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Ben Platt is a Tony Award-winning actor and singer best known for musicals including the Pitch Perfect film franchise and Broadway's Dear Evan Hansen. After numerous soundtrack, theater, and film appearances, Platt made his solo recording debut with the 2019 pop album Sing to Me Instead, which reached number 18 on the Billboard 200. He continued to split his time between acting and recording, appearing and singing in the Netflix series The Politician and issuing his sophomore studio album, Reverie, in 2021. That year, he also reprised his title role in the film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen. His next major role was starring in the Tony-nominated revival of Parade. A cast recording was released in 2023 on Interscope, which also issued his folk-leaning third long-player, 2024's Honeymind.

A Los Angeles native, Platt's father is film and theater producer Marc Platt (La La Land, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert) and his older brother Jonah is an actor, writer, and composer. Ben Platt has said that he caught the acting bug at the age of nine, when he was cast as Winthrop in a production of The Music Man at the Hollywood Bowl alongside Kristin Chenoweth and Eric McCormack. He later returned to the Hollywood Bowl in Camelot and The Sound of Music, and at the age of 11, he was cast in the national tour of Caroline, or Change. Platt performed in several other musicals as a student, including during his time at the performing arts school Adderley. He graduated from the Los Angeles college preparatory school Harvard-Westlake School in 2011.

Platt then briefly attended Columbia University in New York, but it was only a matter of weeks before he dropped out to accept the role of Benji in the 2012 film comedy-musical Pitch Perfect. Focusing on the world of university a cappella competitions, the movie's hit cast album arrived on Universal in September 2012. Later the same year, Platt began a run as Elder Cunningham in the Chicago production of The Book of Mormon. He went on to make his Broadway debut in January 2014 in the same role, leaving it in January 2015. Pitch Perfect 2 followed later that year, as did a role in the Meryl Streep comedy-drama Ricki and the Flash. He spent July and August of 2015 playing the title role in a Washington, D.C. production of Dear Evan Hansen, a stage musical he'd joined in the workshopping stages.

In December 2016, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul's Dear Evan Hanson opened on Broadway. Revolving around a high school senior whose social anxiety made it difficult for him to connect to others, the show became a box-office hit and garnered nine Tony Award nominations. It won six, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for Platt. The original Broadway cast recording entered the Billboard 200 at number eight in February 2017, the highest debut for a cast recording since Camelot in 1961. Two months later, Platt was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People, and in September, he signed with Atlantic Records as a singer/songwriter.

In March 2018, Platt collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda on the benefit single "Found/Tonight," a mash-up of songs from Hamilton and Dear Evan Hanson. It was released by Atlantic in conjunction with March for Our Lives, a protest march to promote gun reform following the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida a month earlier. It reached the top half of the Billboard Hot 100. Early 2019 saw the arrival of a pair of singles, the lovelorn "Bad Habit" and the anxiety- and depression-tackling "Ease My Mind," ahead of the release of the full-length studio album Sing to Me Instead in late March; it reached the Billboard 200 Top 20. That same year, Platt appeared in the starring role of the Netflix original series The Politician and sang a number of songs on its soundtrack.

He returned in 2020 with the concert date Live from Radio City Music Hall, which debuted on Netflix. A song he co-penned with artists including Jon Bellion and the Monsters & Strangerz, Platt's "Imagine" saw release in April 2021 and hit the Top 30 of Billboard's Adult Top 40 Airplay chart. It was included on his second studio album, Reverie, that August. In the meantime, his cover of Lady Gaga's "Yoü and I" was issued as part of the tenth anniversary celebrations of her Born This Way album, and he starred in a film adaptation of Dear Evan Hanson which, along with its accompanying soundtrack, arrived in September 2021. The following year, Platt collaborated with singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles on a duet version of his 2019 song "Grow as We Go." He then signed a deal with Interscope Records, which released the cast recording of Parade, the Tony-nominated musical in which he was the star. "Andrew," the heartfelt lead single from his next studio album, appeared in early 2024. The Dave Cobb-produced Honeymind, which saw Platt adopt a more low-key, folk-oriented sound, arrived later that May. ~ Marcy Donelson

A distinct force in contemporary R&B, SZA has set herself apart with a vulnerable and casually poetic songwriting style and a voice conveying a multitude of emotions with subtle twists and turns. She established herself with a trio of spaced-out EPs and collaborations with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, and Rihanna, and continued her ascent with Ctrl (2017), a Top Ten album that resulted in five Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist. These accolades proved to be no fluke, as SZA earned almost as many Grammy nominations the next year by assisting Kendrick Lamar with "All the Stars," a Top Ten hit, only one in a slew of platinum singles she has scored as a headliner or featured artist. Her rich and complex second album, SOS (2022), went straight to number one on the Billboard 200, produced four Top Ten pop singles -- including the chart-topping revenge fantasy "Kill Bill" -- and earned the artist three Grammy awards.

