Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographer for the Laker Girls, where she was discovered by the Jacksons. After choreographing music videos for Janet Jackson, Abdul became a choreographer at the height of the music video era and soon thereafter she was signed to Virgin Records. Her debut studio album Forever Your Girl (1988) became one of the most successful debut albums at that time, selling seven million copies in the United States and setting a record for the most number-one singles from a debut album on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", and "Opposites Attract". Her second album Spellbound (1991) scored her two more chart-toppers – "Rush Rush" and "The Promise of a New Day". With six number-one singles on Hot 100, Abdul tied Diana Ross for the third-most chart-toppers among female solo artists at the time. As of 2025, Abdul places seventh along with Diana Ross and Lady Gaga for the most number-one singles by female artists in the U.S. to date.
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer, actress, and film producer. Known as "the Voice", she is one of the most awarded performers and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of more than 220 million records worldwide. Her crossover appeal on the popular music charts influenced the breaking down of gender and racial barriers in popular culture. Known for her vocal delivery and live performances, Houston was ranked second by Rolling Stone on their 2023 list of the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time". Her life and career have been the subject of multiple documentaries and television specials.
Barry Eugene White was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring R&B, soul, funk, and disco songs such as his two biggest hits: "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything".
Donna Adrian Gaines, known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music gained a global following.
Mya Marie Harrison, known professionally as Mýa, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and actress. Classified as a "triple threat entertainer," she was born in Washington D.C. and studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Her career began in television as a dance posse member, performing on BET's Teen Summit. She signed with record executive A. Haqq Islam's University Records, an imprint of Interscope Records to release her eponymous debut studio album (1998), which lyrically explored romance and coming-of-age scenarios. Met with critical and commercial success, the album was led by her first single, "It's All About Me", which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. Her collaborative singles — "Girls Dem Sugar", "Ghetto Supastar ", and "Take Me There" — were also met with commercial success.
In the Zone is the fourth studio album by American singer Britney Spears. It was released on November 15, 2003, by Jive Records. Spears began writing songs during her Dream Within a Dream Tour, not knowing the direction of the record. She stated she was an autobiographical songwriter, although not to the point where she felt self-exploited. During the process, she ended her highly-publicized relationship with singer Justin Timberlake. With the tour's conclusion in July 2002, Spears planned to take a six-month break from her career; however, recording for the album commenced in November.
Paula Dorothy Cole is an American singer-songwriter and producer. After gaining attention for her performances as a vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, she released her first album, Harbinger, which suffered from a lack of promotion when the label, Imago Records, folded shortly after its release. Her second album, This Fire (1996), brought her worldwide acclaim, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard 200 album chart and producing two hit singles, the triple-Grammy nominated "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?", which reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and "I Don't Want to Wait", which was used as the theme song of the television show Dawson's Creek. Cole was a featured performer in the 1996 prototype mini-tour for Lilith Fair, and also was a headliner for Lilith Fair in 1997 and 1998. She won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1998, and also became the first woman ever to be nominated for "Producer of the Year" in her own right in that same year.
"That's the Way Love Goes" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson from her fifth album, Janet. (1993). The song was released on April 20, 1993 by Virgin Records, as the lead single from the Janet album. Written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the song's themes of romantic lust saw Jackson transitioning to sensual territory, considered a shocking contrast to her previous releases among critics and the public. The song's slow tempo fused R&B, pop, funk and soul music with flourishes of downtempo and hip hop music. It received positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who praised it as "iconic", "hypnotic", and "extravaganza" for its production and vocals.
Patti Austin is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter best known for "Baby, Come to Me", her 1982 duet with James Ingram, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 after its re-release that same year.
