Last month we asked you to tell us who you thought the 5 greatest pop stars of the 21st century were. This month, we’ve compiled the results from all participants and can therefore reveal the results of our community having their say!
In 5th place, we have Harry Styles. Harry made his name as part of boy group One Direction, who achieved 4 number 1 albums and 4 number 1 singles before its members began to strive for success as solo artists in 2016. Harry’s first solo single, “Sign of the Times” was released in April 2017, and since then he’s managed to build an impressive brand and career to match. We’re yet to see whether he’ll find a solo place at the top of the Billboard chart, but he’s the Musixmatch Community’s 5th greatest artist of the 21st century.
Coming in at number 4 is Rihanna. Rihanna released her first single, ‘Pon de Replay’ in May 2005 and remained a hit-making machine for the next ten years or so. In that time she achieved great success including 4 number one albums and 9 number one singles. After the release of her 2016 album ‘Anti’, she famously took a hiatus from music, choosing to concentrate instead on her make-up line, ‘Fenty’. Despite this, her domination of the charts in the early 2000s well earns her the 4th place on our community’s list, and 3rd on Billboard’s.
Your 3rd greatest pop star of the 21st century so far is Beyoncé. Beyoncé rose to fame in the late 90’s as part of R&B girl group Destiny’s Child, but she earns her place on the podium of both Billboard’s and our Community’s list due to her iconic run as a solo artist. Her first solo single, ‘Crazy in Love’ featuring Jay Z topped the charts in 2005, and since then Beyoncé has earned herself a further 8 number one hits, and 8 number one albums. The word ‘icon’ is thrown around a lot, but Beyoncé’s proven success as not only a singer, but also a performer, dancer, actress, and businesswoman surely earns her the title, as well as her #3 placing on our Community’s list. She’s also now the assumed winner of Billboard’s list as other front runner Taylor Swift was recently given the silver medal. Her legacy and reputation as a hit maker and role model have no doubt earned her this well-deserved place at the top!
Coming in with the silver medal is none other than Lady Gaga! Her dynamic career earned her the number 5 spot on Billboard’s list but you, our community, decided she deserved better! And with a musical career including number one hit singles such as Pokerface, Born this Way, and Rain on Me (featuring Ariana Grande) spanning decades and eras, it’s not hard to see why! Lady Gaga’s debut came with Just Dance in 2008. It was an explosive, if not conventional, entry into the scene, but she quickly started to experiment with more striking visuals and sounds. The 2009 number one hit Bad Romance is a great example of this, with its ferociously catchy melodies and daring costumes. Her willingness to be controversial has kept Lady Gaga exciting through the years, and has built her the kind of reputation that earns such a high spot on a list such as this one.
There is, of course, one spot higher, however, and who else could it go to but Taylor Swift?! With a career spanning 18 years and including 11 studio albums, all but one of which topping the charts, Tay Tay has more than proved herself to be a, if not the, dominant name in music at the moment. Much of her success has come from her impressive talent as a songwriter. Her ability to turn thoughts and emotions into highly relatable lyrics, that then turn into highly engaging songs, has earned her a fan base so large and passionate that her tour revenues give her an economy larger than that of over 50 countries. She’s also been consistently keen to evolve and re-create herself in order to stay relevant. This is no more readily apparent than in the tonal shift from 2017 album ‘Reputation’ to 2019 album ‘Lover’. The fact that she topped our Community’s list is not a surprise, as she’s already been eagerly featured and celebrated in not one but two of our Mixtape Connected articles. Taylor Swift narrowly missed out on the top spot of Billboard’s list (coming 2nd instead behind Queen Bee Beyoncé!) but our community’s passion for her is clear, and her history as a pop-star makes it easy to understand why!
