a monthly look at the faces that have made history

The pop landscape, not to mention the fashion scene, is always a duller place without Björk. So we're happy to report that the iconoclastic vocalist is back with a vengeance. After a four-year hiatus from touring (during which she spent quality time with her artist boyfriend, Matthew Barney, and their young daughter, Isadora), the Icelander is headlining this month's bigger-than-ever Coachella Music Festival. What's more, the Indio, Calif., concert coincides with the release of her much-awaited new album, out May 8. On Volta, she pairs up with hip-hop producer and hit single wunderkind Timbaland, promising tracks as catchy as Justin's but branded with Björk's taste for the bizarre. At times, she's backed by a ten-piece, all-female brass band.

Björk's striking appearance is as singular as her sound. While her East-Asian features and face-framing jet-black hair led to taunts of "China Girl" as a child, her atypical looks are now part of her impish appeal—as is her eccentric taste in clothes. She's famous for collaborating with fashion rule-breakers like Alexander McQueen and Jeremy Scott, and we seem to remember an incident involving the Oscars and a swan. Like we said, things haven't been half as fun without her.

— Alison Baenen