In terms of both record sales and career longevity, Barry Manilow is one of the most successful adult contemporary singers ever. That success hasn't necessarily translated to respect (or even ironic hipster appreciation) in most quarters; Manilow's music has been much maligned by critics and listeners alike, particularly the romantic ballads that made his career, which were derided as maudlin schlock even during his heyday.

The British pop trio BBMak consists of Mark Barry, Christian Burns and Stephen McNally. Unlike many of their teen-friendly peers, BBMak plays their own instruments and write and produce most of their music as well. Barry, Burns and McNally met while they were playing with other bands in Northwest England and, after jamming together for a time, decided to form a band. After recording a demo, BBMak camped outside the headquarters of major labels and performed on the street. A few gigs later, BBMak was the focus of a bidding war and the group soon secured a deal.

New York City-based multi-instrumentalist Ben Jelen writes lush, orchestral pop songs that celebrate the breadth and complexity of human emotion. The nomadic tunesmith -- he's lived in England, Scotland, Texas, and New Jersey -- spent his formative years honing his skills on the guitar, violin, and piano, occasionally sitting in with friends' bands.

Bette Midler counts singing as only one of her talents; at times, since 1972, when she first came to national recognition, it has seemed to be the least of her talents. Still, she has managed to score a number of major hits in a roller-coaster career as a recording artist. Born in Paterson, NJ, and raised in Hawaii, Midler early on showed an interest in singing and acting, and by the '60s she had moved to New York and gotten a role in the long-running Broadway hit Fiddler on the Roof.

Teen pop singer Billy Crawford was born May 16, 1982 in the Philippines. In addition to spending eight seasons as a regular on the Filipino variety show That's Entertainment, he also appeared in a series of movies before his family relocated to Texas in 1994. There Crawford continued his singing career, and after winning a Dallas talent show he traveled to New York to begin writing and recording material for his self-titled debut album, released in 1999 on V2. He continued to release numerous singles over the years and another full-length on V2, Big City, in 2004, and S.T.A.T.U.S. is scheduled for release in fall 2007. ~Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

Polarizing critics since their 2000 inception, Bond have continued to perfect their fusion of pop, worldbeat, and classical instrumentation. Eos Chater (violin), Haylie Ecker (violin), Gay-Yee Westerhoff (cello), and Tania Davis (viola) were well-educated musically, having played their specific instruments since early childhood and accompanied acts like the Divine Comedy, Primal Scream, Embrace, and Mark Knopfler.

Classically trained pianist, singer/songwriter, and pop rebel Bonnie McKee spent her formative years in California. Growing up in a musical family helped develop her love for the theater and her move to Seattle found the artist singing in the world class Seattle Girl's Choir. At the age of 12, the precocious tunesmith recorded a demo of popular covers.

Boomkat is comprised of the brother-sister duo of Kellin and Taryn Manning. With a slick, radio-ready sound that encompassed elements of trip-hop, urban soul, pop, and danceable hip-hop -- not to mention Taryn's star power as a burgeoning actress -- Boomkat's seizure of the spotlight was almost inevitable.

More than any other single artist, Britney Spears was the driving force behind the return of teen pop in the late '90s. The blockbuster success of the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys certainly paved the way for her own commercial breakthrough, but Spears didn't just become a star -- she was a bona fide pop phenomenon.

Much of the music industry is anticipating that 14-year-old Brooke Allison's forthcoming recording will be one of the hottest releases of 2001. Her debut is garnering attention from music executives, as well as many of the country's most prominent radio program directors for whom she has already performed.

As the daughter of pro wrestler Hulk Hogan, pop singer Brooke Hogan grew up in a family accustomed to the type of lifestyle that comes with fame, which helped her easily transition into the celeb spotlight of her own making as a teenager. Born and raised in Tampa, FL, Brooke entered the world on May 5, 1988, as Brooke Bollea, the oldest of two children (she has a younger brother, Nick); she would later adopt her father's stage surname of Hogan.

North London-based trio Busted first appeared in early 2002 with an audacious blend of BBMak and Boyzone called "What I Go to School For." The single's sugar high of saccharine pop-punk progressions, processed harmonies, and cheeky curse words ("I fought my way to the front of class/To get the best view of her ass") was a big hit with the kids, and saddled the Busted boys with immediate sensation status.

After a small comeback with "I Found Someone" in 1987, Cher's career hit big with the release of "If I Could Turn Back Time", which charted at number 1 in Australia and Norway, number 3 in the United States and number 6 in the United Kingdom.

