music

Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born 29 October 1987), known professionally as Tove Lo (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈtûːvɛ ˈluː]), is a Swedish singer, songwriter and actress who has been called "Sweden's darkest pop export" by Rolling Stone. She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take on pop music. Her honest, complex and autobiographical lyrical content has led to her being dubbed "the saddest girl in Sweden".

Raised in the Djursholm district of Danderyd, Lo is an alumna of the music school Rytmus Musikergymnasiet. She formed the rock band Tremblebee in 2006. After it disbanded, Lo pursued a career in songwriting and earned a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music in 2011. Working with producers Alexander Kronlund, Max Martin, and Xenomania, she became a successful songwriter, while also recording and releasing her own compositions independently.

Edward Christopher Sheeran is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently released the extended play, No. 5 Collaborations Project. He signed with Asylum Records the same year.

Rita Sahatçiu Ora is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut studio album, Ora, released in August 2012, debuted at number one in the United Kingdom. The album contained the UK number-one singles, "R.I.P." and "How We Do (Party)". Ora was the artist with the most number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart in 2012, with three singles reaching the top position.

Fifth Harmony, often shortened to 5H, are an American girl group based in Miami, composed of Ally Brooke, Normani, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, and previously Camila Cabello until her departure from the group in December 2016. The group signed a joint record deal with Simon Cowell's label Syco Records and L.A. Reid's label Epic Records after forming and finishing third in the second season of the American singing competition series The X Factor in 2012.

The group released their debut single "Miss Movin' On", preceding their extended play Better Together. In 2015, The group released their debut studio album Reflection, which was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It spawned the singles "Boss", "Sledgehammer" and "Worth It"; the latter of which was certified 3x Platinum by RIAA, and reached the top ten in thirteen countries. In 2016, the group released "Work from Home", the lead single from their second album 7/27, which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first top five single by a girl group in a decade on that chart. They released their self-titled third album in 2017. The group went on indefinite hiatus in March 2018, allowing its members to pursue solo projects.

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.

Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress, singer and model. She earned many accolades for her breakthrough role as Mattie Ross in the drama western film True Grit (2010), for which she was nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actress as well as Screen Actors Guild Award and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the ninth youngest nominee in category.

Steinfeld gained further prominence for her lead roles in Ender's Game (2013), Romeo & Juliet (2013), Begin Again (2013), and 3 Days to Kill (2014). She starred as Emily Junk in the Pitch Perfect film series (2015–2017) and as Nadine Franklin in The Edge of Seventeen (2016), the latter of which earned her a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. In 2018, Steinfeld voiced the starring role of Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman in the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and starred as Charlie Watson in the action film Bumblebee, contributing to the latter's soundtrack. Since 2019, she has starred as Emily Dickinson in the Apple TV+ comedy-drama series Dickinson. Steinfeld will also portray Kate Bishop / Hawkeye in the Disney+ Marvel Cinematic Universe series Hawkeye.

Sam Smith is a contemporary Australian filmmaker and artist, based in the UK. He is the co-director of contemporary art space Obsidian Coast, with Nella Aarne.

Zain Javadd Malik, known mononymously as Zayn, is a British singer. Zayn auditioned as a solo contestant for the British music competition television series The X Factor in 2010. After being eliminated, he was brought back to the competition to form the five-piece boy band One Direction, which went on to become one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. He left the group in March 2015 and signed a solo recording contract with RCA Records.

Little Mix are a British girlgroup, formed on the eighth series of The X Factor UK by Kelly Rowland. In 2011, the group rose to prominence after becoming the first group to win the series, and are regarded as the show's most successful winning act. Originally a four-piece group, the line up consisted of Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, and Jesy Nelson, before her departure in 2020. Known for their vocals and signature harmonies, they are cited for helping the girl band renaissance in the UK and for re-defining girl groups. In 2022, Little Mix went on an indefinite hiatus, allowing its members to pursue solo projects.

