Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture. Jackson influenced artists across many music genres; through stage and video performances, he popularized complicated dance moves such as the moonwalk, to which he gave the name, as well as the robot. He is the most awarded musician in history.

The eighth child of the Jackson family, Jackson made his public debut in 1964 with his older brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons). Jackson began his solo career in 1971 while at Motown Records. He became a solo star with his 1979 album Off the Wall. His music videos, including those for "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller" from his 1982 album Thriller, are credited with breaking racial barriers and transforming the medium into an artform and promotional tool. He helped propel the success of MTV and continued to innovate with videos for the albums Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995), and Invincible (2001). Thriller became the best-selling album of all time, while Bad was the first album to produce five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.

3OH!3 is an American electronic music duo from Boulder, Colorado, made up of Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte. They are best known for their single "DONTTRUSTME" from their album Want, which reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Their second single, a remix of "Starstrukk" featuring Katy Perry from Want, was a top ten hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Poland, and Australia. They gained further recognition by featuring Kesha on the song "My First Kiss", which was made the lead single from their album Streets of Gold. The album later peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200.

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( (listen) STEF-ən-ee JUR-mə-NOT-ə; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenager, singing at open mic nights and acting in school plays. She studied at Collaborative Arts Project 21, through the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, before dropping out to pursue a career in music. After Def Jam Recordings canceled her contract, she worked as a songwriter for Sony/ATV Music Publishing, where she signed a joint deal with Interscope Records and KonLive Distribution, in 2007. Gaga had her breakthrough the following year with her debut studio album, The Fame, and its chart-topping singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album was later reissued to include the extended play The Fame Monster (2009), which yielded the successful singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone", and "Alejandro".

Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on American rapper Flo Rida's number-one single "Right Round".

Kesha's music and image propelled her to immediate success. She has earned two number-one albums on the US Billboard 200 with Animal (2010) and Rainbow (2017), and the top-ten records Warrior (2012) and High Road (2020). Kesha has attained ten top-ten singles on the US Billboard Hot 100, including "Tik Tok", "Blah Blah Blah", "Your Love Is My Drug", "Take It Off", "Blow", "Die Young", "My First Kiss" with 3OH!3, "We R Who We R", "Right Round" with Flo Rida, and "Timber" with Pitbull. Her 2009 single "Tik Tok" was the best-selling digital single in history, selling over 14 million units internationally, until surpassed in 2011.

Fall Out Boy is an American rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, drummer Andy Hurley, and guitarist Joe Trohman. The band originated from Chicago's hardcore punk scene and was formed by Wentz and Trohman as a pop-punk side project; Stump joined shortly thereafter. The group went through a succession of drummers before Hurley joined. Their debut album, Take This to Your Grave (2003), became an underground success and helped the band gain a dedicated fanbase through heavy touring. Take This to Your Grave is cited as influential on pop-punk music in the 2000s.

Adam Gaynor is an American musician. He is the former rhythm guitarist for the band Matchbox Twenty.

Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, backing vocals). Former band member Andy Nicholson (bass guitar, backing vocals) left the band in 2006 shortly after their debut album was released.

Arctic Monkeys were heralded as one of the first bands to come to public attention via the Internet, with commentators suggesting they represented the possibility of a change in the way in which new bands are promoted and marketed. Their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006), became the fastest-selling debut album in UK chart history, and has been hailed as one of the greatest debut albums. It won Best British Album at the 2007 Brit Awards. The band's second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007), was also acclaimed by critics and won Best British Album at the 2008 BRIT Awards. They went on to release Humbug (2009) and Suck It and See (2011).

American rapper Eminem has released five video albums and appeared in various music videos, films, and television programs.

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her campy style, she has been referred to as the "Queen of Camp" by Vogue. Pursuing a career in gospel music at 16, Perry released her debut album, Katy Hudson, under Red Hill Records in 2001, which was commercially unsuccessful. She moved to Los Angeles at 17 to venture into secular music, and later adopted the stage name "Katy Perry" from her mother's maiden name. She recorded an album while signed to Columbia Records, but was dropped before signing to Capitol Records.

Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine, drummer Matt Flynn, keyboardist PJ Morton and multi-instrumentalist and bassist Sam Farrar. Original members Levine, Carmichael, bassist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick first came together as Kara's Flowers in 1994, while they were still in high school.

Panic! at the Disco is the solo project of American musician Brendon Urie. It was originally a pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2004 by childhood friends Urie, Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, and Brent Wilson. They recorded their first demos while they were in high school. Shortly after, the band recorded and released their debut studio album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (2005). Popularized by the second single, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies", the album was certified triple platinum in the US. In 2006, founding bassist Brent Wilson was fired from the band during an extensive world tour and subsequently replaced by Jon Walker. The band's second album, Pretty. Odd. (2008), was preceded by the single "Nine in the Afternoon". That album marked a significant departure from the sound of the band's debut. Ross and Walker, who favored the band's new direction, departed because Urie and Smith wanted to make further changes to the band's style. Ross and Walker subsequently formed a new band, the Young Veins, leaving Urie and Smith as the sole remaining members of Panic! at the Disco.

Framing Hanley is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2005. They released their first studio album in August 2007, titled The Moment.

