T-PAIN

Who He Is A pair of singles (''I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper),'' ''I'm Sprung'') introduced us to this Florida-born R&B romantic in '05. Still, it wasn't until this year that the 22-year-old (born Faheem Najm) became ubiquitous, guesting on tunes from R. Kelly (''I'm a Flirt''), Bow Wow (''Outta My System''), and Kanye West (''Good Life''). He's also a solo star in his own right, racking up two hits — ''Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')'' and ''Bartender'' — off his sophomore CD, Epiphany.

Why He's Exciting Not since Cher's ''Believe'' has an artist gotten as much mileage out of a vocal filter as T-Pain, who's worked a note-bending autotune effect into each of his well-known tracks. (He's kept the technology behind this sound a well-guarded secret.) Meanwhile, he's proved himself a linguist of sorts, stoking the popularity of the R&B/hip-hop noun shawty, by way of ''Drank'' and his catchy hook for rapper Plies' ''Shawty.'' ''That's what came from being country as s---,'' T-Pain jokes. ''Not being able to say shorty.'' — SVL

EW.com Exclusive ''Calm the F--- Down'' (to hear it, use the player below)