 1990 -- when she was 9 years old. By 2001, the group began to dissolve. Knowles nabbed a lead role in Mike Myers' Austin Powers: Goldmember; an appearance in MTV's Carmen: A Hip Hopera cemented her reputation as a formidable entertainer. Her solo debut, Dangerously in Love, came out in 2003. The first single, "Crazy in Love," was a duet with beau Jay-Z that zoomed to the top of the charts. B'Day, her stunning 2006 sophomore turn, featured hits like "Deja Vu" and "Ring the Alarm." Later that year, Beyonce starred as Deena Jones in the Oscar-winning movie musical Dreamgirls. In 2007, Beyonce made a Latin-crossover attempt, dueting with Shakira on "Beautiful Liar" and releasing a deluxe edition of B'Day, featuring "Amor Gitano" with Mexican crooner Alejandro Fernandez and a Spanish version of the anthem "Irreplaceable." For her third studio album, I Am ... Sasha Fierce, Beyonce split herself into two personae -- the tender, traditional Beyonce and the club diva Sasha Fierce. - Linda Ryan

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:51 Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys seemingly came out of nowhere in the summer of 2001, storming up the charts with her braids and heaping servings of soul. But Keys is no pre-fab diva; she's been studying music since age five and began writing songs at age 14. She wrote (or co-wrote) and produced most of the songs on her debut, Songs in a Minor, and subsequent singles have proven she's no one-hit wonder. She took home five Grammy Awards in 2002 (including Best New Artist and Song of the Year), and returned triumphantly with The Diary of Alicia Keys the following year, racking up more hit singles ("You Don't Know My Name," "If I Ain't Got You"), and winning four more Grammys. 2007's As I Am spawned the unstoppable "No One" and the Prince-infused "Like You'll Never See Me Again." One of the most talented and likeable R&B superstars in the game today, Keys shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 Pink
If cultivating an iconoclast status is a career, then Pink is one serious go-getter. Since her 2000 debut, the husky-voiced singer has overhauled her sound several times, changed her hair color even more, married motocross star Carey Hart and taken George Bush to task. Then there's "Stupid Girls," the 2006 single in which Pink skewered tabloid perennials like Jessica Simpson and Paris Hilton. Born Alecia Moore, she started dancing and singing backup at club nights in Philadelphia at age 13 and eventually went solo with Can't Take Me Home. Pink recruited Linda Perry to co-write her second album, 2001's M!ssundaztood, a collection of soulful pop-rock that spawned the hit "Get the Party Started." She then collaborated with Rancid's Tim Armstrong on 2003's Try This. The album didn't do well, and Pink took some time off to regroup and get married, getting back to the business of spitfire sass with 2006's I'm Not Dead. She has produced many of her own albums, built side careers in both songwriting and horror-film acting, and won a pair of Grammy Awards -- experiences that all informed the outspoken Funhouse in 2008. - Rachel Devitt

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:26 Paramore
Influenced by the sugar-coated emo and mainstream pop-punk of Jimmy Eat World and Avril Lavigne, the (mostly teenage) lineup of the Tennessee-based Paramore found success when their second album Riot! (Number 15, 2007) produced hits in the lurching "Crushcrushcrush" (Number Four Modern Rock; Number 54 Pop, 2007) and nimble "Misery Business" (Number Three Modern Rock; Number 26 Pop, 2007).

Paramore formed in Franklin, Tennessee, after guitarist Josh Farro and his brother Zac met Mississippi transplant Hayley Williams at the private school they all attended and broadened their new friend's musical horizons. Adding bassist Jeremy Davis and rhythm guitarist Jason Bynum, the band played its first gigs in early 2004. Within six months they were signed to Florida-based indie label Fueled by Ramen, home of Jimmy Eat World and Fall Out Boy.

Paramore's 2005 debut All We Know Is Falling reached Number 30 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart and created a buzz and critical kudos for Williams' strong vocals and songwriting. In late 2005, Bynum was replaced by guitarist Hunter Lamb, who left the group in early 2007 (they carried on as a four-piece). The band's highly anticipated 2007 follow-up Riot! received generally favorable reviews and shot to the Top 20 on the strength of its two biggest singles and videos. The band was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Though the group is Christian, they don't consider themselves to be a Christian-rock band and tend to keep their faith out of their songwriting and interviews.

As the band began to attract more and more media attention, speculation arose that they were suffering from a problem that plagued No Doubt in their early days, and Paramore began expressing displeasure with Williams being the focus of magazine articles. In early 2008, the band, which had experienced personnel shakeups from early on, pulled out of a U.K. and European tour supporting Riot! due to what it termed "internal issues." They went on to co-headline a set of arena dates with Jimmy Eat World and assured fans they were not breaking up in a series of interviews and candid blog posts. In summer 2008, the band embarked upon their fourth Warped Tour as well as a headlining trek of amphitheaters.

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 Jason DeRulo
Jason DeRulo earned his reputation as an in-demand songwriter, penning hits for the likes of Cassie, Lil Wayne and Betty Wright before pursuing his own performance career. Then again, this multitalented young artist has always been happy to wear a lot of hats. The Florida native attended a performing-arts high school in Fort Lauderdale and went on to find work as a dancer, choreographer, producer and actor -- and as a singer and songwriter. In 2009, he had his first hit as a singer with "Whatcha Say," a cheater's mea culpa that samples the dramatic Imogen Heap tune "Hide and Seek." His debut followed that same year. - Rachel Devitt

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 M.I.A.
When she was little, Maya Arulpragasam, aka M.I.A., probably had no idea she'd grow up to become an underground dancehall sensation. Her father was a resistance figure in the Sri Lankan independence struggle, and Arulpragasam's family was forced to leave Sri Lanka -- for their safety -- when she was nine years old. But after growing up in a London housing estate and studying film, Arulpragasam's life changed when she picked up a Roland MC-505 for the first time and started composing songs. Skillfully weaving street slang with geo-politics, nonsense rhymes with low-tech dancehall riddims, Arulpragasam's angular, low-tech sound has struck a chord. Her debut, Arular, was released in 2005. - Sarah Bardeen

