Canadian singer/songwriter Lauren Spencer-Smith went from American Idol alumna to international pop sensation in 2022 when her heartbreak anthem "Fingers Crossed" became an international hit. Follow-up singles like "Flowers" and "Narcissist" helped pave the way for the 2023 release of her debut album, Mirror.

At 16, the British-born, Vancouver Island-based artist appeared on the 2020 season of the long-running singing competition and placed in the Top 20. Later that year, her 2019 debut album, Unplugged, Vol. 1, earned an Adult Contemporary Album of the Year Juno nomination. A demo for the breakup ballad "Fingers Crossed" appeared in 2021 and went viral. In 2022, Spencer-Smith broke into the mainstream with the studio version of "Fingers Crossed," which charted in ten countries, reaching number one in Ireland and Norway. Later that year, her heartbreak ballad "Flowers" reached most of those same charts. Over the next year, Spencer-Smith's success continued with songs like "Narcissist" and "That Part," which, along with her previous two hits, anchored her debut album, Mirror. Emotional and autobiographical, Mirror was released in July 2023, peaking at number 45 on the Canadian album chart and 49 in the U.S. ~ James Christopher Monger

Taylor Gayle Rutherford, known as GAYLE, is an American singer/songwriter who found success in 2021 with her anthemic pop- and punk-fueled debut single "ABCDEFU," which topped the pop charts in multiple countries. A pair of EPs, A Study of the Human Experience, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, followed in 2022, marking her Billboard 200 debut. More singles arrived in 2023, including the hit "Butterflies" from the Barbie film.

At the age of 17, the Texas-born, Tennessee-based artist moved from Dallas to Nashville to pursue her musical dreams and caught the attention of American Idol judge and music publisher Kara DioGuardi, who helped her secure a record deal with Atlantic. GAYLE's first single, the platinum-selling "ABCDEFU," appeared in 2021 and quickly became a social media phenomenon, garnering over 100 million global streams and reaching the Top Three both at home and abroad. She kept the momentum going in 2022 with the fiery, guitar-driven "Ur Just Horny," which joined "ABCDEFU" on her debut EP, A Study of the Human Experience, Vol. 1, in March 2022. It entered the Billboard 200 at number 138 while landing in the Top 50 in Canada. GAYLE followed it up eight months later with the sequel EP A Study of the Human Experience Vol. Two and a Half. In 2023, she issued the singles "Everybody Hates Me" and "Leave Me for Dead" and contributed the song "Butterflies" to the soundtrack album for the film Barbie. She also supported Taylor Swift on the U.S. leg of her The Eras tour. ~ James Christopher Monger

Em Beihold's uplifting keyboard pop combines a warm, slightly smoky delivery with spacious arrangements, concise melodic hooks, and good-natured attempts to navigate early adulthood. After emerging in the late 2010s with a pair of social-media sensations, "City of Angels" and "Groundhog Day," she landed in the Top 20 of the Hot 100 with her major-label debut, 2022's "Numb Little Bug," from her Egg in the Backseat EP. "Until I Found You," a collaboration with Stephen Sanchez, charted in Norway later the same year.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Emily Mahin Beihold took up piano at age six, later adding instruments such as guitar and ukulele to her repertoire. Inspired by artists including Regina Spektor, she went on to write and perform as a soloist, playing her first show in 2016 at the age of 17 and contributing a song to the soundtrack of the film I'm Not Here the following year. That song, "Not Who We Were," appeared on Beihold's first EP, Infrared, also from 2017. She gained more attention for a series of stand-alone singles to follow.

Released in 2020, her song "City of Angels" went viral on social media, leading to a second, even more popular viral single, May 2021's "Groundhog Day." The latter's bouncy piano pop generated tens of millions of streams across platforms. The back-to-back successes drew the interest of Republic Records, which released her song "Numb Little Bug" in January 2022. The big-label push got her onto the Billboard Hot 100, where the track rose to number 18 while also reaching the Top 30 in the U.K. By the end of February, "Numb Little Bug" had been featured in over 50,000 user-generated social media videos and had garnered over a hundred million streams. It was included on her second EP, Egg in the Backseat, in July 2022. A duet with Stephen Sanchez, "Until I Found You," from Sanchez's Easy on My Eyes EP, followed later in the year and reached Norway's Top 20. Beihold toured with King Princess and the Jonas Brothers before returning with "Roller Coasters Make Me Sad" in early 2023. ~ Marcy Donelson