AMY DIAMOND

Amy Diamond had reached just 12 years of age when her debut single, the pop-reggae track "What's in It for Me," stormed across Scandinavia and logged 19 weeks inside Sweden's Top Ten. Yet the singer's tender years and cherubic, clear-eyed look masked a rich, powerful voice paired with sassy self-assurance. Born Amy Linnéa Deasismont in 1992 to an English father and a Swedish mother, she divided her childhood between England and Sweden, where she pursued dance training, performed in theater and on television, competed in figure skating, and entered singing and performance contests. One such victory opened the door to studio time, which in turn secured a contract with the Bonnier Amigo Music Group and the February 2005 release of "What's in It for Me."

Her first full-length project, This Is Me Now, blended bright ska and reggae-inflected pop with a live version of Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You" that highlighted Diamond's vocal range and a cover of Annie's "Tomorrow." Although the record's lyrical themes carried obvious youth appeal and motivational messages aimed at children—with the pointed exception of the age-inappropriate lead single, in which Diamond declared, "I refuse to be your mother"—the album featured sophisticated pop production and accomplished songwriting. Together with Diamond's confident, charismatic voice, these elements lifted the project above typical children's music. A Warner distribution agreement and a European tour spread its success through Northern Europe that summer, while back in Sweden she collected multiple awards and nominations, among them the newly created Nordic Music Award for "What's in It for Me."

The follow-up, Still Me Still Now, arrived in 2006 and again explored comparable terrain, this time led by the lite-reggae single "Don't Cry Your Heart Out," yet it introduced a stronger Broadway influence alongside several inspirational ballads.