NELLY FURTADO
Canada's pop princess won a Grammy for her off-beat 2000 debut single "I'm Like a Bird." Between then and now, she's given birth to her first child and performed the theme for a world soccer championship. Nelly's new album is called "Loose," and her first single, "Promiscuous," is a hip-hop duet with Timbaland that's one of this year's guiltiest pleasures. It's also notable for name-dropping basketballer Steve Nash -- giving the unfunkiest guy in the NBA some unexpected street cred.

FRANKIE J
A native of Tijuana, Mexico, Frankie J began as part of the Texas folk-Mex group the Kumbia Kings. After going solo in 2003, he switched gears to pay homage to his love of contemporary R&B. That's when his wallet started to bulge. Last year was Frankie J's breakthrough moment, with his album "The One" going platinum, and his collaboration with Baby Bash, "Obsession (No Es Amor)," spending a long time on the singles charts. His most recent single, "More Than Words," was a cover of a power ballad by hard rockers Extreme. Can a version of "Sister Christian" be far behind?

BUSTA RHYMES
Along with Shaggy and Shabba Ranks, Busta, from Brooklyn, is as responsible as anyone for reggae's infusion into hip-hop. The rapper struck gold 10 years ago with the raga-inspired album "The Coming" and its accompanying single, "Woo Ha!! Got You All In Check." Since then, Busta's drifted a little from his Jamaican heritage, but has kept a presence on the charts, both with his own hits and collaborations with the likes of Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey and almost anyone with a contract. His new album, "The Big Bang," features his universal plea for tactile sensitivity, "Touch It."

NEIL YOUNG
What did rock's philosophical godfather do for spring break? Nothing much -- he just wrote and recorded perhaps the most anthemic protest music since CSNY's "Ohio," a song Young wrote in the wake of the Kent State Massacre in 1970. Young's "Living With War" has been amply covered, praised and criticized by the normally compliant news media. Inaccurately labeled a continuous session of Bush-bashing, "Living With War" is actually a surprisingly focused, powerfully rendered snapshot of a more general patriotic crisis. In a year that saw Young's sentimentally rewarding concert film "Heart of Gold" released, his new work shows the man is capable of anything he wants to do.

DAVID CROWDER
In only a couple of years, David Crowder and his band have single-handedly redefined what contemporary Christian music should sound like. While Crowder is unafraid to make direct and straightforward pledges to his savior, he seems extremely restless creatively and tries his hand at any style that suits him. Even Crowder's fans in the Christian music community had to be blown away by the album "A Collision or (3+4=7)," a literate, pensive and complicated album about death. It won the Dove Award for Best Rock Album, and has even secular fans wondering what's up next.