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Stromae's thought-provoking lyrics and danceable productions combine influences as diverse as Jacques Brel, Cuban son, Congolese rhumba, house, and hip-hop, as well as the late-'80s new beat sound of the artist's native Belgium. The vocalist, songwriter, and producer has used his platform to write about topics such as AIDS, cancer, and absent fathers, and he has capitalized upon international success to collaborate with the likes of Kanye West and Lorde. He broke through with "Alors on danse" (2009), a global hit that led to the equally colorful number one albums Cheese (2010) and Racine Carrée (2013). Known for his clean-cut look and trademark bow tie, Stromae has approached music and fashion as indivisible creative forms, exemplified by "Défiler" (2018) and "Santé" (2021), two of his several Belgian Top Ten pop hits. The latter single was featured on Multitude (2022), his third chart-topping album. He scored his seventh number one single with "Ma meilleure ennemie" (2024), recorded with Pomme for the soundtrack of Arcane League of Legends: Season 2.

Born Paul Van Haver in Brussels on March 12, 1985, Stromae was raised by his Belgian mother. His father, a native of Rwanda, was killed in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Stromae developed an interest in music at an early age. When he was 11, he became a student at L'Académie Musicale de Jette, and started playing the drums. In 2005 he took up rap music, and after briefly performing as Opmaestro, he took the stage name Stromae (an anagram for "Maestro") and launched a short-lived hip-hop combo named Suspicion.

By 2007, Stromae was back to working as a solo act, and he recorded his first single, "Juste un Cerveau, un Flow, un Fond et un Mic...." It was in 2009 that he got his big break -- while working at a Belgian radio station, he created the song "Alors on dance" using his home-recording setup, and the manager of the station was impressed enough with it to play it on air. Response from listeners was enthusiastic, and Stromae struck a deal with PolyGram. "Alors on dance" became a number one hit in Belgium, and went on to repeat that success in over a dozen countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, and Denmark.

As "Alors on dance" climbed the charts across Europe and Stromae's videos became a sensation on YouTube, he released his first album, Cheese, in 2010. In August of that year, after the record had topped the Belgian chart, his career got a major boost in the United States when Kanye West collaborated with him on a remix of "Alors on dance." Stromae's follow-up, Racine Carrée, appeared in August 2013. Distinguished by his integration of African and Caribbean influences, and lyrics regarding disease, discrimination, and absentee fathers, the album was an immediate success in Belgium and France, spending virtually the rest of the year at number one in each country. Ultimately, Racine Carrée went platinum eight times in Belgium and sold over 1.5 million copies in Europe. That November, Stromae won the Best Belgian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

Racine Carrée's success continued into 2014. The song "Ta fête" became the official song for Belgium's national football team at that year's World Cup, and Stromae made his U.S. debut that June, performing his first live dates as well as appearing on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers. He also appeared on the Lorde-curated soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Pt. 1 on "Meltdown," a track featuring Pusha T, Q-Tip, HAIM, and Lorde. He continued to play live in 2015, performing at festivals such as SXSW, Coachella, and Lollapalooza, and embarked on an African tour. During the next few years, Stromae released a handful of singles highlighted by the compelling nine-minute ballad "Défiler." Issued in 2018 as the soundtrack for a fashion show dedicated to his Mosaert clothing brand, the song became his seventh Belgian Top Ten pop hit.

"Santé," a preview of his next album, arrived in October 2021, topping the Belgian charts and cracking the Top 20 of Billboard's Hot Dance and Electronic Songs chart. The travel-inspired parent album Multitude became Stromae's third straight number one LP upon its release in March 2022. After a two-year hiatus from music, he returned toward the end of 2024 with "Ma meilleure ennemie," on which he teamed with French singer/songwriter Pomme. The song appeared on the soundtrack for Arcane League of Legends: Season 2, and went to number one in both artists' home countries. ~ Mark Deming & Andy Kellman

With her resonant voice, buoyant charisma, and Latin roots, Camila Cabello is a chart-topping, Grammy-nominated vocalist. Initially, she found fame as a standout member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which formed while competing on the second season of Fox's The X Factor in 2012. After the show ended, the singer and her bandmates enjoyed several years of break-out success, scoring two Top Five Billboard 200 albums with 2015's Reflection and 2016's 7/27, and spawning the hits "BO$$," "Worth It," and "Work from Home." While still with the group, she began branching out, collaborating on "I Know What You Did Last Summer" with Shawn Mendes and "Bad Things" with Machine Gun Kelly (the latter of which hit number four on the Billboard Hot 100). However, it was after her heavily publicized departure from Fifth Harmony in 2017 that Cabello achieved her biggest success, debuting on top of the Billboard 200 with Camila and nabbing her first solo number one single with "Havana." The album also picked up several Grammy nominations, paving the way for her 2019 sophomore LP, Romance, which reached number three on the Billboard 200. Following her star turn in the 2021 musical film Cinderella, Cabello again hit the Top Ten with 2022's Familia. She continued to combine her acting and singing with a role in 2023's Trolls Band Together. In 2024, she heralded her fourth album, C,XOXO, with "I LUV It" featuring Playboi Carti.

