Me & U

It may have seemed like the neo-soul scene had a monopoly on throwback grooves, but even the radio-ready stars of R&B went retro in the late '00s. Backed by the blazing ‘60s soul of The Dap-Kings, British diva Amy Winehouse loaded her lovelorn torch songs with wicked humor and heartbreaking confessions. Reigning queens like Mary J. Blige and brassy upstarts like Amerie smoothed out the breakbeats of golden age hip-hop. But there were also artists plugged into high-tech thrills, embracing the floor-filling beats of EDM. Rihanna whipped club kids into a frenzy on a stomping house banger, and Omarion dropped a heart-stopping slow jam that pulsed to trance-inspired synths.