Solána Imani Rowe was born in St. Louis and raised in New Jersey, where she excelled in high school gymnastics and cheerleading. After leaving college, Rowe shuffled around different jobs and recorded on the side, influenced by the diverse and maverick likes of Billie Holiday and Björk, as well as Wu-Tang Clan, whose RZA inspired her performing name. She self-released a pair of dreamy and alluring EPs, 2012's See.SZA.Run and 2013's S, and shortly thereafter signed with Top Dawg Entertainment. SZA had been on TDE's radar since 2011, when label co-founder Terrence "Punch" Henderson was handed material at the CMJ Music Marathon.

Once their agreement was in place, Top Dawg and SZA didn't waste any time. In April 2014, SZA made her label debut with Z, a trippy third EP that entered the Billboard 200 at number 39 with featured appearances from fellow TDE artists Kendrick Lamar and Isaiah Rashad, as well as one from Chance the Rapper. By the end of 2016, SZA was a highly valued collaborator herself. She appeared on high-profile TDE releases from Lamar, Rashad, ScHoolboy Q, and Jay Rock, co-wrote Nicki Minaj's "Feeling Myself" and Travis Scott's "OK Alright," and co-wrote and appeared on Rihanna's "Consideration."

Primed for the spotlight in 2017, SZA followed through that June with her first album. Released through TDE's arrangement with major-label RCA, the sharply defined Ctrl debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, and on its way to platinum status yielded a pair of multi-platinum singles in "Love Galore" and "The Weekend," both of which went Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. SZA also broadened her audience that year with contributions to Maroon 5's Top Ten "What Lovers Do" and a remix of Lorde's "Homemade Dynamite." Up for five Grammys, SZA was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Urban Contemporary Album, plus Best R&B Song ("Supermodel"), Best R&B Performance ("The Weekend"), and Best Rap/Sung Performance ("Love Galore").

SZA didn't win in any of the categories, but at the time of the ceremony in January 2019, she was already scaling back up the Hot 100 with "All the Stars," recorded with Kendrick Lamar for Black Panther: The Album. Another multi-platinum hit, the single peaked at number seven and was nominated in four categories -- including Record of the Year and Song of the Year, two of "the big four" -- at the next Grammy ceremony. During the rest of 2019, SZA added to her between-albums output, which already included Cardi B's "I Do," with the Game of Thrones commission "Power Is Power" and co-starring roles on DJ Khaled's "Just Us" and Post Malone's "Staring at the Sun." In 2020, she paired with Justin Timberlake on the song "The Other Side" for the Trolls World Tour soundtrack. She also released the Neptunes-produced track "Hit Different" -- a number 29 pop hit featuring Ty Dolla $ign -- and "Good Days," which reached number nine.

A comparatively quiet year for SZA, 2021 was highlighted by a featured appearance on Doja Cat's uptempo single "Kiss Me More," a number three pop hit. SZA also contributed "The Anonymous Ones" to the soundtrack for the coming-of-age film Dear Evan Hansen. "No Love" (headlined by Summer Walker) and "I Hate U" appeared at the end of the year; the latter reached number seven on the pop chart. At the 64th Annual Grammy Awards the following February, "Good Days" was up for Best R&B Song, and "Kiss Me More" won for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. A deluxe edition of Ctrl, including seven previously unreleased songs, appeared that June, five years after the album was originally released.

In December 2022, SZA delivered her second LP, SOS, on which she teamed with a deep roster of production and songwriting associates tied together by extensive input from Rob Bisel, Carter Lang, and ThankGod4Cody. The album topped both the Billboard 200 and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, with "Nobody Gets Me," "Kill Bill," and the Babyface collaboration "Snooze" following "I Hate U" and "Good Days" into the Top Ten. "Kill Bill" became SZA's first number one pop hit, and "Snooze" received another boost with an acoustic version assisted by Justin Bieber. After SZA topped the Hot 100 a second time, featured on Drake's "Slime You Out," she received a leading nine nominations at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, including nods for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year -- all of the "the big four" categories for which she was eligible. SOS won Best Progressive R&B Album, "Snooze" took Best R&B Song, and the Phoebe Bridgers collaboration "Ghost in the Machine" earned Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. ~ Andy Kellman

Shooting from obscurity to fame as the featured artist on Disclosure's "Latch" in 2012, a global smash hit that showcased their distinctively stirring high tenor, Sam Smith has since become one of pop's most prominent balladeers. Taking cues from soul belters like Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan, followers such as Amy Winehouse and Adele, and their own church upbringing, Smith effectively arrived as a headliner with 2014's In the Lonely Hour. Multi-platinum in the singer's native U.K. and the U.S., the album also garnered Best New Artist and three additional Grammys among a slew of accolades. Smith followed up with 2017's The Thrill of It All, a heartsick album favoring Southern soul and gospel, and by the end of the 2010s had accumulated six number one U.K. singles as a headliner: "Money on My Mind," "Stay with Me," and "Lay Me Down," followed by the Academy Award-winning James Bond theme "Writing's on the Wall," "Too Good at Goodbyes," and the Calvin Harris collaboration "Promises." The singer entered the next decade with a handful of additional Top 20 U.K. singles that led to 2020's Love Goes, followed by the Grammy-winning "Unholy" and its parent album, 2023's Gloria.