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:15 OneRepublic
Although One Republic's chart-blazing Timbaland remix launched the band to MySpace stardom, lead singer and Tulsa, Oklahoma, native Ryan Tedder had been playing in the majors for years, first singing on demos while interning at DreamWorks SKG in Nashville. Tedder's big break came when he won a televised songwriting contest hosted by 'NSYNC singer Lance Bass, and subsequently cultivated a relationship with hot-handed producer Timbaland. Tedder wrote and produced hits for pop stars including Natasha Bedingfield, Ashley Tisdale and Hilary Duff through the early '00s, and eventually formed his own rock project, One Republic, with high school buddy Zach Filkins in 2003. Capitalizing fully on the potential of social networking sites and his deep connections in the music biz, the group dominated MySpace charts, appeared (remixed) on Timbaland's 2007 album Shock Value, got signed and dropped by Columbia, and became the first rock band to ink a deal with Timbaland's Interscope imprint, Mosley -- all before issuing a proper debut. That debut, Dreaming Out Loud, finally appeared in November of 2007. - Nate Cavalieri

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 09:24 Sting
In his post-Police years, Sting's songwriting ambitions have grown both artistically and commercially. He consistently delivers platinum-selling albums to his all-grown-up audience, always making sure to surround himself with exceptional musicians. Along with Peter Gabriel, he's made Adult Contemporary a slightly jazzier, more worldbeat-friendly spot on the radio dial. - Jessy Terry

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 Christina Aguilera
A former star of The New Mickey Mouse Club who hit it big with an innuendo-laden single, then traded in her implicitly not-so-good-girl image for an explicitly not-so-good-girl image. Where have we heard this one before? The child of an Ecuadorian-American father and a Caucasian mother, Christina Aguilera started her career as a professional performer at age ten with a 1990 appearance on Star Search. Her subsequent Mickey Mouse Club stint led to Disney using her "Reflection" on the 1998 Mulan soundtrack, and RCA released her self-titled debut in 1999. Dance-pop smashes like "Genie in a Bottle" and "What a Girl Wants" showcased her big voice, which, along with her Spanish-language version of the album (Mi Reflejo), set her apart from the late-'90s crowd of pop-star ingenues.

Yet Aguilera was still coming in second to Britney. Her appearance on the sexy 2001 remake of "Lady Marmalade" suggested a way into the spotlight. She radically altered her image for 2002's Stripped and became Xtina, widely mocked for her look even as her voice proved soulful and mature. But in 2006 she released the acclaimed Back to Basics, a tribute to the jazz and soul she says inspires her, and cemented her status as a grown-up diva. - Rachel Devitt

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 Shakira
Latin pop diva Shakira has achieved phenomenal success and become a genuine pop icon. Born to humble beginnings in Barranquilla on Colombia's Caribbean coast, she left for the capital city of Bogota as an aspiring model at age 13. Ironically it was her music that garnered attention. Singing and writing lyrics since she was 8, her first album for Sony was released when she was 14. Although sales were meager, the album helped launch her career as a soap opera actress. Then came Pies Descalzados (1995), an album which showcased her bold, flexible voice and yielded a string of huge hits. Her mixture of rock ballads and Dance Pop (with an occasional tropical touch) is filtered through her image as a talented, beautiful and headstrong young woman. Departing from the traditional image of Latin American women, Shakira's music and persona aroused controversy when her multiplatinum records put her in the spotlight. Following in the footsteps of Selena, she represents a bold new Latina who will be neither obsequious nor silent. As Shakira has matured, so has her music, as demonstrated in songs such as the Arabic-inflected "Ojos Asi" as well as in her live performances. - Robert Leaver

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:17 Madonna
One of the few megastars only needing a single name, Madonna's brand of dance pop began as the purest of bubblegum but has become increasingly sophisticated during the course of a career now in its third decade. Her influence has lessened a bit since the multimedia dynasty she lorded over in the 1980s and early '90s, partly because she's been busy raising children and partly because the focus of dance-oriented music has radically shifted in the years between Bedtime Stories (1994) and Confessions On A Dance Floor (2005). However her clubbing antennae remain finely tuned, and each subsequent release serves less as an indication of her musical development and more her ability to latch onto producer/writers of the moment. This, and her constant image-massaging to remain relevant to the dance community, allows a mother in her early forties to get away with acting like a club kitten without too much dissent, even less so with her triumphant 2005 return to form. A ruthless careerist and tougher than most of us, she does tend to show weakness with her lyrics, which at their best are simple ditties and at their worst just plain embarrassing. A catchy tune is usually there to save the day, however, and perhaps this is why she has failed to make it in the acting world -- she needs the music to shield her inability to deliver a really good line. And what music -- hit after hit, some still working a dancefloor just as effectively 20 years after initial release. Few other artists in the dance pop and electronica world show such staying power, and few receive such goodwill from their fan base, no matter which upheavals she drags them through as she hops and skips from fad to fad, laughing all the way to the bank. - Nicholas Baker

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:48 Mariah Carey
Say what you may about her fashion sense or "diva-tude," but there is no doubt that Mariah Carey defined 1990s urban pop music. Carey ruled the charts during the Clinton decade -- her 1990 self-titled debut album alone spawned four No. 1 hit singles, and she would have 11 more before the new millennium. Over the years, artists from Christina Aguilera to Ciara would name her as an influence. Her albums are always expertly crafted and performed, making her MTV Unplugged EP a surprisingly warm change of pace. Her dominance of the charts in the 1990s earned her the title of Billboard's Artist of the Decade. Despite heavily publicized personal trials in the early part of the new century, Carey returned to the forefront of modern music with The Emancipation of Mimi, which spawned her 16th and 17th No. 1 hits. In 2008, Mariah returned with the hit single "Touch My Body" and the subsequent album, E=MC2. The single pushed her past Elvis into second place (behind the Beatles) for the most No. 1 singles for an artist in the modern era. - Rachel Landy

