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No overnight success, DJ Khaled toiled as a disc jockey for years before he became an immensely successful, larger-than-life figure in rap music. Since the latter half of the 2000s, Khaled has factored into triumphant crossover singles that have seemed like events, charming fans with his fun-loving spirit, ebullient interjections, and well-placed talent that has flanked him. His top hits span over a decade and include Drake, Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper, and Rihanna among the eager featured artists. Khaled's first eight albums, from 2006 through 2015, peaked within the Top 20 of the Billboard 200, while his ninth and tenth, Major Key (2016) and Grateful (2017), crowned the Billboard 200. Father of Asahd (2019) made Khaled a Grammy winner when "Higher," a collaboration with Nipsey Hussle and John Legend, was awarded Best Rap/Sung Performance. Khaled has responded to the feat by topping the Billboard 200 again with Khaled Khaled (2021) and God Did (2022), the latter of which also featured and the Top Ten smash "Staying Alive," featuring Drake and Lil Baby. He heralded his 14th album, Til Next Time (2023) with the "Supposed to Be Love," also featuring Lil Baby and Future.

The son of Palestinian immigrants, Khaled Mohamed Khaled spent the first years of his life in New Orleans. His family moved to Orlando, where, at the age of 13, he started to learn how to DJ in his supportive parents' garage. Due to financial hardship, Khaled's family returned to New Orleans. While still a teenager, he briefly worked at the city's Odyssey record store, networking with rising rap artists like Birdman and Lil Wayne and, to the dismay of his boss, running up the phone bill by placing long-distance calls to record labels. Khaled went back to Orlando, then headed south to Miami and struggled to establish himself as a DJ in the reggae soundclash circuit. At Miami pirate radio station Mixx 93, Khaled approached the on-air DJs and asked for a portion of their time slot. Marcello Valenzano and Andre Lyon, who were on the brink of leaving town and becoming known as production duo Cool & Dre, obliged. Khaled made the studio his home and became an exuberant force on the city's airwaves. His reach extended with mixtapes and club gigs. He received a boost from Luther Campbell, who brought him on as a regular DJ for WEDR's The Luke Show, and was eventually granted a station slot of his own, shortly after he received his first production credits.

Emboldened by his increasing popularity and number of connections, as well as his status as the DJ for Terror Squad, Khaled put together his first official mixtape, which led to a long streak of commercially successful proper albums. Debut full-length Listennn: The Album (2006), released through Koch, was a modest success due to the Afrika Bambaataa-sampling Cool & Dre production "Holla at Me." It hit the Top 20 of Billboard's rap chart and, like all Khaled hits that followed, involved several rappers. Khaled remained with Koch/E1 for three additional albums that placed a total of four singles in the pop Top 40: "We Takin' Over," "I'm So Hood," "Out Here Grindin'," and "All I Do Is Win." Made with a combined total of 14 rappers and seven producers, these anthems earned Khaled several gold and platinum certifications. Birdman, who was among the crew heard on the first of the big hits, added Khaled to the Cash Money roster for a period that entailed three additional albums: We the Best Forever (2011), Kiss the Ring (2012), and Suffering from Success (2013). Only "I'm on One" and "No New Friends" were added to Khaled's stack of Top 40 hits, but the parent albums either reached or nearly missed the top of the Billboard rap chart.

