Sugababes is an English pop group formed in London, England in 1998 by Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena and Siobhan Donaghy. Their debut single, "Overload", made the top ten on the UK Singles Chart and was nominated for a BRIT Award for Best Single, climbing to number three and number two in Germany and New Zealand, respectively. In 2000, Sugababes released their debut album, One Touch. Despite peaking at number 26 on the UK Album Charts and being certified Gold by the BPI, the sales of One Touch did not meet London Records’ expectations, and the group eventually got dropped in fall 2001, making it their only release with the label. So, in 2002 they signed with Island Records and released their sophomore album, Angels with Dirty Faces. The album peaked domestically at #2 on the UK Albums Chart and has since been certified 3x Platinum by the BPI, and is the group’s highest selling album to date. Sugababes then released their third album, Three in 2003. It spawned four singles that charted in various parts of the world; "Hole in the Head", "Whatever Makes You Happy", "Sometimes" and "Maya". Sugababes has since released four more albums including "Taller in More Ways" in 2005 and "Catfights and Spotlights" in 2008.
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Arctic Monkeys was formed in 2002 in Sheffield, England. They began rehearsing at Yellow Arch Studios in Neepsend, and played their first gig on 13 June 2003 at The Grapes in Sheffield city-centre. After a few performances, they began to record demos and burn them onto CDs to give away at gigs. In May 2005, Arctic Monkeys released their first EP, Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys, featuring the songs "Fake Tales of San Francisco" and "From the Ritz to the Rubble". This release was limited to 500 CDs and 1000 7" records, but was also available to download from the iTunes Music Store. Soon after, the band played at the Carling Stage of the Reading and Leeds Festivals, reserved for less known or unsigned bands. Eventually, they signed to Domino in June 2005. In 2006, the Artic Monkeys released their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. The album became the fastest selling debut album in the UK ever. The album sold over 360,000 copies in its first week. In April of 2007 they released their sophomore album, Favourite Worst Nightmare. In the USA, the album debuted at number seven, selling around 44,000 copies in its first week. The album has since gone 2x platinum in the UK and the album was nominated for the 2007 Mercury Prize. At the 2008 BRIT Awards it won Best British Album.
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Gorillaz is a virtual band created in 1998 by Damon Albarn of alternative rock band Blur, and Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the comic book Tank Girl. The band is composed of four animated band members: 2D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel. The band’s first album, 2001′s Gorillaz, sold over seven million copies and earned them an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize 2001, but the nomination was later withdrawn at the band’s request. Their second studio album, Demon Days, was released in 2005 and included the singles "Feel Good Inc.", "Dare", "Dirty Harry" and "Kids with Guns"/"El Mańana". Demon Days went five times platinum in the UK, double platinum in the United States and earned five Grammy Award nominations in 2006. The combined sales of Gorillaz and Demon Days had, by 2008, exceeded 15 million albums. The band has received three nominations from the MTV Europe Music Awards, winning all three: Best Dance Act and Best Song for "Clint Eastwood" in 2001, and Best Group in 2005.
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Britney Spears is an American pop artist that was born on December 2, 1981 in Kentwood, Louisiana. She started her meteoric rise to fame at the tender age of 11 on the television variety show Star Search. Then in 1993 she landed a spot on Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club where she starred until 1994. Originally she was considered to young for the role but the producer went ahead and referred her to a New York Agent. She then appeared in a couple of off Broadway productions including Ruthless. For a few years she was off the radar, that is until she hit the charts with her 1998 debut album entitled Baby One More Time. That album would peak on the Billboard Top 100 at number one and would remain on the charts for a period of two weeks. In late 1999 She appeared on Sabrina the Teenage Witch and performed the song You Drive Me Crazy. Then in May 2000 Britney Spears released her album "Oops!…I Did It Again", which debuted at number one and sold more than 1.3 million copies in it’s first week. She is probably best known for her 2004 marriage to Kevin Federline whom she divorced on November 7, 2006.
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Sara Evans was born on February 5, 1971 in Boonville, Missouri. She was raised on a farm, and was the eldest girl of seven children. Music was a part of her life at an early age; by five she was singing every weekend in her family’s band. At age eight, she was struck by an automobile in front of the family home, and both her legs suffered multiple fractures. Recuperating for months in a wheelchair, she continued singing to help pay her medical bills. When she was 16, she began performing at a nightclub near Columbia, Missouri, a gig that lasted two years. ?In 1997, Sara Evans was signed to RCA Records and released her debut album, Three Chords and the Truth. The album produced two singles, "True Lies", the title track, and "Shame About That". Although all of these singles charted on the Hot Country Songs chart, none reached the Top 40, making this the only album of her career not to produce any Top 40 hits. Sarah Evans has since released five more albums, four compilation albums and twenty three singles. Four of her singles reached the #1 spot on the Billboard Country Chart.
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