Jordin Sparks

Jordin Brianna Sparks (born December 22, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. In 2007, she rose to fame after winning the sixth season of American Idol; at age 17, she became the youngest winner in the series' history. Her self-titled debut album was released later in the same year; it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold over two million copies worldwide. The album spawned the US Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles "Tattoo" and "No Air"; the latter is currently the third-highest-selling single by any American Idol contestant, selling over three million digital copies in the United States. The song earned Sparks her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Sparks' second album, Battlefield (2009), debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard 200. Its lead single, also titled "Battlefield", where it reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Sparks the only American Idol contestant to have her first five singles reach the top twenty on the chart. The second single, "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)", became Sparks' first number one on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart. Throughout her career, Sparks has won numerous awards, including an NAACP Image Award, a BET Award, an American Music Award, a People's Choice Award and two Teen Choice Awards. In 2009, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 91st Artist of the 2000s Decade. In 2012, Sparks was ranked at number 92 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Women in Music". As of February 2012, she has sold 1.3 million albums and 10.2 million singles in the United States alone, making her one of the most successful American Idol contestants of all time.

Stargate (production team)

Stargate is a Norwegian record producing and songwriting team, composed of Tor Erik Hermansen (born 14 October 1972) and Mikkel Storleer Eriksen (born in 1972), based in New York City. The team's genres include R&B, pop, dance-pop, Europop and hip hop. Stargate was established in Trondheim, Norway.

Stargate broke into the American recording industry in 2006, with the release of the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single, "So Sick", produced and co-written by the team and performed by Ne-Yo. They also produced and co-wrote Beyoncé's worldwide hit single "Irreplaceable", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 consecutive weeks. Throughout their career they have been noted for their extensive work with Rihanna, writing and producing four consecutive Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles with the Barbadian singer in 2010 and 2011. They have together written 12 No. 1 singles in the U.S. and 11 in the UK.

Formation and early works

Stargate began in 1997 as a song-writing trio in Trondheim, Norway, consisting of Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, and Hallgeir Rustan. When they first met, Hermansen was a talent scout for the Norwegian branch of the record label Warner Music Group, Eriksen owned a studio, and Rustan was a mechanical engineer before becoming involved in music. One of their first successful productions was with Norwegian R&B singer Noora Noor. Her first album "Curious" was produced in their Trondheim studio. Noora Noor was signed to the Norwegian branch of the record label Warner Music Group. Her main hit from this album "Need You" was released throughout Europe and gave Stargate attention from the UK music industry. While in Norway, they ventured into the British market, mostly writing songs for R&B-pop performers. At this time they called the team Stargate, a name specifically established for their projects in the United Kingdom.

Christina Aguilera

Christina María Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. In the early 1990s, she appeared on television series Star Search and The Mickey Mouse Club. In 1998, Aguilera signed with RCA Records and recorded her self-titled debut album, which was released in 1999. The album was a commercial success in the United States, spawning three U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles—"Genie in a Bottle", "What a Girl Wants", and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)", and helped Aguilera win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. In 2000, RCA released Aguilera's Spanish-language album Mi Reflejo and holiday-theme album My Kind of Christmas. Her 2002 fourth studio album, Stripped, ventured into various genres including hip hop, Latin, and rock, and won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for its second single "Beautiful".

Aguilera's 2006 fifth studio album, Back to Basics, was inspired by blues, soul, and jazz music of the 1920s-40s. The album peaked at number one on record charts of thirteen countries and won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for its first single "Ain't No Other Man". In 2010, RCA released Aguilera's electronic-influenced album, Bionic, which failed to match the success of her previous albums; later that year, she starred in the film Burlesque. The following year, Aguilera was featured on Maroon 5's top-ten single "Moves like Jagger" and became an original coach on the U.S. television series The Voice, having since appeared on five of its nine seasons. Her 2012 seventh studio album, Lotus, became the lowest-selling album of her career. However, she later experienced rehabilitated commercial success in 2013, being featured on the top-ten singles "Feel This Moment" and "Say Something", which won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Katy Perry

Katheryn Elizabeth "Katy" Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After singing in church during her childhood, she pursued a career in gospel music as a teenager. Perry signed with Red Hill Records and released her debut studio album Katy Hudson in 2001, which was commercially unsuccessful. She moved to Los Angeles the following year to venture into secular music after Red Hill ceased operations. After being dropped by The Island Def Jam Music Group and Columbia Records, Perry signed a recording contract with Capitol Records in April 2007.

Perry rose to fame in 2008 with the release of the singles "I Kissed a Girl" – which sparked controversy for its homosexual themes – and "Hot n Cold" from her second album, a pop rock record titled One of the Boys. Her third album, Teenage Dream (2010), ventured into disco, and contained the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", "E.T.", and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" as well as the number-three single "The One That Got Away". The album became the first by a female artist to produce five number-one Billboard Hot 100 songs, and the second overall after Michael Jackson's album Bad. In March 2012, she reissued the album as Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, which produced the songs "Part of Me" and "Wide Awake".

No Matter What

No Matter What may refer to: