"I used to get night terrors," says These New Puritans' singer/guitarist Jack Barnett, backstage before a show in South London. "I once saw a ghost -- a glowing blue cat in my room -- and these purple and yellow orb things. It was really scary."

Estelle Swaray just can't understand the pickup techniques of American men. But the recently transplanted Londoner is learning fast. "They talk so much. By the time they get your number, you forgot what their name was," groans the chic 28-year-old, complaining about the "negging" tricks picked up in Neil Strauss' seduction primer, The Game.

It's widely reported how much the wealthiest pop stars make. Pick up a fi nancial magazine and you'll read about the 2007 earnings of the Rolling Stones ($88 million), U2 ($30 million), and Britney Spears ($9 million). Even Elvis Presley took in $49 million last year -- and he's been dead for 30 years.

In 2005, Panic at the Disco's debut, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, arrived overflowing with logorrheic song titles, histrionic hooks, and teenage angst. It earned them a platinum record, but also scores of skeptics -- among them the band's own guitarist/lyricist Ryan Ross (okay, almost). "I can't knock that album too much," says Ross.