Anberlin

Hailing from Orlando, FL, Anberlin formed from the ashes of various other area projects, including the Christian punk outfit SaGoh (Servants After God's Own Heart). Led by the soaring vocals of Stephen Christian, the positive-thinking Anberlin also included Joseph Milligan (guitar), Nathan Young (drums), Joey Bruce (guitar), and Deon Rexroat (bass), and presented an alternative pop/rock sound that, while inflected with the earnestness of emo, was closer to the mature stylings of Third Eye Blind.

Linkin Park

Although rooted in alternative metal, Linkin Park became one of the most successful acts of the early 2000s by welcoming elements of hip-hop, modern rock, and atmospheric electronica into their music. The band's rise was indebted to the aggressive rap-rock movement made popular by the likes of Korn and Limp Bizkit, a movement that paired grunge's alienation with a bold, buzzing soundtrack. Linkin Park added a unique spin to that formula, however, focusing as much on the vocal interplay between singer Chester Bennington and rapper Mike Shinoda as the band's muscled instrumentation, which layered DJ effects atop heavy, processed guitars.

Disturbed

Heavy metal band Disturbed came together through the matching of a band with a singer. Longtime friends Dan Donegan (guitar), Mike Wengren (drums), and Fuzz (bass) played together in Chicago for some time before hooking up with singer David Draiman around 1997. Draiman had grown up in a religious family against which he rebelled, being expelled from five boarding schools in his adolescence. His anger found an outlet in the thrashing sound of Disturbed, and the band built up a following on Chicago's South Side before a demo tape led to their signing to Giant Records, which released their debut album, The Sickness, in March 2000.

Godsmack

The Boston-based alternative metal group Godsmack were originally comprised of vocalist Sully Erna (a devout Wiccan), guitarist Tony Rambola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Tommy Stewart. After debuting in 1997 with All Wound Up, Godsmack signed with Universal, which in 1998 reissued the LP as a self-titled effort with a handful of new tracks; at that point Stewart -- who'd left the group in mid-1997 and was replaced by drummer Joe d'Arco -- returned to the lineup on a permanent basis.

Jimmy Eat World

Once a trailblazing name in the mid-'90s emocore scene, Jimmy Eat World eventually found a larger audience by embracing a blend of alternative rock and power pop that targeted the heart as well as the head. The band's influence widened considerably with 1999's Clarity -- an album that has since emerged as a landmark of the emo genre -- it was the band's follow-up (specifically the infectious single "The Middle") that crowned them as major figures in commercial rock. The emo label proved difficult to shake throughout the 2000s, even when subsequent albums like Futures and Chase This Light did little to evoke the hard-edged sensitivity of Clarity, but Jimmy Eat World still remained a league above the generation of emocore torch-bearers they helped spawn.

Dirty Heads

Following in the footsteps of their California brothers Sublime, Huntington Beach’s Dirty Heads mix hip-hop, reggae, and rock along with that laid-back, South Cali attitude. The group formed in 2003 when punk rocker Dustin Bushnell (aka Duddy B) asked his friend, rapper Jared Watson (aka Dirty J) to collaborate on a project that would focus on positive vibes and infectious grooves. Watson added singing to his vocal skills, and with percussionist Jon Olazabal joining, an acoustic-trio-version of Dirty Heads began playing shows and building an audience.

Avenged Sevenfold

The members of metalcore outfit Avenged Sevenfold (or A7X) were still attending high school in Huntington Beach, CA, when they formed their band in 1999. Nevertheless, it didn't take long for M. Shadows (vocals), Zacky Vengeance (guitar), Synyster Gates (guitar), the Reverend (drums), and Johnny Christ (bass) to make an impression with their aggressive hybrid of metal and punk-pop. The band made its official debut in July 2001, releasing Sounding the Seventh Trumpet on the Good Life label before moving to the Hopeless roster for 2003's Waking the Fallen. Warner Bros.took interest in the band's aggressive sound and issued its breakthrough release, City of Evil, in June 2005. The album reached number 30 on Billboard's Top 200, propelled in part by the Top Ten success of the single "Bat Country.

