A popular Hollywood burlesque act, the Pussycat Dolls emerged as mainstream fixtures when they became an outlet for big-name celebrities looking to embrace their inner sex kittens. As a musical act, the Dolls scored huge hits with a familiar albeit …

The Los Angeles-based hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas has made a name for itself by taking an eclectic and organic approach to rap, R&B, and funk. Led by vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Will.I.Am., the band also includes two other MCs, Apl.de.Ap. and Ta…

As the very first winner of the AMERICAN IDOL television show competition, Kelly Clarkson was inevitably pegged as little more than a manufactured pop commodity. The surprisingly versatile singer managed to survive against expectations, however, and …

As the lead singer of California neo-ska pop-punks No Doubt, Gwen Stefani gained notoriety for her spunky, riot grrrl-lite approach to fronting a rock band. On her 2004 solo debut, LOVE. ANGEL. MUSIC. BABY., Stefani pulled a musical about-face and fu…

A soulful and poppy sensation from the U.K., Natasha Bedingfield outdid her older brother Daniel's pop success when her debut album went triple platinum in her homeland, and her single "These Words" became a huge charter in the U.S. Born into a music…

In the late 1990s, Madonna had long since become a mature artist, turning her back on the carefree dance-pop of her early days ("Like A Virgin," "Holiday," etc.). Teenage singer Britney Spears picked up on this specific Madonna era, albeit with a mor…

Ashlee Simpson, younger sister of singer Jessica Simpson, is one of the most fascinating pop-culture phenomena of the early 2000s. Following a stint on the squeaky-clean television drama "7th Heaven," the prefabricated sensation's singing career was …

With her multi-octave voice and more than 80 million records sold worldwide, it's no surprise that pop diva Mariah Carey is viewed as the successor to Whitney Houston. She emerged as the premier R&B/pop songstress of the 1990s, and by the end of the …

This photogenic Colombian singer began her recording career at the tender age of 13. It wasn't long before her eclectic brand of Latin pop became a sensation in numerous Spanish-speaking countries. In 1998, without making the concession of singing in…

b. Sean Paul Henriques, 8 January 1973, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. Paul was educated at Wolmers High School near the National Heroes Stadium, and the exclusive Bel Air High School in uptown Mandeville. His principal vocational research was at th…

Britney Spears proved that the same goldmine that Madonna and Cyndi Lauper mined in the 1980s was again ripe for the picking, and she was immediately followed up the charts by another female teenybop sensation, Christina Aguilera. Closely aligned wit…

Videos and albums are not always the preferred formats for gaining success as a recording artist--it was an appearance in the hit Will Smith movie MEN IN BLACK that gave Destiny's Child a major boost to their recording career. From there, the all-fem…

Originally called Cascade until legal conflicts forced them to change their name Cascada is the slick uplifting Euro-dance trio featuring producers DJ Manian and Yanou along with vocalist Natalie Horler although Horler is sometimes presented as Casca…

The mercurial term "emo" has meant many different things since its first appearance in the mid-1980s hardcore punk underground. By the mid 2000s, the term was best exemplified by the band Fall Out Boy. Playing an accessible brand of melodic rock mark…

A green-eyed beauty with a sultry voice, Rihanna was discovered as a teenager on her island home of Barbados, and quickly signed with the venerable Def Jam records. Powered by a Soft Cell sample, her infectious dancehall/Caribbean single "Pon de Repl…

Kanye West first gained fame as an acclaimed hip-hop producer, working with Jay-Z, Foxy Brown, Mase, and others. West's solo debut was delayed due to a serious car accident, but when THE COLLEGE DROPOUT finally appeared in 2004, it took the hip-hop w…

Out of the backwaters of Oklahoma rose the power-pop clatter of the All-American Rejects, whose 2002 self-titled debut album, released on the indie Doghouse Records, yielded a huge fan base and the attention of several major labels. In a field crowde…

In the spotlight since the age of four, Michael Jackson rose to fame as the lead vocalist for the Jackson Five. In the late 1970s, Jackson embarked on a solo career as a young adult with the Quincy Jones-produced OFF THE WALL. With one hit album unde…

Pop-oriented RB vocalist Chris Brown debuted with the Scott Storch-produced Run It and became the first male solo artist to release a single that went straight to the top of the Billboard singles chart Only 16 at the time Brown came from a small town…

Part Cyndi Lauper and part Madness, No Doubt came out of nowhere in 1995 and exploded on the alt-rock scene with their special brand of mainstream ska-rock. While the focal point of the group was unmistakably the sexy and hyperactive singer Gwen Stef…