Cee-Lo Green

Originally coming to attention with the southern band Goodie Mob, Cee-Lo Green topped the charts all over the world in 2006 with the song Crazy in partnership with DJ Danger Mouse under the collective name Gnarls Barkley; and major solo success in 2010 confirmed him as one of the great modern soul singers. Both his parents were ordained ministers and the young Cee-Lo's musical upbringing was rooted almost entirely in the church. He joined the Atlanta hip-hop group Goodie Mob in his teens but left to launch his solo career while they were still recording their debut album One Monkey Don't Stop No Show (a title assumed to be a swipe at him by the others, though they later settled their differences). His early attempts at solo success proved unsuccessful but his reputation grew following collaborations with Ludacris and Pharrell. His mainstream breakthrough came with Gnarls Barkley when Crazy became the first UK Number 1 based solely on downloads, while their 2006 album St Elsewhere also debuted at the top spot, going on to sell 6 million around the world. In 2010 Cee-Lo caused another sensation when his single F*** You registered 2 million plays in less than a week and went straight to Number 1 in the UK. It was soon followed into the world's charts by his album The Lady Killer, including another single It's OK and in 2011 Cee-Lo won a Grammy and a BRIT Award within days of each other.