Tropical music singer Fanny Lú always wanted to be a pop star. "It's been a dream of mine since I was young," explains the golden-haired Colombian.

A former TV host, Fanny Lucía Buenaventura made the transition to tropi-pop with her 2006 debut, Lagrimas Cálidas. The album's Vallenato-flavored lead single, No Te Pido Flores (I'm Not Asking For Flowers), became a smash hit in her native Colombia, as well as México, Perú and Venezuela. A year later, Lú earned a Latin Grammy nod (Best Tropical Song) for "No Te Pido Flores." She lost to the legendary Juan Luis Guerra, who would go on to tie the record for most Latin Grammys in one night (five).

Earlier this month, Lú dropped her follow-up, Dos. The album has already delivered a hit: Tu No Eres Para Mí, a bouncy pop-rock track that gives you an idea what Paulina Rubio would sound like if she'd grew up Colombian. The 36-year-old mother of two says she's in it for the long run: "People are always looking to see if an artist repeats him or herself or becomes a one hit wonder… I didn't want to repeat myself, I didn't want to be tied to one type of sound."

Lú, who also does humanitarian work in Colombia with the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, says she's most proud of the positive reception she gets whenever she's home: "It's beautiful… to get a blessing from your own country."

It took Espinoza Paz ten years to go from working in the fields of California to hearing one of his songs playing on the radio. But it only took another year for the singer-songwriter whose real name is Isidro Chávez Espinoza to blow up.

The Sinaloa-born Paz began writing songs as a teen in Mexico, using an acoustic guitar he bought with money his father, a farm-worker, sent from the U.S. In 1996, unable to break into the Mexican regional scene, Paz joined his father in Sacramento, California and became an agricultural worker. The humble, self-taught guitarist spent his days picking produce and his nights composing songs. When his mother passed away, he returned to México and contemplated staying for good.

Staying turned out to be the right move. In 2006, Paz penned two standout tracks for El Coyote y Su Banda Tierra Santa: Prohibido and Para Impresionarte. Confident in his ability to go it alone, he released his debut, Paz en Tu Corazón (Peace in Your Heart) a year later. But it was another El Coyote track, Besitos En El Cuello, and Mil Heridas, a cantina-ready lament performed by Banda Cuisillos, that would eventually become his breakthrough hits. Since then, he has collaborated with artists like La Arrolladora Banda el Limón, Julio Chaidez, Jenni Rivera, El Chapo De Sinaloa and Duelo.

The charming singer released his second album, El Canta Autor del Pueblo (The Songwriter of the People), earlier this year. Today the former gardener acknowledges he "may not be the best singer," but on ballads like El Próximo Viernes (Next Friday) and "Amigos Con Derecho" (Friends With Benefits), Paz insists it's coming "straight from my heart."

Rick Sanchez says he fights for the little guy and the "littlest of guys in this country right now is the Mexican immigrant.”

The 50-year-old anchor of CNN's NewsRoom has attracted fans and haters for siding with Latino immigrants in lively TV debates with such conservatives as Tom Tancredo, Lou Dobbs and William Gheen. A Cuban exile whose parents made less than $11,000 a year when he was growing up, the bilingual Sanchez says he can relate to those he defends because he knows "what it’s like to be poor.”

A standout football player at Hialeah High School in Miami, Florida, the Emmy award-winning reporter was reluctant to pursue a career in journalism until his professors helped him obtain a scholarship to the University of Minnesota. "I remember telling them it was a waste of time because nobody on TV in the U.S. looked like me, they were all white men," recalls Sanchez. Nearly 28 years later, the charismatic newsman has covered important events like the war in Nicaragua, 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.

When asked why he stands out in the crowded field of TV news, Sanchez replies: "I still see things like an immigrant."

Cash Money Records, home to Lil Wayne, just dropped one of the biggest rock hits of the year: Let It Rock, a stadium-ready jock jam by Kevin Rudolf. With its whistling synths, pounding drums and catchy chorus, "Let It Rock" draws on adrenaline over aggression, leaning closer to rap and rock like Black Eyed Peas and Queen than Public Enemy and Anthrax. Not surprisingly, the song has become a staple on football and basketball broadcasts, also appearing on TV shows like "Dancing With The Stars" and "90210."