"Alive" is a song recorded by American entertainer Jennifer Lopez. It was written by Lopez, Cris Judd, and Cory Rooney for the Michael Apted-directed thriller, Enough (2002). Lopez stars in the film as Slim, a waitress who marries a wealthy contractor, and flees with their 5 year old daughter as he becomes increasingly abusive. While on the run, Slim, who discovers that her husband is following her, "trains herself for a final, violent confrontation". The producers of Enough wanted Lopez to write a new song for film, however, she felt as if it was not something that could be forced. In October 2001, while on their honeymoon, Judd played her a melody that he had written on the piano. Lopez thought that the melody was "really beautiful", and that it would be perfect fit for Enough. She incorporated the hardships that Slim went through in the film, as well as her own personal struggles, into the song's lyrics.
Jackie Ward, better known as Robin Ward, is an American singer, regarded as a "one-hit wonder" of 1963 million-selling song "Wonderful Summer". However, using her real name she was highly accomplished and successful singing in groups. Ward's voice is heard in U.S. television series, motion pictures, advertisements, and pop records. She is one of the real singers of the hits attributed to The Partridge Family.
Alexandra Shungudzo Govere, better known as Shungudzo, is a Zimbabwean-American singer and reality television personality. She first attracted media attention by being the first black female gymnast to represent Zimbabwe in artistic gymnastics at the 1999 All-Africa Games, and later by co-founding the Kijana Project, which provides relief for AIDS orphans. She later gained wide media attention as a cast member on the 2011 season of The Real World: San Diego.
The All for You Tour was the fourth concert tour by American recording artist Janet Jackson, in support of her seventh studio album All for You (2001). The show was designed by Mark Fisher and Jackson. It was originally scheduled to start in Vancouver, Canada, but due to problems transporting technical equipment across the Canada–United States border, the first show took place in Portland, Oregon. The tour trekked through North America throughout the summer and ended with a final show in Honolulu, Hawaii which was broadcast by HBO.
Aubrey Morgan O'Day is an American singer and reality television personality who has been a member of the girl group Danity Kane. Following discord among Danity Kane and with her mentor at the time, P. Diddy, O'Day was fired from the group in 2008, but reunited with them in 2013 before a second disbandment. Danity Kane reunited in 2018 as a trio. She also performed in the duo Dumblonde with former Danity Kane bandmate Shannon Bex from 2015 to 2019.
Amaia Montero Saldías is a Spanish singer and songwriter mainly known as the former vocalist of the Spanish pop-band La Oreja de Van Gogh between 1996 and 2007.
Oksana Stefanivna Hrytsai is a singer from the city of Burshtyn, Ukraine. Born and raised in Ukraine, she is currently based in Los Angeles, California.
The M+M's Tour was the sixth concert tour by American entertainer Britney Spears, consisting of six brief shows at clubs in the United States. Spears expressed interest in touring again as early as February 2006. She started rehearsing for a show at House of Blues venues in secret, and pulled out of a surprise performance on April 25, 2007, at Los Angeles nightclub Forty Deuce. After a marquee reading "The M+M's" at the House of Blues in San Diego, California, appeared in late April 2007, media sources identified the act as Spears, and the show quickly sold out. The title, "M+M's" code name was claimed to be Mother and Miss. The tour marked the first time Spears performed live since The Onyx Hotel Tour in June 2004.
Briana Evigan is an American actress and dancer best known for her roles in the Step Up series and for her scream queen roles in numerous horror films. Born in Los Angeles, Evigan is the daughter of actor Greg Evigan and his wife Pamela, a dancer, model and choreographer. She began dancing and acting at a young age, graduating from Los Angeles Valley College with a degree in speech and communication.
Chris Carter, known professionally as Von Pimpenstein, is an American record producer and mixer from Los Angeles, California, United States.
Little Miss Cornshucks was the stage name of Mildred Jorman. She was an American rhythm and blues and jazz singer and songwriter. In her stage show from the 1940s and early 1950s she portrayed herself as a simple farm girl. Her vocal style inspired later R&B and soul singers, among them LaVern Baker, Ruth Brown, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Wynona Carr and Billy Wright. Her own career never achieved full recognition in her lifetime.
