MuchMusic.com

Blake Shelton

With two "Six Paks," Blake Shelton is feeling as good as he's ever felt about his career.

"This has been an amazing year for me," he says. "If you would have told me when I started out that I would have six major awards [including a CMA win for Male Vocalist of the Year, a Grammy nomination, three CDs in the top 10, a sold-out headlining tour and induction into the Grand Ole Opry], I would have thought you were pulling my leg."

The "Six Paks," of course, are Blake's two most recent CDs. The first, "Hillbilly Bone," included a title track that reached No. 1 spot on the singles charts and won Blake four major awards - Vocal Event of the Year from the Academy of Country Music, Musical Event of the Year from the Country Music Awards and the Collaborative Video of the Year (with his partner in crime Trace Adkins) from CMT.

His follow-up release, "All About Tonight," debuted at No. 1 on the SoundScan Top Country Albums chart and No. 6 on Billboard's Top 200 chart, making it Shelton's highest charting record to date.

Usher

"On this album, different things inspired me," says Usher. "Normally, I'm pulling from personal relationships and from older musical styles, but the things that motivated me this time were sounds and music that were very new and indie, like going to the Coachella festival or to Ibiza. I've traveled the world, toured nearly every continent - this phase of my life and my career is very open to exploring."

On his seventh studio album, "Looking 4 Myself," seven-time Grammy winner Usher Raymond takes some bold steps into unexpected musical territory. Assuming the most active role of his career as a songwriter and working with a wide range of producers and collaborators - including Diplo, Swedish House Mafia, Max Martin, will.i.am, and Luke Steele of Empire of the Sun - one of the best-selling musical artists in history has blended electro dance beats with his signature, era-defining R&B, pop and hip-hop sounds to create a style that goes beyond category.

"I felt the creative freedom to be daring," he says. "There's a moment where you question, is this something that my audience is ready to accept?"

Shakira

Shakira serves as coach on "The Voice," the hit reality vocal competition series that searches for the nation's best voice.

Over the course of her career, Colombian singer-songwriter and Grammy winner Shakira has sold close to 60 million albums worldwide and has won numerous awards including two Grammys, nine Latin Grammys, four World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and five Billboard Music Awards, to name a few. Her collaborations with such stars as Beyonce and Alejandro Sanz have helped keep her audience expanding continually, and she is the only artist from South America to have a No. 1 song in the US. She has had four of the 20 top-selling hits of the last decade, more than any other artist - including 2006's unforgettable "Hips Don't Lie," the biggest-selling single of the 21st century, which reached the No. 1 spot in an astonishing 55 countries.

Shakira began writing songs at the age of eight, learned to speak English by studying the work of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Walt Whitman, and took history classes at UCLA during her break between albums.

Adam Levine

As the front man of Grammy Award-winning recording artists Maroon 5, Adam Levine has left an indelible mark on popular music. The primary songwriter of the band and a guitar player, his talents give Maroon 5 their signature sound. His heartfelt ballads and pop anthems have become part of the fabric of this decade's music scene.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Levine first connected with Maroon 5 band members Jesse Carmichael and Mickey Madden while attending Brentwood School in Los Angeles. The band has gone on to have massive critical and commercial success worldwide. Capturing their first of three Grammy Awards as Best New Artist of 2005 and going on to sell more than 15 million albums worldwide, Maroon 5 won over fans and critics alike with the hybrid rock/R&B sound they introduced on their debut album "Songs About Jane."

They followed up with the double platinum album, "It Won't Be Soon Before Long," which included "Makes Me Wonder" and "If I Never See Your Face Again." In September 2010, the band released their third studio album "Hands All Over," produced by studio legend Robert John "Mutt" Lange, and notched a #2 debut on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart.

Carson Daly

Carson Daly is a pioneer of pop culture across a multitude of media, including network television, radio, the recording industry and digital. Carson began his career in radio in the early '90s, quickly moving up the ranks as an on-air DJ in five different cities within his first five years. Shortly thereafter, he landed one of the most coveted positions in the business - that of the early evening voice of Los Angeles' influential and top-rated KROQ-FM. MTV soon recognized his talent and brought him to New York City.

It was at MTV that Daly became the entertainment icon that he is today. His popularity exploded in the era of 'N Sync, Britney Spears and Eminem. As host and executive producer of MTV's "Total Request Live" (TRL), he transformed an afternoon music video program into a must-stop on the publicity circuit for musicians, movie stars and entertainers alike. In January 2002, his loyal fans followed him to NBC and tuned into his late-night television show "Last Call with Carson Daly," which is currently entering its 10th season as a part of the network's top-rated, late-night lineup. Re-writing the rulebook for late-night television, Daly has taken his show out of the studio and on location every night.