AGE: 19
OCCUPATION: Singer
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 0
PRO: The teenage twanger is beloved on both the country and pop charts, selling more than 4 million records in 2008 — the most of any artist. And while she writes from the perspective of a heartsick teen, her songs are undeniably direct.
CON: In the predownload era, those 4 million copies could easily have been doubled. Also, her name similarity to Taylor Hicks is a little annoying.