A former Oakland Raiders cheerleader-turned-comedian, Anjelah Johnson became an Internet sensation in 2008 on the strength of her "Nail Salon Lady" stand-up routine, which currently boasts over 19 million views on YouTube. After a stint on the sketch comedy show MADtv, the 27-year-old has moved on to gigs on "Ugly Betty" and the film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. Johnson, who has Native American and Mexican roots, jokes about her transition to comedy: "People always ask me, how do you go from being a professional cheerleader to a stand-up comic? Now I just tell them, 'Let's keep it real. It's kinda easy transitioning into telling jokes when you cheer for the Raiders.'"

Watch her: In Our Family Wedding, starring America Ferrera and Carlos Mencia, in theaters now.

Jesús "Chino" Miranda and Miguel Ignacio "Nacho" Mendoza were sick of boy bands. So, in 2007, they both quit Calle Ciega, the boy band they performed with since the late '90s. Why the change of heart? The twentysomethings found a new love: reggaetón.

After jumping ship from Calle Ciega, Miranda and Mendoza ventured out from their native Venezuela to Puerto Rico. In a bold attempt to re-invent themselves as a reggaetón duo, the ambitious pair dubbed itself Chino y Nacho, eventually hooking up with reggaetón producers Eliel (Don Omar), Noriega and Richy Peña (Don Omar, Nelly). But their past continued to haunt them. Chino y Nacho were sued by Calle Ciega for breach of contract after the duo ditched previously scheduled gigs with the group. "Chino's mom called him in Puerto Rico crying, saying we were going to get thrown in jail," recalls Nacho.

Once Chino y Nacho cleared up their legal issues, they returned to Venzezuela, where they released two albums of romantic reggaetón: Época de Reyes and Supremo. With tracklists that zig-zag from club-ready dance cuts to tear-jerking romantikeo, their tough-yet-sweet sound earned them the nickname Los Mackediches. "We make reggaetón with a style that could only be our own, so when people listen to it, they'll say 'that's Chino y Nacho.'"

Listen to Chino y Nacho's latest single Mi Niña Bonita on MySpace.

Days after the city of Vancouver had to truck in snow for this year's Winter Olympics, American ice skater Benjamin Agosto was a razor's edge away from missing the Winter Games' opening ceremonies. The culprit? Two blizzards that pounded Philadelphia, training home to Agosto and his ice dancing partner, Tanith Belbin. After dealing with a string of canceled flights, the pair caught a plane and made it to Canada just before the party started.

Born in Chicago to a Puerto Rican father and Russian-Romanian mother, Agosto is not only a die-hard Cubs fan and rock climber, but an avid guitarist. It's in the genes: his father plays both classical and flamenco guitar. "It helps to keep me from going insane," explains the lanky skater.

Agosto and Belbin, who became the first American team to win a medal (silver) in ice dancing four years ago in Torino, have hinted that this year's Olympics may be their last. Agosto says no matter what happens, he is satisfied with his 12-year partnership with Belbin: "We have achieved a lot of the goals we set – more than we thought we could when we were younger, so there's nothing to be upset about. But… as an athlete, it's everybody's dream to win an Olympic gold medal. That's definitely our goal.''

Whether his Olympic swan song ends with gold or not, Agosto appears eager to start a new chapter in his life: "At the end of the day, [skating is] just a sport. It’s just a recreation activity. We’ve taken it and made it our lives, but there’s a big world out there."

If you ask Jason Castro, he'll tell you losing on American Idol was the best thing that happened to him.

A fourth place finalist on the seventh season of Idol, the 22-year-old Castro wowed America with his electric blue eyes, an ear-to-ear grin and a Jeff Buckley-inspired cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. But the dreadlocked singer-guitarist felt his days as a pop star were numbered once he sized up his competition: "I did the best that I could, but once the show started asking us to learn two songs a week, I had a hard time keeping up. Syesha and both Davids [Cook and Arcuhleta] have been singing forever." Castro, who had no formal vocal training prior to his appearance on Idol, was grateful for the support he received from fans but admits feeling relieved once he got the boot: "What it came down to is just my inexperience."

Born in Texas to Colombian parents, Castro says his folks were instrumental in both boosting his confidence during auditions and softening the blow of losing: "Most of my encouragement came in Spanish… they were really supportive." After signing a deal with Atlantic, Castro promised to stay away from the "manufactured pop" that he believed Idol produced. Late last year, he released his debut single, Let's Just Fall in Love Again, a bouncy folk-pop number that's closer to Jason Mraz than Jason DeRulo. Castro recently dropped The Love Uncompromised EP, a five-track disc featuring more acoustic guitar-driven jams like "If I Were You" and "You Can Always Come Home."

