Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer-songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who happened to come across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher, and then to a recording contract with Island Records offered by L.A. Reid. His debut single, "One Time", released worldwide in 2009, peaked in the top ten in Canada and charted in the top thirty in several international markets. His debut release, My World, followed on November 17, 2009, and was eventually certified platinum in the United States. He became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut album chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
His first full studio release, My World 2.0, was released on March 23, 2010 and has since received similar success; it debuted at number one and within the top ten of several countries, and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the worldwide top-ten single, "Baby," in January 2010. The music video of "Baby" is currently ranked as the most viewed and most discussed YouTube video, and was the most disliked until being overtaken by Rebecca Black's song Friday. Bieber followed-up the release of his debut album with his first headlining tour, the My World Tour, the remix albums My Worlds Acoustic and Never Say Never – The Remixes, and the 3D biopic-concert film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never – which had an opening weekend gross that nearly matched the record for the biggest opening weekend for a concert-film.
Bieber has been nominated and awarded numerous accolades over the past few years, winning Artist of the Year at the 2010 American Music Awards, and being nominated for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards, among others. Bieber is considered a teen idol, and has been subject to acclaim from fans, as well as criticism and controversy from matters concerning his popularity and image.

Tags: pop, R&B

Nuttin' But Stringz

Nuttin' But Stringz, also known as N.B.S., consists of brothers Damien and Tourie Escobar who both play violin. The musicians from Jamaica, Queens play a blend of classical music, hip-hop, jazz and R&B.

The brothers began studying violin at ages 8 and 7, respectively, and eventually studied at the Juilliard School.
In 2005, the duo entered and won a talent competition at the Apollo Theatre in New York. Their victory on Showtime at the Apollo led to media attention and appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Today Show with Katie Couric, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Around the same time the duo showcased their talents at Carnegie Hall and performed for President George W. Bush at The White House.
On January 8, 2006, the Escobars performed their song Thunder at the debut of the redesigned Cadillac CTS at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Nuttin' But Stringz performed after a classical string quartet. General Motors Corp. executives used the two performances as an analogy, to demonstrate that what used to be good enough (the quartet) needs to be reinvigorated (N.B.S). A video for "Thunder" is also featured on the website for Jack's Big Music Show on Noggin. The exposure continued when they were featured in the first of five commercials featuring local artists on New York's local news channel, NY1.
NBS gained some national attention when their unique brand of music secured the brothers a small part in the 2006 dance movie Step Up, and shortly after CBS featured "Thunder" during the 2007 NCAA Tournament. "Thunder" was also featured in the pilot episode of the television series The Black Donnellys, and was sampled in various television commercials.
In spring 2009, NBS announced via the group's My Space pages that a new album was in the works, Struggle From the Subway to the Charts, and was followed later in that year by a hugely successful tour.
Their music has sold platinum.
They debuted their song "Winner" on "The Debrief with David Ushery" on New York Nonstop on July 23.
On February 13, 2011, Nuttin' But Strings performed "Winner" for The Boeing Company at the introduction ceremony of their new airplane, the Boeing 747-8.

Tags: Classical, hip hop, instrumental, Jazz, R&B

Seal

Seal (born 19 February 1963 in Paddington, London, England) is an English soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. A recipient of BRIT, MTV and Grammy Awards, Seal is known for his numerous international hits; perhaps best known is Kiss from a Rose which appeared in the soundtrack to the 1995 Batman film Batman Forever and won him three Grammy Awards. He is married to German model Heidi Klum.

Tags: adult contemporary, pop, R&B, soft rock, soul

Craig David

Craig Ashley David, singer and songwriter from Southampton, England. He has released five studio albums: Born to Do It, Slicker Than Your Average, The Story Goes..., Trust Me, Signed Sealed Delivered and a Greatest Hits album.

David's earliest exposure came when he worked on a b-side to British group Damage's cover of "Wonderful Tonight". He then started doing vocals for a few tracks with garage act Artful Dodger. The song "Re-Rewind", from the Artful Dodger album It's All About the Stragglers, hit Number 2 on the UK charts in 1999; thus, paving the way for a solo career. David's first single, "Fill Me In", released on Colin Lester's and Ian McAndrew's Wildstar Records made him the youngest solo male artist ever to reach Number 1 in the United Kingdom (he was 18 years old at the time). This was the first of a string of four Top 10 singles from his debut album Born To Do It, which eventually sold more than seven million units worldwide, earning multi-platinum status in more than 20 countries.The song "Key To My Heart", taken from the US version of the album, was also featured on the award-winning Warner Brothers animated film Osmosis Jones.

Tags: dance, hip hop, R&B, UK garage

Rihanna

Rihanna is an R&B recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados. She signed a contract with Def Jam Recordings after auditioning for then-label head Jay-Z.
In 2005, Rihanna released her debut studio album, Music of the Sun. Less than a year later, she released her second studio album, A Girl Like Me (2006). Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), the album was nominated for nine Grammy Awards, winning Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Umbrella," which features Jay-Z. Her fourth studio album, Rated R (2009), peaked at number four on the Billboard 200. Its first three singles, "Russian Roulette", "Hard" and "Rude Boy" peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, while "Rude Boy" peaked at number one. Loud (2010), her fifth studio album, spawned the number one hits, "Only Girl (In the World)", "What's My Name?" and "S&M".[7][8]
Rihanna has sold more than 28 million albums and 100 million singles[9] making her one of the best selling artists of all time. She has achieved ten number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 since first appearing on the chart on June 11, 2005, which is the most by any artist during that time span. As of March 18, 2011, Rihanna has sold approximately 6 million album units and over 28 million digital singles in the US.
She has received several accolades, including the 2007 World Music Awards for World's Best-Selling Pop Female Artist and Female Entertainer of the Year, and the 2011 Brit Award for Best International Female Solo Artist. She has also amassed a total of four Grammy Awards, four American Music Awards, and eighteen Billboard Music Awards.

Tags: dance, Eurodance, pop, R&B, reggae, urban pop

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was an American recording artist, dancer, singer-songwriter, musician, and philanthropist. Referred to as the King of Pop, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5, and began his solo career in 1971.

Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which have made him the most-awarded recording artists in the history of music. He was also a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising hundreds of millions of dollars for beneficial causes and supporting more than 39 charities. According to David Winters, Jackson also donated tens of millions of dollars to many children’s charities anonymously, and spent a lot of his time visiting seriously ill children tirelessly going from hospital to hospital meeting these children just to brighten up their lives. When Jackson finished the visits he would ask the hospital nurses and the doctors what was needed at the hospital in terms of equipment for the children and would then make anonymous donations to the hospital to purchase expensive equipment or whatever else was needed.

Tags: dance, disco, funk, new jack swing, pop, R&B, Rock, soul