The attention focused on whether Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around..." is about his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears threatens to obscure the fact that this is one of the most gorgeous pop melodies of the year. The intimate strings and circular sounding production that match the elliptical nature of the lyrics cause the melody to linger long in the memory.

I have to admit this one took me a bit by surprise. No post-Nick moping for Jessica Simpson. Head on over to Jessica's official site and her hot new song "A Public Affair" will start playing immediately. It's drenched in retro "Holiday"-era Madonna sounds, and then it all closes out with that Diana Ross "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" lick. I think it's hot...what about you?

Her official website says she possesses an "old soul," and the hard facts seem to back up the implied claim of wisdom and experience that transcend Alicia Keys' youth. Barely in her twenties, Keys was responsible for an extremely hot debut, Songs in A Minor. The release, which she wrote and produced for Clive Davis' J Records, blends diverse influences, including R&B, hip-hop, classical, and jazz. The day the album went on the market, it sold more than 50,000 copies. Label executives confidently predicted similarly favorable numbers for the first week's tally.

Just a couple of months back it looked like Pink's album I'm Not Dead had run its course in the US after just generating one minor hit single in "Stupid Girls." That was a shame, because I'm Not Dead was one of the better straightforward pop-rock albums of 2006, and most fans who didn't buy the album missed out on a number of good songs. Fortunately, in part due to tour publicity, "U + Ur Hand" is on the rise giving everyone another look at Pink.

Born in 1984 in Marseilles, France, pop singer Cherie has been singing as long as she can remember. When she started doing it professionally at the age of nine, the enthusiastic audience reaction to her voice became an instant inspiration for her to pursue a career in music. By the age of 12 she had won the French National Vocalist award, and in her late teens she had been singing in cabarets and nightclubs.

According to Billboard chart statistics, Chicago is second only to the Beach Boys as the most successful American rock band of all time, in terms of both albums and singles. Judged by album sales, as certified by the R.I.A.A., the band does not rank quite so high, but it is still among the Top Ten best-selling U.S. groups ever. If such statements of fact surprise, that's because Chicago has been singularly underrated since the beginning of its long career

After Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera was the most popular female singer of the late-'90s teen pop revival. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Aguilera was a technically skilled singer with a genuinely powerful voice, belting out her uptempo dance numbers and ballads with a diva's panache. Born Christina Maria Aguilera on December 18, 1980, on Staten Island, her parents were of Irish and Ecuadorian stock and her father's military career meant the family moved quite a bit during her childhood.

As the runner-up to Fox TV's second American Idol: The Search for a Superstar competition, vocalist Clay Aiken wowed television audiences in 2003 with his Southern charm, sweet demeanor, and bright, glorious voice, and became a pop star. Originally, Aiken planned to try out for the reality TV series The American Race, but went ahead and auditioned for the talent contest to please an encouraging friend. Out of 7,000 hopefuls, the Charlotte, NC, native won the hearts of the judges as well as millions of fans across the globe.

Cross the Spice Girls with Hanson and you get Cleopatra, a teen trio from Manchester, England, comprised of three of the Higgins sisters - oldest sibling Zainam, third child Yonah, and second-oldest Cleopatra, who in addition to lending the group its name also assumed lead vocal duties on all of their songs, most of which the sisters co-wrote.

The pop/rock group Cutting Crew formed in England in 1985. The two founding members were guitarist Kevin Scott MacMichael and vocalist Nick Van Eede. The duo made a couple of demos and signed a recording contract with the Siren Records label before becoming a foursome in 1986 with the addition of bassist Colin Farley and drummer Martin Beadle.

Singer/songwriter Dana Glover is a kindred spirit who finds solace in her own imagination. While growing up in North Carolina, Glover spent a lot of time moving around. By the time she was a teenager, her family had moved to three different suburbs in North Carolina. Attending church, however, kept Glover and her family grounded.

New Zealand-born Daniel Bedingfield grew up in southeast London. Mostly influenced by contemporary R&B artists, his sisters Natasha and Nicola teamed up with him to assemble their first band, called the DNA Algorhythm. Inspired by a girlfriend from Leeds, Daniel Bedingfield recorded "Gotta Get Thru This" in his bedroom with a microphone plugged to his home computer. In December 2001, just a few weeks after its release by the independent Relentless Records, his song went straight to the top on the U.K. singles chart.

A British dance-pop group which found fame thanks to the antics of androgynous frontman Pete Burns, Dead or Alive formed in Liverpool in 1980. Burns first surfaced three years prior in the Mystery Girls, later heading the proto-Goth rockers Nightmares in Wax; he founded Dead or Alive with keyboardist Marty Healey, guitarist Mitch, bassist Sue James and drummer Joe Musker, debuting in 1980 with the Ian Broudie-produced Doors soundalike "I'm Falling."

