When young singer/pianist Norah Jones arrived in New York City from Texas, few expected that within a couple of years she'd be a chart-topping, MTV-friendly, press-besieged sensation. Yet she charmed listeners by the truckload with her 2002 Blue Not…

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 …

The late 1990s saw the emergence of several notable female singer/songwriters, including Beth Orton, Jewel, and Dido. Combining elements of folk, pop, and alt-electronica, Dido scored a surprise hit with her debut effort NO ANGEL, which raced up the …

The honey-voiced Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan has ascended from modest success in the U.S. and her native Nova Scotia to international stardom. Her music is accessible enough for the masses, yet serious enough to strike a strong chord w…

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 …

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…

Although his sound is a decidedly vintage one, pianist/singer-songwriter Jamie Cullum's own "Sinatra in Sneakers" persona is unique to the neo-hepcat set. Although Harry Connick, Jr., comparisons are inevitable, Cullum's jazz-crossover appeal has as …

One of the brightest figures in the revamped soft-rock movement of the early 2000s, Amos Lee offers the sort of tastefully jazz-inflected singer-songwriter stylings that made artists like James Taylor and Carly Simon such stars in the 1970s. Lee has …

Glasgow-via-Belfast indie-rock ensemble Snow Patrol have played everything from shambolic noise-pop a la Pavement, to a slightly droney post-rock in the vein of Mogwai, to epic lovelorn anthems modeled after Coldplay. While the band's influences are …

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 …

French pop group Phoenix play an irony-heavy, 1980s brand of breezy soft-rock that's given a crisp, contemporary sheen with an electronic-leaning production style. Though the band plays fairly straightforward rock-influenced pop music, it was born ou…

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…

Irish singer/songwriter Damien Rice started out in 1997 in a band called Juniper, which was signed to a major deal but fell apart before it could make a full album. Shortly after that, Rice hit the road as a solo artist. His first album, 2003's O, in…

The son of Boogie Kings guitarist and Louisiana Hall of Fame member Ted Broussard Marc Broussard was seemingly destined for a life as a music man His upbringing in Lafayette LA instilled in him an affinity for RB alongside the Cajun trappings of sout…

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…

Jem Griffiths roundabout road to songstress stardom started in Cardiff Wales where she was born and raised From there she attended Sussex University and by the mid-1990s she was working in promotion for the Skint and Marine Parade electronic imprints…

b. Arlington, Virginia, USA. Yamagata spent a number of years on the musical sidelines before emerging in 2004 as a singer-songwriter of some note. The daughter of a German-Italian mother and Japanese father, she learned to play piano as a child befo…

Her love of the Cranberries John Mayer and Fiona Apple is easy to hear when one listens to the poignant music of singersongwriter Anna Nalick but its her beloved Blind Melon that had the most impact on her career The California native had been record…

With her pre-bop piano style, cool but sensual singing, and fortuitously photogenic looks, Diana Krall took the jazz world by storm in the late-'90s. By the turn of the century she was firmly established as one of the biggest sellers in jazz. Her 199…