Papa Roach

Starting out as a punk- and rap-influenced band, the northern Californian group Papa Roach eventually grew into a straight-ahead hard rock ensemble with strong heavy metal leanings. Consisting of Coby Dick, Jerry Horton, Dave Buckner, and Tobin Esperance, Papa Roach formed in 1993 and began releasing EPs soon after, including 1994's Potatoes for Christmas and 1995's Caca Bonita. By 1996, the group had replaced original bassist Will James with Esperance and hired a new manager; the following year, Papa Roach released their first full-length album, Old Friends from Young Years, which became a surprise hit on local radio.

The Black Keys

It’s too facile to call the Black Keys counterparts of the White Stripes: they share several surface similarities -- their names are color-coded, they hail from the Midwest, they’re guitar-and-drum blues-rock duos -- but the Black Keys are their own distinct thing, a tougher, rougher rock band with a purist streak that never surfaces in the Stripes. But that’s not to say that the Black Keys are blues traditionalists: even on their 2002 debut, The Big Come Up, they covered the Beatles’ psychedelic classic “She Said She Said,” indicating a fascination with sound and texture that would later take hold on such latter-day albums as 2008’s Attack & Release, where guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney teamed up with sonic architect Danger Mouse.

Stone Sour

Although Slipknot made their mainstream debut in the late '90s, singer Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root got their start a few years prior in Stone Sour. Described as a cross between Metallica and Alice in Chains, the group spent several years playing the Iowa bar circuit before the two men joined Slipknot. Stone Sour re-formed in the early 2000s, though, and quickly distinguished themselves with a pair of gold-selling albums and three Grammy nominations. The band's reunion began in early 2002, when Root and Taylor contacted original guitarist Josh Rand and bassist Sean Economaki about recording a full-length Stone Sour album.

Grégoire

Grégoire is a Parisian singer/songwriter who, without any initial major-label support, broke through to mainstream success in the French-language world in 2008 with his smash hit single "Toi + Moi." Born Grégoire Boissenot on April 3, 1979, he began his musical career on the piano, learning to play songs such as the Beatles' "Let It Be," Elton John's "Your Song," and John Lennon's "Imagine." He cites the Beatles, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Cat Stevens, Elton John, and David Bowie among his primary influences. Grégoire's rise to fame began in association with My Major Company (MMC), an innovative online music company in France that operates almost entirely outside the major-label music system.

Kelly Rowland

Kelly Rowland rose to fame with the success of Destiny's Child during the late '90s. During that time, Destiny's Child catapulted into the new millennium as one of the best-selling female musical groups in history. Rowland, who was barely in her twenties, had been imagining such stardom for a long time. Born and raised in Atlanta, GA, Rowland began singing as soon as she heard the vocal beauty of Whitney Houston. She was only four at the time, but Houston's 1985 self-titled debut was enough to motivate the little girl.

Alicia Keys

By mixing R&B with a sultry dose of neo-soul, Alicia Keys became an international star in 2001 with the release of her debut album. Songs in A Minor sold more than 50,000 copies during its first day of availability and eventually moved over ten million units worldwide, thus setting the stage for the 20 year-old's long career. Although she shared the charts with R&B contemporaries like Destiny's Child, Keys' talent distinguished her as a different sort of diva, one who played a variety of instruments and penned the majority of her songs without outside help. The Diary of Alicia Keys cemented her popularity two years later, and Alicia Keys spent the rest of the decade refining her now-signature sound. Alicia Augello Cook was born in Harlem in early 1981. Raised by her Italian-American mother, she enrolled in classical piano lessons at the age of seven and began writing songs four years later. An education at the Professional Performance Arts School helped develop her vocal skills, and Alicia graduated at the age of 16 as the class valedictorian.

Giusy Ferreri

Giusy Ferreri is a pop singer from Italy who rose to fame with a second-place showing on the reality show X Factor. Born on April 17, 1979, in Palermo, Italy, she originally made her recording debut as Gaetana in 2005 with the largely unsuccessful single "Il Party." A few years later she auditioned for the first season of X Factor, a televised talent show that had originated in the United Kingdom, where it propelled Leona Lewis to fame in 2006. Not only was Ferreri selected to appear on the show, she proceeded to compete strongly throughout the 12-week season, ultimately finishing runner-up behind the winner, Aram Quartet. In the wake of her strong finish on the show, she signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and released the six-song EP Non Ti Scordar Mai di Me. Both the title track (written by Italian pop star Tiziano Ferro) and the EP itself were chart-topping smash hits.

