Nigerian singer and rapper Rema launched his career in unintentional fashion with a social media upload that prompted a contract with Mavin Records. Several commercial releases throughout 2019 (compiled as 2020's Three EP's) were highlighted by "Dumebi," a showcase for his soft, elastic voice. Switching his sound to something he calls Afrorave, Rema released his debut album, Rave & Roses, in 2022. It was well-received by critics and even broke into the lower reaches of the Billboard Top 200 chart. A deluxe version of the set landed in 2023, featuring his hit collaboration with Selena Gomez, "Calm Down," followed by the companion Ravage EP.

Born and raised in the Edo State capital of Benin City, Rema (Divine Ikubor) grew up listening to Afrobeat and commercial rap. He formed a rap group with peers at his church, but his interest in music took an unexpected turn in February 2018 when he uploaded a clip of himself freestyling to an instrumental version of D'Prince's "Gucci Gang." D'Prince saw the video and got in touch, which led to Rema signing with Mavin, the Lagos-based label -- run by Don Jazzy, D'Prince's brother -- that had issued "Gucci Gang." Rema made his commercial debut in 2019, a year during which he released the four-track EPs Rema, Freestyle, and Bad Commando, and was featured on tracks by D'Prince, Thutmose, and Peter Maxx, as well as Mavins, a Mavin label group. "Dumebi," a single off the self-titled EP, fared particularly well in Nigeria and abroad. Rema attracted more attention when another track, "Iron Man," was included on Barack & Michelle Obama's Summer Playlist 2019, tweeted out by the former president that August. In 2020, his EPs were compiled as the Three EP's release.

Rema began calling his sound Afrorave in 2021, blending the Afrobeats style with Arabian and Indian influences. His first full-length, Rave & Roses, arrived in 2022, with guests including 6LACK, Chris Brown, and AJ Tracey. The album spent some time in the charts, reaching the number five slot of Billboard's World Albums chart and entering the Top 200 chart at number 196. One track from the album, "Calm Down," became an unexpected smash hit the following year with the help of a Selena Gomez reworking. Both versions combined to surpass one billion streams and became the highest-charting African song on the U.S. charts to date, entering the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100. A deluxe version of his debut, Rave & Roses ULTRA, arrived in April 2023, capitalizing on the success of that breakthrough single. He rounded out his Rave & Roses era with a companion EP, Ravage, which followed that October and featured the track "Don't Leave." ~ Andy Kellman

Selena Gomez is a multi-talented performer with featured roles on the screen both small and large, and a musical career that reached the summit of the charts from its very beginning and stayed planted there for many years. Her group, Selena Gomez & the Scene, issued a trio of breezy modern pop albums from 2009 to 2011 that each hit the Top Ten. After going solo, she scored a pair of number ones with the more adult-oriented Stars Dance (2013) and Revival (2015), then branched out into new sounds on collaborations with Kygo ("It Ain't Me") and Marshmello ("Wolves"). Gomez reached the top of the singles chart for the first time with "Lose You to Love Me" (2019), a soul-searching ballad that delved into her real-life relationships and marked a new openness in her lyrical approach. In 2021, she took on Latin pop for the first time with the Revelación EP. Along with her starring role in Hulu's Only Murders in the Building, she was also the subject of the candid 2022 documentary Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, for which she also released the title track, followed by 2023's electronic-tinged "Single Soon" and 2024's "Love On."

Born in 1992, Gomez grew up in Texas and got her first break as a cast member on the kids' TV show Barney and Friends. She landed minor roles in several other TV programs, but it was her affiliation with the Disney Channel -- which discovered her during a nationwide talent search in 2004 -- that officially jump-started her acting career. Guest appearances on The Suite Life of Zach and Cody and Hannah Montana paved the way for Gomez's own show, The Wizards of Waverly Place, which premiered in October 2007 and quickly became one of the network's most popular programs. Gomez began juggling her commitment to The Wizards of Waverly Place with additional projects, including movie roles and a burgeoning singing career.

