LEONA LEWIS 

Sometimes, the secret of success is simple: talent, passion and a firm, unwavering belief in yourself. For British songstress Leona Lewis, the extra push came when she took part in the popular U.K. TV show, The X-Factor, and won, earning high praises from judge Simon Cowell who said Leona is “one of the best singers we’ve seen in this country for a long, long time.”

“My love for music is my main motivation as an artist,” said Leona. “I’ve found that you can help so many people with your songs. I’ve received a lot of letters from people saying that ‘Bleeding Love’ really helped them. I think if you can do that, it makes it all worth it.”

With all eyes on her, Leona went on to release her debut album Spirit, which charted not only at No. 1 but it was also Britain’s fastest-selling debut of all time. Knowing a major talent when they see one, Simon Cowell and record mogul Clive Davis arranged to have the best talent in the industry to work with Leona. Collaborators on Spirit include Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic), Akon, Ne-Yo, Dallas Austn (Madonna, Gwen Stefani), Stargate (Rihanna, Beyoncé), J.R. Rotem (Britney Spears), and Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald (Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne).

JANET JACKSON 

You want to talk about longevity? Janet Jackson has been in the industry for more than 26 years and still going strong. This takes more discipline from one to be an artist of Janet’s caliber.

"The most important [meaning] is my discipline in my work," said Janet in an interview with MTV.com. "To have done it for as long as I have, there's a lot of discipline in that,"

With her 10th studio album aptly titled Discipline released end February this year, Janet is more than ready to take her career to a whole new ball park. She took it in her hands to be involved in all major aspects of the album just so her fans could get a closer look at her work.

"I want the audience to get a sense of me. So that they get to know me a little bit better," revealed the sexy R&B star who was also the first artist to be crowned as an mtvICON in 2001.

Musically, Janet has also collaborated with long-time boyfriend Jermaine Dupri, Tricky Stewart, The-Dream, Missy Elliott and Bryan Michael Cox to shape that distinct Janet Jackson sound.

"I just want [my new songs] to make [the fans] happy, the way that I've always wanted with the other albums," Janet explained. "I want them to forget about their worries, if any, for the 50 minutes and just dance and feel certain emotions that hopefully I'll take them through, and reminisce and just have a good time with it."