Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music history in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records. They are known for commercially successful pop songs with 'highbrow' influences from classical music, opera, film, fashion and literature.
Christina María Aguilera is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Recognized as an influential figure in music and having received widespread public interest, she is noted for her four-octave vocal range, use of the whistle register, and incorporating controversial themes into her music. Referred to as the "Voice of a Generation", she was also named a Disney Legend, in recognition for her contributions to The Walt Disney Company.
Carole King Klein is an American singer-songwriter and musician. One of the most successful songwriters in American history, she wrote or co-wrote 118 pop hits appearing on the Billboard Hot 100 over the latter half of the 20th century. King also wrote 61 hits that charted in the UK, making her the most successful female songwriter on the UK singles charts between 1962 and 2005.
Deborah Ann Gibson is an American singer, songwriter, and actress.
"Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama The Threepenny Opera. The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld from the musical named Macheath, the "Mack the Knife" of the title.
Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the turn of the millennium, he made a successful crossover into the mainstream English-language market. He signed a multi-album deal with Universal Music Group for US$68 million with Universal Music Latino to release his Spanish albums and Interscope Records to release English albums. Enrique is the third child of Spanish singer-songwriter Julio Iglesias.
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.
Natasha Anne Bedingfield is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. She released her debut album, Unwritten, in 2004, which contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music. It enjoyed international success with more than 2.3 million copies sold worldwide. Bedingfield received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the title track "Unwritten", and at the 2005 and 2006 Brit Awards, she was nominated for Best British Female Artist. Unwritten also produced her only UK number one, "These Words".
Joanna Noëlle "JoJo" Levesque is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She began performing in singing competitions and local talent shows as a child. In 2003, record producer Vincent Herbert noticed her after she competed on the television show America's Most Talented Kids and asked her to audition for his record label Blackground Records. After signing with the label, JoJo released her eponymous debut studio album in 2004. It peaked at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), selling over four million copies worldwide to date.
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Underwood's single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the first country artist to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the only solo country artist in the 2000s to have a number-one song on the Hot 100. Her debut album, Some Hearts (2005), was bolstered by the successful crossover singles "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "Before He Cheats", becoming the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history. She won three Grammy Awards for the album, including Best New Artist. The next studio album, Carnival Ride (2007) had one of the biggest opening weeks of all time by a female artist and won two Grammy Awards. Her third studio album, Play On (2009), produced the single "Cowboy Casanova", which had one of the biggest single-week upward movements on the Hot 100.
"I'm a Slave 4 U" is a song recorded by American singer Britney Spears for her third studio album, Britney (2001). It was released as the album's lead single on September 25, 2001, by Jive Records. Written and produced by Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes, the song marked a transition for Spears from the teen pop sounds of her previous singles. Musically, "I'm a Slave 4 U" is a dance-pop song with urban and R&B influences. The lyrics describe the plea of a young woman to be liberated and feel independent.
Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman and actress based in the United States. She is noted as the best-selling female recording artist of the 21st century by Guinness World Records and the second wealthiest in the world. Rihanna is the highest-certified female digital single artist and has six U.S. diamond certified singles. She has achieved 14 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. The recipient of various accolades, Rihanna is one of the best-selling recording artists ever, with sales estimated at 250 million units globally.
Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her biographical songwriting, artistic reinventions, and cultural impact, Swift is a leading figure in popular music and the subject of widespread public interest.
Brittany Nicole Waddell, better known by her stage name Britt Nicole, is an American singer and songwriter. She has mainly charted as a Christian pop artist, but in 2012 found her debut mainstream single, "Gold" and in 2013, "Ready or Not", in the Mainstream Top 40. Her fourth studio album, Gold, was nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album at the 55th Grammy Awards. She is signed to Sparrow and Capitol Records.
Agnes Monica Muljoto, known professionally as Agnez Mo, is an Indonesian singer and actress. Born and raised in Jakarta, she is known as a bilingual singer who records in both Indonesian and English.
Elena Jane Goulding is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Hereford and raised in Lyonshall, Goulding began writing songs at the age of 15. She released her debut single "Under the Sheets" through Neon Gold Records in 2009, and signed with Polydor Records that same year, releasing her debut extended play (EP) An Introduction to Ellie Goulding. Her debut studio album, Lights (2010), debuted at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, and was reissued as Bright Lights, spawning three successful singles: a cover of Elton John's "Your Song", "Starry Eyed" and "Lights". Her second studio album Halcyon (2012) was preceded by its lead single "Anything Could Happen", and a repackaged edition titled Halcyon Days (2013) produced the single "Burn", which became her first No. 1 single in the UK. She then collaborated with DJ Calvin Harris on two singles: "I Need Your Love" and "Outside".
Sky Tonia Ferreira is an American singer-songwriter, model, and actress. As a teenager, Ferreira began uploading videos on Myspace of herself singing songs she had written, which led to her discovery by producers Bloodshy & Avant and a recording contract with Parlophone in 2009. She released her first extended play, As If!, in 2011, which combined elements of electropop and dance music. Ferreira's second EP, Ghost (2012), however, incorporated pop with more stripped-down song structures and featured collaborations with Jon Brion and Shirley Manson, as well as the critically acclaimed track "Everything Is Embarrassing", which she composed with Dev Hynes.
Il Volo is an Italian operatic pop trio, consisting of Gianluca Ginoble, Piero Barone, and Ignazio Boschetto. They describe their music as "popera". Having won the Sanremo Music Festival 2015, they represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Grande amore", finishing first in the televote and third overall.
Karen Marie Aagaard Ørsted Andersen, known professionally as MØ, is a Danish singer and songwriter. In 2012, she signed a recording contract with Sony Music Entertainment, releasing her debut extended play, Bikini Daze (2013), and her debut studio album, No Mythologies to Follow (2014).
Nervo are an Australian DJ duo comprising twin sisters Olivia and Miriam Nervo. After signing with Sony/ATV Music Publishing at 18 years of age, the sisters pursued careers as songwriting partners. In 2008, they signed with Fredrik Olsson and his Swedish music publishing company Razor Boy Music Publishing, which led to co-writing the Grammy Award-winning single, "When Love Takes Over", performed by David Guetta and Kelly Rowland.