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:34 Mike Posner

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 Britney Spears
Britney. Over the past decade the name has dominated pop charts and tabloids. Uttered with a mix of adoration and repulsion, the first name of Britney Spears exists as shorthand for the magnificent mess of contemporary pop culture. It's been quite a ride for the former Mouseketeer, who first appeared in pearly smile and short skirt on the cover of 1999's ...Baby One More Time, with a glut of sugary singles. By 2000's Oops! I Did It Again, she was a household name and a pop-music icon, and not yet 20 years old. Two more LPs -- Britney and In the Zone -- were increasingly inflected with RnB and hip-hop, though flagging chart performances and record sales soon made her as much media sensation as music maker. Fueled by a messy breakup with Justin Timberlake, two sensational marriages (one commenced in Vegas and ended only 55 hours later; the other was to former backup dancer Kevin Federline) and rumors of drug and alcohol abuse, Britney's public image was in nonstop tailspin through much of the mid '00s. By 2007, the 'tween audience that squealed about her debut was engorged by tales of panty-less partying, drug-treatment programs and a custody battle over her two children with Federline. - Nate Cavalieri

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 09:24 The Beach Boys
In the early 1960s, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson fused innovative chord arrangements with elastic-ranged vocal harmonies onto a foundation of Chuck Berry-inspired rock 'n' roll. The resulting music, set against a backdrop of surfing, girls, and cars, was unfortunately panned by the media as America's answer to Beatlemania. By the end of 1964, Wilson had retired from live performances to focus on composing and producing the band's recordings. Desperately trying to get the sounds from his head onto tape, the Beach Boys released the epic Pet Sounds in May of 1966. In the liner notes of this orchestrated pop masterpiece, Wilson admits that his aim was to write a "teenage symphony to God." Generally hailed as the greatest rock 'n' roll album ever, Pet Sounds struggled to attain the commercial success of the band's earlier suburban hymns. Although the Beach Boys (as well as Brian Wilson) went on to make many more successful albums, they never came close to approximating the innovative genius and transcendent, childlike innocence that was Pet Sounds. - Eric Shea

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:48 Jonas Brothers
Call them precocious, call them adorable, just don't call them the second coming of Hanson. Because this brother trio is here to rock. And they don't do three-part harmony. New Jersey brothers Kevin, Joseph and Nicholas Jonas were 17, 16 and 13, respectively, when they released their debut album in 2006. They got their start when littlest bro Nicholas, in possession of a soulful prepubescent voice, finagled a solo record deal with Daylight/Columbia. When Columbia got wind that there were two other Jonas brothers who were just as cute and musically inclined, Nick's solo act quickly became a trio, with Kevin on guitar and Joe and Nick switching off on vocals, keyboards and percussion. Their first album was a collection of hyper, hook-driven pop-punk that got the attention of tweens across America. And that got the attention of Disney, which stuck them on a bazillion soundtracks and then released their sophomore effort in 2007, all before Nick was a sophomore. OK, sorry about that one. And sorry about the Hanson crack, too -- the brothers Jonas don't mind, anyway. They're so cool, they even made a joke comparing themselves to Hanson on their second album. - Rachel Devitt

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:17 Kelly Clarkson
The first-ever American Idol, Kelly Clarkson won over America with her soulful voice, bubbly personality and "small-town girl makes it big" story. Before Idol, the native Texan had made a dismal run at Hollywood, and after she hightailed it back to Burleson, her friends convinced her to audition for the competition. The show launched Clarkson, and her debut album proved that America had voted correctly. "A Moment Like This" was a colossal hit, and the album went multiplatinum, winning Clarkson her first Grammy (for "Miss Independent"). On second album Breakaway, Clarkson distanced herself from Idol's ickier aspects (From Justin to Kelly, anyone?) and went off in a new direction: adult contemporary-approved rocker chick. She then released My December in 2007. Co-written by Clarkson, the album is a more honest reflection of the A.I. heroine. In fact, RCA tycoon Clive Davis deemed it too negative and offered her $10 million to scratch some of the songs. Clarkson refused the offer and held her ground. Her next album, 2009's All I Ever Wanted, lightened My December's darkness with the pop touch that made fans fall in love with her in the first place. - Rachel Devitt

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 Selena Gomez
Thus far in her young career, Selena Gomez has mostly been known as an actress and as half of a much-ballyhooed BFF-ship with fellow tween star Demi Lovato (plus the target of Miley Cyrus's ire in a battled waged in YouTube videos, possibly over Nick Jonas). Raised in Texas, Gomez, like Lovato, got her start on Barney and Friends before getting discovered by Disney and making the rounds on the Channel. After guest shots on several shows and TV movies (including Princess Protection Program with her BFF), she eventually got a starring gig on Wizards of Waverly Place. Like everyone in the Disney stable, however, Gomez is a double threat who also sings: She's recorded tracks for several of her acting projects and signed a deal with Disney's Hollywood Records in 2008. - Rachel Devitt

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:52 Prince
In this age of musical genre ghetto-ization, Prince stands alone. The Artist can get funky, he can rock up a storm, he can croon a soulful ballad, he can spin out webs of jazz piano, he can hip and he can hop. He can do it all, often brilliantly. Prince takes chances and often fails -- especially on the (hopefully abandoned) film front -- but every one of his albums is chock full of gems. Prince hasn't sustained the massive popularity he earned in the Purple Rain-crazed '80s, but that seems due more to bad publicity surrounding his tabloid lifestyle than his musical output. He can't hide the fact that he is an odd, fuzzy little man, but genius doesn't come in perfect packages. While legions of Prince's contemporaries crash and burn, he sits in his Minneapolis tower and continues to expand the boundaries of popular music. - Nick Dedina

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 David Guetta
You could be forgiven for thinking that David Guetta is famous simply for being famous: that's the message, however ironic, of "F*** Me I'm Famous," the name of both his long-running Ibiza residency and his first mix CD. But the French DJ and producer has earned his acclaim, repurposing soulful deep house with a shiny French touch and adding radio-ready vocals for a package that's pure pop panache.

Guetta's career as a producer began in 1992, when he released "Up and Away" with the Chicago vocalist Robert Owens, but it wasn't until seven years later that he returned with "Just a Little More Love," a catchy tribal-house cut. The following year, his debut album proved that its title cut was no fluke: full of hooks and vocals, the record augmented charging house beats with touches of gospel and electro and even a jubilant remix of David Bowie's "Heroes." In 2004 Guetta returned with Guetta Blaster, featuring club hits like Depeche Mode-flavored "The World Is Mine" and "Love Don't Let Me Go Walking Away," his smash collaboration with U.K. festival favorites the Egg; it also includes a rare downtempo remix from Paul Oakenfold. In 2009 he set his eyes firmly on the pop charts with One Love, featuring guest vocals from Ne-Yo, Kid Cudi and Will.I.Am.

