Gwendolyn Posted August 14 Posted August 14 https://www.billboard.com/p/best-pop-stars-21st-century/ Quote Over the next four months, Billboard will be unveiling our picks for the 25 most important and impactful pop stars of the last 25 years. But first: the best of the rest. But with the quarter-century mark coming up, we decided it was a good time to zoom out a little bit on the whole last 25 years in pop stardom. And so this week, we begin our countdown of the 25 Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century: a list attempting to take stock of the pop stars who have been most important and most impactful in the U.S. over that timespan. We will be unveiling our list over the course of the next four months, unveiling one or two artists a week, along with our usual essays commemorating each artist — as well as additional articles focusing on different aspects of their careers and rounding up their chart achievements, and regular podcast and video discussions of our chosen stars' careers and legacies. We hope it will all serve to properly celebrate the 25 artists who have most defined the pop music and pop culture of the first 25% of this century, and to help provide an accurate snapshot of how the sound, look and overall meaning of pop superstardom have evolved over that period. First, however — we must acknowledge that 25 is simply nowhere near a big-enough number to properly acknowledge all the pop stars who have dominated the charts and moved the culture since Y2K. So with that in mind, we're starting off our rollout of this project with a quick unranked list of our Honorable Mention picks for the best of the rest: the 25 pop stars who were great enough to get strong consideration for our top 25, but ultimately just didn't quite have either the stats, the impact, the longevity or the volume to elbow their way into our main list. We love 'em all just the same, and we couldn't kick off this project in earnest without giving them their proper due first. And we must also issue our obligatory reminder that unlike with our Year-End Charts, these Greatest Pop Stars are NOT mathematically determined by stats like chart position, streams or sales numbers. Those play a big part in our final rankings, of course — you can't be one of the greatest pop stars of the century without great pop hits and great pop albums — but so do things like music videos, live performances and social media presence, and more intangible factors like cultural importance, industry influence and overall omnipresence. (And we're measuring this over all 25 years of this century so far, so if you were only heard from at the beginning or the end of that period — or only had one or two big songs, albums or eras — that's gonna significantly hinder your ranking here as well.) Here are our 25 picks, presented alphabetically, for the closest-but-not-quite pop stars — the Nos. 26-50 Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century, essentially — and check back throughout the next few months as we count down our top 25, and officially name our Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century this autumn. HONORABLE MENTIONS: Spoiler 50 Cent 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Alicia Keys 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Billie Eilish 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Cardi B 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Carrie Underwood 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Chris Brown 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Christina Aguilera 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Doja Cat 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Dua Lipa 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Future 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Jennifer Lopez 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Kelly Clarkson 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Kendrick Lamar 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Kesha 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Lana Del Rey 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Lorde 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Maroon 5 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Megan Thee Stallion 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Missy Elliott 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Nelly 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Olivia Rodrigo 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? P!nk 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Post Malone 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Sean Paul 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? SZA 21st Century in Pop - Why Not Top 25? Billboard's Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century: 25. Katy Perry 24. Ed Sheeran 23. Bad Bunny 22. One Direction 21. Lil Wayne 20. Bruno Mars 19. BTS 18. The Weeknd 17. Shakira 16. Jay-Z 15. Miley Cyrus 14. Justin Timberlake 13. Nicki Minaj 12. Eminem 11. Usher 10. Adele 9. Ariana Grande 8. Justin Bieber 7. Kanye West 6. Britney Spears 5. Lady Gaga 4. Drake 3. Rihanna 2. Taylor Swift 1. Beyoncé
