The 10 Hottest Musicians Who Hail from Other Countries

These ten featured artists we're about to delve into have made extraordinary musical contributions to pop, rock, rap, and electronic music. They have made a considerable mark within the music industry not only in the U.S., but around the world. However, all of these artists were not born in the U.S. They came from Europe, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Some of them lived in their home countries as children or teens until they moved to the U.S. either on their own or with family, sometimes with a legal guardian, or were discovered while in their respective countries. Now let's find out who are these artists you have heard on the radio constantly, never giving it a thought they were from another country. They are giving us incredible music to listen to. Some of these international musicians have done so for several decades.

10.) Daft Punk (France)

From the City of Light, Paris France, comes the music duo of these French musicians, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. Based on a bad review from a music critic who referred to them as a bunch of "daft punk", they decided to use that as the group's name. Started in the late 80's they became extremely popular in the 90's with the electronic music scene, more specifically house music, which is a sub genre. Their own brand of electronic music is played regularly in dance clubs throughout the U.S. and around the world. "Human After All" is their most recent studio album from 2006. Also, "Alive 2007" is a live album and a compilation album titled "Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005 is a great one featuring all of their notable hits.

9.) Sean Paul (Jamaica)

Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques or better known simply as Sean Paul has been nominated and won numerous Grammys, MTVs, and American Music Awards for being a dancehall and reggae musician. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica both his parents were competitive swimmers, along with Sean, who later gave it up to pursue a career in music. In 2009 he released the album "Imperial Blaze". Prior to that, it was his 2005 stellar album "The Trinity" which produced the #1 single "Temperature".

8.) ABBA (Sweden)

Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, Anni-Frid may not be names you'll recognize; however, you certainly know them better from their acronym, ABBA. This may be a cringe-worthy bunch of musicians to some of you, because of their cheesy songs of the 70's. Nevertheless, they are still relevant today, thanks to the enormously popular Broadway musical and film adaptation of "Mamma Mia!". What makes this musical unique is it features all of the hit songs and some filler tracks from ABBA. The story of the musical has nothing to do with this group from Sweden and their life story. Their musical has been revived and continues to stay fresh and new decade after decade.

7.) Juanes (Colombia)

Hailing from Colombia Juanes brings to his music a combination of Colombian rhythms, rock, and pop. He is considered to be a Colombian fusion musician who adds cumbia and vallenato to his hard rock sound. He moved to LA in 1998 to pursue a music career in the U.S. Now Juanes is one of the best-selling Colombian musicians with over ten million albums and winning seventeen Latin Grammys. His current CDs are "La vida...es un ratico" (2007) and "La Vida....Es Un Ratico En Vivo" (2008),

6.) Bjork (Iceland)

Known for her eccentric costumes and music videos from different genres of music such as pop, alternative rock, jazz, ambient, electronic, and more Bjork Guomundsdottir, or simply Bjork, was born and raised in Reykjavik, Iceland. She is not only a singer, but an accomplished songwriter, actress, and music producer whose work includes seven solo albums and two soundtracks from feature films. Volta from 2007 is her latest album and plans to have a new album out either in 2010 or 2011.

5.) Wyclef Jean (Haiti)

Haitian born rapper and record producer Wyclef Jean moved to Brooklyn, New York when he was nine. It was in high school he began singing. He started out professionally with The Fugees and decided to go solo in 1997. In 2010 he'll release the "Wyclef Jean" album. "From the Hut, To the Projects, To the Mansion" (2009) and "Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant" (2007) are his latest CDs.

4.) Carlos Santana (Mexico)

His father was a mariachi violinist and Carlos first played the violin at age five and then later the guitar at age 8 where he was born and raised in Autlan de Navarro, Mexico. The family moved to Tijuana where his father's music was in demand. Finally, they made the bold move to San Francisco whereCarlos started his own rock band that was a blend of blues, jazz, and salsa that would later become world famous by its singular name, Santana. The band made their international debut on the stage at Woodstock in 1969. Carlos made an extraordinary comeback in the late 90's that has defied music journalists and critics to this day. Carlos Santana will have a new CD in 2010. Santana's first three albums, "Santana", "Abraxas", and "Santana II", along with "Supernatural" from 1999 and "Shaman" (2002) are extremely worth listening to.

3.) Shakira (Colombia)

Here is another Colombian rock artist from Barranquilla, Colombia who is known for her hips and sexually intense shows. This gifted artist is also a songwriter, dancer, producer, and musician. Her latest album from 2009 is "She Wolf".

2.) Rhianna (Barbados)

Rihanna doesn't need much introduction as she's been in the news throughout 2009 from her physically abusive relationship with Chris Brown. Born and raised in the beautiful island of Barbados she was discovered by an American record producer when she was only 16 years old. Since then Rihanna has marveled us with her talent. In 2009 she released her album "Rated R".

1.) U2 (Ireland)

If you don't know this next group from Dublin, Ireland you have been living under a rock, literally. They have been around for over thirty years selling out football arenas all over the world. In 2009 for their "No Line on the Horizon" tour they came to my hometown, Tampa, FL for a concert. It was a major event for the whole city.

Be sure to go to amazon.com or iTunes to get these major international artists latest CDs and their classic ones too.

SOURCES:

http://flathatnews.com/content/foreign-musicians-succeed-america-virtue-not-being-american

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page