Katherine Jenkins

In April 2004, Jenkins released her chart-topping debut album Premiere, a mix of old standards and traditional Welsh songs, and her modern interpretations of classic tunes by Handel, Bach, Erik Satie and others. In October of that same year, her sophomore release, Second Nature, earned the mezzo soprano many accolades, including an Album of the Year award at the 2005 BRIT Awards. As classical music's newest singing sensation, Jenkins performed all over the world, including trips to Iraq in 2005 and 2006 to sing for the troops. On her first visit, missiles targeted the helicopter that she was riding in, but anti-missile flares were deployed and her group landed safely. Jenkins continued to gain international fame as a crossover singer who performed operatic arias, pop songs, musical theater, and hymns in her sold-out concerts and on albums like Serenade (2006) and Believe (2009). She also made countless guest appearances on British TV shows like the long-standing drama "Emmerdale" (ITV, 1972-), the reality singing competition "The X Factor" (ITV, 2004-), and as one of the judges on "Popstar to Operastar" (ITV, 2010-). In 2012, Jenkins became a competitor on "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC, 2005-), alongside former Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova and soul singer Gladys Knight.By Candy Cuenco