Debbie Gibson became a pop phenomenon in the late '80s, scoring a string of hit singles when she was only 17. Although she was still a teenager, Gibson showed signs of being a talented pop craftsman, capable of making catchy dance-pop in the style of Madonna, as well as lush, orchestrated ballads. Gibson's time at the top of the charts was brief, but it was quite successful, producing five Top Ten singles, including two number ones, and two multi-platinum albums.

Only 16 and a junior in high school in Snellville, GA, Diana DeGarmo was the youngest finalist of American Idol 2004, but you wouldn't have guessed it from her powerful, confident voice. Growing up a show-biz kid surely helped. DeGarmo had been in Atlanta-based productions of Annie and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at a young age and performed at the 1996 Summer Olympics as part of the Coca-Cola's "Olympic Kids."

The sexy pop group Dream is made up of four talented singers: Diana Ortiz, Holly Blake, Melissa Schuman, and Ashley Poole. The foursome, all from California, came together when a production company in Los Angeles held an audition to form a girl band.

Staten Island vocalist Eamon appeared in late 2003, when his bold single "F**k It (I Don't Want You Back)" took urban radio by storm. With its spare melody and stripped-down production -- not to mention its profanity-laced dismissal of a two-timing lover -- the song stood out immediately, and blew up request lines nationwide.

Los Angeles based female teen pop quintet Eden's Crush was formed after its members auditioned for the reality series Popstars, broadcasted by the WB Network. The vocal act's debut album, also titled Popstars, was released by London-Sire Records in 2001, produced by David Foster and Matthew Gerrard, and featured a Spanish version of "1000 Words," plus a cover of Sheila E.'s "Glamorous Life." Eden's Crush became the first female group to debut at number one on the sales chart with their first single, "Get Over Yourself." ~ Drago Bonacich, All Music Guide Written by Drago Bonacich

Damon Butler, Dave Loeffler and Trey Parker formed the hip-hop combo E.Y.C. in the early '90s and released Express Yourself Clearly in 1993. After a long hiatus, the trio resurfaced in 1999 with I Feel It. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide Written by John Bush

The consummate Valley Girl has returned. This incarnation is in the form of fan_3, a bona fide native of Sherman Oaks. Blessed with the gift of rhyme and a teenager's instinct for honesty, fan_3 paves the way for a new generation of pop artists.

Felicia Lynn Dobson was born on February 28, 1985, in the Toronto, Ontario district of Scarborough. Fefe Dobson is biracial. Her mother is of Irish, Dutch and English ancestry, while her father is of Jamaican Heritage Dobson has three siblings, two younger brothers, and an older sister. Often at school Dobson and her older sister Tanya were picked on because of her skin color.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Or perhaps a better analogy would be, "Don't get mad--get even!" Whatever the catchphrase that applies, what can't be denied is its stunning effect. Upon first hearing the out-and-out dis song by fellow Staten Island native and former beau Eamon, "F--k It", 20-year old Frankee responded the only way she knew how: With the pen, paper and microphone.

Tijuana-born and San Diego-raised contemporary R&B artist Frankie J was raised on a steady diet of Latin music and American artists like Michael Jackson and Run-D.M.C. At the age of 15, he was involved with the Latin freestyle scene and released a series of singles on a Canadian dance label. A 1997 signing with Jellybean Benitez's Hola label never panned out, but he landed on his feet when he became a member of los Kumbia Kings.

With two Top-40 singles- Spark and Closing In- playing on over 50 mainstream pop stations across the country, tours with Radio Disney, and three Los Angeles Music Award nominations, Gregory Scott’s career was on the fast track to pop stardom. He became a regular face in the teen magazines landing in Pop Star, J14, Twist, Teen Voice, and over 40 popular e-zines. The success of his debut album, The Waking Hour, was matched by critical acclaim and rave reviews, so it came as a shock to most when Gregory Scott turned from the pop scene and embarked on recording a Contemporary Christian album.

Sounding like a revamped Jackson 5 for the '90s, Hanson came storming out of Tulsa, OK, in 1997 blessed with photogenic looks and a surprisingly infectious sense of melody. Hanson had a sunny pop sense that stood in direct contrast to the gloomy grunge that dominated the '90s, yet they also arrived with hip credentials

"I Turn to You" is a pop/R&B song written by Diane Warren in 1996. The original version of the song was recorded that year by R&B quartet All-4-One for the soundtrack album to the Warner Bros. film Space Jam. Three years later, American pop singer Christina Aguilera recorded a cover version, produced by Guy Roche, for her debut album, Christina Aguilera. Released in the spring of 2000 as the album's third single, the single peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 4 weeks, becoming Aguilera's third Top 10 hit. The single also peaked at #19 in the UK and #40 in Australia.

