Young and good looking, Chilean pop group Kudai is being hailed as the next RBD. But the eyeliner-loving quartet says it's not trying to ride anyone's coattails with its sweet pop tunes and matching outfits: "We're not plastic figures nor are we fakes."

Originally named Ciao, the group performed europop covers of Italian songs before becoming Kudai. Named after the Mapudungun word "kudau," which means "young worker," the foursome was founded by Pablo Ernesto Holman Concha, Tomás Andrés Cañas Manzi, Bárbara de Lourdes Sepúlveda Labra and Nicole Montserrat Natalino Torres.

In 2003, Kudai released its debut, Vuelo, featuring winsome tween pop hits like Sin Despertar and Escapar. Three years later, the group embraced rock on its second album, Sobrevive, and unveiled a new emo-ish look: angular haircuts, eyeliner and all-black threads. But in the middle of an international tour in support of Sobrevive, Nicole left Kudai, citing fatigue and later suing its management for compensation. She was quickly replaced by María Gabriela Villalba Jervis from the Ecuadorian pop group Kiruba.

Their latest, Nadha, is the first to be released widely in the U.S. Now shockingly cool-looking scenesters, Kudai maintain their edgier look is a sign of maturity. Newcomer Villalba explains: "If you do the same thing you did before, you'll get pigeonholed as the teen group that doesn't want to grow up."

Leona Lewis was probably learning to walk the last time a British female singer topped the charts in the United States. With Bleeding Love, a throbbing Celine Dion-meets-Mariah Carey track, the 22-year-old Lewis became the first English artist since Kim Wilde (1987) to hit number one on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

A graduate of the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology, Lewis became a star after winning The X-Factor, the British counterpart of "American Idol," in 2006. Simon Cowell, producer of both "Idol" and "X-Factor," teamed up with veteran music mogul Clive Davis (Whitney Houston, Kelly Clarkson) to sign the bi-racial beauty to a reported $9 million, five-album deal with Sony BMG.

Last year, Lewis made her United Kingdom debut with A Moment Like This, a Kelly Clarkson cover matched with a nearly identical music video. The single went on to sell over one million copies while her debut album, Spirit, went platinum six times over.

Simon Cowell is banking on Lewis to match those numbers in the U.S. when Spirit makes its American debut tomorrow. After a co-sign from Oprah Winfrey boosted the sales of "Bleeding Love," the often cynical Cowell was suprisingly optimistic about her chances: "The amazing thing is I would say that 98 percent of people in America still don't know who Leona Lewis is."

David Archuleta isn't the first toothy teen singer to win over America on national TV. Last year, Arizona native Jordin Sparks became the youngest Idol winner ever. She was 17.

A devoted Christian, Sparks credits her faith and her father, retired football pro Phillipi Sparks, for keeping her grounded during her years as a child performer.

After competing on TV shows like "America's Most Talented Kid" and singing the national anthem in stadiums, Sparks auditioned for "Idol" in Los Angeles but didn't make the cut. Undeterred, she earned a spot on a local version of "Idol" and another chance to impress Paula, Randy and Simon. And impress she did. Her spot-on rendition of Celine Dion's Because You Loved Me prompted Randy Jackson to exclaim: "You're a natural." A few months later, a record-setting 74 million voters chose between finalists Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis, with Sparks the winner. In a few months, she'd sign to Jive Records, the home of Justin Timberlake, R. Kelly and UGK.

Sparks' first single, Tattoo, went platinum but her self-titled debut registered the lowest first-week sales (119,000 copies) of any "Idol" champ. No Air, a dramatic duet with Chris Brown featuring dark synths and a thumping backbeat, quieted naysayers by reaching the top 10 and selling over half a million digital units. Sparks' debut has since gone gold and she's been tapped to join Alicia Keys and Ne-Yo on a three-month tour that kicks off in April.

Chenoa didn't need to finish first to become a Spanish idol. In 2001, the cute singer performed against – and with – ex-boyfriend David Bisbal as a finalist on Operación Triunfo, Spain's version of "American Idol." Though she placed fourth (Bisbal came in second), she nonetheless used the spotlight to finally break into the music business.

Born María Laura Corradini Falomir, Chenoa and family moved from Argentina to Mallorca, Spain when she was eight years old. A few years later, she was fronting bands, including the jazz and R&B combo Koan Fusion. By the time she was in her 20's, Chenoa was spending her days studying to become a pre-school teacher and her nights singing in a local casino. She landed a spot on Operación Triunfo with a shaky version of Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly With His Song, parlaying her top five finish into a record deal with Vale Music.

A year later, Chenoa released her eponymous debut. Tracks like the europop Atrévete, the bubbly Cuando Tú Vas and the bittersweet Yo Te Daré became summer anthems throughout Spain. In 2003, she dropped a live covers album titled Mis Canciones Favoritas. The following year, Chenoa released Soy Mujer, which featured the Hindi-flavored En Tu Cruz Me Clavaste – a taste of what a Spanish Shakira might sound like. After touring Latin America for the first time, she returned to the studio to record Nada Es Igual, an album in which Chenoa sounds closer to Laura Pausini than Paulina Rubio.