Born Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao in Cojimar, Cuba, Cabello moved to Miami at the age of six. Growing up in a Spanish-speaking environment (her mother is Cuban and her father is Mexican), she fostered her love of music by listening to Celia Cruz and Alejandro Fernández. At the age of 15, Cabello auditioned for The X Factor in Greensboro, North Carolina. Even though she was eliminated (along with her four future groupmates), the judges brought her back. Simon Cowell combined the girls into a quintet and formed Fifth Harmony.

Despite finishing in third place, they went on to be the most successful contestants from that season. The group's debut EP, Better Together, was released in October 2013, with acoustic reworkings, Spanish versions (Juntos and Juntos Acoustic), and a remix album following a month later. Their debut single, "Miss Movin' On," was the highest-charting U.S. X Factor single at the time, a feat beaten only by each successive Fifth Harmony single.

The group's debut LP, Reflection, was released in early 2015, featuring the hits "Sledgehammer" (written by Meghan Trainor) and "Worth It," featuring rapper Kid Ink. While backstage on Taylor Swift's 1989 world tour, Cabello wrote a duet with Canadian singer/songwriter Shawn Mendes. "I Know What You Did Last Summer" was released in November 2015 and immediately hit the Billboard Top 20. Fifth Harmony's sophomore set, 7/27, was issued in 2016, supported by a world tour and the hit single "Work from Home."

Outside of Fifth Harmony, Cabello joined rapper Machine Gun Kelly for the October 2016 single "Bad Things." Well-received, the track made a slow climb toward the top of the Billboard singles chart, and ultimately garnered the singer her first Top Ten song as a solo artist. That December, Cabello announced her departure from Fifth Harmony. Following her exit, she collaborated with Cashmere Cat on "Love Incredible" and with Pitbull and J Balvin on "Hey Ma" from the Fate of the Furious soundtrack.

In May 2017, Cabello released her debut (non-album) solo single, the Sia Furler co-written "Crying in the Club," which peaked in the Top 40 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. She also joined Bruno Mars as the opening act on his 24K Magic World Tour. In early 2018, she returned with her debut full-length solo album, Camila, featuring production by Frank Dukes, Jarami, and others. Buoyed by the singles "Havana" featuring Young Thug and "Never Be the Same," the set debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. A second version of "Never Be the Same," featuring country singer Kane Brown, arrived in 2018. By year's end she had also picked up several Grammy nominations, including Best Pop Solo Performance for a live version of "Havana" and Best Pop Vocal Album.

Following a tour, Cabello returned to the studio and issued the single "Señorita" with singer Shawn Mendes in June 2019. The track hit number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and paved the way for the duo's headline-grabbing performance of the song that November at the American Music Awards, where they took home the award for Favorite Collaboration. The song also earned them a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. In December 2019, Cabello released her sophomore full-length album, Romance, which featured songwriting and production contributions by Andrew Watt, Finneas O'Connell, Justin Tranter, and others. Along with "Señorita," Romance also included the tracks "Liar," "Shameless," and "Living Proof." The set reached number three on the Billboard 200.

Cabello made her acting debut as the title character in the 2021 film musical Cinderella. Later that year, she returned with "Don't You Go," the first song released off her third studio LP, Familia, which appeared in 2022. Inspired by her Latin American roots, the album featured Cabello singing tracks in both Spanish and English, alongside a handful of guest artists, including Maria Becerra, Ed Sheeran, and Willow Smith. It peaked at number ten in several countries, including on the Billboard 200, in Canada, the U.K., and Spain. The following year, Cabello starred in the animated film Trolls Band Together, and she also sang on the soundtrack, joining co-star Anna Kendrick on the song "It Takes Two."

In March 2024, she hit the Hot 100 with "I LUV IT," a fluorescent, synthy club anthem featuring Playboi Carti. The track worked as the first single released off her fourth album, C,XOXO. Produced by Pablo Díaz-Reixa (aka El Guincho), Jasper Harris, and Daniel Aged, the album found Cabello embracing a confidently messy, Miami party girl persona, a transformation underscored by the album's kinetic, maximalist pop sound. ~ Neil Z. Yeung