5. Amara La Negra
She first caught our eye with her looks, but she captured our hearts with her talent (combined with her looks). We put you on to Dominican singer Amara La Negra when we caught on to “Ayy,” her remake of the Brazilian funk tune “Vai” from Mulher Melancia; since then, she’s been performing at Latin clubs from Miami to Washington Heights. Not only can you see that luscious afro on TV regularly in the D.R., but an upcoming collaboration with Mr. Vegas (on the remix of his “Give it to Har”) means she may soon be as visible in the rest of the Caribbean, too. —Michellee Nelson