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:48 Adam Lambert
American Idol fans may know him as the guy who (just barely) lost to Kris Allen in the talent contest's eighth season, but Adam Lambert already had a solid performing career behind him by the time he auditioned for Idol. And no one should be surprised to learn that the dramatic tenor's earlier career was almost entirely in musical theatre. A stage actor since childhood, Lambert starred alongside Val Kilmer in The Ten Commandments: The Musical and got an understudy gig in the Wicked touring company. At his coworkers' prompting, he auditioned for Idol in San Francisco and quickly began winning the judges' praise for his strong and often dramatic renditions of tunes like Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire." His defeat by the clean-cut Allen for the top slot was bitterly disappointing to some judges and fans, but not so surprising to others, who recognized that Adam "Glambert's" glammy, goth-esque and often flamboyant style is not exactly in line with today's pop charts. But his devoted fan base suggests that his 2009 debut album will be a huge success. - Rachel Devitt

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:46 Santana
Carlos Santana has been mixing blues, Afro-Cuban jazz, rock, fusion, and psychedelic guitar elements into his brand of Latin rock since the 1960s. Many of today's musicians hold Santana responsible for picking up where Ritchie Valens left off, bringing Latin sounds to the forefront of popular music. Shortly after Santana's start playing music halls of San Francisco in the liquid light-show heyday (mid-'60s), his eclectic band found itself at the first Woodstock festival, playing one of its most memorable performances. The band has undergone many lineup changes since, but Carlos Santana continues to radiate global soul, playing new material as well as the hits that brought him acclaim back in the day of the longhairs. - Eric Shea

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:30 Sara Bareilles
Sara Bareilles (pronounced bar-rell-is) is a singer and songwriter from Eureka, Calif., who grew up singing in the high school choir and playing piano. After gigging around Los Angeles' open mic circuit as a student at UCLA, she caught the eye of Epic and signed her first major record contract in April 2005. Bareilles spent the next year working out a set of piano-based rockers that might sound at home filed next to Regina Spektor. These would make their way to Bareilles' 2007 debut Little Voice, produced by Eric Rosse (best known for his long association with Tori Amos). The album enjoyed wide distribution, in part because it was as a song-of-the-day selection for Starbucks, a Seattle-based coffee franchise. - Nate Cavalieri

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:47 Uncle Kracker
Take Kid Rock's rhyming style, tone down the guitars, replace his wife-beater with a cowboy shirt, and you've got Uncle Kracker. Rhymes focus more on the "wandering everyman" vibe, with mildly distorted vocals, slide guitar breakdowns and sung choruses. Uncle Kracker's 2000 debut, Double Wide, was a radio hit, and his subsequent records have found the rapper exploring all kinds of music, from soul to country rock. - Brolin Winning

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:21 Justin Timberlake
From his adolescence on Disney's The Mickey Mouse Club through his coming of age in the hugely popular boy band *NSYNC, Justin Timberlake became one of the 1990s' biggest heartthrobs, and everything from his romance with Britney Spears to his love of fast cars turned into headline fodder. Unlike so many ex-boy band boys before (and after) him, *NSYNC's most popular member managed to parlay his teen-idol status into credible adult stardom. And how: Two phenomenally successful albums and four Grammys into his solo career, Justin Timberlake is arguably the world's most celebrated pop star; his frequent collaborations with super-producers like the Neptunes and Timbaland and his undeniable knack for white-hot blue-eyed soul-pop have earned the respect of the hip-hop community, while his dreamy looks and wounded-puppy falsetto still make the little girls ... and their sisters ... and their mothers swoon. Wardrobe malfunctions? Messy breakups? JT skates past them all, a designer fedora cocked to one side. Not too shabby for a former child star from Millington, Tennessee, who got his start singing country (and losing) on Star Search. - Rachel Devitt

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 17:03: Avril Lavigne
The logical next step after the late-'90s/early-'00s teen-pop explosion was a more rock-oriented but every bit as market-tested version of the same basic template. Enter Avril Ramona Lavigne, a saucy Canadian teen whose ability to smash punky angst into a poppy package brought her great success in 2002, when she released her debut on the strength of single "Complicated." Her first album, Let Go (Number Two, 2002), released when the Ontario singer was 17 years old, sold more than 6 million copies and earned the singer-songwriter eight Grammy nominations. Alongside "Complicated"(Number Two, 2002), the album included singles "Sk8r Boi"(Number 10, 2002) and "I'm With You"(Number Four, 2003), as well as the Number 64 "Losing Grip"(2003). Lavigne has affixed her on-cue snarl and Valley-girl-inspired vocal to pop culture's center ever since.

Lavigne was raised in Napanee, Ontario, and sang locally as a child and early teen while growing up in a Christian home. She signed with Arista Records at 16, leaving school and moving to New York to begin work on her debut. The hit-making songwriting/production trio the Matrix worked on "Complicated," which led Let Go to multiplatinum status, while the song's video helped turn the singer's tank-top-and-necktie look into a brief craze.

For her follow-up, Under My Skin (Number One, 2004), Lavigne worked with Evanescence member Ben Moody, Butch Walker, singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk and her own touring guitarist Evan Taubenfeld on the songwriting. (One song Lavigne co-wrote, but was later cut from the album was "Breakaway," which became the title track of Kelly Clarkson's multiplatinum album of the same name.) The hits weren't as big, but Lavigne still charted solidly with "Don't Tell Me" (Number 22, 2004), "Nobody's Home" (Number 41, 2004), and relationship rant "My Happy Ending" (Number Nine, 2005). Ironically, Lavigne, who's been known to clash with the paparazzi, did find a happy ending, marrying fellow Canuck rocker Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 in July 2006.

The following year's The Best Damn Thing (Number One, 2007) was a return to the peppier Let Go style after the more somber Skin, yielding the chanty hit "Girlfriend" (Number One, 2007), which stayed in the Top 10 for about half a year and prompted a lawsuit from James Gangwer and Tommy Dunbar of power poppers the Rubinoos, who heard a more-than-superficial resemblance to their own 1979 song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”; the suit was settled in January 2008. Other singles from the album — which featured production by Whibley, Walker, Levine, Rob Cavallo and Dr. Luke — included "Keep Holding On"(Number 17, 2007), "When You're Gone" (Number 24, 2007), and "Hot" (Number 95, 2007).

