A1

Despite the boyband tag, A1 write much of their own material including chart hits Like A Rose and Same Old Brand New You and are a truly european band: Ben Adams was head chorister at Westminster Abbey as a child; Paul Marazzi grew up in London's East End but is now a Spanish citizen based in Benidorm; Christian Ingebrigtsen comes from pop-star family in Oslo Norway and Mark Read represented England at a Rumanian Song Festival and won the Best Young Performer award.

Aaliyah

Real name Aaliyah Houghton, the Brooklyn singer was on the verge of international fame as actress and singer when she perished in a plane crash in the Bahamas in August 2001. She was just 22. Discovered at the age of fourteen Aaliyah's career was helped by R Kelly but despite having top 10 singles in the US she kept on with her studies and graduated. She had recently been involved in the soundtracks to both Anastasia and Dr Doolittle.

Bryan Adams

Aerosmith

Afroman

2001 saw the release of the comedy hit Because I Got High by Afroman. The track comes from the rapper's third album The Good Times which also features such ditties as Let's All Get Drunk and She Won't Let Me F***. Afroman credits Napster with making the song popular especially with college kids. It was also featured on the Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back soundtrack.

Christina Aguilera

The R&B Team-up of Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink were a 2001 summer smash with their rendition of the old Labelle number Lady Marmalade. The song is taken from the musical film Moulin Rouge. The girls grace the video with their interpretations of early 20th century strippers and have given drag-queens a wealth of ideas for their next show (in fact the girls look so overdone, drag queens would have been more sexy...) Having said that this version of the song trumps that of All Saints and easily matches the original... Compared endlessly with Britney Spears, Christina is credited by most people with having the greater vocal talent. She won the US Grammy award for Best Newcomer of 1999. Her father was in the US military and as such she has lived all around the world. She's also a big Madonna fan and hopes to emulate her idol's success.

Alcazar

Alice Deejay

Not a solo singer nor a girl band, Alice Deejay are an open-ended DJ and dance collaboration based in Holland with DJs from around Europe. Their first success was Better Off Alone. Their third single from the album Who Needs Guitars Anyway, Will I Ever was released in the UK in July, 2000. The girls who front the group are Judy, Milla and Angy.

Alien Ant Farm

Nu-metal Michael Jackson lovers? As weird as that sounds Alien Ant Farm release a cover version of Smooth Criminal, which is a failthful, albeit rocked up, version of the original. The video is hilarious with references to all manner of Jackson-paraphernalia and videos. Lead singer and main songwriter Dryden Mitchell teamed up with guitarist Terry Corso, bassist Tye Zamora and drummer Mike Cosgrove about five years and are signed to their mates Papa Roach label New Noize.

DJ Aligator

DJ Aligator also goes by the name of Ali Mosavat in his native Denmark, where he had a no 1 with the Whistle Song.

Alizée

All Saints

How the mighty are fallen the papers will no doubt say, but the hit and miss affair that was their second album couldn't hope to produce a third chart winner for All Saints. All Hooked Up, in which the girls sing about enough "asses" to fill a donkey sanctuary was released in the UK in January, 2001. Pure Shores by All Saints looked set to be the biggest UK hit of the year 2000 (until Bob the Builder appeared) and is featured on the Original Sound Track of the Beach starring Leonardo Dicaprio. Penned by group member Shaznay (who was linked with Leonardo for a while) it was released in February while their second song of 2000 was Black Coffee released in October. Despite rumours all through 1999 that All Saints were splitting a new album, the obviously titled Saints and Sinners was delivered while three of the group Mel, Nat and Nic, starred in the new film, Honest. This opened to appalling reviews and was pulled from many cinemas due to lack of interest. The girls say this hasn't dampened their enthusiasm for more features however even if the band has finally broken up...

Allstars

Vanessa Amorosi

Absolutely phenomenal in her own part of the world, Australian Vanessa Amorosi gets a UK release with Absolutely Everybody in September, 2000. At home Vanessa has already scored two no 1s and a number 2, and a hit album. She was discovered singing in a Russian restaurant at 15 but has been dancing and singing since the age of 4. Vanessa performed the song to absolutely everybody on earth or at least the global TV audience at the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Anastacia

Brought up in Chicago and New York, 27-year-old Anastacia Newkirk was discovered on MTV's talent show The Cut although she had previously appeared in Salt'n'Pepa videos as a dancer. For years she had found it difficult to get a recording contract because although her voice on a demo would get her through the A&R door, everyone had expected a black singer. Her stylists have also tried to get her to drop the glasses but she hates contact lenses and prefers the low maintenance look...

