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 | | Songwriter and vocalist Amber Streeter (aka Ambee, Se7en, Sevyn) was the first member of TG4, a pop-R&B outfit put together by Chris Stokes (Immature, B2K). |
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 | | One of the most promising R&B artists to emerge during the early 2010s, singer and songwriter Elle Varner grew up in a musical family -- one that spent much of its time together in recording studios. |
 | | Contemporary R&B upstart Urban Mystic, the son of a church minister, grew up in a world of music and made his jump into the industry while still a teenager. |
 | | Luke James (aka Luke Boyd) injected some maturity into early-2010s contemporary R&B. As a child growing up in New Orleans, Louisiana, he was inspired while watching a Showtime at the Apollo contestant perform Donny Hathaway's version of Leon Russell's "A Song for You. |
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 | | Compared to Simply Red's Mick Hucknall due to his Manchester, England origin, red hair, and R&B roots -- the parallels end there, really -- Gareth Daley kicked his career into gear once he submitted a low-key but affecting ballad, "Rainy Day," to the BBC. |
 | | As a youngster growing up in Palmer Park, Maryland, Marcus Canty developed loves for acting, basketball, and singing. |
 | | Able to rap, sing, and write songs that had everyone from John Legend to Roots Manuva singing her praises, Estelle Swaray got her start in London's renowned hip-hop record store Deal Real. |
 | | R&B singer/songwriter B. Smyth got his start as one of millions of teenagers uploading YouTube videos of himself covering other artists' songs. |
 | | New Orleans, Louisiana native Dawn Richard, the daughter of Chocolate Milk percussionist and vocalist Frank Richard, released her first solo material under the name Dawn Angeliqué. |
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 | | Longtime friends and veteran R&B singers Tyrese, Ginuwine, and Tank formed a trio, dubbed TGT, in 2007. |
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 | | Prior to turning 13, Tiffany Evans, a singer and actor from the Bronx, won the Grand Champion title in the junior singer division of Star Search. |
 | | Atlanta-based R&B quartet Cherish debuted in 2003 with the single "Miss P." produced by Jermaine Dupri. |
 | | Offering a throwback sound to complement her rich, womanly voice, Melanie Fiona is a bright R&B artist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. |
 | | A member of 112, an R&B group that amassed seven Top Ten R&B hits and a pair of multi-platinum albums while on the Bad Boy and Def Soul labels, Atlanta native Quinnes "Q" Parker first stepped out as a solo artist in the late 2000s. |
 | | Solange Knowles, the younger sister of Beyoncé Knowles, studied dance and theater as a child and made her singing debut at age five at an amusement park. |
 | | Best known for her role as Effie White in the 2006 film version of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, vocalist/actress Jennifer Hudson was first brought to the public's attention while a contestant on the third season of the reality show vocal competition American Idol. |
 | | With a sound somewhere between 112 and an urban *NSYNC, the vocal group Day26 formed during the fourth season of MTV's Making the Band. |
 | | Singer, songwriter, and producer Miguel (born Miguel Jontel Pimentel) spent a handful of years behind the scenes and flirted with the mainstream before he released his first hit single and became one of pop-R&B's most significant artists. |
 | | Ester Dean's singing aspirations were so strong that she cold-called recording studios around her Oklahoma home and ingratiated herself enough to provide vocals on demos. |
 | | Bay Area vocalist Jonn Hart broke into mainstream R&B radio in 2012 with a chiming, booming, and raunchy number titled "Who Booty" -- an introduction to a sound he called "R&Bay slap. |
 | | Harlem-bred vocalist Kelis left her parents' home at 16 and landed a deal with Virgin four years later. |
 | | One of the more genuine urban songstresses to emerge in the 2000s, Keyshia Cole worked her way up the industry ladder diligently yet quickly, making her major-label debut in 2004 at age 21. |
 | | Whether she was singing pop-friendly urban soul or acting in her own family-oriented sitcom, Brandy's winningly wholesome persona helped catapult her to stardom during her teenage years. |
 | | B2K lead vocalist Omarion (born Omari Ismael Grandberry) went solo in 2005 with O, featuring production help from the Neptunes, Rodney Jerkins, and the Underdogs. |