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:17 ABBA
More a phenomenon than a band, Abba's international stardom is untouchable. Their lush instrumentation and perfect vocal harmonies shine like disco lights reflecting off of lip gloss, patent leather pumps and sequins. Their ubiquitous, exuberant sound symbolized the glamour, hedonism and excesses of the 1970s. Their hits create moments of pure joy for losing yourself in the movement, sights and sounds of the crowded disco. But amidst the ecstasy came overwhelmingly sorrowful songs that brought you sympathy while you buried your lonely tears in a pillow. While their orchestrations are complex, their lyrics are written in the international pop language of English that "anyone" can sing, expressing sentiments everyone feels. - Marc Kate

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:17 Kylie Minogue
Armed with an appealing pop style that mesmerizes the masses release after release, Kylie Minogue is a dancefloor icon in the tradition of Madonna. This Australian-born actress turned pop performer has had a series of international hits since she first scored with an unforgettable 1987 cover of Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion." Currently sporting a slick, fresh take on disco trimmed with self-assured and seductively delivered lyrics, Minogue made a triumphant stateside comeback in 2002 with Fever. Songs like "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and "Love At First Site" sailed to the top of the charts, providing strong testimony to this kittenish pixie's staying power. In 2005, Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent the usual treatment of surgery and chemo, but that was punctuated by a few emotional stage performances amended to preserve the diminutive singer's strength. After a few years' hiatus, Minogue returned to recording in 2007. - Melissa Piazza

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:47 John Mellencamp
Long before Prince decided he had it with his regal name, Mellencamp was the original "artist formerly known as." He started his career with the record label-chosen moniker Johnny Cougar before his success allowed him to return to his family name. Early in his career he could have gone by Bruce or Bob, since his first recordings sounded more like Springsteen or Seger than something original. It wasn't until he produced a bushelful of radio hits before he started to mine a territory that was uniquely his own. Mixing '50s rock with more than hint of the blues, soul and R&B, Mellencamp's middle career records stand out not only for music maturity, but also because of his direct populist voice. Starting with 1983'sUh-huh, building with Scarecrow and then becoming fully realized with 1987's The Lonesome Jubilee, Mellencamp told stories of those on the fringes. While perhaps not as subtle as others, Mellencamp's message that all was not well in Regan's America powered him to the top of the charts and into political consciousness. In 1985, along with Willie Nelson and Neil Young, Mellencamp helped found the Farm Aid concert series that provides financial assistance to struggling farmers.

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:47 The Script
The Script are like one of them all-you-can-eat buffets popular in the Midwest: there's a little something here for everybody. The group's overall sound is a fusion of U2-inspired piano rock and Maroon 5's blue-eyed soul (just without Adam Levine's stubble). There also lurk shades of Sugar Ray, Fall Out Boy, the Fray, Timbaland and the Counting Crows. So yeah, what we have here is Ireland's answer to OneRepublic, more or less. Danny O'Donoghue and Mark Sheehan met in Dublin when they were just restless teenagers. Bonding over a love for American soul and R&B, they put together a short-lived boy-band project called mytown. O'Donoghue and Sheehan, meanwhile, grew into a talented songwriting and production duo, eventually relocating to America to work with hotshot producer Dallas Austin (Pink, Madonna, Gwen Stefani and others). The pair soon returned to Ireland, however, and hooked up with drummer Glen Power. A year after signing to the Phonogenic label, the trio scored its first hit, "We Cry." They followed with the even bigger "The Man Who Can't Be Moved." International success necessitated a move to London, which is the Script's current base of operations. - Justin Farrar

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:30 Adele
British soul-pop chanteuse Adele (nee Adele Laurie Blue Adkins) is a stunning young talent with a huge voice. After she recorded a few songs, a friend set up a MySpace page for her in early 2005; record execs discovered her there in their hunt for the "next Lily Allen." After signing to XL, she suffered from a terribly ill-timed case of writer's block -- that is until she fell in and out of love. A breakup opened the floodgates of emotion and creativity, resulting in her debut album 19. Inspired by great soul dames like Etta James and Billie Holiday and other singers such as Bjork, Jeff Buckley, Dusty Springfield and Jill Scott, Adele's sense of staggering, heartbreaking honesty and artistry are evidence of her superwoman resilience and everywoman experiences. - Angela Bruno

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:27 Sia
It was inevitable that Sia's unique vocal talent would find a significant audience outside her native Australia. In 2000 her debut album, Healing Is Difficult, was championed by critics -- the lead single, "Taken For Granted," even made the U.K. Top 10 -- but sales were relatively poor. The record did, however, bring Sia to the attention of London studio assistants Henry Bins and Sam Hardaker, who invited her to record vocals for two tracks on a CD they were making in their spare time. The resulting recordings -- "Destiny" and "In The Waiting Line," on Zero 7's world-conquering Simple Things (2001) -- are two of downtempo's high water marks. After touring with Zero 7 (a process she credits with broadening her musical horizons), Sia stepped back from the scene to regroup. Her back-to-basics LP, Colour the Small One (2006), features "Breathe Me," a song used to powerful effect in the closing scene of the finale of TV series Six Feet Under, as well as "The Bully," a song cowritten with Beck. Sia's next major release came in early 2008 with Some People Have Real Problems. - Neil West

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:17 Janet Jackson
As the baby of pop music's best-known family, Janet Jackson (b. Janet Damita Jo Jackson, May 16, 1966, Gary, Indiana) could have spent her career in the shadow of her eight siblings, particularly brother Michael. Instead, with the help of some savvy creative and professional advisers outside the family, Janet established herself as the preeminent pop-funk diva of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Her wispy voice was a pale echo of Michael's, but on Janet's albums — and in her videos and live performances, which revealed a crisp, athletic dance technique not unlike her brother's — singing wasn't the point. Her slamming beats, infectious hooks, and impeccable production values were perfectly suited to the breezy zeal with which she declared her social and sexual independence.

As a young child, Jackson was a tomboy who aspired to be a jockey. When she was seven, though, her father, Joseph, encouraged her to join her brothers — by then famous as the Jackson 5 — in their music and variety act. (Sister La Toya joined them for several shows in 1974; the following year, La Toya, eldest sister Rebbie, and brother Randy were all in on the act, while brother Jermaine bowed out.) Shows in Las Vegas resulted in a summer-replacement TV show in 1976 (on CBS), which led Janet to roles on the popular sitcoms Good Times and Diff'rent Strokes.

