t.A.T.u. was a Russian music duo that consisted of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The singers were part of children's music group Neposedy before being managed by producer and director Ivan Shapovalov and signing with Russian record label Neformat. t.A.T.u.'s debut album 200 Po Vstrechnoy (2001) was a commercial success in Eastern Europe, and that made the duo sign with Interscope Records to release its English-language counterpart, 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane (2002). The album was certified platinum by the IFPI for one million copies sold in Europe and became the first album by a foreign group to reach number one in Japan. It was also certified gold in the United States and included the international hits "All the Things She Said" and "Not Gonna Get Us". The duo represented Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Ne Ver', Ne Boysia", finishing third.
J-pop, natively also known simply as pops, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in traditional Japanese music, but significantly in 1960s pop and rock music, such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys, which led to Japanese rock bands such as Happy End fusing rock with Japanese music in the early 1970s. J-pop was further defined by new wave and crossover fusion acts of the late 1970s such as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Southern All Stars, then Eurobeat in the early 1990s, namely Namie Amuro.
N.E.R.D. is a hip hop and rock band, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1999. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin Records as a duo, The Neptunes. After producing songs for several artists throughout the late 1990s, the production duo formed the band with Shay Haley as a side project of The Neptunes in 1999. N.E.R.D.'s debut album, In Search Of..., sold 603,000 copies in the United States and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was also awarded the second annual Shortlist Music Prize. The band's second album, Fly or Die, sold 412,000 copies in the United States, but shipped at least 500,000 units, certifying it Gold.
Every Little Thing is a pop/soft rock duo from Japan who debuted in August 1996 with the release of their first single called "Feel My Heart". Their name is usually written in English, and only rarely in katakana. They gained massive popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As of 2013, Every Little Thing has sold over 23 million copies of singles and albums throughout Japan. Their second studio album, Time to Destination, is the best-selling album of the band with over 3.5 million copies sold, and became the 10th best-selling album of all time in Japan.
Leon Eric Brooks III, better known by his stage name Kix Brooks, is an American country music artist, actor, and film producer best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn and host of radio's American Country Countdown. Prior to the duo's foundation, he was a singer and songwriter, charting twice on Hot Country Songs and releasing an album for Capitol Records. Brooks and Ronnie Dunn comprised Brooks & Dunn for twenty years, then both members began solo careers. Brooks's solo career after Brooks & Dunn includes the album New to This Town.
Gerald Edward Levert was an American singer-songwriter, producer and actor. Levert is best known for singing with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon of the vocal group LeVert. Levert was also a member of LSG, a supergroup comprising Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, and himself. Levert is the son of Eddie Levert, who is the lead singer of the R&B/soul vocal group the O'Jays. He had released nine solo albums, six with LeVert, two with his father Eddie Levert, two with LSG, as well as discovering the R&B groups the Rude Boys, Men at Large and 1 of the Girls.
Clipse is an American hip hop duo, formed by brothers Gene "No Malice" Thornton and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton in Virginia Beach, Virginia in 1992. The group was affiliated with the production team The Neptunes, and in 2001 signed to their imprint Star Trak Entertainment. The duo achieved favorable commercial success, while receiving greater critical acclaim during the 2000s. They are considered to be one of the pioneers of the coke rap subgenre.
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band. Founded in 1999, the band consists of Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus, and Joe Don Rooney. DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousin, a brother-in-law of country music singer James Otto, and a former member of the contemporary Christian music duo East to West.
Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo, founded by singers Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, both natives of Kentucky, United States. They began performing together in the 1990s as part of two different bands with Montgomery's brother, John Michael Montgomery. Although Gentry won a talent contest in 1994, he reunited with Eddie Montgomery after Gentry was unable to find a solo record deal, and Montgomery Gentry was formed in 1999. The duo is known for its Southern rock influences, and collaborated with Charlie Daniels, Toby Keith, Five for Fighting, and members of The Allman Brothers Band.
Fly to the Sky is a South Korean R&B duo consisting of Brian Joo and Hwanhee. Initially marketed as K-pop idols, the duo later developed a more mature image and became one of the most popular R&B groups in South Korea. The duo has released nine studio albums since its debut in 1999.
Kim Jong-kook is a South Korean singer, entertainer, and actor. Kim debuted as a member of South Korean duo Turbo in 1995. The duo was considered to be one of the most popular idols in that time and sold out millions of albums in South Korea and Asia. Following the disbanding of the duo in 2000, Kim released his debut solo album, Renaissance, in December 2001.
Nuttin' But Stringz, also known as N.B.S., consisted of the duo Tourie and Damien Escobar who both play violin. The musicians from Jamaica, Queens played a blend of classical music, hip-hop, jazz, and R&B.
Dynamic Duo is a South Korean hip hop duo that consists of rappers Choiza and Gaeko. They rose to fame with their 2004 debut album, Taxi Driver, which became the best-selling Korean hip hop album ever. They are signed to Amoeba Culture, a hip hop record label that they founded in 2006.
Blue Sky Black Death is a production duo based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It consists of Ryan Maguire, better known by his stage name Kingston, and Ian Taggart, better known by his stage name Young God, or, later, Televangel. They are known principally for their hip hop and instrumental music, made with a mixture of live instrumentation and sampling. Their name is "a skydiving phrase alluding to beauty and death."
Manuel Reuter, better known by his stage name DJ Manian or just Manian, is a German music producer, DJ and owner of Zooland Records label.
The King Khan & BBQ Show is a Canadian garage rock duo from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, who mix doo-wop and punk. The band is composed of former Spaceshits bandmates Mark Sultan and Blacksnake, alias King Khan. Mark Sultan, under the pseudonym BBQ, contributed vocals, guitar, tambourine, bass drum, and snare drum, while King Khan provides lead guitar and vocals. An entertainer named Leo Chips, formerly known as Age of Danger of the Deadly Snakes, joined the group as a drummer and organist for some shows during the Invisible Girl U.S tour in 2009.
Oleksii Andriiovych Potapenko, known professionally as Potap, is a Ukrainian producer, songwriter, composer, performer, director, scriptwriter, TV presenter, master of sports at water polo, coach and mentor of The Voice of Ukraine. Has been involved as a performer and/or producer of such iconic music acts as Potap i Nastya, Vremya i Steklo, MOZGI and many more releasing over 300 songs the vast majority of which became international hits.
Outkast was an American hip hop duo formed in 1992 in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta-based rappers André "3000" Benjamin and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. Widely recognized for their intricate lyricism, memorable melodies and positive messages, OutKast is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential hip hop acts of all time. The duo achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, helping to popularize Southern hip hop while experimenting with diverse genres such as funk, psychedelia, jazz, and techno.
Byron Gallimore is an American record producer known for more than two decades of work in the field of country music. He has worked with artists Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Sugarland, Lee Ann Womack, and Jo Dee Messina. Faith Hill's 1999 album Breathe won him the Grammy Award for Best Country Album. Gallimore also produced the single "Breathe" from the album.
Leessang (Korean: 리쌍) was a South Korean hip hop duo, composed of Kang Hee-gun and Gil Seong-joon ("Gil"). Formed in 2002, the duo has released eight albums to date: two self-titled records in 2002 and 2003, Library of Soul in 2005, Black Sun in 2007, Baekajeolhyeon (백아절현) in 2009, Hexagonal in late 2009, Asura Balbalta in 2011 and Unplugged in 2012. Their last three albums broke numerous records and guided their entry to the mainstream Korean music industry.