After a one-album stint with Sony's RED division, which yielded I Changed a Lot (2015) and its single "Hold You Down," Khaled moved to major-label Epic for Major Key (2016). Prefaced with "For Free" and "I Got the Keys," his seventh and eighth Top 40 singles, the album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200. Only nine months later, Khaled released the Beyoncé and Jay-Z collaboration "Shining" as the first single off Grateful (2017), another number one hit. The album's second single, "I'm the One," put Khaled at the top of the Hot 100 beside guest stars Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne. A third single, "Wild Thoughts" featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller, peaked at number two on the Hot 100, topping the Dance Club, R&B/Hip-Hop, and Rhythmic charts. After he and Demi Lovato collaborated on "I Believe" from the soundtrack to the film A Wrinkle in Time, Khaled scored his fourth Top Ten pop hit with "No Brainer" (2018), joined again by Bieber, Quavo, and Chance. He followed with Father of Asahd (2019), an LP that entered the Billboard 200 at number two. The list of collaborators again numbered in the dozens, and featured Nipsey Hussle on "Higher," one of the rapper's last recordings. The song, also featuring a hook from John Legend, went on to win the 2019 Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Performance. Khaled teamed again with Drake for "Greece" and "Popstar" (2020), Top Ten preludes to the Billboard 200-topping Khaled Khaled (2021), a set that later spawned "Every Chance I Get," a number 20 pop hit with Lil Baby and Lil Durk as co-stars. Yet another Drake collaboration, the Bee Gees-quoting "Staying Alive" (also featuring Lil Baby), reached the Top Ten to set up the arrival of the album God Did (2022). His fourth number one Billboard 200 album, God Did, picked up five Grammy nominations, including for Best Rap Album. Another Lil Baby collaboration, "Supposed to Be Loved," also featuring Future, arrived in August 2023 as the the lead-single off the rapper's fourteenth studio-album, Til Next Time. ~ Andy Kellman

American musician, author, and actor Demi Lovato bridges the mainstream gap between pure pop hits and raw rock power, rising above the pack with their full, booming vocals. During their early years, they went from a Disney hopeful to a chart-topping pop star known for their spunky, confident air. A child actor who appeared on segments of Barney & Friends and As the Bell Rings in the 2000s, they had a breakout year in 2008 with a starring role in the Disney Channel movie Camp Rock and a debut single, "This Is Me" featuring Joe Jonas, that became a Top Ten hit in the States. Released the same year, their debut album, Don't Forget, went to number two on the Billboard 200, only to be outdone by the follow-up, 2009's Here We Go Again. While continuing to turn out hit albums, they served as a judge on the U.S. version of TV talent competition The X Factor (2012 to 2013), had a Top 40 hit with their pop version of "Let It Go" from the soundtrack to Disney's Frozen (2013), and became a Grammy nominee (Best Pop Vocal Album) thanks to their fifth full-length, 2015's Confident. Lovato reached number six on the Hot 100 in 2017 with "Sorry Not Sorry" from Tell Me You Love Me, their sixth consecutive Top Five album. A second career Grammy nomination followed in 2019 for the previous year's "Fall in Line," a duet with Christina Aguilera. Having publicly struggled with substance abuse and mental-health issues along the way, Lovato is a longtime spokesperson for causes including anti-bullying and mental-health awareness. They detailed these issues in a 2021 documentary series that was accompanied by their seventh album, Dancing with the Devil...The Art of Starting Over. The hard-edged single "Skin of My Teeth" paved the way for Lovato's rocking eighth album, 2022's HOLY FVCK. Riding the riff wave, they reimagined past pop hits as rock anthems on 2023's Revamped, before debuting another documentary project, 2024's Child Star.

Born in 1992 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lovato was raised in a household that included their mother (a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader) and two sisters, the youngest of whom launched her own acting career in 2008. Lovato started out as an actor, starring as a cast regular on Barney and Friends before finding their way onto the Disney Channel with a recurring role in As the Bell Rings. Their debut album, Don't Forget, featuring songs co-written by the Jonas Brothers, was released by Hollywood Records several months after the premiere of Camp Rock, a 2008 Disney Channel movie starring Lovato and the Jonas siblings. Don't Forget debuted at number two, confirming Lovato's status as a star in their own right, and was followed in 2009 by the chart-topping Here We Go Again. Meanwhile, they continued to act, appearing in a popular 2010 sequel to Camp Rock and starring in their own Disney series, Sonny with a Chance, which aired for two seasons.

In 2011, Lovato released the studio album Unbroken, featuring the Toby Gad-produced single "Skyscraper." It became the biggest hit since their Camp Rock days, nesting at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 and going platinum. The second single, "Give Your Heart a Break," peaked slightly lower at number 16 but was a bigger seller, eventually certifying as three-times platinum in the U.S. alone. Unbroken also featured co-starring roles for Timbaland and Missy Elliott on "All Night Long" and Jason Derulo on "Together."

