Jack Johnson

In a crossover worthy of soap star-turned-rocker Rick Springfield, professional surfer Jack Johnson emerged as one of the hottest pop stars of the early '00s. The interesting thing is that, amid hordes of teen-poppers and nu-metallists, he came to fame with a spare, mellow, acoustic-oriented singer-songwriter sound influenced by Nick Drake and James Taylor. In a way, he can be seen as a successor to the easygoing beach-culture popster Jimmy Buffett, in both his music and his eschewing of media hype for grass-roots appeal in his rise to the top.

• rock
• soundtrack