Lead singer & songwriter Kenneth Nixon, guitarists Tim Huskinson and Brandon Wooten, bassist Luke McDuffee and drummer Chris Vest came together to form Framing Hanley and quickly gained a large following in Nashville. First formed in 2005 (Under the name Embers Fade), the band posted some demos of their songs on the bands myspace page. In November 2006, these demos were discovered by Brett Hestla, former Creed bassist and frontman of Dark New Day. Hestla helped the young Nashville based quintet record a 2-song demo in his Florida studio which he showed to Jeff Hanson (Creed, Sevendust, Paramore) and his record label Silent Majority Group. In an interview with HitQuarters Hanson said he "flipped out" when he heard the song "Hear Me Now" and decided immediately he wanted to sign them. The following day he went to see the band play in Nashville and claims that in his rush to secure the band's signatures he wrote up their deal on a napkin. Hanson became not only their label boss but also their manager, says the band.

The Cab is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Their debut album, Whisper War, was released on April 29, 2008. They have been called "The Band You Need to Know 2008" by Alternative Press magazine. They were also featured in the '100 Bands You Need to Know in 2010' by the magazine and were one of the three bands featured on the cover page, along with Never Shout Never and Hey Monday. Their second album Symphony Soldier was released on August 23, 2011, with its first single "Bad" released to iTunes July 11, 2011, and announced by the band on July 18. The Cab funded the entire album by themselves and left their Fueled by Ramen/Decaydance label, self-releasing Symphony Soldier. AbsolutePunk gave an extremely positive review with a rating of 95%, calling the album a "masterpiece". The pre-orders in the band's webstore featured eleven packages, ranging from $10 to $9,999. Symphony Soldier is digitally available on iTunes, and only available as physical CDs from the band's webstore. The band's latest work, an EP titled Lock Me Up, was released on April 29, 2014. They have not released any new material since 2014, leaving the future of the band uncertain.

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Born in West Reading, Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville at age 14 to become a country artist. She signed a songwriting deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2004 and a recording contract with Big Machine Records in 2005. Her 2006 self-titled debut album made her the first female country singer to write or co-write a U.S. platinum-certified album entirely.

Swift's next albums, Fearless (2008) and Speak Now (2010), explored country pop. The former's "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me" were the first country songs to top the U.S. pop and all-genre airplay charts, respectively. She experimented with rock and electronic styles on Red (2012), which featured her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one song, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", and eschewed her country image in her synth-pop album, 1989 (2014), supported by chart-topping songs "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", and "Bad Blood". Media scrutiny inspired the urban-flavored Reputation (2017) and its number-one single "Look What You Made Me Do".

Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, floh RY-də), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single "Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital download sales at the time of its release.

Flo Rida's debut studio album, 2008's Mail on Sunday, reached number four in the US. The album was succeeded by R.O.O.T.S., the next year. His subsequent albums, 2010's Only One Flo (Part 1) and 2012's Wild Ones, also charted on the US Billboard 200 chart. Flo Rida has sold over 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists. His catalog includes the international hit singles "Right Round", "Club Can't Handle Me", "Good Feeling", "Wild Ones", "Whistle", "I Cry", "G.D.F.R." and "My House".

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( bee-YON-say; née Knowles; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and actress. Beyoncé performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Their hiatus saw the release of her debut album Dangerously in Love (2003), which featured the US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy".

Following the 2006 disbanding of Destiny's Child, she released her second solo album, B'Day, which contained singles "Irreplaceable" and "Beautiful Liar". Beyoncé also starred in multiple films such as The Pink Panther (2006), Dreamgirls (2006), Obsessed (2009), and The Lion King (2019). Her marriage to Jay-Z and her portrayal of Etta James in Cadillac Records (2008) influenced her third album, I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008), which earned a record-setting six Grammy Awards in 2010. It spawned the successful singles "If I Were a Boy", "Single Ladies", and "Halo".

Artist vs. Poet was an American power pop band from Fort Worth, Texas, United States, formed in late 2007 by Jason Dean, Craig Calloway, Jeff Olsen, Patrick Rigden, Joe Kirkland, Joe Westbrook, and Tarcy Thomason. After many changes in the band, Artist vs Poet is made up of Joe Kirkland, on vocals, guitar and keyboards, and Jason Dean, on bass and drums. Kirkland was also a contestant in the third season of the American NBC reality show The Voice.

"Someone like You" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele. It was written and produced by Adele and Dan Wilson for her second studio album, 21 (2011). It is the second single and final track on the album. The song was inspired by a broken relationship with one's life partner, and lyrically speaks of Adele's coming to terms with it. XL Recordings released the song as the second single from the album on 24 January 2011 in the United Kingdom and on 9 August 2011 in the United States. Accompanied only by a piano in the song, Adele sings about the end of the relationship with her ex-partner.

Marianas Trench are a Canadian pop rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, formed in 1999 by Josh Ramsay (lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, pianist) and lead guitarist Steve Marshall with Ramsay's sister Sara on keyboards and vocals, Erik Scott on drums and Trev Spilchen on bass. Originally called Ramsay Fiction, Marshall suggested a name change when Ramsay's high school friend Matt Webb, drummer Ian Casselman and Morgan Hempstead on bass, replaced Spilchen and Sara Ramsay. Mike Ayley, a long time friend of Casselman took up bass responsibilities when Hempstead and Marshall left the band in 2004, taking the 5 piece down to 4. The band's current line up has released five full-length studio albums: Fix Me (2006), Masterpiece Theatre (2009), Ever After (2011), Astoria (2015), and Phantoms (2019).

Jason Aldean is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 album, My Kinda Party, is certified quadruple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His 2012 album Night Train is certified double-platinum, while his 2005 self-titled debut, 2007 album Relentless, 2009 album Wide Open, 2014 album Old Boots, New Dirt are all certified platinum. Aldean has received five Grammy Award nominations throughout his career, twice for Best Country Album.