"The Pleasure Principle" is a song recorded by American singer Janet Jackson for her third studio album, Control (1986). A&M Records released it as the sixth single from Control on May 12, 1987. Written and produced by Monte Moir, with co-production by Jackson and Steve Wiese, the song is an "independent woman" anthem about taking control of a personal relationship by refusing to settle for loveless materialism. Musically, "The Pleasure Principle" is an R&B song built around a dance-pop beat. The photograph for the single cover was shot by David LaChapelle. The song has been included in two of Jackson's greatest hits albums, Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 (1995) and Number Ones (2009).
"Oh" is a song by American singer, Ciara who wrote the song with Ludacris, Andre Harris, and Vidal Davis. "Oh" was produced by Harris and Davis, who work as Dre & Vidal. The song was released on March 1, 2005, as the third single from her debut album, Goodies. The downtempo R&B song features hip-hop elements and a heavy bassline, and can be seen as an anthem to her hometown, Atlanta, Georgia. Ciara sings about the many things the city has to offer, while Ludacris raps the third verse.
"Freak like Me" is a song by American R&B singer Adina Howard, released on January 25, 1995 by East West and Lola Waxx, as the debut single from her first album, Do You Wanna Ride? (1995). The song reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, as well as number two on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart for four weeks, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of one million copies. Its music video was directed by Hype Williams. In 2023, Billboard ranked "Freak like Me" among the "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time". The song has been covered by several artists, including British girl group Sugababes, who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart with their version in 2002.
American singer Usher has released nine studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 81 singles. His music has been released on the LaFace, Arista, Jive and RCA record labels. Usher has sold more than 33 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide. With over 150 million total records sold worldwide, he is one of the best selling music artists of all time. He has nine Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and 18 Hot 100 top-ten singles. In 1994, Usher released his self-titled debut album in North America, producing three singles that had moderate chart success, and the album sold more than 500,000 copies. His follow-up 1997 album My Way sold over 8 million copies worldwide, becoming his breakthrough album. It is certified seven-times platinum in the US, and spawned three successful singles, including his first UK number-one "You Make Me Wanna..." and first US Hot 100 number-one song "Nice & Slow". Usher's success continued in 2001 with his third studio album 8701. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The album produced two number-one singles—"U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". In 2002, the album was certified five-times platinum in the US for sales of 5 million copies. As of 2010, its worldwide sales stand at over 8 million.
Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe, known mononymously as Tinashe, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Pasadena, California as a child, where she pursued work in entertainment. Her notable roles include a motion-capture performance in the animated film The Polar Express (2004), Robin Wheeler in the Cartoon Network television series Out of Jimmy's Head (2007–2008), and a recurring role in the CBS series Two and a Half Men (2008–2009).
"2 On" is the debut single by American singer Tinashe for her debut studio album Aquarius (2014). The song features a guest verse from American rapper Schoolboy Q. Both artists wrote the song with Bobby Brackins, and features production from DJ Mustard, Jon Redwine, and DJ Marley Waters, who are also credited as songwriters. It features a sample from the 2005 single "We Be Burnin'" by Jamaican recording artist Sean Paul, resulting in writing credits for Cezar Cunningham, Sean Paul, Steven Marsden, Delano Thomas, Michael Jarrett, and Craig Serani Marsh. "2 On" was released as Tinashe's commercial debut single from Aquarius on January 21, 2014 and was sent to US rhythmic contemporary, urban contemporary on March 18, 2014, and to contemporary hit radio on July 30, 2014.
American singer Tinashe has released six studio albums, four mixtapes, one extended play and thirteen singles, including seventeen as the featured artist. Tinashe's debut album, Aquarius, was released on October 7, 2014. It debuted in the top 20 on the Billboard 200, and peaked within the top ten of the US, UK and Australian urban albums charts. Aquarius was supported by three singles. The lead single from the album was titled "2 On", and featured rapper ScHoolboy Q. "2 On" peaked at 24 on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the US rhythmic chart. "2 On" also reached the top 30 in Australia, and entered the charts in Canada, France and the UK. "2 On" was later certified platinum in the US by the RIAA and in Australia by the ARIA.
"Nasty Freestyle" is the debut single by American rapper T-Wayne. The song, a freestyle over the beat to Bandit Gang Marco's "Nasty" (2014), became a viral sensation in the spring of 2015; in particular, popular user-generated videos posted to Instagram and Vine featuring the song's opening couplet fueled the song's rise to prominence. Released as a digital download in the United States by 300 Entertainment on May 4, 2015, it soon became a commercial success, peaking at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100. As of July 2015, it has sold 785,562 copies domestically. At the week ending April 26, the song had been streamed 6.4 million times in the US.
