Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including "The Sound of Silence" (1965), "Mrs. Robinson" (1968), "The Boxer" (1969), and "Bridge over Troubled Water" (1970)—reached number one on singles charts worldwide.

Simon and Garfunkel met in elementary school in Queens, New York, in 1953, where they learned to harmonize and began writing songs. As teenagers, under the name Tom & Jerry, they had minor success with "Hey Schoolgirl" (1957), a song imitating their idols, the Everly Brothers. In 1963, aware of a growing public interest in folk music, they regrouped and were signed to Columbia Records as Simon & Garfunkel. Their debut, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., sold poorly; Simon returned to a solo career, this time in England. In June 1965, a new version of "The Sound of Silence" overdubbed with electric guitar and drums became a US AM radio hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The duo reunited to release a second studio album, Sounds of Silence, and tour colleges nationwide. On their third release, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966), they assumed more creative control. Their music was featured in the 1967 film The Graduate, giving them further exposure. Their next album Bookends (1968) topped the Billboard 200 chart and included the number-one single "Mrs. Robinson" from the film.

Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut album Baduizm (1997), placed her at the forefront of the neo soul movement, earning her the honorific nickname "Queen of Neo Soul" by music critics.

Anita Denise Baker is an American singer-songwriter. She is known for her soulful ballads, particularly from the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s.

Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American singer. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musical fame as the lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. After leaving the group in 1976, Pendergrass launched a successful solo career under the Philadelphia International label, releasing five consecutive platinum albums (a record at the time for an African-American R&B artist). Pendergrass's career was suspended after a March 1982 car crash left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. Pendergrass continued his successful solo career until announcing his retirement in 2007. He died from respiratory failure in January 2010.

The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top 10 hit single "Cloud Nine" in October 1968, pioneered psychedelic soul, and was significant in the evolution of R&B and soul music. The band members are known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and dress style. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are among the most successful groups in popular music.

Featuring five male vocalists and dancers (save for brief periods with fewer or more members), the group formed in 1960 in Detroit under the name the Elgins. The founding members came from two rival Detroit vocal groups: Otis Williams, Elbridge "Al" Bryant, and Melvin Franklin of Otis Williams & the Distants, and Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams of the Primes. In 1964, Bryant was replaced by David Ruffin, who was the lead vocalist on a number of the group's biggest hits, including "My Girl" (1964), "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (1966), and "I Wish It Would Rain" (1967). Ruffin was replaced in 1968 by Dennis Edwards, with whom the group continued to record hit records such as "Cloud Nine" (1968), "I Can't Get Next to You" (1969), and "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" (1970). The group's lineup has changed frequently since the departures of Kendricks and Paul Williams from the act in 1971. Later members of the group have included singers such as Richard Street, Damon Harris, Ron Tyson, and Ali-Ollie Woodson, with whom the group scored a late-period hit in 1984 with "Treat Her Like a Lady" and in 1987 with the theme song for the children's movement program Kids in Motion.

Prince Rogers Nelson, commonly known mononymously as Prince, was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. The recipient of numerous awards and nominations, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation. He was known for his flamboyant, androgynous persona; his wide vocal range, which included a far-reaching falsetto and high-pitched screams; and his skill as a multi-instrumentalist, often preferring to play all or most of the instruments on his recordings. Prince produced his albums himself, pioneering the Minneapolis sound. His music incorporated a wide variety of styles, including funk, R&B, rock, new wave, soul, synth-pop, pop, jazz, and hip hop.

Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. They started performing with the name Indigo Girls as students at Emory University, performing weekly at The Dugout, a bar in Emory Village.

Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving the group in 1983, Sheila began a successful solo career, starting with her critically acclaimed debut album, which included her career-defining song, "The Glamorous Life". She became a mainstream solo star in 1985 following the success of the singles "The Belle of St. Mark", "Sister Fate", and "A Love Bizarre", with the last becoming one of her signature songs. She is commonly referred to as the "Queen of Percussion".

