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…

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…

Madonna is arguably the most popular female pop singer in American musical history. Although she began her career in the late 1970s as a dancer and as drummer for new wave group the Breakfast Club, Madonna has touched upon many different styles throu…

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 Gorillaz is Blur frontman Damon Albarn's hip-hop/electronica cartoon concept band. While real-life participants have included such luminaries as Dan the Automator, Danger Mouse, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, De La Soul, and Shuan Ryder, the Gorillaz…

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…

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…

As the urban regional style of Latin music heated up in the mid-2000s spearheaded by the burgeoning reggaeton sound Daddy Yankee above all led the charge selling hundreds of thousands of CDs in the wake of his international breakthrough hit Gasolina …

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

St. Louis, Missouri rapper Nelly (of the St. Lunatics clique) dominated MTV and radio in late 2000 with his debut COUNTRY GRAMMAR, which featured irresistible hooks, a danceable tempo, newly styled bounce beats different from the New Orleans-based No…

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…

Led by producer and DFA records honcho James Murphy, LCD Soundsystem helped bring indie rock to the dancefloor. As the flagship band of the early-2000s dance-punk craze, LCD Soundsystem mixed a punk edge with classic disco and house grooves, creating…

b. Moritz Von Oswald, Germany. Berlin-based DJ and recording artist who runs the Basic Channel label with fellow "techno archaeologist" Mark Ernestus. Von Oswald is famed for placing only a large M on the centre of his records, then pressing them in …

A discovery of pop-punk superstars Fall Out Boy, the Las Vegas emo band Panic! At the Disco (named for a Smiths song), stormed the charts in 2005 while its members were barely old enough to vote. Offering a highly danceable take on the emo formula of…