Music

Olivia Isabel Rodrigo (born February 20, 2003) is an American pop singer and actress. She gained recognition in the late 2010s with her lead roles on the Disney television programs Bizaardvark and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. After signing with Geffen and Interscope Records in 2020, Rodrigo released her debut single "Drivers License", which broke various records and became one of the best-selling songs of 2021, propelling her to mainstream fame. She followed it up with singles "Deja Vu" and "Good 4 U", and released her debut solo studio album, Sour (2021), which was met with critical and commercial success, winning various accolades including three Grammy Awards. A Disney+ documentary, Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U, chronicling her creative process with Sour, followed in 2022.

Dua Lipa is a British and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Grammy Awards, two MTV Europe Music Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, two Billboard Music Awards, an American Music Award, and two Guinness World Records. "No Lie" and "New Rules", each have over 1 billion views on YouTube, with "New Rules" having reached over 2.8 billion views. Her albums Dua Lipa and Future Nostalgia are the most streamed female albums on Spotify with over 10 billion streams each.

Melissa Viviane Jefferson, known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper, and flutist. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston with her family when she was ten years old. After college she moved to Minneapolis, where she began her recording career in hip hop music. Prior to signing with Nice Life Recording Company and Atlantic Records, Lizzo released two studio albums—Lizzobangers (2013) and Big Grrrl Small World (2015). Lizzo's first major-label EP, Coconut Oil, was released in 2016.

Alec Shane Benjamin (born May 28, 1994) is an American singer-songwriter from Phoenix, Arizona. His 2018 breakthrough single "Let Me Down Slowly" reached the top 40 in over 25 countries and has amassed over 1 billion streams on Spotify as of April 2022. Benjamin primarily writes and sings songs in English, but has released versions of his songs "Older", "The Way You Felt", "Water Fountain", "Devil Doesn't Bargain", and “Shadow of Mine” in Mandarin Chinese.

Benjamin was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, but lived on Long Island, New York during kindergarten and first grade.

He has a sister, for whom he wrote his song "If We Have Each Other".

Initially, Benjamin signed to Columbia Records while still enrolled at University of Southern California. However, Columbia Records ended their partnership weeks after he submitted his album. Despite this, he went on a self-funded tour in Europe to open for Marina Kaye in France and Lea in Germany. He promoted his music by performing in parking lots outside of concert venues and handing out business cards.

Ashley Nicolette Frangipane (IPA: FRAN-jih-PAH-nee; born September 29, 1994), known professionally as Halsey ( HAWL-zee), is an American singer and songwriter. Gaining attention from self-released music on social media platforms, she was signed by Astralwerks in 2014 and released her debut EP, Room 93, later that year. Halsey released her debut studio album, Badlands, in 2015. The album was later certified Double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), as were its tracks "Colors" and "Gasoline".

In 2016, she was featured on The Chainsmokers' single "Closer", which topped the charts in over 10 countries, and was later certified 14× Platinum by the RIAA. Her second studio album, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom (2017), consisted of more "radio-friendly" music than her previous releases; its singles "Now or Never" and "Bad at Love", both reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, with the latter peaking in the top five. In 2018, she released the single "Eastside" alongside Benny Blanco and Khalid, which reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Driver Era (TDE) is an American music duo consisting of brothers Rocky and Ross Lynch. Both are former members of the now defunct pop rock band R5.

Marie Ulven Ringheim is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and record producer, known for her indie pop project Girl in Red. Her early EPs Chapter 1 (2018) and Chapter 2 (2019) were recorded in her bedroom and feature songs about romance and mental health. Released through AWAL, her debut studio album If I Could Make It Go Quiet (2021), was a critical and commercial success, and won three Norwegian Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.

Alexander Valterovich "Sasha" Litvinenko (30 August 1962 or 4 December 1962 – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised in tackling organized crime. A prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he advised British intelligence and coined the term "mafia state".

In November 1998, Litvinenko and several other FSB officers publicly accused their superiors of ordering the assassination of the Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky. Litvinenko was arrested the following March on charges of exceeding the authority of his position. He was acquitted in November 1999 but re-arrested before the charges were again dismissed in 2000. He fled with his family to London and was granted asylum in the United Kingdom, where he worked as a journalist, writer and consultant for the British intelligence services. During his time in Boston, Lincolnshire, Litvinenko wrote two books, Blowing Up Russia: Terror from Within and Lubyanka Criminal Group, wherein he accused the Russian secret services of staging the Russian apartment bombings in 1999 and other acts of terrorism in an effort to bring Vladimir Putin to power. He also accused Putin of ordering the assassination of the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006.