Before their commercial breakthrough at the age of 21, the London-born singer and songwriter balanced their studies and music, sang in choirs and in bands, and performed in musical theater productions. They developed a passionate approach to singing inspired by their Catholic upbringing and numerous soul legends, and in the late 2000s headlined a couple low-profile independent singles, "Bad Day All Week" and "When It's Alright." Smith was barely out of their teens when, in late 2012, they reached a much larger audience as the featured vocalist on Disclosure's "Latch." A powerful and loping mixture of U.K. garage and contemporary dance-pop, the song went to number 11 in the U.K., where it also went platinum. Over in the U.S., it took significantly longer to take hold, but eventually hit number seven there and was certified platinum three times over.

The singer's first major-label solo single, released in February 2013, went in a more adult contemporary direction. Produced by Jimmy Napes and Steve Fitzmaurice, "Lay Me Down" recalled the pared-down ballads that had proved successful for Adele, another artist Smith admired. Only three months later, producer/songwriter Shahid "Naughty Boy" Khan followed his Emeli Sandé-fronted U.K. Top Ten hit "Wonder" with "La La La," featuring a lead vocal from Smith (who had just finished a series of dates in support of Sandé). It was an instant number one U.K. hit and reached number 19 in the States. That October, Smith issued the Nirvana EP, which included "Lay Me Down" and an acoustic version of "Latch."

By the end of February 2014, they were back on top of the U.K. chart with "Money on My Mind," a single marrying their relaxed vocal with a frenetic production from Two Inch Punch. Smith's debut long-player, In the Lonely Hour, followed that May in the U.K., and topped the album chart. It arrived in the U.S. the following month and peaked at number two there. The singles "Stay with Me," "I'm Not the Only One," and "Lay Me Down" hit the Top Ten in both the U.K. and U.S. The number two seller of 2014 in the U.K. and U.S., behind only respective LPs by Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift, In the Lonely Hour led to awards from organizations as varied as the BRITs, Billboard, BET, and the Recording Academy. Smith almost swept the "big four" Grammy categories by winning Best New Artist, as well as Song of the Year and Record of the Year, the latter two for the Darkchild version of "Stay with Me," produced by Rodney Jerkins. In the Lonely Hour didn't win Album of the Year, but it did take the award for Best Pop Vocal Album.

In 2015, Smith recorded another Disclosure collaboration, "Omen," eventually placed on the production duo's Caracal. Smith also earned the honor of being chosen to record the theme for a James Bond film. "Writing's on the Wall," recorded for Spectre, was the first Bond theme to go to number one in the U.K. An expanded version of In the Lonely Hour, the "Drowning Shadows Edition," was released that November with new material and previously released stray tracks added to the original album.

Following Golden Globe and Academy Award wins for "Writing's on the Wall," Smith spent most of 2016 and early 2017 in the studio recording their follow-up album with previous collaborators Jimmy Napes and Steve Fitzmaurice. "Too Good at Goodbyes," the lead single from Smith's second album, was issued in September 2017. The ballad went to number one in the U.K. and the Top Five in the U.S. just before its parent release, The Thrill of It All, entered the U.K. and U.S. charts at number one.

The promotional campaign wound down the next year, and Smith continued with singles across the remainder of 2018 and into 2019. These included three more Top Ten U.K. hits: the chart-topping Calvin Harris collaboration "Promises," the Normani duet "Dancing with a Stranger" (also Top Ten U.S.), and "How Do You Sleep?" Strides toward Smith's third album continued in 2020 with "To Die For," which peaked in the U.K. at number 18. Preceded by a couple of additional Top 20 entries -- "I'm Ready" featuring Demi Lovato and "Diamonds" -- Love Goes arrived that October, reaching number two in the U.K. and hitting number five on the Billboard 200.

Determining to not make another album filled with romantic sorrow, Smith designed Gloria, their fourth full-length, as a wider-scoped affair both lyrically and sonically. Lead single "Love Me More" arrived in April 2022, and was followed five months later by "Unholy," a slinking collaboration with Kim Petras that Smith produced with Jimmy Napes, Cirkut, Ilya, Blake Slatkin, and Omer Fedi. Shortly after the release of "Unholy," Smith performed at London's Royal Albert Hall and included their new song in the set (excerpted for the Live from the Royal Albert Hall EP). "Unholy" topped the U.K. and U.S. pop charts and, just weeks after Gloria's January 2023 release, earned Smith and Petras the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. ~ Andy Kellman & James Wilkinson