The girl who made singer Brandy cry 11-year-old vocalist Bianca Ryan did just that as the 2006 winner of the TV reality talent competition Americas Got Talent Born in Philadelphia in 1994 Ryan enjoyed singing from a young age and by age eight had dev…

British siren Sarah Brightman started her musical career as a pure popster, singing dance music with the hit UK group Hot Gossip in the late '70s. Before long, though, her angelic voice and striking beauty led her to musical theater, and she starred …

In an era when female R&B singers are often little more than pitch-corrected fashion divas, Corinne Bailey Rae's 2006 debut album was a heartening triumph of vocal chops and genuine soul. The U.K.-born singer/multi-instrumentalist got her start singi…

b. 16 August 1980, Mitford, Pennsylvania, USA. Carlton was brought up in a musical family, with her pianist mother instilling in her daughter a love of classical music. Vanessa began playing piano at an early age, and was soon highly proficient, comp…

Hilary Duff, along with her one-time rival Lindsay Lohan, is a product of the Disney idol machine and the star of the long-running LIZZIE MCGUIRE television series. Duff's image has gone from squeaky-clean teenybopper to slightly vampy teenybopper si…

In 2002 one of the biggest stories in the music business was the ascendance of 17-year old Canadian singer Avril LaVigne. In an era dominated by pre-fabricated teen-pop, Avril was seen as a teen star with an edge. Instead of carefully crafted, studio…

Sister actingsinging duo Aly AJ -- whose full names are Alyson and Amanda Joy Michalka -- showed a passion for both kinds of performing at a very young age they started playing piano at age six and began acting classes soon after Born in LA the Mich…

Christian punk-pop quartet Hawk Nelson formed in Peterborough Ontario in 2003 Originally comprising frontman Jason Dunn guitarist Davin Clark bassist Daniel Biro and drummer Matt Paige the groups self-released debut EP Saturday Rock Action earned the…

Going from a series of books about a girl pop band to a series of Disney TV movies about a girl pop band to an actual touring girl pop band the Cheetah Girls began as 16 young-adult books by Deborah Gregory The series began in 1999 and quickly became…

Toby McKeehan or tobyMac as he is professionally known grew up in northern Virginia suburbs in the shadow of Washington DC where he fell in love with rap and hip hop While attending Liberty University at Lynchburg VA in the mid 1980s he met Michael T…

Kutless is a Christian alternative band specializing in melodic hard rock The group released its self-titled debut on BEC recordings in 2002 The group which consists of James Mead guitar Stu bass Kyle Mitchell drums Ryan Shrout guitar and Jon-Micah S…

Superchick first appeared in 2001 with Karaoke Superstars Inpop a peppy mix of popternative grooves and CCM positivity Led by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Max Hsu ex-Church of Rhythm the band also included vocalist Tricia Brock her guitaristv…

Originating from Canton, Ohio, USA, this spiritually inclined pop punk band was formed by Matt Thiessen (b. Canada; guitar/vocals), Matt Hoopes (guitar), Brian Pittman (bass), and David Douglas (drums). The quartet took their unusual name from the be…

A Christian rock group based in Ohio Sanctus Real was formed by guitarists Matt Hammitt and Chris Rohman in 1996 while both were still tenth graders at Toledo Christian School With Hammitt handling lead vocals the duo added drummer Mark Graalman and …