 | | Swedish electro-pop duo Icona Pop feature best friends Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt. The group first came to notice with the 2010 Kitsuné single "Manners," which was sampled on Chiddy Bang's 2011 song "Mind Your Manners"; the song reached number 19 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart and appeared on the hip-hop duo's debut album, Breakfast. |
 | | With a "cheeky chappy" persona to match Robbie Williams and vocals reminiscent of original Pop Idol Will Young, former call-center worker Olly Murs was one of the success stories of the 2009 season of The X Factor, finishing runner-up to Joe McElderry in the hotly contested final. |
 | | A DJ, producer, and sometimes singer, Australia's Havana Brown began her career in a band called Fishbowl. |
 | | Flame-haired singer/songwriter, beatboxer, and guitarist Ed Sheeran's eclectic blend of acoustic pop, folk, and hip-hop has been championed by everyone from the underground grime scene to American Oscar winners. |
 | | Following the Format's breakup in 2008, frontman Nate Ruess took his songwriting skills to Steel Train's Jack Antonoff and Anathallo's Andrew Dost, both of whom shared a similar affinity for vintage pop music and quirky, melodic hooks. |
 | | The Lumineers, a folk-rock trio out of Denver, Colorado, deliver an acoustic-based Americana sound that touches a lot of stylistic bases, from folk to gospel to heartland rock and the narrative end of country, all with interesting rhythmic twists and turns. |
 | | After working a string of behind-the-scenes jobs -- including writing songs for Brandy, singing backup for the Sugababes, and impersonating Elvis -- songwriter/producer Bruno Mars put his name on top of the charts in 2009 by co-writing Flo Rida's hit song "Right Round. |
 | | Las Vegas-based indie rockers Imagine Dragons formed in Provo, Utah in 2009. Like their desert-born stadium rock contemporaries the Killers, Imagine Dragons blend engaging, synth-based dance-pop with emotionally charged, Brit-pop-inspired alt-rock. |
 | | A self-described "Celtic soul" trio, the Script were founded by guitarist Mark Sheehan and vocalist Danny O'Donoghue in 2001. |
 | | Although initially viewed as another face in the late-'90s crowd of teen pop acts, Pink (professionally known as P!nk) quickly transcended and outgrew that label with her combination of pop songcraft and powerhouse, rock-influenced vocals. |
 | | Cher Lloyd came to notice as a contestant on series seven of Simon Cowell's U.K. talent program The X Factor. |
 | | A mix of polished pop/rock and neo-soul made Maroon 5 one of the most popular bands of the 2000s, with songs like "This Love," "She Will Be Loved," and "Makes Me Wonder" all topping the charts worldwide. |
 | | Featuring the anthemic songwriting of Ryan Tedder, OneRepublic rose to prominence in 2007, when "Apologize" began its reign as the most popular digital download in American history. |
 | | Ellie Goulding is a British vocalist whose music finds the balance between electro-pop and indie folk. |
 | | The winner of the 11th season of Fox's American Idol, singer Phillip Phillips is a soulful vocalist with a throaty style and a bent toward mixing acoustic singer/songwriter material with jam-oriented rock. |
 | | The winner of Fox TV's first American Idol competition during the summer of 2002, Kelly Clarkson went from an anonymous talent to a nationally known singer in a matter of months, performing for an audience of millions. |
 | | London, England musician Alex Clare grew up listening to his father’s jazz records, was drawn to blues and soul (Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder), and eventually drum‘n’bass and U. |
 | | Train was inescapable during the turn of the 21st century, when songs like "Calling All Angels" and "Drops of Jupiter" made the San Francisco residents some of America's most popular balladeers. |
 | | With an eye toward reinventing the boy band sound, the Wanted formed in 2009, nearly 10 years after groups like N ‘Sync and the Backstreet Boys hit their commercial peak. |
 | | Favoring a naughty schoolboy look that makes him seem even younger than his already tender years (22 when his first major-label album was released), Scottish artist, producer, and remixer Calvin Harris has a similarly youthful and forward-looking approach to his music. |
 | | Swedish House Mafia is a house music supergroup comprised of DJ/producers Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso, each of whom is an accomplished DJ/producer and label owner in his own right. |
 | | Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen spent her formative years absorbing pop culture in her hometown of Mission, British Columbia. |
 | | A former Christian artist, Katy Perry rebranded herself as a larger-than-life pop star and rose to prominence during the summer of 2008. |
 | | When the U.K. press began dubbing Adele "the next Amy Winehouse" in late 2007, the hype didn't touch upon the heavy singer/songwriter influence found in the Londoner's music. |