Castro, who plans on releasing a full-length debut later this year, says he's happy to avoid the hype machine that can follow an American Idol finalist: "My main priority is just writing good songs. Everything else will fall into place if you have good songs, I believe."

America might not have been ready for a gay idol. But now it has Adam Lambert.

The 27-year-old California native made a name for himself during last year's American Idol competition, where he worked his way to the top before finishing as the runner-up to winner Kris Allen. A part-time stage actor, Lambert won over both America and the judges with emotional performances of songs like Tears for Fears' Mad World and Michael Jackson's Black or White. Although he didn't have the voice of Allison Iraheta or all-American looks of Kris Allen, Lambert was arguably the most entertaining.

With his pitch-black angular haircut, painted black nails and eyeliner, questions about Lambert's sexuality began to swirl around the Internet. After the show's finale, Lambert told Rolling Stone: "I don’t think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I’m gay. I’m proud of my sexuality." Lambert showed his pride at last year's American Music Awards, delivering a sexually-charged performance that divided the media and fans. Lambert, who kissed an androgynous man during the show, defended himself by stating that "women performers have been pushing the envelope for decades."

Last November, Lambert released his post-Idol debut, For Your Entertainment. Described by Lambert as a "rock-pop-electronic-dance thing," the album features contributions from producers Dr. Luke (Ke$ha, Katy Perry), Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic) and RedOne (Lady GaGa, Akon). His second single, Whataya Want From Me, a pensive pop-rock number about a tense relationship, could just as easily be interpreted as a message to both his critics ("It messed me up, need a second to breathe") and fans ("It’s me, I’m a freak, but thanks for lovin’ me.")

Lambert, who calls himself a glam-rock version of Madonna, says there's something America needs to know: "I’m trying to be a singer, not a civil rights leader."

El Trono de México (The Mexican Throne) wanted to live up to its name. So the band moved to México.

Originally based in Raleigh, North Carolina, El Trono de México was formed in 2002 by six Mexican immigrants: founder Everardo Ávila Marcelino (vocals), Fernando Solórzano (drums), Luis Alberto López Terán (percussion), Yovany Bautista Morales (keyboards), Odilón Ávila Marcelino (hype man) and Duany Ávila Marcelino (vocals and keyboards).

After two years of emulating popular grupero bands, El Trono transitioned into what they believed was the future of Regional Mexican music: Duranguense. In the process, the change in styles saved frontman Ávila Marcelino his singing gig. "I used to imitate the [vocal] style of Grupo Bryndis, Los Terribles and Bronco, but my bandmates wanted to look for another singer," explains Ávila Marcelino.

With their new sound in place and their lead singer no longer in danger of being kicked out, El Trono De México packed up its bags and moved to México. It was a risky move, as the keyboard-driven sound of Duranguense was still relatively new in México: "Duranguense wasn't very popular yet… but we knew it was going to be huge." Three albums after their debut, Soy Dos Veces Mexicano (Two Times a Mexican), El Trono hit it big with 2008's Almas Gemelas (Twin Souls). Featuring the radio smash Te Ves Fatal, the album has had impressive staying power: "Te Ves Fatal" currently sits in the top 10 of Billboard's Top Latin Songs chart.

El Trono's latest, Hasta Mi Final (Until the End), features four new tracks bundled with five of the Duranguense outfit's greatest hits. The "Kings of Pasito Duranguense" also team up with the "Queen of Duranguense," Diana Reyes, on a cover of Onda Vaselina's pop hit Te Quiero Tanto. The band, which celebrated its recent success by purchasing a new tour bus, maintain they aren't concerned with stardom: "We don't care if other bands are more popular… we work hard… and life has a way of rewarding you for it."

That dollar sign in Ke$ha's name isn't for just show. Not anymore.

Her infectious single, Tik Tok, recently beat out Lady GaGa's "Just Dance" with the most single-week downloads (610,000) by a female artist ever. In the song, Ke$ha sings and raps like an R-rated Miley Cyrus over hand claps, beeps and blips. If there was a video game about partying and getting wasted, this song would be the soundtrack:

I'm talking about everybody getting crunk, crunk
Boys tryin' to touch my junk, junk
Gonna smack him if he getting too drunk, drunk

Ironically, the 22-year-old was an uncredited (and unpaid) performer on one of last year's biggest hits: Right Round by Flo Rida. Ke$ha (real name: Kesha Rose Sebert) says she agreed to sing on the track because she figured they would replace her vocals with those of a more established artist. Once the song became a smash, Ke$ha refused to appear in the video: "They wanted me in the video, and I said, 'Nah, I want to make my own name for myself.'" And she has.