Next, Jackson secured a contract with A&M Records, and in 1982, while still managed and creatively guided by her father, she released a forgettable debut album, Janet Jackson. The album did yield a Number Six R&B single, "Young Love." Another TV role, on the series Fame, followed, as did another unremarkable album, 1984's Dream Street, and another R&B hit, "Don't Stand Another Chance" (Number Nine). Also in 1984, at the age of 18, Jackson defied her family by marrying singer James DeBarge, whose fledgling R&B sibling act DeBarge was being hyped as a successor to the Jacksons. The marriage was annulled after less than a year; but the seeds of Jackson's independence from the family dynasty, and her father in particular, were firmly planted.

Then John McClain, an A&M executive and family friend, suggested that Jackson work with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis of the Time. Collaborating with these musician/writer/producers, Jackson recorded her breakthrough album, 1986's Control, which topped the pop and R&B album charts and spawned numerous hits: "What Have You Done for Me Lately" (Number Four pop, Number One R&B), "Nasty" (Number Three pop, Number One R&B), "When I Think of You" (Number One pop, Number three R&B), and, in 1987, "Control" (Number Five pop, Number one R&B), "Let's Wait Awhile" (Number Two pop, Number 1 R&B), and "The Pleasure Principle" (Number 14 pop, Number One R&B). Helping fuel these singles were Jackson's highly energized, elaborately staged videos, most of which featured movie-musical-inspired choreography by Paula Abdul, who was discovered by Jackie Jackson, Abdul's boyfriend during her L.A. Lakers cheerleading days.

Having asserted her adulthood and self-reliance with Control, by 1987 Jackson had dismissed her father as manager (as other siblings had done before her) before recording Rhythm Nation 1814. Control's successor dealt with larger social issues, like the need for tolerance, and found Jam and Lewis assuming more of the songwriting duties. (Years later, Jackson would also credit her boyfriend, Rene Elizondo Jr., for contributing ideas to many of her songs beginning with this album; it was known that he helped choreograph, and eventually directed, some of her videos.) Rhythm Nation hit Number One in the pop and R&B categories in 1989, and generated the smash singles "Miss You Much" (Number One pop and R&B) and, in 1990, "Rhythm Nation" (Number Two pop, Number One R&B), "Escapade" (Number One pop, Number One R&B), "Alright" (Number Four pop, Number Two R&B), "Come Back to Me" (Number Two pop, Number Two R&B), "Black Cat" (Number One pop, Number Ten R&B), and "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" (Number One pop, Number Three R&B). To promote the album, Jackson embarked on her first major tour, which matched the energy and spectacle of her videos.

In 1991 Virgin Records owner Richard Branson lured Jackson away from A&M with a contract worth more than $30 million. Her last original hit with A&M was a 1992 duet with Luther Vandross, "The Best Things in Life Are Free" (Number Ten pop, Number One R&B), recorded for the soundtrack to the film Mo' Money. In 1993 Jackson made her own movie debut as the heroine (opposite rapper Tupac Shakur) of director/screenwriter John Singleton's Poetic Justice, for which she received lukewarm reviews but an Oscar nomination for the song "Again."

That same year, Jackson's Virgin album janet. shot to the top of the pop and R&B charts, as did the single "That's the Way Love Goes." More Top 10 singles followed, including "If" (Number Four pop, Number Three R&B, 1993) and "Again" (Number one pop, Number Seven R&B, 1994). Her new material was just as confrontational, and more aggressively sexual, than her previous work had been; ditto for the accompanying tour, which featured Jackson in midriff-baring costumes, interacting suggestively with male dancers — indeed, more reminiscent of Madonna than Michael. While Janet's once squeaky-clean image wasn't shattered by scandal as her brother's was, it was clear by the early 1990s that the littlest Jackson was nobody's baby, and very much her own woman.

Jackson's status as a hitmaker led her to help her brother Michael regain some credibility by collaborating with him on the duet and elaborate video for "Scream" (Number Five pop, Number Two R&B) in 1995. The same year, she also had a solo hit with "Runaway" (Number Three pop, Number six R&B). She'd continue to please her fans with her next album, The Velvet Rope (Number One pop, Number Two R&B), in 1997. At times still sensual in nature — including a cover of Rod Stewart's seduction song "Tonight's the Night," without a change in the gender of the woman being sung to — much of the album had a melancholy feel and self-doubting lyrics. While doing interviews to promote the album and its tour, Jackson admitted to dealing with depression and long-standing self-esteem issues while working on the album. It did produce its share of hits, including "Got 'Til It's Gone" (Number Three R&B, 1997), based around a sample of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" and featuring the rapper Q-Tip, "Together Again" (Number One pop, Number Eight R&B, 1997), and "I Get Lonely" (Number Three pop, Number 1 R&B, 1998), featuring the group BLACKstreet. In 1999 she enjoyed a hit with Busta Rhymes, "What's It Gonna Be?!," which hit the top of the R&B singles chart.

But Jackson's life wasn't everything it appeared to be. Fans were surprised when, in 2000, Jackson's longtime creative and romantic partner, Elizondo, filed for divorce from the singer after nine years of marriage. Although Elizondo was seen as a loving, stable presence in Jackson's life, it had not been public knowledge that the couple had ever married. Jackson explained that she'd wanted to protect the union from media scrutiny. Also in 2000 Jackson returned to acting, costarring with Eddie Murphy in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, which featured Jackson's "Doesn't Really Matter" (Number One, 2000). The following year she released the double-platinum All for You (Number 1, 2001), featuring the Grammy-winning Number One title track, as well as "Someone to Call My Lover" (Number Three, 2001), which included a loop of America's "Ventura Highway," and "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)," a Missy Elliott remix featuring the vocals of Carly Simon from her Seventies hit "You're So Vain."

