In the early 2000s, Maroon 5 were all set to be come one of the biggest bands in the world. Debut album Songs About Jane went 4x platinum and produced two top ten hits. Their follow-up efforts have not seen the same spectacular success -- though they have done respectably in their own right -- but lead singer Adam Levine can still the girls and gays all hot and bothered (see: his recent nude photo shoot).
Essential track: "This Love," which became the 4th-biggest song of 2004
He may never have produced the same buzz as Ricky Martin, but Enrique Igelsias was the real Latin heartthrob of "TRL." (Remember his steamy music videos with Jennifer Love Hewitt and future girlfriend Anna Kournikova?) His career may have hit a rough patch mid-decade, but he came back stronger than ever last year and set the ATRL forums on fire with "I Like It," one of his biggest hits ever.
Cute and bubbly, she quickly became one of ATRL's favorite "American Idol" contestants ever (and had by far the franchise's most stan fervor, especially in defense of her flop second album, Battlefield).
Weird, European and living in a pre-Lady Gaga world, there wasn't much hope for Kerli to make a successful crossover into the United States. But she still generated a surprising amount of support among ATRLers, who may have been the only people to actually buy her debut album. (Bizarrely, that buzz has survived via the controversial Illuminati thread, where the songstress was been accused of belonging to the mysterious organization.)
Essential track: lush and uplifting "Walking on Air," which made a minor splash on American music blogs
In 2007, Sara Bareilles came out of nowhere with her Grammy-nominated hit "Love Song." It was the beginning of a modestly successful recording career -- including her first #1 album in September 2010 -- and unassuming admiration among many ATRLers.