Sunshine Anderson

Sunshine Anderson was apparently humming a tune in her college canteen when she was discovered by a friend of Mike City with whom she would later work. Her debut single Heard It All Before an almost retro-soul number, was released in 2001. Her manager is Macy Gray and her album Your Woman is described as a "fantastically soulful collection".

Andrew WK

Ant & Dec

Aqua

Aqua realised that repeating the success of Barbie Girl and first album Aquarium wouldn't be easy. However they returned with a strong second album, Aquarius, more mature vocally and in production values. Cartoon Heroes, their first single from the album was backed by a blockbuster video, the song achieved a lot of play on music television if not radio. Ultimately lack of success with the album lead to the group disbanding to pursue solo projects. For more on the group see the A to Z of Aqua.

Architects featuring Nana

The West London garage duo The Architects first came to light with a bootleg version of Brandy and Monica's The Boy Is Mine which featured the original vocals on a two-step track. Rather than being sued by Atlantic Records the lads were offered a deal which led to a legal issue of the remix. Big in Ayia Napa this summer, Body Groove with Nana on vocals, was released back in Britain in September, 2000.

Artful Dodger

Twenty Four Seven by Artful Dodger and featuring Melanie Blatt was released in the UK in September, 2001 and could be described as the team-up of the bust-ups as both Artful Dodger and Melanie's band, All Saints had split recently. Mark Hill will carry on producing under the Artful Dodger moniker while former member Pete Devereux will record under his own name. Together they had four big hits in 2000 including Re-Rewind featuring Craig David and Movin' Too Fast with Romina Johnson.

Artists Against AIDS Worldwide

What's Goin' On by the Allstar Tribute released in November, 2001 is a remake of the classic Marvin Gaye song, the charity single was organised by Bono from U2 and was originally intended to highlight the plight of AIDS victims in the third world. However recorded immediately following the destruction of the World Trade Center, the song has now been associated with that event. The track features vocals from a variety of chart acts with Nelly, Nelly Furtado and Bono perhaps making the strongest contributions.

Ash

Shining Light by Ash was released in February, 2001 and was the first single from the band's Free All Angels album. Ash were formed while the male members (Tim Wheeler - vocals and guitar, Mark Hamilton - bass and Rick McMurray - drums) were still at school in Downpatrick and they released their first single Jack Names The Planets in 1994. A mini-album Trailer followed, with the full-length album 1977 in 1996 consolidating their indie success. The album celebrated the year of Tim and Mark's birth and the release of Star Wars a big influence on their work. Charlotte Hatherly added her guitar to the band with Nu-Clear Sounds in 1998.

Ashanti

Richard Ashcroft

Richard Ashcroft, who was last seen as lead singer of the Verve, released his first solo single, A Song For the Lovers in April 2000. The sound is quite similiar to that of the group he disbanded at the height of their fame. However it has an irritating video which has long silences forcing anyone not paying attention to check the TV hasn't gone on the blink! I find myself switching channels when it's on...

A*Teens

The Abba-inspired A*Teens scored their biggest British hit with Upside Down, an original song rather than an Abba cover. It was released in May, 2001. The group are Marie, Amit, Sarah and Dani and are looking more mature than at their debut in 1999. Well, at least the girls are. Problem is, will they be renamed the A*Twenties when they come of age?

Atomic Kitten

The Atomic Kitten girls consolidate their success by taking on the old Bangles song Eternal Flame in July, 2001. They previously had a February Valentine hit with Whole Again. Kerry has now left the band in order to have a baby (the father is Bryan from Westlife). Natasha and Liz are joined by Jenny from rival girlband Precious. Atomic Kitten have had three other major UK hits, Right Now in 1999 and See Ya and I Want Your Love in 2000.

Aurora featuring Naimee Coleman

Ordinary World, originally a hit for Duran Duran in 1993, reappears in the British hit list in September, 2000 performed by Aurora and Naimee Coleman. Aurora are Sacha Collison and Simon Greenaway who both worked with David Arnold on the soundtrack to the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. Simon, whose father is the acclaimed film director Peter Greenaway, has also worked in television advertising on tracks for Coke and Maxwell House amongst others. Singer-songwriter Naimee is from Ireland where she released a solo album last year. She reputedly did the vocals to her current hit in one take.