 | | Soulful R&B-influenced pop vocalist Pixie Lott was born Victoria Louise Lott on January 12, 1991 in Kent, England. |
 | | Ellie Goulding is a British vocalist whose music finds the balance between electro-pop and indie folk. |
 | | Cheryl Cole (born Cheryl Ann Tweedy on June 30, 1983) was a dancer and model prior to becoming a member of the record-breaking European pop group Girls Aloud. |
 | | Already a popular British actress, Natalia Keery-Fisher launched her music career with the release of 2005's "Don't Play Nice," a hit single that was credited to her stage name, Verbalicious. |
 | | Although initially known for her acting roles (most notably her portrayal of Blaire Waldorf, the semi-villainous heroine of Gossip Girl), Leighton Meester branched into music during the show's second season. |
 | | Marina and the Diamonds, really just Marina Diamandis, was born in Wales to Welsh and Greek parents in 1986, although she has often claimed to be from Ancient Greece. |
 | | The Veronicas hail from Brisbane, Australia, where twin sisters Jess and Lisa Origliasso began working in show business at the age of five. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Deadpan vocalist/MC Dev (Devin Tailes), a California native, released her first single, “Booty Bounce,” in August 2010. |
 | | Pop singer and dancer Nicole Scherzinger was born Nicole Elikolani Prescovia Scherzinger on June 29, 1978, in Honolulu, HI, but was raised mostly in Louisville, KY, moving there at age six with her mom after her parents separated. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | A former Christian artist, Katy Perry rebranded herself as a larger-than-life pop star and rose to prominence during the summer of 2008. |
 | | David “Campa” Benjamin Singer-Vine and Niles “Cyrano” Hollowell-Dhar combined their songwriting, vocal, and production talents in 2003, while they were attending high school in Berkeley, CA. |
 | | Singer Mike Posner launched his career at Duke University, where he balanced his undergraduate studies in sociology and business with his musical habits. |
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 | | More than any other single artist, Britney Spears was the driving force behind the return of teen pop in the late '90s. |
 | | Vocalist Lana Del Rey makes atmospheric, orchestral, retro-'60s-sounding pop that showcases her torchy image and sensuous singing style. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Crafting a pop-meets-hip-hop sound they call "swag-pop," Karmin is the project of singer/rapper Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Originally called Cascade until legal conflicts forced them to change their name, Cascada is the slick, uplifting Euro-dance trio featuring producers DJ Manian and Yanou along with vocalist Natalie Horler, although Horler is sometimes presented as Cascada herself. |
 | | 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. |
 | | An international pop star -- despite repeated problems with labels that halted her career's momentum several times -- Sweden's Robyn blends the gritty sound of American urban R&B with the sunny pop of her homeland. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Hailing from South London, Florence Mary Leontine Welch writes songs that occupy the same confessional territory as gossip-loving, genre-bending contemporaries like Amy Winehouse, Kate Nash, Adele, and Lily Allen and the moody, classic art rock of Kate Bush, blending pop, soul, and baroque arrangements into a sound that earned the young artist considerable buzz in 2007. |
 | | Meaning "red-haired one" in French, La Roux is the synth pop project of flame-haired singer/songwriter Elly Jackson and keyboardist/producer Ben Langmaid. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 3Oh!3 are a duo from Boulder, Colorado (i.e., area code 303), whose style of music includes jokey raps, indie electronica beats, and lots of tomfoolery. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Originally from New Zealand, Natasha Bedingfield grew up in southeast London, where she and her siblings were raised around music. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Actress/vocalist Demi Lovato began making a name for herself after starring alongside the Jonas Brothers in the 2008 Disney Channel movie Camp Rock. |
 | | With her omnivorous musical tastes and cheeky attitude, London-based pop singer/songwriter Lily Allen made a name for herself almost as soon as she released her demos on the Internet. |
 | | Cher Lloyd came to notice as a contestant on series seven of Simon Cowell's U.K. talent program The X Factor. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Growing up on the outskirts of Boston, MA, JoJo listened and learned as her mother practiced hymns. She started singing by imitating her mother, but quickly put her own spin on everything from nursery rhymes to pop tunes. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Born Travis Lazarus McCoy in Geneva, NY, rapper Travie McCoy first made a name for himself as the lead vocalist of the alternative rap group Gym Class Heroes. |
 | | English MC Tinie Tempah (Patrick Chukwuem Okogwu, Jr.) hails from South London. He was in his teens when he issued his first single, “Wifey,” which packed sweetened swagger and became a hit in the underground. |
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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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Fefe Dobson was a young Toronto-based songstress who brokered demo recordings and a series of solid industry showcases into a deal with Island/Def Jam, which issued her eponymous debut in October 2003. |
 | | When a 12-year-old Kristinia DeBarge told her father, James DeBarge (the youngest member of DeBarge), that she wanted to become a singer, the two wrote and recorded a song that had Kristinia in a studio until early morning -- a test to see if she had the determination to follow through on her wish. |