She began branching out into pop music by recording songs for her own Disney projects. She sang the theme song for The Wizards of Waverly Place, recorded several other tunes for the show's soundtrack, and performed on the soundtrack of the family film Another Cinderella Story. By 2009, she'd also assembled her own teen pop band, Selena Gomez & the Scene, and signed a contract with Hollywood Records. The band's full-length debut, Kiss & Tell, was released that year and went gold, as did its 2010 follow-up, A Year Without Rain. Gomez continued filming The Wizards of Waverly Place and made her theatrical debut in the 2010 film adaptation of Ramona and Beezus, but her music garnered just as much attention.

When The Wizards of Waverly Place started airing its final season in November 2010, Gomez shifted her attention back to her band, whose third album, When the Sun Goes Down, was recorded in early 2011 and released later that year. She then took a break from music to focus more on acting, with her first role in a decidedly adult movie in 2013's Spring Breakers showing she could stretch beyond teen stardom. Her return to music in 2013 with her fourth album -- but the first credited to her as a solo artist -- also showed some stretching as she added dubstep, R&B, and EDM to her sound. Stars Dance was released in July 2013 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The rest of that year was a bit challenging for her, as she fired her management team and parted ways with Hollywood Records. She soon bounced back and scored a deal with Interscope. One last Hollywood album, a contract-fulfilling hits collection titled For You, was released in late 2014 and featured the self-penned platinum single "The Heart Wants What It Wants."

In early 2015, Gomez guested on Zedd's hit EDM single "I Want You to Know." On the heels of that success, she released her own single, the Sir Nolan- and Nick Monson-produced "Good for You," which featured a guest appearance by the song's co-writer, rapper A$AP Rocky. The song was featured on the 2015 album Revival, her first on Interscope. With production from Mattman & Robin, Hit-Boy, and Benny Blanco, among others, and songwriting credits for Charli XCX, Julia Michaels, and Chloe Angelides, the album had many collaborators. Gomez executive produced and shared writing credits on six songs, making it her most personal effort to date. It entered the Billboard 200 at the top and spawned three singles that reached the Top Ten on the Top 40 chart. While touring in support of Revival, Gomez cut the trek short to address personal health problems stemming from her lupus, later revealing that during her time away from the spotlight she underwent a kidney transplant.

Re-emerging at the end of 2016, she collaborated on singles with Kygo ("It Ain't Me") and Marshmello ("Wolves"), both charting in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 in 2017. The next year was a busy one for Gomez as she acted in the movie A Rainy Day in New York, served as executive producer of the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why, and worked with Marshmello on the Top 20 single "Wolves." She also issued the solo singles "Bad Liar" and "Fetish," which featured rapper Gucci Mane. In 2018, she contributed the song "Back to You" to the 13 Reasons Why: Season 2 soundtrack, joined with DJ Snake, Cardi B, and Ozuna on "Taki Taki," and sang the hook on Benny Blanco's single "I Can't Get Enough." While working on an album in 2019, she also executive-produced the HBO series Living Undocumented and appeared in the Jim Jarmusch zombie comedy The Dead Don't Die. Near the end of the year, she released the confessional ballad "Lose You to Love Me," and it became her first single to reach the top of the Billboard charts.

The song set the tone for her sixth album, Rare, a collection of tracks that explored aspects of Gomez's life in ways her previous work hadn't. It featured the usual crop of heavy hitters behind the scenes, including Mattman & Robin, Justin Tranter, and Julia Michaels, and entered the Billboard 200 at number one in January 2020. The following year saw Gomez issue her first full-length Spanish-language project, the Grammy-nominated Revelación EP, which featured contributions from DJ Snake, Myke Towers, and Rauw Alejandro.

In 2021, she began starring in the Hulu mystery-comedy show Only Murders in the Building with Steve Martin and Martin Short. She was also the subject of director Alek Keshishian's 2022 documentary Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me. The film followed Gomez over a six-year period and detailed her struggles with fame, as well as her physical and mental health issues in the wake of being diagnosed with lupus bipolar disorder. As part of the documentary, she released the single "My Mind & Me." The Benny Blanco and Cashmere Cat-produced non-album track, "Single Soon," arrived in August 2023, followed in February 2024 by the Monsters & Strangerz and Isaiah Tejada-produced standalone track, "Love On." Both singles charted in the Hot 100. ~ Matt Collar & Andrew Leahey