Her debut album, Animal, was released earlier this week and is currently number one on iTunes. Packed with brash teenybopper pop, Ke$ha's album is being lauded and reviled by critics. The Los Angeles Times says she "never gets bogged down or sounds like she's trying too hard," while the Boston Globe makes the harsh prediction: "You can almost hear the clock counting down her 15 minutes of fame."

Ke$ha, who says she really lives the life she presents in her music, doesn't think people should take her so seriously: "I'm just telling stories about the stupid sh*t I do."

(L to R: John Paul Jones, Josh Homme and Dave Grohl)

There are supergroups (Casa De Leones, Audioslave) and then there are SUPER groups. Them Crooked Vultures are the latter. With over 270 million in combined album sales, John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) have an awesome track record.

Dave Grohl, who first found fame as the drummer for Nirvana in the '90s, felt it was time to take a break from his current band, Foo Fighters, which he has been fronting for over 15 years. After last year's one-off reunion of legendary '70s rockers Led Zeppelin, Grohl manned up and asked Zep's John Paul Jones to jam with him and Josh Homme, the frontman for Queens of the Stone Age. Jones wasn't itching to join another band: "I didn't really want to join another band after Zeppelin, because I knew nothing would ever be as good as that." Or could it?

Grohl, who gave himself a homemade Led Zeppelin tattoo when he was 16 years old, promised Jones it was just for fun, Then he convinced Homme that the whole idea wasn't a practical joke. By fall of 2008, everyone was in. Earlier this year, the trio began recording songs in Los Angeles in near-secrecy and eventually dropped into clubs to test their classic groove rock on unsuspecting audiences. After refining their sound, the band released its self-titled debut last month to glowing reviews. The Onion's A.V. Club writes: "Rock stars don’t form bands with other rock stars in order to top what they’ve already done. They do it because hanging out with famous rock stars is a hell of a lot of fun…Them Crooked Vultures is a hell of a lot of fun, too."

How are the fans responding? "Nobody shouts for Zeppelin songs or Queens songs or Foo Fighters songs," says Jones.

Trey Songz loves sex.

Tremaine Aldon Neverson, a Virginia native with a penchant for walking around shirtless, not only sings about making love, he boasts of doing so frequently. On his latest release, Ready, the 24-year-old starts off with Panty Dropa and ends with Yo Side of the Bed. With bedroom anthems like I Invented Sex and Neighbors Know My Name, Songz may dethrone R. Kelly as the king of too-sincere-to-be-tawdry R&B – though he maintains his many special friends are not all groupies: "[F]or the most part, anywhere I go, I know a woman that I have some sort of a friendship with."

Signed to Atlantic just a year after graduating from high school, Ready appears to be his attempt at reinvention. While his first album, I Gotta Make It, featured more romantic fare like Gotta Go and "Comin' For You," Songz believes the songs didn't truly showcase his personality, as if he was trying to be a "grown up" before he had matured. Songz says he's finally comfortable in his own skin: "My first album was very adult-like, but in a different, more soulful, sample-driven kind of way… [Ready] is very self-defining and very definitive of the type of artist I'm going to be for the rest of my career."

Can YouTube celebrities become pop stars? Justin Bieber: símon.

Born and raised in Ontario, Canada, Bieber was only 12 when he began posting covers of his favorite songs on YouTube (with help from mom). The videos, originally meant for family members, soon began reaching a wider audience – much wider. Bieber's songs and talent show performances had already received over 10 million views on YouTube when Chris Brown called him personally to compliment him for his version of With You. Bieber maintains he wasn't in it for the fame: "I didn't tell my friends because they didn't really know that I could sing…I just wanted to be a regular kid, and I knew they wouldn't treat me the same way if I told them."

Months later, Bieber flew down to Atlanta to sign with manager Scooter Braun (Asher Roth). While in the ATL, Bieber and Braun ran into R&B star Usher and Bieber offered to sing a song. Usher declined. Weeks later, Usher realized Bieber was the kid on YouTube with millions of views and the R&B titan entered a bidding war with Justin Timberlake to sign the mop-topped teen. Usher won.

At 15, Bieber's voice hasn't changed – but his life has. He just dropped his major label debut, My World. While tween pop stars like Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus latch on to rock, Bieber is definitely leaning toward R&B. Check the credits: The-Dream, Justin Timberlake and Usher all have songwriting credits on My World. Ask Bieber and he'll tell you it's "about love and stuff that girls can appreciate."

Listen to Bieber's current hit, "Favorite Girl," on his official MySpace.