Maroon 5

Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band that originated in Los Angeles, California. Before the group was formed the original four members of the 1994 band were known as Kara's Flowers while its members were still in high school, and originally consisted of Adam Levine (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jesse Carmichael (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) Mickey Madden (bass guitar) and Ryan Dusick (drums). The band, which self-released an album called We Like Digging?, then signed to Reprise Records and released the album The Fourth World in 1997. After the album garnered a tepid response, the band parted ways with the record label and the members attended college.

In 2001, the band changed its image by adding guitarist James Valentine and pursuing a new direction under the name Maroon 5. At this point, Carmichael switched to playing keyboards, which has since become his main instrument in the band. After these changes, Maroon 5 signed with a subsidiary of J Records, Octone Records, and released their debut album, Songs About Jane, in June 2002. The album's lead single, "Harder to Breathe", received heavy airplay, which helped the album to debut at number six on the Billboard 200 chart. In 2004, the album went platinum and has been dubbed "the sleeper hit of the millennium". The band won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2005. For the next few years, Maroon 5 toured extensively worldwide in support of Songs About Jane and produced two live recordings: 2004's 1.22.03.Acoustic and 2005's Live – Friday the 13th. In 2006, Dusick officially left Maroon 5 after suffering from serious wrist and shoulder injuries and was replaced by Matt Flynn. The band then recorded their second album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long and released it in May 2007. The album reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and the lead single, "Makes Me Wonder", became the band's first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 14 to pursue a career in country music. She signed with the independent label Big Machine Records and became the youngest songwriter ever signed by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. The release of Swift's eponymous debut album in 2006 marked the start of her career as a country music singer. Her third single, "Our Song", made her the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number-one song on the Hot Country Songs chart.

Swift's second album, Fearless, was released in 2008. Buoyed by the pop crossover success of the singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", Fearless became the best-selling album of 2009 in the United States. The album won four Grammy Awards, making Swift the youngest ever Album of the Year winner. Swift's third and fourth albums, 2010's Speak Now and 2012's Red, both sold more than one million copies within the first week of their U.S release. Speak Now's "Mean" won two Grammy Awards, while Red's singles "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and "I Knew You Were Trouble" were successful worldwide. Swift's fifth album, the pop-focused 1989, was released in 2014 and sold more copies in its opening week than any album in the previous 12 years, making Swift the first and only act to have three albums sell more than one million copies in the opening release week. Its singles "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", and "Bad Blood" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album would go on to win three awards at the 2016 Grammys including Album of the Year making Swift the first and thus far only female artist to receive the award twice.

Justin Bieber

Justin Drew Bieber (/ˈbiːbər/; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bieber released his debut EP, My World, in late 2009. It was certified platinum in the U.S. He became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut record chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Bieber released his first full-length studio album, My World 2.0, in 2010. It debuted at or near number one in several countries and was certified triple platinum in the U.S. It was preceded by his most successful single to date, "Baby".

Following his debut album, he had his first headlining tour, the My World Tour, released the remix albums My Worlds Acoustic and Never Say Never – The Remixes -- and the 3D biopic-concert film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. He released his second studio album, Under the Mistletoe, in November 2011, when it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Bieber released his third studio album, Believe, in 2012. His fourth studio album Purpose was released in November 2015. His U.S. album and singles sales total 44.7 million.

Lady Gaga

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (/ˈstɛfəniː dʒɜːrməˈnɒtə/ STEF-ə-nee jur-mə-NOT-ə; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her self-empowering messages, fashion, and live performances. Gaga initially performed in theater, appearing in high school plays, and studied at CAP21 through New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before dropping out to pursue a musical career. After leaving a rock band, participating in the Lower East Side's avant garde performance art circuit, and being dropped from a contract with Def Jam Recordings, Gaga worked as a songwriter for Sony/ATV Music Publishing. There, recording artist Akon noticed her vocal abilities and helped her to sign a joint deal with Interscope Records and his own KonLive Distribution.

Her debut album The Fame (2008) was a critical and commercial success that produced global chart-topping singles such as "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". A follow-up EP, The Fame Monster (2009), was met with a similar reception and released the successful singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone", and "Alejandro". Her second full-length album Born This Way was released in 2011, topping the charts in more than 20 countries, including the United States, where it sold over one million copies in its first week. The album produced the number-one single "Born This Way". Her third album Artpop, released in 2013, topped the US charts and included the successful single "Applause". In 2014, Gaga released a collaborative jazz album with Tony Bennett titled Cheek to Cheek, which became her third consecutive number one in the United States. For her work in the television series American Horror Story: Hotel, Gaga won a Golden Globe Award in 2016.

Carly Rae Jepsen

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Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter from Mission, British Columbia, and later based in Vancouver. In 2007, she placed third in Canadian Idol season five's competition. Jepsen independently released her debut album, Tug of War, in 2008. In 2011, she released the single "Call Me Maybe", which was followed in 2012 by her debut EP, Curiosity, and her second album, Kiss. "Call Me Maybe" reached number one in 18 countries during 2012 and was the year's best-selling single worldwide. Jepsen's third album, Emotion, was released in 2015 with mostly positive reviews, and was heavily influenced by songs from the 1980s. Its lead single "I Really Like You" reached the top 5 in the United Kingdom, the top 10 in Japan, top 15 in Jepsen's native Canada, and top 40 in the United States.

Jepsen has received multiple awards and nominations, including three Juno Awards, a Billboard Music Award, and an Allan Slaight Award. As of May 2015, Jepsen has sold more 20 million records worldwide.