Move aside, all you Disney and Nickelodeon TV starlets-turned-singers, indie troubadours and K-pop dancing machines.
This year, we are set to witness the return of five pop divas, each armed with distinctive vocals, eccentric charm and sexy stylings.
Yes, they are powerhouses in their own right - and we think they'll make an even bigger dent in the music industry than they did at the peak of their careers.
BOMBSHELL'S BACK SHAKIRA
You know Shakira has been away for too long when the last hit of hers you can remember is Waka Waka (This Time For Africa), the theme song of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
After a two-season judging stint on reality singing TV series The Voice US, the 36-year-old Colombian beauty is ready to wow us with her trademark blend of Latino beats, ska-punk and rock. Her new self-titled studio album hits the shelves on March 25.
Shakira, who has a year-old son with Spanish footballer Gerard Pique, enlisted the help of fellow pop royalty Rihanna for its first single Can't Remember To Forget You.
The catchy, groovy duet entered at No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Shakira's highest debut to date. And she has nothing but praise for RiRi.
"Working with her was utopia," Shakira told Glamour magazine. "She's the sexiest woman on the planet. And at the end of the day, we're both just basically Caribbean girls...She taught me dance moves. She was a sweet teacher."
STILL SHINING STEFANIE SUN
Arguably Singapore's biggest Mandopop export, with reported sales of more than 10 million albums, the 35-year-old mum of one is gearing up for her new Asian tour and studio release, Kepler, next month.
Just how much is Sun, who went on hiatus in 2011 after getting hitched to Dutch-Indonesian businessman Nadim van der Ros, sorely missed by her ardent fans?
All tickets to her coming two-night concert at the Taipei Arena were reportedly snapped up in just 46 minutes. Other confirmed concert stops include Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xiamen.
According to Hong Kong and Taiwanese media, Sun is whipping herself back into shape, practising dance moves for up to 10 hours a day.
"It's very tiring, I'm so tired I feel like vomiting," she told Hong Kong daily Takungpao last week, while there to train under renowned dance instructor Sunny Wong.
"My legs feel like iron."
RACY RE-INVIGORATION KYLIE MINOGUE
The 80s dance-pop teen idol is Australia's most beloved pop queen and one of the world's sexiest women.
Minogue, 45, whose current stint as judge-mentor on The Voice UK helped the reality singing competition top TV ratings, is set to drop her 12th studio effort, Kiss Me Once, in March.
It is her first album as an artist under hip-hop mogul Jay Z's entertainment company Roc Nation, which she signed to last February.
Going by her album cover art - a gigantic close-up of Minogue's face, eyes closed and bright red lips in full view - and song titles Sexercise, Sexy Love and Les Sex, it is certainly shaping up to be one sexed-up affair, not unlike her last album Aphrodite (2010).
In an interview with The Mirror, the gorgeous blonde said her new album's lead single Into The Blue "is really special to me as it encapsulates a lot of what I've been feeling", adding that the album will be a "euphoric return to the dance floor" for many.
We can't wait.
LOW-KEY LUMINARY ADELE
Is there another superstar as low-profile as Adele?
The 25-year-old English singer-songwriter, whose 2011 sophomore album 21 sold more than 26 million copies worldwide and earned her six Grammys the following year, has all but disappeared from the public eye after she gave birth to son Angelo in 2012.
On Monday, she "collected" her 10th Grammy accolade - for James Bond theme song Skyfall, which has already earned her Oscar and Golden Globe nods - from home, where she tweeted: "Wish I was there... Have a wonderful night. I'm in bed, now feeling very restless."
While we have not seen much of her of late, aside from a brief appearance last month at Buckingham Palace, where she received an MBE (Member of British Empire) award from the Prince of Wales, she has been dropping hints and sparking speculation of new material.
According to the UK media, she is "writing with Phil Collins" and has registered a new single titled Devil On My Shoulder with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
Then again, this is the same artist who once told Q Magazine that she will "not do festivals" nor play at arenas, where "the thought of an audience that big frightens the life out of (her)".
That basically rules out a huge chunk of touring then.
COURTING CONTROVERSY LILY ALLEN
Some things never change. The 28-year-old British singer-songwriter is officially back from her four-year semi-retirement with two young daughters in tow, but her feisty, straight-talking ways remain.
According to The Telegraph, Allen, who recently put out two singles, Hard Out Here and Air Balloon, ahead of the proper March release of her new as-yet-untitled album, attacked today's showbiz scene, saying it was full of fake and "sterile f***** up Botoxed idiots".
She also claimed that when she became pregnant, she was ostracised by people whom she had counted as friends.
Allen, slated to perform at Glastonbury Festival later this year, added that she is no longer interested in the fame game.
"I'm not trying to take over the world here. I don't want to be Rihanna. I want to sell some records, sell some tickets to my shows and live my life," she told The Telegraph.
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