New old song
Act: Amy Winehouse
Influences: Donny Hathawy, The Shangri-Las, Nina Simone
Winehouse is full of personality, and the tabloids love her for it. As for her music, thats ripped straight from soul and girl-group legends such as Nina Simone and the Shangri-Las. The nightclub, booze-drenched setting of Winehouses music is pure cabaret a stage designed to showcase an artist whos tightly following the script laid down by her forebears. (Roger Kisby / Getty Images)
Act: Sean Kingston
Influences: Akon, Buju Banton, Led Zeppelin
Sean Kingston gives the sounds of Top-40 hip-hop and R&B a reggae makeover. While many have drawn a line between American rap and the Caribbean, Kingstons influences extend into classic rock. See current single Me Love, which is essentially a reggae re-working of Led Zeppelins Dyer Maker. (Jim Cooper / Associated Press)
Act: Peter Bjorn & John
Influences: Jesus & Mary Chain, The Go-Betweens
The acts Young Folks has become one of the most irresistible and ubiquitous tunes of 2007, and the songs wry, adult take on dating, complete with whistling, is unlike anything else on the pop landscape at least right now. The acts sharp and tense guitar work is a nod to Jesus & Mary Chain, capturing an anxious sound thats always on the verge of exploding. And the groups late-20s/early-30s approach to romance cribs from the observationally poignant songwriting of the Go-Betweens. (Jeff Christensen / Associated Press)
Act: R. Kelly
Influences: Marvin Gaye, Isley Brothers, Stevie Wonder, the media
R. Kelly has become one of the most successful R&B artists of all time by alternating between sexually explicit lyrics and a gospel-like salvation, a well-proven formula. But of late, and especially on new album Double Up, Kelly has been showing a bit of mean streak, with songs as The Champ addressing his critics head-on and even offering lyrics that seem to allude to the child pornography charges against him. (Beatrice de Gea / LAT)