Gracie Madigan Abrams is an American singer-songwriter. Her debut EP, Minor, was released in July 2020 through Interscope Records. Her second EP, This Is What It Feels Like, was released in November 2021, with singles "Feels Like" and "Rockland".

"Riptide" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy. It was first released as a track on his debut EP God Loves You When You're Dancing (2013), serving as its second single, and is also featured on his debut studio album Dream Your Life Away (2014). The song was written by Joy, who also produced it with drummer Edwin White. The upbeat song has been lyrically described as a "coming of age love story" and is known for its metaphors and pop culture references.

Finneas Baird O'Connell (born July 30, 1997), known mononymously as Finneas (stylized as FINNEAS), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has written and produced music for various artists, including his sister, Billie Eilish. He has won eight Grammy Awards among 13 total nominations, including nominations for all of the Big Four. For his work with his sister he has won Record of the Year twice in a row, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and was nominated for Best New Artist for his solo work. Their song "No Time to Die" from the film of the same name earned him an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and another Grammy.

Mikaela Mullaney Straus, known by her stage name King Princess, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician from Brooklyn, New York. She is signed to Mark Ronson's label Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records. In February 2018, King Princess released her debut single "1950", from the Make My Bed EP. The song was a commercial success, charting in multiple territories, and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Her second single, "Talia", was certified gold in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association. King Princess released her debut studio album Cheap Queen in 2019 to widespread critical acclaim.

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 platform TikTok and YouTube. Benee subsequently released her debut album, Hey U X, in November 2020.

Charlotte Sarah Lawrence is an American singer-songwriter and model.

Troye Sivan Mellet is an Australian singer-songwriter, actor and YouTuber. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with EMI Australia in 2013 and released his third extended play, TRXYE (2014), which peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200. Its lead single, "Happy Little Pill", reached number ten on Australian music charts. In 2015, he released his fourth extended play Wild followed by his debut studio album Blue Neighbourhood, whose lead single "Youth" became Sivan's first single to enter the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 23. His second studio album Bloom (2018) reached number three in Australia, and number four on the Billboard 200 chart. Its lead single, "My My My!", became Sivan's second number-one single on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. In 2020, his EP In a Dream was released.

Braeden Matthew Lemasters (born January 27, 1996) is an American actor, musician, and singer. He is best known for his role as Albert Tranelli in the TNT comedy-drama series Men of a Certain Age. He has made guest appearances in several television series such as, Criminal Minds, ER, House, Grey's Anatomy and Amazon Prime Video's The Romanoffs. He is also the lead guitarist and singer for the American alternative rock band Wallows.

In films, Lemasters has appeared in the thriller film The Stepfather (2009), the romantic comedy film Easy A (2010), the family comedy film A Christmas Story 2 (2012) and the horror film Totem (2017).

Braeden Matthew Lemasters was born in Warren, Ohio, to Dave and Michelle Lemasters. He has an older brother, Austin. When he was young his family moved to Santa Clarita, California, so that he could pursue a career in acting. He grew up listening to The Beatles and learned how to play guitar.

Megan Bülow (German pronunciation: [ˈmeːɡan ˈbyːloː]; born December 25, 1999), known professionally as bülow (stylized in lowercase letters), is a German-Canadian pop singer who had success with her debut EP Damaged Vol. 1.

Bülow was born in 1999 in Berlin, Germany. She grew up and lived in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and the Netherlands. After being discovered at a summer camp in 2016, when she was 16, Bülow began collaborating with a number of Canadian writers and producers. Bülow currently resides in the Netherlands, where she recently completed high school at the American School of the Hague.

In November 2017, Bülow released her debut EP Damaged Vol. 1, garnering her the title of "New Artist of the Week" by Apple Music Canada. The EP featured three tracks, with the track "Not a Love Song" released as a single first. In a statement to Noisey, Bülow described her inspiration for the track as "the excitement of meeting someone for the first time" and eventually realizing that she "just wasn't ready for that commitment yet." The rest of her EP also consists of "smart, poignant tracks about guys".