American singer Sabrina Carpenter has released five studio albums, two extended plays, 24 singles, 23 promotional singles and 31 music videos. After gaining recognition on Disney Channel's Girl Meets World and performing its theme song, Carpenter signed a five-album deal with Hollywood Records. In 2014, she released her debut single Can't Blame a Girl for Trying and an EP of the same name. She followed this with her debut album Eyes Wide Open (2015) which debuted at number 43 on the US Billboard 200.
"All My Friends" is a song by British production duo Snakehips, featuring American recording artists Tinashe and Chance the Rapper. It was released as a single on 21 October 2015 by Sony Music UK and Columbia Records. It won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song in May 2016.
Sarah Grace McLaughlin, known professionally as Bishop Briggs, is a British singer and songwriter. Her single "River" peaked at number 3 on the US Alternative Chart. and has been streamed more than 485 million times on Spotify. It was included on her debut album, Church of Scars, released on 20 April 2018. Island Records released her second album, Champion, in July 2019, and it was included in The Young Folks Top 50 albums of the year.
"Slumber Party" is a song recorded by American singer Britney Spears for her ninth studio album, Glory (2016). It was written by Mattias Larsson, Robin Fredriksson, Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter, and produced by Mattman & Robin. The duo was also responsible for vocal production alongside Mischke Butler. The song was released as the second single from the album on November 16, 2016. A remix version featuring vocals from American singer Tinashe was sent to US contemporary hit radio on November 22. A reggae-pop and R&B track, "Slumber Party" features brass, marimba, syncopated synths, percussion and a horn section in its instrumentation. Lyrically, the song was described as an ode to fornicating and making sex tapes. In it, Spears evokes one-night stands, the ritual of sleepovers with friends and the teenage game seven minutes in heaven.
English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa has released three studio albums, two reissues, one remix album, five extended plays (EPs), thirty-four singles, ten promotional singles, two charity singles, and thirty-five music videos. After signing with Warner Bros. Records, she released her debut single "New Love" in 2015. The following year, she gained recognition through the singles "Hotter than Hell" and "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)". In June 2017 Lipa released her eponymous debut studio album, which reached the top 10 charts in Australia, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The album's chart-topping hits "Be the One", "New Rules" and "IDGAF" propelled Lipa to international fame.
Margaret Debay Rogers is an American singer-songwriter and record producer from Easton, Maryland. After her song "Alaska" was played to artist-in-residence Pharrell Williams during a master class at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2016, she gained widespread recognition. She has released two independent albums, The Echo (2012) and Blood Ballet (2014), and three studio albums, Heard It in a Past Life (2019), Surrender (2022) and Don't Forget Me (2024). She was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2020.
"Ocean Eyes" is a single by American singer Billie Eilish and was released as the lead single from her debut EP, Don't Smile at Me, and the soundtrack album to the film Everything, Everything (2017). The song was written and produced by Eilish's older brother, Finneas O'Connell, and was originally written for his band. Finneas gave the song to Eilish for her dance performance after realizing the song suited her vocals. It was originally released on SoundCloud on November 18, 2015, but was later re-released commercially on November 18, 2016, as a single through Darkroom and Interscope Records.
Alexandra Artourovna Yatchenko, known professionally as Sasha Alex Sloan, is an American singer-songwriter. Her debut album, Only Child, was released on October 16, 2020. It was met with critical acclaim by music critics, deeming it as a solid and outspoken debut album. Sloan's second studio album I Blame the World was released on May 13, 2022.
American singer Ava Max has released two studio albums, two extended plays, 28 singles, 11 promotional singles and 24 music videos, as well as 4 visualizer music videos. In 2008, Max released an independent extended play on her Myspace profile titled Amanda Kay. She released "Take Away the Pain" under the stage name Ava in 2013, which was later produced by the Canadian duo Project 46 in 2015.
Stella Rose Bennett, better known as Benee and formerly Bene, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter from Auckland. In both 2019 and 2020, she consecutively won Single of the Year, Best Solo Artist and Best Pop Artist at the New Zealand Music Awards. Benee initially gained local prominence with her singles "Glitter" and "Soaked", before her 2019 single "Supalonely" saw international popularity following its success on the video-sharing platforms TikTok and YouTube. Benee subsequently released her debut album, Hey U X, in November 2020.
American rapper and singer Doja Cat has released four studio albums, one extended play (EP), 44 singles, 33 music videos, and nine promotional singles. According to Recording Industry Association of America, Doja Cat has sold 34 million certified albums and singles in the United States as a lead artist.
Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon, known professionally as Doechii, is an American rapper and singer. After releasing her debut EP, Oh the Places You'll Go (2020), she rose to prominence on TikTok with the viral success of her 2021 song "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake". She then signed with Top Dawg Entertainment in a joint venture with Capitol Records, through which she released her second EP, She/Her/Black Bitch (2022). Her 2023 single "What It Is " marked her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