Chenoa's latest release, the pop-rock Absurda Cenicienta, bridges the gap between Nada and her early, upbeat work. For the first time in her career, Chenoa is performing songs that she has written or co-written – and it's paying off. Her lead single, Toda Irá Bien, climbed the charts not only in Spain, but also in Puerto Rico, Venezuela and México. With the release of El Bolsillo del Reves, a perky synth-pop number, the U.S. may be next.

Fresh Prince meets Saved by The Bell. That's how 21-year-old Natalia Cappuccini, aka Verse, describes her brand of feel-good hip-pop.

Born Natalia Keery-Fisher to a Jamaican father and Uruguayan mother, Cappuccini started acting at age six, appearing on several TV and radio shows in the United Kingdom, including the BBC sitcom All About Me and radio opera The Archers.

In 2005, two years after signing a deal with dance label All Around The World, the actress-turned-rapper released a single, Don't Play Nice, under the name Verbalicious. On the bravado-filled rap jam, Cappuccini sounds and looks like the Disney channel version of another petite British MC, Lady Sovereign.

Alas, Verbalicious' debut album, Don't Play Nice, Get Over It!, was shelved last year but Cappuccini bounced back by simultaneously going independent and dropping the tough-girl front. Earlier this year, she re-emerged as the friendlier Verbz – later changing her name to Verse – releasing Shopaholic and "Swagerrific," two Gwen Stefani-meets-Kid Sister tracks that had bloggers like Perez Hilton swooning.

On the very first entry of her MySpace blog, Verse is confident she's finally hitting the right notes: "I don't have a deal, but all that's about to CHANGE."

see: myspace.com/dontplayniceverbal

Updated: August 12, 2008.

Formed during the late '90s boy band craze that first made Justin Timberlake a household name, Latin pop group C Note has re-emerged with new members and a new sound.

The Florida-based outfit, once managed by Lou Pearlman (Backstreet Boys, *NSync, O-Town), was originally comprised of Jose "Brody" Martinez, Raul "RaRa" Molina, David "D'Lo" Perez and Andrew "Dru" Rogers. In 1999, they debuted with Different Kind of Love, an album full of candy-coated pop tracks including "I Like," a cover of the R&B hit by Guy and the Hall and Oates-sampling Wait Till I Get Home. C Note also recorded a Spanish-language version of the song, alternately titled "No Dejo de Pensar."

Nearly a decade later, only Molina and Perez remain – they've since added Josh "J-Kid" Correa, Johnathan "Jae" Lopez and Orlando "O.T." Torres to the group. Last year, C Note released their self-titled sophomore album, a bilingual affair that compiles traditional pop ballads like Forgive Me with the reggaetón / hip hop of songs like of Wepa, featuring Tony Touch, and "Baja Panties."

C Note may be trying to ditch the "boy band" tag, but they're keenly aware that there a plenty of bands with boys (Aventura, Kumbia All-Starz, Xtreme) in Latin music.

see: myspace.com/cnotemusica

Fresh from winning this year's Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist, Mexican pop duo Jesse & Joy is no longer hovering under the radar in the U.S.

Comprised by real-life brother and sister Jesse and Joy – age 21 and 24, respectively – the pair was raised in a bilingual household. Their American mother and Mexican father exposed the baby-faced siblings to the music of Carole King, Pedro Infante and Los Panchos. And it shows. Their 2006 debut album, Esta Es Mi Vida (This Is My Life) is packed with healthy amounts of acoustic pop, folk and rock. Lead single Espacio Sideral is a cheery, bouncy track about falling in love; Ya No Quiero is a somber break-up song driven by distorted guitars, crashing cymbals and Joy's smoldering vocals.

An opening gig for fellow pop balladeers Sin Bandera in front 100,000 people helped catapult the Esta Es Mi Vida to gold status in México. More recently, Jesse & Joy's Latin Grammy win has given the duo confidence that they're around for the long haul: “In five years we see ourselves making music and working on a fourth or third album with the same excitement as we did the first one.”

see: myspace.com/jesseyjoy

Rising R&B talent Nikki Flores broke into the music scene at an age when many girls are busy picking their chambelanes. At age 12, Flores taught herself to play the piano and began writing songs. By the time she was 14, she signed to Epic Records, the label that launched the career of Michael Jackson, and the current home of Kat DeLuna and Sean Kingston. Now 18, she's on a tear.

Introduced to the world on Yung Berg's Painkiller, the Fontana, California native is preparing to release her debut, This Girl, early next year. Tracks leaked to the internets give a glimpse into what this girl is all about: from Mariah Carey-esque bubblegum R&B to soulful, piano-driven love songs ala Alicia Keys.

On her carefully maintained MySpace page, Flores makes it clear she's ready for all the buzz her debut will doubtless generate: "Everything in my life happens with no promise of a future… Music in my passion. I could never see myself doing anything else."