Born in Oakland, California, Sheila E. is the daughter of Juanita Gardere, a dairy factory worker, and percussionist Pete Escovedo, with whom she frequently performs. Her mother is of Creole-French/African descent, and her father is of Mexican-American origin. She was raised Catholic.

The Spinners are an American rhythm and blues vocal group that formed in Ferndale, Michigan, United States, in 1954. They enjoyed a string of hit singles and albums during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly with producer Thom Bell. The group continues to tour, with Henry Fambrough as the only original member.

Stephen Lee Bruner (born October 19, 1984), better known by his stage name Thundercat, is an American bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and actor from Los Angeles. First coming to prominence as a member of crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies, he has since released four solo studio albums and is noted for his work with producer Flying Lotus and his appearances on Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly. In 2016, Thundercat won a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Performance for his work on the track "These Walls" from To Pimp a Butterfly. In 2020, Thundercat released his fourth studio album titled It Is What It Is, which earned him a Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album.

Bruner was born into a family of musicians, including his father Ronald Bruner Sr., a drummer, and his mother Pam a flutist and percussionist. They raised him in Compton and other parts of Los Angeles. His father played drums for The Temptations, The Supremes, and Gladys Knight amongst others. After Bruner Sr. sobered from dealing with cocaine, the children would watch him play gigs at the Crenshaw Christian Center. Bruner attended Locke High School, playing in the school's jazz band. His teacher, Reggie Andrews, produced and co-wrote Let It Whip and collaborated with Rick James. Andrews re-introduced Bruner to Kamasi Washington, who originally met as children through their fathers’ play in a gospel fusion band. The reunited duo would sneak into jazz concerts, driving around in a worn down 1982 Ford Mustang to do so. They would later get to play the same venues as the performers they watched. They also sessioned with Terrace Martin in Washington's father's garage during this time. Bruner is a Christian, and incorporates many of the religion's themes in some of his music.

Galantis is the Swedish electronic dance music project of record producer Christian "Bloodshy" Karlsson. Formerly, it was a duo, alongside rising musician Style of Eye, until he decided to part ways with the project shortly after their sophomore album The Aviary in 2017. However, he made appearances in live performances and music videos as part of the project up until 2021.

Summer Marjani Walker is an American R&B singer. In 2017, they signed to Love Renaissance and Interscope Records. The following year, she released the mixtape Last Day of Summer, which spawned the single "Girls Need Love", that became their first top 40 entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart following a remix featuring Drake. In October 2019, Walker released her debut studio album Over It, which spawned the US top 20 single "Playing Games".

Reginald Lamar Williams, Jr (born January 18, 1990), known professionally as R.LUM.R, is an American alternative R&B artist from Bradenton, Florida. Previously a singer-songwriter playing classical guitar under his nickname Reggie Williams, Williams has since relocated to Nashville, Tennessee where he now resides. R.LUM.R is best known for his viral 2016 single, "Frustrated" which has garnered over 50 million plays on Spotify alone as of December 6, 2019. In 2017 NPR Music named him one of their "Artists to watch at SXSW" and called him a "fast-rising artist whose falsetto is no joke."

On August 2, 2017, R.LUM.R performed "Frustrated" and "Close Enough" on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Reginald Lamar Williams, Jr was born in Bradenton, FL on January 18, 1990. According to Williams, much of his upbringing was characterized by difficult relationships with both his family and peers. At the age of 5, William's parents got a divorce leading to relationships with his mother, father, and sisters he describes as "tenuous." In an Uproxx mini-documentary from May 2015, he recalls asking his parents for a guitar to which they responded with laughter. Although still legally under his parent's care, Williams spent most of his teen years sleeping at friend's houses. William recalls struggling to fit in with other black youth telling Rolling Stone, "I was fat and couldn't play basketball, and I wanted to listen to Linkin Park, and only the white kids at my school wanted to do that stuff, and it's kind of like that Earl Sweatshirt line: 'Too white for the black kids, too black for the whites.' You're stuck in that shitty middle ground. So for a long time I just pretended to be into all the shit they were into.