Clean Bandit are an English electronic music group, formed in Cambridge in 2008. They have had four number 1 hits and ten top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart. They direct and produce their own music videos, many of which have been nominated for Brit Awards and VMAs, while two of them, "Symphony" and "Rockabye", each have over 1 billion views on YouTube, with Rockabye having reached over 2.7 billion views. The group currently consists of founder Grace Chatto and brothers Jack and Luke Patterson. Jack Patterson is the principal songwriter and has been awarded two Ivor Novellos for the writing of "Rather Be". Many of their projects are known for blending elements of both classical and dance music, and featuring guest vocalists. Notable collaborators include Marina, Demi Lovato, Jess Glynne, Anne-Marie, Sean Paul, Zara Larsson, Julia Michaels, Luis Fonsi, Ellie Goulding, Iann Dior, Mabel, and Lizzo.

Louis William Tomlinson (; born Louis Troy Austin; 24 December 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Tomlinson began his career appearing in television dramas before he auditioned on the British music competition series The X Factor in 2010. After being eliminated as a solo performer, he was placed into a group with four other contestants, forming One Direction. One Direction went on to become one of the best-selling boy bands of all time.

Following the group's hiatus in 2016, Tomlinson released "Just Hold On" as a debut solo single in December 2016. It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and was certified platinum in the UK. In 2017, Tomlinson released "Back to You" with American singer Bebe Rexha (which was certified platinum in the USA and the UK) and "Miss You". In the same year, he appeared on Debrett's 2017 list of the most influential people in the UK.

Rebbeca Marie Gomez, known professionally as Becky G, is an American singer and actress. She first gained recognition in 2011 when she began posting videos of herself covering popular songs online. One of her videos caught the attention of producer Dr. Luke, who subsequently offered her a joint record deal with Kemosabe Records and RCA Records. While working on her debut effort, Gomez collaborated with artists will.i.am, Cody Simpson and Cher Lloyd. Her official debut single, "Becky from the Block", released in 2013, received a positive reception upon its release. She released her debut extended play, Play It Again later that same year. Her second single and first in 2014, "Can't Get Enough", featured guest vocals from Pitbull and went on to top the Latin Rhythm Airplay chart in the United States.

Shawn Peter Raul Mendes is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gertler and Island Records A&R Ziggy Chareton, which led to him signing a deal with the record label. Mendes' self-titled debut EP was released in 2014, followed by his debut studio album Handwritten in 2015. Handwritten debuted atop the US Billboard 200, making Mendes one of five artists ever to debut at number one before the age of 18. The single "Stitches" reached number one in the UK and the top 10 in the US and Canada.

True Romance is the debut studio album by English singer Charli XCX. It was released on 12 April 2013 by Asylum and Atlantic Records. Originally scheduled for release in April 2012, the album's release was delayed for a full year and had been in the making since early 2010 when Charli met with producer Ariel Rechtshaid in Los Angeles. To promote the album's release, Charli embarked on a three-date UK promotional tour in April 2013.

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.

Charles Otto Puth Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his song videos uploaded to YouTube. Puth signed with the record label eleveneleven in 2011 after performing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, while songwriting and producing material for other artists.

Ariana Grande-Butera is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including two Grammy Awards, one Brit Award, one Bambi Award, two Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, nine MTV Video Music Awards, and 30 Guinness World Records.

Beatrice Annika Miller (born February 7, 1999) is an American singer and actress. She came in ninth place on season two of The X Factor (US) when she was 13 years old. She was later signed to Hollywood Records. Her debut EP Young Blood was released in 2014, and her debut album Not an Apology was released on July 24, 2015. In 2016, she released the single "Yes Girl". During 2017, she released the EPs Chapter One: Blue, Chapter Two: Red, and Chapter Three: Yellow. The three EPs, along with five additional songs, were collected as her second studio album, Aurora.

In 2018, she featured as the lead vocalist on NOTD's single "I Wanna Know", which reached the top 20 in Australia, Belgium and Norway. In 2019, she released the singles "It's Not U It's Me" with 6lack, "Feel Something", "Feels Like Home" with Jessie Reyez and "Never Gonna Like You" with Snakehips. She signed with Olliebear Records and Create Music Group in November 2019 to release the single "That Bitch".