Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the folk-acoustic tradition. Singer-songwriters often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano; both the compositions and the arrangements are written primarily as solo vehicles, with the material angled toward topical issues—sometimes political, sometimes introspective, sensitive, romantic, and confessional.

The concept of a singer-songwriter can actually be traced to ancient bardic culture, which has existed in various forms throughout the world.^{[citation needed]} Poems would be performed as chant or song, sometimes accompanied by a harp or other similar instrument. After the invention of printing, songs would be written and performed by ballad sellers. Usually these would be versions of existing tunes and lyrics, which were constantly evolving. This developed into the singer-songwriting traditions of folk culture.

Josh Doyle is a British-American songwriter and musician who was the lead singer and guitarist for British punk-pop band Dum Dums. He disappeared after the break-up of Dum Dums in 2001, the band having released one album. He resurfaced in Nashville, Tennessee in 2004 with a wife and daughter and a new "folktronica" sound on the independent The End Of Fear EP.

In 2009, Doyle released Values and Virtues EP independently funded by his fanbase. With the proceeds of those sales Doyle was able to tour the UK without a label or any sponsorship, testing a new way forward for artists who have fans but choose not to sign with a record label.

Between 1998 and 2001, Dum Dums were among a handful of successful guitar bands amongst a glut of all singing, all dancing boy-bands and female pop starlets. While touring the "toilet" circuit (small clubs across the country such as "The Charlotte" in Leicester and "The Camden Monarch" in London) in the UK, they were signed to Wildstar by Ian McAndrew (Arctic Monkeys, Travis) and exploded across the radiowaves. Their first single 'Everything' hit the Official UK Top 20 and led to four UK hit singles from the first hit album, "It Goes Without Saying".

Ed Drewett (born 1 April 1988 in Harlow, Essex) is a singer-songwriter signed to [[Universal Polydor Records]]. Drewett left school at 16 and went on to a perfoming arts college in Charlton, SE London for a year then proceeded to a vocal college, Vocal Tech, West London the following year which sparked his later songwriting career. Drewett first came to public attention in 2007 on the BBC television show Any Dream Will Do but he did not make the final 12 chosen for the live shows. He is best-known, however, for the single "I Need You Tonight" produced by The ThundaCatz and was a collaboration with Professor Green. The single reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart. Drewett's second single has been announced as the solo track "Champagne Lemonade".

Drewett signed a deal with EMI Records in February 2009. He began recording his debut album working with producers Wayne Hector, Cutfather and JJ, Fraser T. Smith and The ThundaCatz.^{[citation needed]} In early 2010, he was featured on Professor Green's first debut single, "I Need You Tonight", which charted at number three in the UK singles charts and number 15 in Ireland. The single remained in the UK Top 10 for four weeks. Drewett also co-wrote The Wanted's debut single, "All Time Low". The single went straight to number one in the UK top 40. Drewett released his first debut single, "Champagne Lemonade" on 31 October 2010, which he co-wrote with Tim Powell. However this flopped as it only reached 84 in the charts. Ed studied at the prestigious 'Tech Music School' on the 1 Year Diploma. Ed has co-written three singles for The Wanted with Wayne Hector and Steve Mac - "All Time Low", "Glad You Came" and "Lightning". Drewett later signed to [[Polydor_Records]] in February 2012 and is set to release later this year.

Emily Nemmers (born July 9, 1981 in Waterloo, Iowa) is an American country music artist who records under the name Emily West. Signed to Capitol Records Nashville, she debuted on Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in early 2008 with the single "Rocks in Your Shoes". This song peaked at #39 early in the year, and is the first single from a self-titled EP. She entered the country charts a second time with "Blue Sky" in 2010.

West, the youngest of four children, was born in Waterloo, Iowa. She moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2000 following her graduation from Waterloo West High School in hopes of achieving her goals of becoming a country music singer. West soon signed a deal with a publishing company in Nashville, Warner-Chapell. West was then signed to Capitol Records Nashville when producer Mike Dungan listened to her demo tapes. One of her first appearances was as a background vocalist on Chely Wright's 2005 album The Metropolitan Hotel.

Capitol released a self-titled EP December 11, 2007 to the iTunes music store. In early 2008, West was featured in People Magazine and completed a media tour for her debut single, "Rocks in Your Shoes". "Rocks in Your Shoes" peaked in the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in early 2008. The song received a "thumbs up" rating from The 9513 critic Jim Malec, who called it "a fun-but-gritty up-tempo that exudes confidence and perfectly frames her music." A second single, "That Kind of Happy" was released in April 2009 and failed to enter the chart.

Jonah Smith (born in 1975 in Syracuse, New York) is an American musician.

He recorded his first indie album, Industry Rule, in 2000 at engineer Matt Stein's studio in New York. The album was completed in under a week and featured Smith's regular lineup of musicians for the next several years: Marko Djordjevic - drums, Bob Reynolds - sax, Ben Rubin - bass and David Soler - guitar, pedal steel guitar, as well as harmony vocals by Maya Azucena, a frequent guest at his live shows. The sound of the album was a mixture of soul, jazz and country and the material was mostly inspired by Smith's recent move to New York to pursue music. The album was well received by the New York press and soon led to a regular spot at the famed 55 Bar after Jonah was discovered by its owner, Queva Lutz. Coinciding with Smith's gaining stature in New York was the band's popularity in Spain due to the influence of guitarist David Soler. Soon Smith and his band were touring regularly in Spain as well as on the East Coast of the United States.