Billboard Hot 100: All Time Top Female Artists: Madonna #1, Rihanna #5

[Sergi91]

#1 Madonna

#3 Janet Jackson

#4 Whitney Houston

#5 Rihanna

#9 Katy Perry

#10 Diana Ross

#11 Donna Summer

#12 Beyonce

#16 Cher

#20 Gloria Estefan

 

[ArtForFreedom]

 

[WildHeart]

Just now, dabunique said:

it still is points added on to her total

which doesn't take anything from her being hitmaker at all. 

[shyboi]

I can't believe Katy sneaked in the top 10 with a 9 year old career. 

[Scott Borchetta]

Katy's hitmaking power during her peak was insane

[jdanton2]

4 hours ago, istan4badgalriri said:

Rihanna could've easily been Top 3 if not #2 by now

Rihanna will probably be passed by Taylor if she does not release  more music. Mariah has Christmas which will keep her high on the list .

Edited March 1, 2023 by jdanton2

[swissman]

I do wonder how much it takes to get 0.3 million points, but that is what separates Beyoncé from Donna and I can't help but think if Formation was chart eligible for the first three months of its release how that might have affected her overall placement. That being said, I adore seeing Donna in the Top Ten and if that means Beyoncé is out of it, that's fine by me too.

[swissman]

2 hours ago, Planet Mars said:

Madonna, Mariah, Janet and Whitney being in the Top 4 is very significant, because in many ways they are why ATRL exists today.

 

The whole idea of a "pop" girl, the image, the chameleon, the sex symbol/social justice advocate, the high budget videos, massive global tours, melisma and huge gay followings. It all starts with those 4. 

 

They were the first women who came into an industry still dominated by men and carved a lane for themselves and opened the doors for what we see today.

 

You could say it all begins with Diana Ross, and I'd still give her the title of OG pop girl, BUT Madge, Janet, Mariah and Whitney really threw the door open for all of our faves in one way or the other. Every major female artist of the last 30 years has borrowed something from that playbook.

 

Just found their placement very interesting.

Thanks for pointing this out because I didn't even really notice that they're all in the Top 4...iconic!!

[MichaelW]

🌻 Cher 🌼

[SinnerCity]

MADONNA, MARIAH, AND JANET!!!!

 

THESE EFFING LEGENDS WITH ICONIC DISCOGRAPHIES

 

[UnusualBoy]

It’s impressive how Katy made the list basically with only 3 albums (We know Witness and Smile barely helped at all)

[PoisonPill]

Just imagine if Rihanna had kept releasing music after age 28

[PoisonPill]

10 hours ago, Planet Mars said:

Madonna, Mariah, Janet and Whitney being in the Top 4 is very significant, because in many ways they are why ATRL exists today.

 

The whole idea of a "pop" girl, the image, the chameleon, the sex symbol/social justice advocate, the high budget videos, massive global tours, melisma and huge gay followings. It all starts with those 4. 

 

They were the first women who came into an industry still dominated by men and carved a lane for themselves and opened the doors for what we see today.

 

You could say it all begins with Diana Ross, and I'd still give her the title of OG pop girl, BUT Madge, Janet, Mariah and Whitney really threw the door open for all of our faves in one way or the other. Every major female artist of the last 30 years has borrowed something from that playbook.

 

Just found their placement very interesting.

Cher pre-dates all of them?

[fridayteenage]

taylor's power when She's mainly an albums artist, oh wow

[eli's_rhythm]

23 minutes ago, PoisonPill said:

Cher pre-dates all of them?

And has a way less consistent music career than any of them, hence her barely making the top 20 on this list. She’s a legend of entertainment but she wasn’t a pop star blueprint as much as an influential queen.

[KKCuteCat]

Ariana is #19 already . She's the youngest in Top 20 

[littlebodybigheart]

i need madonna, mariah, janet and whitney to keep the top 4 forever. they are really the blueprint.

[thismoment]

Katy wow 

[Sscorpionn]

6 of the top 10 being black women I wonder how much higher Janet could’ve been if the SuperBowl didn’t ruin her INSANE hot100 run 

[Britney Spears]

Britney being above Christina is all that matters 

[TheRealGâteau]

Madonna #1 

[TheRealGâteau]

10 minutes ago, Britney Spears said:

Britney being above Christina is all that matters 

Where is she, though? I couldn't even find her name in the Top 20? 

[Into The Void]

9 minutes ago, TheRealGâteau said:

Where is she, though? I couldn't even find her name in the Top 20? 

Britney 29

Christina 32

[TheRealGâteau]

2 minutes ago, Insanity said:

Britney 29

Christina 32

Oh Jesus, so much for "pop royalty". 

[swissman]

1 hour ago, Sscorpionn said:

6 of the top 10 being black women I wonder how much higher Janet could’ve been if the SuperBowl didn’t ruin her INSANE hot100 run 

This is an interesting question, as she was not showing any signs of flopping prior to that. 33 consecutive Top 40 hits... NO FLOP (since her success) until 2004 says a lot about her popularity and the consistency with which she was America's pop sweetheart.

 

It's likely her success would have declined into the late 2000s like the rest of the Top 4, but I do think she's far more suited than Mariah to have transitioned into the dance pop era. If she had the right material she could easily have released a big dance album in 2011 or so and gotten more hits. I'm not sure how many hits/to what degree of success is needed for her to step above Mariah in this ranking but it's not out of the question, I don't think.

 

 

Edited March 2, 2023 by swissman