In 2000, Coldplay emerged seemingly out of nowhere to become a worldwide smash with their debut album PARACHUTES and hit single "Yellow." They're generally lumped in with the Britpop crowd, but, like Travis, they favor a more thoughtful, melodic pop …

In a crossover worthy of soap star-turned-rocker Rick Springfield, professional surfer Jack Johnson emerged as one of the hottest pop stars of the early '00s. The interesting thing is that, amid hordes of teen-poppers and nu-metallists, he came to fa…

John Mayer emerged in 2001 as the fresh young face for a new generation of earnest singer-songwriters. While Mayer's work is as confessional, intimate, and acoustic-guitar-based as that of old-schoolers like James Taylor and Jackson Browne, his appro…

U2's Bono was one of the few real rock heroes of the 1980s, leading the Irish band to international recognition with a charged, political approach to music. The band's early efforts brought a stadium-size presence to alt-rock, with Bono's expressive …

In the midst of the early 1990s grunge boom, Counting Crows emerged as an alternative to the heavy, alienated sounds of the Kurt Cobain crowd. The California band harked back to the classic '60s folk-rock sounds of the Band, Bob Dylan, and Van Morris…

The angst-ridden alt-rock that bands like Nirvana popularized in the early-1990s eventually branched off into a softer, more mature sound with such groups as the Goo Goo Dolls. Although they began as raw and rowdy Replacements-style rockers in the la…

Inspiring legions of imitators (especially among the rap-metal crowd), the Red Hot Chili Peppers combined biting rock guitar with funk rhythms and rap-influenced vocals for a thunderous, party-hearty sound. While the California band was popular on th…

Weezer's 1994 debut yielded the band two big hit singles in "Buddy Holly" and "Undone - The Sweater Song," whose quirky appeal gave the initial impression that the group was some kind of novelty act. Despite the wiseacre veneer though, Weezer went on…

Following in the footsteps their idols The Beatles, Oasis became a phenomenon in their home country in the 1990s. Taking the Fabs' template as a model, they added a thick wall of Pete Townshend-influenced guitars and stood at the vanguard of the mid-…

b. 1981, Bangor, Maine, USA. This pop rock singer-songwriter first emerged in the late 90s as a popular draw on the Boston coffee house circuit. Day began playing piano and guitar in his early teens and before long had begun performing live sets and …

Formed in the Pacific Northwest during the late 1990s, Death Cab for Cutie deals in guitar rock that is informed by a striking sensitivity. Led by singer/guitarist Benjamin Gibbard, the group straddles the line between indie and emo rock, earning the…

This Los Angeles, California, USA-based alternative rock band treads the same middle ground as Creed, Matchbox 20 and Pearl Jam. Songwriter Jason Wade (b. 5 July 1980, California, USA; vocals/guitar) and Sergio Andrade (b. 17 October 1977, Guatemala …

Coming out of the grass-roots Gilman St. punk scene of the early-1990s Bay Area, Green Day exploded into the mainstream with their third album, 1994's DOOKIE. The trio's punk energy and pop hooks, influenced by first-generation punks like the Buzzcoc…

Denver-based band the Fray was formed in 2002 by Isaac Slade vocals piano and Joe King guitar vocals when the two former school friends met up again in a local music store They soon began regular two-man jam sessions that led to writing songs and dev…

Welsh singer-songwriter David Gray's story is the classic scenario of the overnight success that took years to happen. He emerged in the early 1990s as an acoustic-based artist heavily influenced by old-school troubadours like Bob Dylan and Van Morri…

A triumph of word-of-mouth enthusiasm over an official marketing plan, O.A.R. (Of a Revolution) has become one of the most popular U.S. live acts of the 2000s. They started out as just another roots-and-reggae-loving campus band in the mid-'90s, but …

Five for Fighting is the pseudonym of John Ondrasik, one of the most successful figures in the wave of lite-rock singer-songwriters that emerged in the early 2000s. Singing in the heartfelt lilt popularized by Dave Matthews, Ondrasik plays amiable, r…

Singer/songwriter Ben Harper, who hails from Pomona, CA, debuted in 1994 with WELCOME TO THE CRUEL WORLD. Harper's idiosyncratic mix of blues, folk, rock, funk, and reggae made an instant splash. His distinctive use of the dobro-like Weissenborn guit…

b. 23 June 1977, Mechanicsville, Virginia, USA. The pop rock singer-songwriter Jason Mraz grew up in Virginia where he first developed an interest in musical theatre. He left his home state to attend the American Musical And Dramatic Academy in New Y…

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…