 | | Led by singer/songwriter Jason Wade, Lifehouse emerged in the early 2000s with a commercial blend of pop/rock melody and throaty, post-grunge vocals. |
 | | Rihanna established her dance-pop credentials in summer 2005 with her debut smash hit, "Pon de Replay," and continued to demonstrate hit potential in subsequent years (e. |
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 | | Provo, Utah's poppy dance-punk band Neon Trees features vocalist/keyboardist Tyler Glenn, guitarist Chris Allen, bassist Branden Campbell, and drummer/vocalist Elaine Bradley. |
 | | Actress/vocalist Demi Lovato began making a name for herself after starring alongside the Jonas Brothers in the 2008 Disney Channel movie Camp Rock. |
 | | Taylor Swift became one of country's brightest (and youngest) faces in 2006, when the 16-year-old released her first album. |
 | | The work of rapper and producer will.i.am helped make Black Eyed Peas one of the most intriguing acts in hip-hop, and later made them one of the most popular acts on the charts when the albums Elephunk (2003) and Monkey Business (2005) started ascending the charts. |
 | | France's David Guetta belongs to the sparkling wave of DJs who combine Daft Punk's sleek house music with a pinch of electroclash's punch. |
 | | Glamorously gaudy, a self-made post-modern diva stitched together from elements of Madonna, David Bowie, and Freddie Mercury, Lady Gaga was the first true millennial superstar. |
 | | By mixing R&B with a sultry dose of neo-soul, Alicia Keys became an international star in 2001 with the release of her debut album. |
 | | Melding elements of rap, rock, R&B, and funk into one cohesive and melodic sound, upstate New York's Gym Class Heroes have diverse appeal based on their impressive musical dexterity. |
 | | Flo Rida, unsurprisingly a native Floridian, is an MC who toured as a teenager with 2 Live Crew's Fresh Kid Ice and began popping up on high-profile mixtapes by 2006, most notably DJ Khaled's We the Best -- on "Bitch I'm from Dade County," he appeared with the likes of Rick Ross, Trick Daddy, Trina, and Dre (of Cool & Dre). |
 | | Justin Timberlake may be the quintessential pop star of the new millennium, a star who jumped from platform to platform on his way to establishing himself as something bigger than a star: he was a self-sustained empire. |
 | | Ne-Yo was one of the most successful songwriters and artists of the 2000s. His breakthrough didn't come until late 2004, as the co-songwriter of Mario's "Let Me Love You," a number one Hot 100 hit that Billboard later determined to be the eighth most successful single of the decade. |
 | | A brash and driven pop singer/songwriter, Ke$ha (Kesha Rose Sebert) was born in Los Angeles but moved at the age of four to Nashville, where her mother -- a longtime songwriter -- had inked a publishing deal. |
 | | Of all the rap artists who emerged from Atlanta during the late 2000s, B.o.B -- who was only 17 when he signed his first major-label record deal -- was one of the most unique. |
 | | When the Southern-flavored party rap called crunk took over urban radio in 2004, Miami rapper Pitbull decided it was time to seek stardom. |
 | | After winning the nationwide 2010 battle-of-the-bands competition Musiktilraunir in their native Iceland, six-piece chamber pop group Of Monsters and Men were hailed as "the new Arcade Fire" in Rolling Stone magazine. |
 | | Pop singer Justin Bieber was barely into his teens when he released his platinum-selling debut, My World, and became one of 2009's youngest success stories. |
 | | The Black Eyed Peas transcended hip-hop to become one of the most commercially successful pop groups of the 2000s. |
 | | Outasight is the alias of Richard Andrew, a rapper and singer who hails from Yonkers, New York and combines rap, R&B, and rock with occasional crossover appeal. |
 | | Influenced by the unpredictable rhymes of Missy Elliot along with the sexually charged attitudes of Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown, Queens native Nicki Minaj was discovered thanks to her MySpace page. |
 | | Crafting a pop-meets-hip-hop sound they call "swag-pop," Karmin is the project of singer/rapper Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan. |
 | | Fall Out Boy rose to the forefront of emo pop in the mid-2000s, selling more than four million albums thanks to the band's tabloid-grabbing bassist, able-voiced frontman, and handful of Top 40 hits. |
 | | When he was just 19 years old, Hunter Hayes became one of the hottest new stars in country music, having signed with a major label and attracted plenty of press attention and airplay, but despite his youth, this wasn't really new for Hayes -- he was playing for paying audiences at the age of five and cut his first album when he was only nine. |
 | | A singer/songwriter with a bent toward contemporary soul and pop, Andy Grammer is the son of children's music artist Red Grammer. |
