Backstreet Boys　

The Backstreet Boys were, in many ways, a contradictory band. Comprised entirely of white middle-class Americans, the group sang a hybrid of new jack balladry, hip-hop, R＆B, and dance club pop that ..more

TRIPLANE　

Weldon Irvine　

Keyboardist Weldon Irvine looms large in the pantheon of jazz-funk, profoundly influencing the subsequent generations of hip-hop artists for whom he served as collaborator and mentor. Born in ..more

The Isley Brothers　

First formed in the early ’50s, the Isley Brothers enjoyed one of the longest, most influential, and most diverse careers in the pantheon of popular music -- over the course of nearly a half-centur ..more

Zara Larsson　

Swedish vocalist and songwriter Zara Larsson has a penchant for crafting soulful electropop that falls somewhere between Rihanna, Lorde, and Robyn. Born in Solna (a suburb of Stockholm), s ..more

J-Hope (BTS)　

Daft Punk　

Even as they evolved from French house pioneers in the ’90s to dance tastemakers in the 2000s to mainstream heroes in the 2010s, Daft Punk remained one of dance music’s most influential and iconic ..more

Misato Watanabe　

Amy Winehouse　

Much can be said about the late Amy Winehouse, one of the U.K.’s flagship vocalists during the 2000s. The British press and tabloids seemed to focus on her rowdy behavior, heavy consumption of alco ..more

Charlie Puth　

Jon Batiste　

Moriguchi Hiroko　

Kumi Koda　

Dream Theater　

The technically proficient guitar playing of John Petrucci elevated Dream Theater to the upper echelons of contemporary heavy metal. While its lineup has continuously evolved, the Long Island-ba ..more

Free　

Famed for their perennial All Right Now, Free helped lay the foundations for the rise of hard rock, stripping the earthy sound of British blues down to its raw, minimalist core to pionee ..more

Superfly　

Robert Glasper　

Cream　

Although Cream were only together for a little more than two years, their influence was immense, both during their late-’60s peak and in the years following their breakup. Cream were the first t ..more

MAKE-UP　

George Michael　

One of the most successful solo artists of the late ’80s and ’90s, George Michael grew up listening to ’60s-’70s soul/disco music and in the early ’80s he hooked up with Andrew Ridgeley to create a po ..more