 | | 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. |
 | | Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen spent her formative years absorbing pop culture in her hometown of Mission, British Columbia. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Before releasing her debut album in 2009, Selena Gomez began her career as a child actress. Born in 1992, she grew up in Texas and got her first break as a cast member on the kids TV show Barney and Friends. |
 | | More than any other single artist, Britney Spears was the driving force behind the return of teen pop in the late '90s. |
 | | Actress/vocalist Demi Lovato began making a name for herself after starring alongside the Jonas Brothers in the 2008 Disney Channel movie Camp 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. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | Combining the vocal prowess of Beyoncé, the genre-hopping sounds of Gwen Stefani, and the feisty attitude of P!nk, songwriter Jessie J eventually overcame various career setbacks and health problems to become a star in her own right. |
 | | Avril Lavigne first appeared in summer 2002, touting an addictive debut single (the spunky pop/rock gem "Complicated") and a skatepunk image that purposely clashed with the polished glamour of mainstream pop. |
 | | Miley Cyrus became an overnight sensation in 2006 as the star of Hannah Montana, a popular Disney Channel television series whose success allowed Cyrus to launch her own recording career several years later. |
 | | Jordin Sparks may have been the youngest American Idol when she won the title on the reality show's sixth season, but the Glendale, AZ, resident had already packed plenty of accomplishments into 17 years. |
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 | | Before she discovered she could write songs, Gwen Stefani was looking forward to a life of marriage, children, and white picket fences. |
 | | Like Martika, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Rahsaan Patterson, Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson got her first major break as a youngster on the television program Kids Incorporated. |
 | | The Black Eyed Peas transcended hip-hop to become one of the most commercially successful pop groups of the 2000s. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Before becoming a front-runner in the eighth season of American Idol, Adam Lambert made his name in the theater world, where he performed alongside Val Kilmer in the debut production of Ten Commandments: The Musical and landed an understudy role in a touring production of Wicked. |
 | | Crafting a pop-meets-hip-hop sound they call "swag-pop," Karmin is the project of singer/rapper Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan. |
 | | Cher Lloyd came to notice as a contestant on series seven of Simon Cowell's U.K. talent program The X Factor. |
 | | A leader in the parade of Mickey Mouse Club veterans who stormed pop at the turn of the millennium, Christina Aguilera was the sexy, brassy diva of the bunch -- the Rolling Stones to Britney Spears’ Beatles, as it were. |
 | | Teenage actress Miranda Cosgrove launched her music career in 2007, when she scored a hit with the theme song to her own TV show. |
 | | 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. |
 | | When Nelly Furtado appeared with her neo-hippie, multiculti debut, Whoa, Nelly!, in 2001, a dance-diva makeover seemed like an impossibility, but the singer/songwriter revived and sustained her career with the sexually charged Loose in 2006, in the process consolidating her position as one of the most unpredictable artists of her decade. |
 | | Pop singer and actor Jesse McCartney was a child performer dynamo, singing on Broadway and landing an acting gig on All My Children before even joining his first boy band, a feat that came at the age of 12. |
 | | As the legend of Cobra Starship would have it, frontman Gabe Saporta fled into the deserts of Arizona one day to find the true meaning of his existence away from his emo-rock band, Midtown. |
 | | Founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995, the Pussycat Dolls began as a burlesque dance revue based in Los Angeles, spawned a second revue in Las Vegas, grew into an A-list phenomena with a revolving cast of guest celebrities, and eventually became a recording act with a number one dance hit. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Taio Cruz is a British pop singer/songwriter whose second album, Rokstarr, catapulted him to international chart-topping success in 2010 with its smash hit singles "Break Your Heart" and "Dynamite. |
 | | Hot Chelle Rae took shape in 2005, balancing the polished sounds of mainstream pop with energized, guitar-heavy dance-rock. |
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 | | Following the success of JLS and the Wanted, X-Factor contestants One Direction were the next group of heartthrobs to help revive the previously dying concept of the boy band. |
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 | | Best known for her roles in the High School Musical films and the TV series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, New Jersey-born actress/singer/model Ashley Tisdale began her career in show business at age three, and sang for President Bill Clinton at age 12. |
 | | David Archuleta became one of the most recognizable figures on television in 2008, when his tenor vocals and boyish charm helped earn him a second-place finish on American Idol. |
 | | A striking young woman with a strong vocal resemblance to the young Whitney Houston and a large mop of blonde corkscrew curls, Leona Lewis won the third series of the British reality talent show The X Factor in a landslide. |
 | | Electronic pop-rap group Far East Movement made their major-label debut in 2010. Founded in 2003, the group was originally a trio comprised of high-school companions Kev Nish (born Kevin Nishimura), Prohgress (James Roh), and J-Splif, all of whom had grown up in downtown Los Angeles. |
 | | Splitting the difference between Shania Twain's twangy pop and Christina Aguilera's R&B acrobatics, vocalist Jessie James made her debut with "Wanted," a song that featured prominently in the film Confessions of a Shopaholic. |
 | | Best known as Gabrielle Montez from the hit Disney Channel movie and soundtrack album High School Musical, actress/singer Vanessa Anne Hudgens has also appeared on Drake & Josh and The Sweet Life of Zack and Cody. |
 | | Like the Naked Brothers Band, Big Time Rush is both a pop band and a Nickelodeon TV series. Launched in 2009, the show followed the fictional lives of four high school friends as they move to Los Angeles, sign a record deal, and become a chart-topping boy band. |
 | | Hilary Duff first made a name for herself on the enormously successful Disney Channel/ABC Kids show Lizzie McGuire, which she parlayed into dual careers as a pop singer and film actress. |
 | | Singer/actress Bridgit Mendler is best known as the star of the Disney Channel series Good Luck Charlie. |
 | | Actress/singer Jennifer Lopez was born in the Bronx, New York, on July 24, 1969; after starting out in musical theater as a child, she made her film debut at age 16 in the little-seen My Little Girl, but her career then stalled until she was tapped to become one of the dancing "Fly Girls" on the television sketch comedy series In Living Color. |
 | | An electro-rap duo from Los Angeles, CA, LMFAO made their major-label debut in 2008. Comprised of producers, DJs, and clothing designers Redfoo and SkyBlu (the son and grandson, respectively, of Motown impresario Berry Gordy), LMFAO worked the club circuit for years before making their major-label debut in 2008 with the single "I'm in Miami Bitch," a song inspired by their first experience at the Winter Music Conference. |
 | | She might be the younger sister of superstar Jessica Simpson, but don't confuse their tastes or style when it comes to music. |
 | | Singer Mike Posner launched his career at Duke University, where he balanced his undergraduate studies in sociology and business with his musical habits. |
 | | Sister acting/singing duo Aly & AJ -- whose full names are Alyson and Amanda Joy Michalka -- showed a passion for both kinds of performing at a very young age: they started playing piano at age six and began acting classes soon after. |
 | | Deemed "seriously ass-whoopin'" by Carlos Santana, female guitarist Orianthi burst on the scene in 2009 thanks to the killer trifecta of Carrie Underwood, the Grammys, and the King of Pop. |
 | | 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. |
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