The winners of the 2002 reality TV show POP STARS: THE RIVALS--the show adopted a new twist on the Popstars theme, picking opposing boy and girl bands to battle it out in the U.K. charts--Girls Aloud triumphed when the single "Sound Of The Undergroun…

With the runaway success of her third album, WHO I AM, in 2002, Beverley Knight became one of the most important figures in the U.K. R&B scene. Though she's often compared to the U.S. neo-soul artists Jill Scott and Angie Stone, Knight looked back to…

Few expected that the best soul singer to emerge in 2003 would be a 16-year-old British girl, but that was exactly the case when Joss Stone released her debut album THE SOUL SESSIONS. Mentored by legendary R&B vocalist Betty Wright, Stone covered bot…

These New York art shock-rockers, formed in 2003, take camp icons like Elton John, the Bee Gees, and Billy Joel as their musical foundation for a sound that's rooted in the dance clubs of their hometown. On their debut, self-titled album they reinter…

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…

Starting only at 18 years of age pop-RB singer Jamelia swept UK RB fans off their feet and following her second album Thank You she made herself a star winning over many more fans as well as some critics across the rest of the European continent The …

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…

London pop trio Sugababes displayed grit and determination in overcoming obstacles that would have felled countless others, deftly negotiating three potentially career-threatening line-up changes and being dropped by their first label. Their fusion o…

The roots of Los Angeles band Maroon 5 lay in the late-1990s Weezer-influenced alt-rock outfit Kara's Flowers. After that group disbanded, the members eventually started a new band (along with a second guitarist). Rechristening themselves Maroon 5, t…

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…

Getting her start as a dancer on the TV show IN LIVING COLOR, Jennifer Lopez first found stardom as an actress, then as a pop/dance singer. By the turn of the century, Lopez was one of the world's biggest celebrities. As both of her careers skyrocket…

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…

The South London foursome Athlete was comprised of childhood friends Carey Willets bass Joel Pott vocals guitar Steve Roberts drums and Tim Wanstall keyboards Athlete formed in early 2000 after several Oasis-tailored incarnations and arrived at an ex…

Baggy pants skatepunk sneakers and other youthful fashion touches make Kristian Leontiou pronounced Lee-On-Tyoo look like hes going to bust out an aggressive teen-angst anthem at any moment but the poignant sounds of David Gray Dido or Damien Rice wi…

Borrowing from such flamboyant pop stars as Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and George Michael, British singer Robbie Williams started out in the boy band Take That, but soon split and launched a solo career. By the late 1990s he had become a dance/pop …

New Zealand-born Daniel Bedingfield grew up in southeast London Mostly influenced by contemporary RB artists his sisters Natasha and Nicola teamed up with him to assemble their first band called the DNA Algorhythm Inspired by a girlfriend from Leeds …

British trio Keane, who trade in the sort of grandiose, melancholy Britpop that was the chief domain of Coldplay for much of the early 2000s, broke big with their 2004 debut album, HOPES AND FEARS. While many hear the band's sound as yet another wate…

b. 22 March 1986, London, England. First emerging in 2003 with the hit single "Misfit", this teenage rock singer was marketed as the UK's answer to the hugely successful Canadian artist Avril Lavigne. Studt was raised in a musical family in the seasi…