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 | | As lead singer for the Gap Band, Charlie Wilson sang on four number one R&B hits: "Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)," "Early in the Morning," "Outstanding," and "Addicted to Your Love" -- as well as the classics "You Dropped a Bomb on Me," "Yearning for Your Love," "Party Train," and "Big Fun. |
 | | Fantasia Barrino may have won the third season of American Idol with "I Believe," but it was her passionate take on George Gershwin's "Summertime" that had everyone talking for weeks. |
 | | Kelly Rowland rose to fame with the success of Destiny's Child during the late '90s. During that time, Destiny's Child catapulted into the new millennium as one of the best-selling female musical groups in history. |
 | | Put together by producers Vincent Herbert (Toni Braxton, Destiny’s Child, Lady Gaga) and Walter Millsap (Alicia Keys, Beyoncé), Mindless Behavior is a pop-R&B group featuring singers and dancers Princeton, Prodigy, Ray Ray, and Roc Royal. |
 | | An R&B vocalist affiliated with the outlandish hip-hop crew Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, Frank Ocean (Christopher "Lonny" Breaux) was born and raised in New Orleans. |
 | | Identical twins Natalie and Nicole Albino came up with the name Nina Sky by combining the first two letters of their first names for "Nina" and tacked "Sky" on the end to represent their shared aspirations. |
 | | Cuban-American Christina Milian was born in New Jersey but raised in Maryland, making her debut as an actress at a very young age while playing a role in a children-oriented musical, working as junior journalist for The Walt Disney Company, and making guest appearances on Sister Sister and Clueless, among other popular TV shows. |
 | | R&B singer/songwriter and producer Terius Youngdell Nash, better known as the-Dream, was born in Rockingham, North Carolina, but moved to Atlanta, Georgia, with his mother at the age of three. |
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 | | An entertainer since early childhood, Virginia native Alex Boyd had his life changed in multiple ways when he was accepted into Washington, D. |
 | | R&B singer and actor Tyrese Gibson -- referred to as Tyrese -- began his career at the age of 14, performing in local talent shows around his home in Los Angeles' Watts section; his big break came when he starred in a commercial for Coca-Cola, followed shortly in 1998 by his self-titled debut album for RCA. |
 | | The third group to be put together through the reality television series Making the Band -- O-Town being the first, Da Band being the second -- Danity Kane's membership includes five women who beat out hundreds of hopefuls. |
 | | Hailed as the "new voice of ghetto soul" and the first act signed to basketball great Magic Johnson's Magic Johnson Music, Cleveland native Avant (born Myron Avant) debuted in 1998 with the song "Separated," released on Payton Entertainment -- the label operated by his manager, Eric Payton. |
 | | Part of the original lineup of the superstar group Destiny's Child, LeToya Luckett, who as a solo artist chose to go by her first name only, didn't just sit around after she and Latavia Roberson left the group shortly after the release of 1999's The Writing's on the Wall (neither singer was seen in the "Say My Name" video, which came as a surprise to both of them). |
 | | Before she could utilize her talents for her own solo endeavors, R&B singer, vocal arranger, and songwriter Keri Hilson wrote a slew of songs, many of them chart-toppers, for several popular artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production/songwriting team known as the Clutch. |
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 | | The most visible Winans family member outside the world of gospel, Mario Winans gravitated toward percussion at an early age and eventually learned piano. |
 | | R&B vocalist Lloyd topped BET's play list singing a steamy duet with Ashanti, but he got his first spins on the anything-but-steamy Radio Disney. |
 | | A major star on television (In Living Color, The Jamie Foxx Show), the big screen (Any Given Sunday, Collateral, Ray, Miami Vice, Dreamgirls), and radio (his second album, Unpredictable, featured two Top Ten R&B singles), Jamie Foxx -- born Eric Morlon Bishop, Jr. |
 | | In a very short span of time, R&B singer/songwriter Chrisette Michele shot from small-time performer up to one of Def Jam's most promising talents, purely based on her unique instrument -- a gorgeous and effortlessly versatile singing voice colored with Billie Holiday-esque inflections of vocal pop and jazz. |