Lovato's comeback continued in 2012 when they, along with Britney Spears, signed on to be one of the four judges on the second season of the U.S. version of The X Factor. It debuted in the fall of 2012, and Lovato's role was a success, leading to their return for the 2013 season. Prior to the season's launch, they released their fourth album, Demi, which appeared in May 2013 -- preceded by the single "Heart Attack," which peaked in the Top Ten. A pair of subsequent singles reached the Top 40: "Neon Lights" and "Really Don't Care" (the latter featuring Cher Lloyd). Lovato hit the Top 40 yet again with a contribution to another Disney vehicle, this time a cover version of Idina Menzel's "Let It Go" that was released as the lead single for the massive hit Frozen. Lovato also entered the best-selling books chart with Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year, a collection of their thoughts and quotes from those who inspired them during their struggles with addiction and depression. In 2014, they had a recurring role on the TV show Glee and headlined two world tours.

The following July, Lovato released "Cool for the Summer," the Max Martin and Wolf Cousins-produced lead single for their fifth studio album, Confident. The brassy title track was also issued as a single a few weeks before the record's October 2015 release. Other collaborators on the album included Iggy Azalea and songwriter Savan Kotecha, who also contributed to "Cool for the Summer." In addition to a Grammy nomination, Confident peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. In 2017, Lovato contributed vocals to Cheat Codes' "No Promises" and Jax Jones' "Instruction" before releasing their own single, "Sorry Not Sorry." It was the first glimpse of their sixth full-length album, Tell Me You Love Me, which appeared in September 2017 and reached number three on the Billboard 200. That November, they also paired with Luis Fonsi for the non-album single "Échame la Culpa." In 2018, Lovato joined Christina Aguilera on the track "Fall in Line" and delivered their own addiction-themed single, "Sober." More singles, including "I'm Ready" featuring Sam Smith, landed them in the Top 40 in 2020. Just prior to the 2020 presidential election, they released the protest song "Commander in Chief."

Lovato launched a documentary series called Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil in 2021. Accompanying the film was Dancing with the Devil...The Art of Starting Over, their seventh studio LP, which was billed as "the nonofficial soundtrack to the documentary" and was preceded by the single "What Other People Say," a duet with Sam Fischer. The album reached number two on the Billboard 200.

Lovato's first release of 2022 was the edgy pop-punk single "Skin of My Teeth," from their eighth studio album HOLY FVCK. That set arrived in August, returning the singer to the rock-based roots of their early albums with the help of Yungblud ("Freak"), Royal & the Serpent ("Eat Me"), and Dead Sara ("Help Me"). The next year, Lovato teamed with Mike Shinoda for the single "Still Alive" on the Scream VI soundtrack. She also released a reimagined cover version of the song "Let Me Down Easy" from fictional band Daisy Jones & the Six's album Aurora. Lovato later teamed with K-pop sensations Le Sserafim for a reworked version of their '90s-house-inspired "Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard's wife." Their own non-album single, the raging "Swine," arrived in June as a protest song written for the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, with proceeds going to a handful of nonprofits.

Continuing their well-received rock revival era, Lovato reimagined ten past hits of hers as "rock versions" for the remix compilation Revamped. Guests included Slash ("Sorry Not Sorry"), the Maine ("Neon Lights"), HOLY FVCK touring guitarist Nita Strauss ("La La Land"), and the Used's Bert McCracken ("Give Your Heart a Break"). "Chula," a dance-pop collaboration with the Mexican band Grupo Firme, arrived in August 2024 and featured lyrics in Spanish and English. That September, Lovato also premiered the documentary film Child Star, which detailed the experiences of child stars in the entertainment industry. Co-directed with Nicola Marsh, the film featured Lovato's single "You'll Be OK, Kid." ~ Matt Collar & Marcy Donelson