A 25-year-old New Yorker, Rudolf was already an established songwriter, producer and session guitarist (Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland) before he became Cash Money's first rock act. Label co-founder Roland "Slim" Williams says he was a fan first: "I've been listening to Kevin's music for a while. The record was good before we even put Wayne on it." His debut, In The City, was released last month and features production by The Neptunes' Chad Hugo and collaborations with Rick Ross, Nas and Birdman.

While some call it "gangsta emo," Rudolf prefers to describe it as a sincere attempt to mix the sounds of Sting and Phil Collins with hip hop: "What I'm most excited about is putting out a record that's authentic, true to myself and doesn't sound like it's come out of a factory."

Hollywood Undead could be the new face of rap-rock. Only no one knows what they look like.

Formed in 2005, Hollywood Undead was one of the first bands to build its fan base primarily through its MySpace. Comprised of Charlie Scene, Da Kurlzz, Deuce, J-Dog, Johnny 3 Tears and Funny Man Kurlzz, the band's Linkin Park-meets-screamo track No 5 was included in the MySpace Records Vol.1 compilation featuring fellow MySpace favorites like Weezer, Fall Out Boy and Tila Tequila. But Hollywood Undead didn't play a live show until this year, when it won Virgin Mobile USA's "Book The Band" contest and opened for artists like Foo Fighters, Kanye West and Nine Inch Nails.

Known for its crude sense of humor and for wearing eerie masks, Hollywood Undead's politically incorrect approach appears to have as many haters as it does fans. Some praise the band's ability to tell stories about Hollywood's ugly side while others argue the sextet's over-the-top lyrics about sex and partying make it difficult to take them seriously. Hollywood Undead insists its music is no laughing matter: "Elton John was considered a joke. Eminem was considered a joke. The people who are known for something different take a lot of criticism early on."

Hollywood Undead's long-awaited debut, Swan Songs, was released in last September. Its current single, City, is streaming on MySpace.

Call her Amy Winehouse without the drugs or Duffy without the drama. Rising soul and R&B star Jazmine Sullivan calls herself fearless.

Sullivan's first two singles, the smoldering reggae joint Need U Bad and the '60 throwback Bust Your Windows have already earned the 21-year-old comparisons to Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige and Winehouse. Although her debut album, Fearless, features production from Salaam Remi (Amy Winehouse, Nas), Stargate (Ne-Yo, Rihanna) and Missy Elliott, Sullivan's name doesn't just grace the cover. She wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the album and is listed as its executive producer.

Raised on the music of Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and Aretha Franklin, Sullivan began performing at age five. She made her TV debut on "Showtime at The Apollo" when she was only 11 years old. While attending Philadelphia's High School for the Creative and Performing Arts -- the same school that produced acts like Boyz II Men and The Roots - Sullivan signed to Jive Records. She was eventually dropped. After years of trying to secure a major label deal, Sullivan met Missy Elliott, who had been a fan of Sullivan since her days at Jive Records. Determined to get her signed, Elliott teamed up with Timbaland to help Sullivan record the songs that would lead to her current deal at J Records.

When asked what she hopes listeners will take away from Fearless, Sullivan replies: "It’s about empowering young women... if you push me around, I’m gonna push you right back!"

Reik are like any other California pop rock band: three clean-cut guys wearing faded tees and sneakers, singing about love. Only, they're from Baja California and they're singing in Spanish.

For Reik, whose name is literally the English word "rake" written phonetically in Spanish, normal is the new special. Formed in 2003 in the sleepy border town of Mexicali (just across from the U.S. city of Calexico), the group consists of Jesús Alberto Navarro Rosas on vocals, Julio Ramírez Eguía on vocals and guitar and Gilberto Bibi Marín on guitar. Despite being signed to Sony after just one year of playing out, singer Jesús insists they're just "tres dudes," adding: "[w]e like to read, go to the gym, we have many friends and spend a lot of time on the phone."

The rest of the time, they write hits. Songs like Yo quisiera (I wish), Qué vida la mía (What a life I have) and Noviembre sin tí (November without you) pushed their self-titled debut to gold sales in México. Their follow-up didn't disappoint a growing fan-base throughout Latin America with radio-friendly tracks like Invierno (Winter) and De qué sirve (What does it matter).

On their latest album, Un día más (One more day), Reik teamed up with famed producer Cachorro López (Caifanes, Maldita Vecindad, Julieta Venegas, Café Tacuba), for a fuller sound that is just as perfectly… normal as on the lead single Inolvidable (Unforgettable). Not surprisingly, the band isn't about to change their tune: "In general the album is geared towards the positive, happy things, the good side of life."