On February 1, 2004, Jackson returned to the public eye with a halftime performance with Justin Timberlake at Super Bowl XXXVIII. The duet on his song "Rock Your Body" created huge controversy when the bustier Jackson was wearing tore open and exposed her right breast just as Timberlake sang the lyrics, "gonna have you naked by the end of this song." Jackson apologized for the incident, claiming it was a "wardrobe malfunction," and the three producers of the show — CBS, sister network MTV and the National Football League — all denied previous knowledge of the incident and abdicated responsibility for it. The display became the most-searched event in the history of the Internet, according to the Guinness World Records. And its ramifications were far-reaching. When Jackson declined to apologize to the network without claiming the incident was a wardrobe malfunction, she was denied a performance at the 2004 Grammy Awards. Record producer Jermaine Dupri, with whom Jackson had begun a relationship, resigned his position on the Grammy Awards committee. ABC stopped plans for Jackson to star in a made-for-television biopic on the life of Lena Horne when Horne expressed displeasure with the Super Bowl incident.

When Jackson's new album, Damita Jo (Number Two, 2004), arrived three months later, its highly sexual theme revealed what some interpreted to have been an elaborate marketing plan that began with the Super Bowl incident. In a soft-spoken remark at the end of the song "Sexhibition," Jackson says, "Relax, it's just sex." If it was a marketing ploy, though, it was a failure. Damita Jo produced no Top Forty pop singles — although "I Want You" reached Number 18 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart — and MTV aired none of its video. The album also met with vicious reviews, one critic calling it "the aural equivalent of hardcore pornography."

Two years later, Jackson rebounded slightly with one of the least sexual albums of her career, 20 Y.O. (Number One R&B/Hip-Hop, Number Two pop, 2006). One of its singles, "Call on Me," a duet with rapper Nelly, sold moderately, charting respectably at Number 25 pop and Number One R&B/Hip-Hop, but other singles were less successful. However, when she appeared on the cover of US Weekly that June, the issue was the magazine's biggest seller ever. In late 2007 Jackson appeared alongside Tyler Perry in the film Why Did I Get Married?, which opened at Number One at the box office, grossing $55 million. With her Virgin Records contract fulfilled, Jackson moved to Island Records for 2008's Discipline, which topped both the pop and R&B/Hip-Hop album charts and produced a hit in its first single, "Feedback" (Number 19 R&B/Hip-Hop).

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:47 Ciara
An R&B singer out of Atlanta, Ciara hit the scene in the summer of 2004, hooking up with Lil Jon and Petey Pablo for her debut single "Goodies." Set to a synth-powered beat very similar to the one in Pablo's hit "Freek-A-Leek," the song (which she described as "Crunk&B") raced up the charts, setting the stage for her debut album of the same name. Goodies, the LP, was released in the fall of 2004. In 2006, Ciara returned with The Evolution, a more grown-up effort that bangs from the moment you press play. The singer/songwriter/producer/performer once again skyrocketed to the top, with hits like the symphonic "Like a Boy," the sultry-sweet "Can't Leaven 'Em Alone" featuring 50 Cent, and the sexy Polow Da Don-produced hit "Promise." - Brolin Winning

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:52 Lionel Richie
Whether singing solo or with the Commodores, Lionel Richie has a warm and instantly recognizable voice that's known mostly for romantic ballads along the lines of "Truly," "Endless Love" and "Hello." His consecutive string of hits (nine years straight authoring at least one No. 1 single) remains a pop phenomenon challenged only by songwriter Irving Berlin and singer Mariah Carey. After releasing several hugely successful solo albums in the 1980s, Richie kept a low profile for most of the '90s before attempting a comeback of sorts with the '98 album Time, and again with Renaissance in '01, though neither album ignited much interest from the public. - Linda Ryan

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:47 Whitney Houston
As the daughter of renowned gospel and soul singer Cissy Houston, and the cousin of Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston was better connected than most young vocalists when she embarked on a recording career in the mid-1980s. But neither genes nor industry contacts can account for the level of superstardom to which Houston quickly ascended. Blessed with a sublimely creamy, agile voice and picture-perfect looks, she delivered the sort of buoyant dance tunes and smooth, hummable ballads that are equally at home on the pop, R&B, and Adult Contemporary charts. For years critics carped that her supple singing would be better served by more soulful, less commercially ingratiating material; when she finally did emerge with a more urban sound, the media homed in on her increasingly irresponsible personal behavior. But where America's record-buying public was concerned, Houston became a star of the highest order, one whose appeal crossed races, cultures, and generations.

As a child, Houston sang in her family's church choir. At 15 she began performing in her mother's nightclub act. While attending a Catholic high school, the lithe beauty signed with a modeling agency and posed for magazines including Glamour and Vogue. After graduating, she continued to model and sing, backing up Lou Rawls and Chaka Khan, then at 19 was spotted by Arista president Clive Davis &Number 8212; who had previously steered the careers of Warwick and Houston family friend Aretha Franklin &Number 8212; while giving a showcase in Manhattan. Davis signed Houston, and started choosing songs for her debut album, which featured duets with established stars Teddy Pendergrass (her first hit, "Hold Me") and Jermaine Jackson, and cost Arista an extraordinarily hefty sum of $250,000.

Released in 1985, Whitney Houston proved a worthwhile investment, shooting to Number One and generating the smash singles "You Give Good Love" (Number Three pop, Number One R&B, 1985), "Saving All My Love for You" (Number One pop, Number One R&B, 1985), "How Will I Know" (Number One pop, Number One R&B, 1985), and "Greatest Love of All" (Number One pop, Number Three R&B, 1986). Whitney solidified Houston's success, reaching Number One and spawning "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (Number One pop, Number Two R&B, 1987), "Didn't We Almost Have It All" (Number One pop, Number Two R&B, 1987), "So Emotional" (Number One pop, Number Five R&B, 1987), "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" (Number One pop, Number Two R&B, 1988), and "Love Will Save the Day" (Number Nine pop, Number Five R&B, 1988). Also in 1988, Houston recorded "One Moment in Time," NBC-TV's theme song for the Summer Olympics (Number Five pop). In 1989 she teamed up with Aretha Franklin on the Number Five R&B hit "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be."