Pixie Lott

Soulful R&B-influenced pop vocalist Pixie Lott was born Victoria Louise Lott on January 12, 1991 in Kent, England. Nicknamed Pixie by her mother, she first began singing in church. Later, Lott attended an arts school and appeared in several West End musical productions. One of her early demo recordings eventually caught the ear of producer L.A. Reid, who signed her to Island Def Jam Records when she was just 15 years old. However, songs posted to her MySpace page began drawing even more industry attention, and a bidding war ensued. Lott ultimately left Island, partnering instead with Mercury in the U.K. and Interscope in the United States. Her debut album, Turn It Up, was released in 2009 and became a hit in the U.K., where it reached platinum status on the strength of five consecutive Top 20 singles (including a pair of chart-topping hits, "Mama Do [Uh Oh, Uh Oh]" and "Boys and Girls").

Michael Bublé

Michael Bublé's introduction to the music of the swing era came to him through his grandfather, who filled his grandson's ears with the sounds of the Mills Brothers, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and others. As Bublé eagerly absorbed the recordings, he began to realize that he wanted to be a singer and that this style of music, virtually foreign to his own generation, was what he wanted to perform. With his grandfather's assistance, Bublé soon learned a whole catalog of tunes and gained experience and exposure by singing as a guest with several local bands. While still in his teen years, he won the Canadian Youth Talent Search, released several independent albums, and performed in a musical revue titled Swing that traveled across the U.S. It wasn't long before Bublé was introduced to Grammy-winning producer David Foster and signed his first major recording contract with Reprise Records.

Little Boots

Little Boots formed in 2007 as a solo vehicle for Victoria Hesketh, the ex-lead singer/keyboardist of English dance-pop outfit Dead Disco. Hesketh's first single under the new pseudonym was "Stuck on Repeat," an infectious club hit produced by Hot Chip's Joe Goddard that arrived on limited-edition 12" white-label vinyl. Released in early 2008, it was followed in August by the limited-edition 7" "Meddle," again produced by Goddard with help from Greg Kurstin of the Bird and the Bee. Little Boots' full-length debut, Hands, arrived in 2009 and peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart. It was followed later in the year by the Illuminations EP. Hands arrived in the United States on March 2, 2010.

Owl City

Owl City is the electronic brainchild of Adam Young, who launched the project in 2007 while living at his parents' home in Owatonna, MN. Troubled by insomnia, Young began spending his evenings in the household basement, where a computer and several instruments provided a welcome diversion from his sleeping patterns. He eventually combined those diversions into a blend of electronica and emo-pop, using little more than his computer and various keyboards to record the material.

The Gossip

Originally from Searcy, Arkansas, this punk trio moved to Olympia, WA, joining the roster of the indie rock label K Records. Guitarist Nathan (aka Brace Paine), drummer Kathy, and singer Beth proclaimed, "We started a band 'cause we were bored. Our mission is to make you dance, and if you're not gonna dance, just stay at home and listen to the oldies station." K released a self-titled 7" in 1999, and their full-length debut, That's Not What I Heard, was distributed by Kill Rock Stars in late 2000.

Calvin Harris

Favoring a naughty schoolboy look that makes him seem even younger than his already tender years (22 when his first major-label album was released), Scottish artist, producer, and remixer Calvin Harris has a similarly youthful and forward-looking approach to his music. Skipping the usual apprenticeship in the clubs or on indie labels, Harris went from posting his own D.I.Y. electroclash music online through MySpace and similar sites to signing with the multinational giant EMI almost in a single step. Born on January 17, 1984, in the southern Scotland city of Dumfries, Harris was first attracted to electronic music in his teens and was recording bedroom demos by 1999. Two of these songs, "Da Bongos" and "Brighter Days," were released as a 12" club single and CD-EP by the Prima Facie label in early 2002 under the artist name Stouffer.