"The Voice Within" is the fifth and final single from Christina Aguilera's second album, Stripped. Released in 2003, the single peaked at #33 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Aguilera's 11th Top 40 hit. The single also peaked at #9 in the UK and #8 in Australia. The single is most known for its simplistic, but critically acclaimed music video that was filmed only in black and white and only with one camera shot. The video was nominated for three 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, Best Female Video, Viewer's Choice, and Best Cinematography.

"Genie in a Bottle" is the first single and signature song from Christina Aguilera's debut album, Christina Aguilera. As her first major single, the song is generally considered her debut single (although technically she had released two songs prior to this). Released in mid-1999, the single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks, becoming Aguilera's first number-one single. The single also peaked at number one in the UK, also becoming her first number one single in that country. The single is generally considered to be one of her signature songs. The single earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2000; it also helped her win the Best New Artist Grammy that same year. "Genie in a Bottle" hit #1 in 18 countries around the world.

The song is featured on the video game Karaoke Revolution Volume 2.

"Ain't No Other Man" is a Grammy Award winning song written by Christina Aguilera, Charles Roane, DJ Premier, Harold Beatty, and Kara DioGuardi for Aguilera's third studio album Back to Basics (2006). The song was released as the album's lead single in June 2006. The song won a 2007 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Aaron's Party (Come Get It) is American teen idol Aaron Carter's follow-up to his international debut album. This album was released in 2000.

The youngest male solo artist to have four Top 40 singles, pop sensation Aaron Carter began his career in show biz at the tender age of seven. Over the next five years he made a name for himself as an energetic and charismatic performer, both onstage and on albums such as his 1998 self-titled debut and the following year's Surfin' USA, both of which were successful in Japan and Germany as well as in the States.

"Hurt" is a pop ballad written by Christina Aguilera, Linda Perry and Mark Ronson for Aguilera's third studio album, Back to Basics (2006). The song's lyrical content describes how one deals with the loss of a loved one, and it has received praise from pop music critics. Aguilera premiered the song at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards and was released as the album's second single in late 2006.

"What a Girl Wants" is the second single from Christina Aguilera's debut album, Christina Aguilera. Released in late 1999, the single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, becoming Aguilera's second number-one single. The single also peaked at number three in the UK and at number five in Australia. Often considered one of her signature songs, the single is most known for establishing Aguilera's placement in the music industry. Many critics had written off the success of her last single, "Genie in a Bottle", as a fluke; "What a Girl Wants" proved that Aguilera wasn't a one-hit wonder. The single earned her five MTV Video Music Awards nominations; Best Female Video, Best New Artist, Best Pop Video, Viewer's Choice, and Best Choreography (Tina Landon), and also a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2001.

Christina María Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) is an American pop/R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. After appearing on local talent shows and the Disney Channel's The New Mickey Mouse Club, she was signed to RCA Records after recording "Reflection" for the film Mulan. She came to prominence following her debut album Christina Aguilera (1999), which was a commercial success spawning three number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. A Latin pop album, Mi Reflejo (2001), and several collaborations followed which garnered Aguilera worldwide success, but she was displeased with the lack of input in her music and image.

As Hilary was becoming a film and television star, she was also launching a recording career. Her first album Metamorphosis was #1 on the Billboard 200 and went on to sell more than 2 million copies with the #1 single So Yesterday. Hilary's latest album Most Wanted debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and was #1 in Canada and #8 in Japan. Her hit single Wake Up was the #1 video on MTV TRL and the #1 single on Radio Disney and AOL.

Around that time, Metamorphosis, Duff's bona fide debut as a singer, was released. The album charted number two on the Billboard 200 on the week of its release, and its single "So Yesterday" topped the pop singles chart earlier that summer. Duff's omnipresence in 2003 continued with appearances at that year's MTV Video Music Awards and the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, where she accepted Lizzie McGuire's trophy for Favorite TV Show.

Duff began her first steps toward her singing career with the song "Santa Claus Lane," which appeared on the soundtrack to The Santa Clause 2, as well as her own Christmas album, also named Santa Claus Lane. That year, production ended on Lizzie McGuire, freeing up Duff to pursue other opportunities. Episodes of the show continued to run into 2003, but by that time Duff had begun to move on, appearing in the teen spy movie Agent Cody Banks.