In 1990 I'm Your Baby Tonight's title track topped the pop and R&B charts, as did "All the Man That I Need." There were more hits in 1991 — "Miracle" (Number Nine pop, Number Two R&B), "My Name Is Not Susan" (Number 20 pop, Number Eight R&B), and "I Belong to You" (Number 10 R&B) — but, peaking at Number Three, Baby proved disappointing after its predecessors. Houston bounced back in a big way, though, with the 1992 film The Bodyguard, in which she made her acting debut (as a singing star, opposite Kevin Costner), to mixed reviews and huge box office success. The movie's soundtrack — with six tracks sung by Houston — proved even more successful, hitting Number One and producing a monster single, Houston's cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" (1992), which remained at the top of the chart for an unprecedented 14 weeks, as well as a cover of Chaka Khan's 1978 hit "I'm Every Woman" (Number Four pop, Number Five R&B, 1993) and "I Have Nothing" (Number Four pop, Number Four R&B, 1993). In 1992 Houston married singer Bobby Brown; their first child, Bobbi Kristina, was born the next year.

Houston's next career move was to attempt to duplicate the success of the movie/soundtrack combination of The Bodyguard with 1995's black-female friendship film Waiting to Exhale, in which the singer costarred alongside Angela Bassett. The movie was popular with audiences, and resulted in a few more hit singles for Houston, most notably "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" (Number One pop and R&B) and a duet with CeCe Winans, "Count on Me" (Number Eight pop, Number Seven R&B, 1996). In 1996 Houston starred with Denzel Washington and Courtney B. Vance in The Preacher's Wife, a box-office disappointment whose soundtrack nevertheless gave her another charting ballad, "I Believe in You and Me" (Number Four pop, Number Four R&B).

She tried the small screen in 1997, producing and playing the Fairy Godmother to Brandy's Cinderella in a Wonderful World of Disney remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. In 1998 Houston released her first studio album since 1990, the uncharacteristic My Love Is Your Love (Number 13 pop, Number Seven R&B). Aside from a handful of ballads, including her Oscar-winning duet with fellow diva Mariah Carey, "When You Believe" (Number 15 pop, Number 33 R&B, 1998–99), from The Prince of Egypt, and the Diane Warren–penned torch song "I Learned From the Best" (Number 13 R&B, 1999), the album showcased a new, savvy street credibility that had previously come through only in Houston's later interviews and her private life with Brown. Hip-hop personalities and producers such as Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill, Rodney Jerkins, Missy Elliott, and Faith Evans collaborated with the vocalist on various tracks. The public still loved the new Whitney, giving her hits with the sultry "Heartbreak Hotel" (Number Two pop, Number One R&B), the kick-him-out anthem "It's Not Right But It's Okay" (Number Four pop, Number Seven R&B, 1999), and the reggae-inflected title track (Number Four pop, Number Two R&B, 1999).

While Houston was back in the spotlight, reports of her already notorious prima donna behavior became more prevalent in 1999 and 2000: She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots, and rehearsals; canceled concerts and talk-show appearances; and in what would be the start of a string of tabloid stories questioning her state of mind, dodged arrest for marijuana possession at a Hawaii airport in January 2000 (charges were later dismissed). In the months that followed that incident, Houston was a surprising no-show at her mentor Clive Davis' induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and was allegedly booted out of Academy Awards rehearsals for an all-star tribute to Burt Bacharach. Rumors about her tumultuous marriage to Brown resurfaced, particularly when he was briefly imprisoned in mid-2000 for a parole violation. Yet Houston attempted to have the last laugh with a powerful performance at an Arista Records anniversary party that also served as a tribute to Davis, plus the release of a two-disc greatest-hits collection that equally highlighted her ballads and dance-club remixes and featured four new songs, three of which were duets with Deborah Cox, Enrique Iglesias, and George Michael

It turned out Houston had been struggling with a drug problem. After renewing her Arista contract with the biggest record deal in history ($100 million for a promise of six new albums), she performed on Michael Jackson's Thirtieth Anniversary television special looking thin and frail. The following year, Houston spoke frankly about her drug problems in a special edition of ABC's Primetime with Diane Sawyer that coincided with the release of her comeback album, Just Whitney (Number Three R&B/Hip-Hop, Number Nine pop, 2002). The album — which included production work by her husband, Missy Elliott and Babyface — was Houston's first work without the involvement of Davis. Just Whitney was not well received: critics bashed it, the singles failed to reach the Top Forty and sales of the album were lower than any of her previous works. She followed up with a holiday disc, One Wish: The Holiday Album (Number 14 R&B/Hip-Hop, Number 49 pop, 2002), which sold even fewer copies. In spring of 2004 Houston entered rehab for the first time; later that year, she toured as part of the Soul Divas along with her cousin Dionne Warwick and Natalie Cole. That September, Houston received a standing ovation when she sang a tribute to Davis at the World Music Awards. She and Davis subsequently announced they would be working together on a new album, although as of 2008 their plans had not yet materialized. Houston returned to rehab in 2005 and the following year filed for divorce from Brown (after some of the couple's trails and travails were aired on the MTV reality show "Being Bobby Brown" in 2005). In 2007 Davis reiterated that the two were working on a new album and had lined up a string of hip producers including John Legend and will.i.am. That April Houston's divorce from Brown was finalized with her winning sole custody of the couple's daughter. In December 2007 an apparently sober Houston performed an entire show before a crowd of 10,000 at the Live and Loud Festival in Malaysia.

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:42 Pussycat Dolls
Pussycat Dolls began as the stars of a burlesque show in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, swelling their ranks and polishing their rep with guest appearances from the likes of Christina Aguilera, Carmen Electra and Gwen Stefani. They burst onto the national scene in 2005, after recruiting ex-Eden's Crush member Nicole Scherzinger and unleashing the instantly ubiquitous single "Don't Cha" (previously recorded by Cee-Lo and Tori Alamaze), featuring a verse from Busta Rhymes. They kept up the sassy, saucy act with their full-length debut, PCD, produced by industry heavyweights Timbaland and will.i.am. After Scherzinger flirted with a solo career that never quite took off, the Dolls regrouped for 2008's Doll Domination. - Philip Sherburne

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:17 Bryan Adams
With his sandy vocals and blue-collar songwriting skills, crafty Canadian hitmaker Bryan Adams' pop-friendly take on rock 'n' roll basics found a niche that lasted through much of the 1980s and into the early '90s. Just about anyone who turned on a radio during those years will remember songs like "Cuts Like a Knife," "Summer of '69," and "Run to You." He remains active today, working the ballad territory that yielded the 1991 mega-hit "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You." - Will York