Does it take a genius to be an R&B star? Well, maybe. Meet John Legend, former consultant for the elite Boston Consulting Group, friend of Kanye West and the real thing. Really.

A piano player at age three, John Stephen graduated high school at the top of his class before going to the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania to study literature by day and perform popular covers of Prince songs by night. It was a pattern he continued after college, working as a high-powered consultant in New York and Boston while moonlighting as an R&B artist, until the stars aligned and his former college roommate, producer Devo Springsteen, hooked him up with Springsteen's cousin, the then up-and-coming Kanye West.

A year later, West signed Legend to his Sony Music-backed G.O.O.D. Music label which subsequently released his Platinum certified and Grammy award-winning debut Get Lifted. On this and his follow-up Once Again, Legend's performances and lyrics bring a grace and confidence unheard of in pop music since Stevie Wonder made the 70s his own. Songs like Ordinary People and Heaven are sincere without being obvious and layered without being complicated.

Not surprisingly, Legend's range isn't just on display in his musical output. Active in charities and politics, he's the spokesperson for the Show Me Campaign, an organization dedicated to fighting world poverty and performed at the National Democratic Convention in support of presidential candidate Barack Obama.

In a few weeks, he'll drop Evolver, an album that lives up to its progressive title with club jams like Green Light (featuring Andre 3000) and collaborations featuring Kanye West, Estelle and Brandy. Oozing confidence and class, the man who calls himself Legend says the method to his music-making is to just do it: "I don't really have a huge plan going in… I just go in there and try to write some good songs."

Three years after Chilean rock group La Ley called it quits, frontman Beto Cuevas is finally going solo.

Described by The New York Times as a "Spanish-speaking echo of the 1980's," La Ley rocked Latin America with new wave-influenced hits like Doble Opuesto and Tejedores De Ilusión before transitioning to pop rock. The band's eponymous second album spawned three of its biggest hits: El Duelo, Día Cero and Aquí. By the time La Ley released its final album, the Latin Grammy-nominated band was just as known for its music as it was for its singer's good looks.

When the group went "on hiatus" in 2005, many speculated Cuevas was itching to go it alone. But the handsome rocker instead tried his hand at acting, appearing as a priest in the Mexican flick La Mujer De Mi Hermano and as a cult leader in Zev Berman's Borderland. After guesting on "Loud," an English-language single by house legends Masters At Work, Cuevas began work on his debut, Miedo Escénico (Stage Fright). Produced by Aureo Baqueiro (Motel, Sin Bandera, Pambo), the album features Vuelvo (I Return), a throbbing synth-rock single that will likely delight die-hard La Ley fans.

Cuevas, who directed the video for "Vuelvo" and designed the artwork for Miedo Escénico, says fans shouldn't wait for La Ley to get back together any time soon: "A La Ley reunion is not feasible today, because I am just releasing my album and I plan to develop my career as a solo artist. [I want] to create a parallel road and to construct something for the future."

Conjunto Primavera may not be as "hardcore" as fellow Norteño combo Los Tigres del Norte, but over the last 30 years the Chihuahua band's romantic ballads have made them one of most loved and respected conjuntos in the genre.

Hailing from the bordertown of Ojinaga near Presidio, Texas, Conjunto Primavera was founded by saxophone player Juan Domínguez on the first day of Spring in 1978 – hence the name "Primavera." Dominguez was joined by Tony Melendez (vocals), Félix Contreras (accordion and keyboards), Oscar Ochoa (bass), Rolando Pérez (double bass) and Daniel Martínez (drums) and the group soon distinguished itself with a jazzy, saxophone-driven sound and, at the time, slick matching suits.

After nearly two decades with indies, the band struck a deal with Fonovisa in the mid '90s and quickly grew their fan base and discography. The Latin Grammy-nominated Conjunto Primavera has released over 35 albums (including compilations and live albums) in a little over a decade. The band's latest, Que Ganas De Volver (What Do You Get From Coming Back), includes the hit single Te Lloré (I Cried For You), a dreamy lament about lost love which includes the lines: "Fuiste el alma de mi vida, mi tormenta y mi guarida, mi pecado y mi rosario, fuiste más que un milagro."

When asked how they stay on top of the Norteño scene, the band insists its just giving the people what they want: "We base our sound on what our fans want to hear, the music our public has supported. It's an easy way of knowing which type of songs we'll do and what themes we include in our music. Up to this moment, I think, we haven't faltered."