The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop music albums. Awards in several categories are distributed annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position."

The honor was first presented in 1968 at the 10th Grammy Awards as Best Contemporary Album to The Beatles for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The category was then discontinued until 1995 where it emerged with the new name Best Pop Album. In 2001, the category became known as Best Pop Vocal Album. According to the category description guide for the 52nd Grammy Awards, the award is presented to artists that perform "albums containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded pop vocal tracks."

Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age. He performed in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood. He graduated from high school and then moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a musical career. Mars produced songs for other artists, joining production team The Smeezingtons.

Mars had an unsuccessful stint with Motown Records, but then signed with Atlantic Records in 2009. He became recognized as a solo artist after lending his vocals and co-writing the hooks for the songs "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B, and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy. He also co-wrote the hits "Right Round" by Flo Rida featuring Ke$ha, and "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan. In October 2010, he released his debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Anchored by the worldwide number-one singles "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade", the album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. Mars was nominated for seven Grammys at the 53rd Grammy Awards, winning Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Just the Way You Are".

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (/ˈstɛfəniː dʒʌrməˈnɑːtə/ STE-fə-nee jurr-mə-NAH-tə; born March 28, 1986), known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She began performing in the rock music scene of Manhattan's Lower East Side, and was signed with Streamline Records by the end of 2007. During her employment as a songwriter for the record company, her vocal abilities captured the attention of recording artist Akon, who signed her to his label Kon Live Distribution.

Lady Gaga came to prominence as a recording artist following the release of her debut album The Fame (2008), which was a critical and commercial success that topped charts around the world and included the international number-one singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". After embarking on the The Fame Ball Tour, she followed the album with The Fame Monster (2009), which spawned the worldwide hit singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro". The album's success allowed her to embark on the eighteen-month long Monster Ball Tour, which later became one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. Her most recent album Born This Way (2011) topped the charts of most major markets and generated more international chart-topping singles, including "Born This Way", "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory". Besides her musical career, she involves herself with humanitarian causes and LGBT activism.

Esau Mwamwaya is a singer from Lilongwe, Malawi. He is best known for his collaboration, The Very Best with London based DJ/production duo Radioclit. His music has been described as an Afro-Western mix of dance, hiphop, pop and the traditional music of Malawi.

Esau Mwamwaya was born in Mzuzu, Malawi, but grew up in the capital, Lilongwe, where he played drums in various bands. He played with numerous artists including Masaka Band and Evison Matafale.

In 1999 he moved to London and while running a second-hand furniture shop in Clapton, East London, Esau sold a bicycle to the producer from the band Radioclit, Etienne Tron. Radioclit's studio was on the same street as Esau's shop, and eventually, Esau became friends with both Tron and Johan Karlberg aka Radioclit.

In 2008, the three men worked together to create a project known as 'The Very Best', releasing a critically lauded free mixtape through the label GREEN OWL() in collaboration with other indie artists, including M.I.A., Vampire Weekend, Architecture in Helsinki, BLK JKS, Santigold and the Ruby Suns. The songs are sung in Chichewa, the national language of Malawi.

Agnes Monica (Traditional Chinese: 楊詩曼; Simplified Chinese: 杨诗曼; pinyin: Yáng Shī-Màn; born Agnes Monica Muljoto; 1 July 1986) is an Indonesian recording artist and actress. Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, she started her career in the entertainment industry at the age of six as a child singer. She has recorded three children's albums which established her as one of Indonesia's most popular child singers in the 1990s. She also became a presenter of several children's television programs. As a teenager, Agnes expanded her career to include acting. Her role in the soap opera Pernikahan Dini rocketed her name into the industry. Following her rising popularity after starring in few series of soap operas, she became the highest-paid teenage artist in Indonesia.

In 2003, she released her fourth studio album And the Story Goes, which marked her transition from a child singer to a female artist. On her fifth studio album, Whaddup A.. '?! (2005), she collaborated with American R&B singer Keith Martin. She also appeared in two Taiwanese drama series, The Hospital and Romance In the White House. She participated in the 2008 and 2009 Asia Song Festival in Seoul, South Korea, and received "Best Asian Artist Award" at each event. Agnes took creative control of her sixth studio album, Sacredly Agnezious (2009), for which she served as the producer and songwriter. In 2010, she was appointed as one of the judges on the talent show Indonesian Idol and was also one of the international hosts of the red carpet at the American Music Awards of 2010 in Los Angeles.