Gwendolyn Posted August 14 Author Posted August 14 (edited) Locking in my predictions for the 25 (in no particular order): Mariah Carey Lady Gaga Rihanna Ariana Grande Black Eyed Peas Justin Timberlake Britney Spears Beyonce Taylor Swift - No.1 Kanye West BTS Bad Bunny Shakira Nicki Minaj Miley Cyrus Eminem Madonna Coldplay Drake Katy Perry Adele Ed Sheeran Usher The Weekend Jay-Z Bruno Mars Throw-Ins: Amy Winehouse, Destiny's Child, Linkin Park, Daft Punk, Radiohead, Travis Scott, Tame Impera, Selena Gomez, BLACKPINK, Imagine Dragons Edited August 14 by Gwendolyn
UseYourIllusion2002 Posted August 14 Posted August 14 (edited) A lot of people on the "honorable mention" list should be on the main list considering how long it is. Especially Billie and Olivia since they're the biggest artists of my generation. This is going to be a messy list even Christina deserves to be on the list considering how era-defining her debut and Stripped are. EDIT: No way Lana didn't make the cut considering how era-defining and influential she's been in the last 10 years. List canceled. Edited August 14 by UseYourIllusion2002
wastedpotential Posted August 14 Posted August 14 Oh wow I'm actually really surprised Lana only made the HMs
KatyPrismSpirit Posted August 14 Posted August 14 My guess for the top 25 (no chronological order) Adele Amy Winehouse Ariana Grande Beyoncé Bad Bunny Britney Spears Bruno Mars Coldplay Daft Punk Drake Ed Sheeran Eminem Justin Bieber Justin Timberlake Kanye West Katy Perry Lady Gaga Miley Cyrus Nicki Minaj Rihanna Shakira Taylor Swift The Black Eyed Peas The Weeknd Usher
Gwendolyn Posted August 14 Author Posted August 14 I recommend you guys read the why they didn't make it in the list sections, some are stan twitter level lashings 11 minutes ago, UseYourIllusion2002 said: A lot of people on the "honorable mention" list should be on the main list considering how long it is. Especially Billie and Olivia since they're the biggest artists of my generation. This is going to be a messy list even Christina deserves to be on the list considering how era-defining her debut and Stripped are. EDIT: No way Lana didn't make the cut considering how era-defining and influential she's been in the last 10 years. List canceled. They explained it (I guess their not going by influence on music, based on the chart mentionings) Quote Why Not Top 25? Formidable as the Cult of Lana has become over the past decade-plus, it is still mostly a cult – her actual top 40 presence has been more minimal than you'd think, with her only two Hot 100 top 10 appearances coming via an uncharacteristic EDM remix and a chill sesh alongside the world's biggest artist.
alfonso12 Posted August 14 Posted August 14 11 minutes ago, UseYourIllusion2002 said: A lot of people on the "honorable mention" list should be on the main list considering how long it is. Especially Billie and Olivia since they're the biggest artists of my generation. This is going to be a messy list even Christina deserves to be on the list considering how era-defining her debut and Stripped are. EDIT: No way Lana didn't make the cut considering how era-defining and influential she's been in the last 10 years. List canceled. It's probably based on chart performance and even though Billie and Olivia had huge eras they are competing against people that has been releasing music and charting for over 20 years. Lana has been around for a decade but I don't think her chart performance besides BTD is impressive.
byzantium Posted August 14 Posted August 14 10 minutes ago, UseYourIllusion2002 said: A lot of people on the "honorable mention" list should be on the main list considering how long it is. Especially Billie and Olivia since they're the biggest artists of my generation. This is going to be a messy list even Christina deserves to be on the list considering how era-defining her debut and Stripped are. EDIT: No way Lana didn't make the cut considering how era-defining and influential she's been in the last 10 years. List canceled. I think you might be underestimating how many artists are in the running. If Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, and Carrie Underwood did not make it, Billie and Olivia were not going to make it either. Just thinking of the female artists there are: Taylor Beyonce Britney Pink Rihanna Lady Gaga Adele Ariana Nicki Madonna Mariah . thats 11 and then there are all the male artists like Eminem 50 Cent Usher lil wayne the BEP (with Fergie) Justin Timberlake Drake Kendrick the Weeknd
Blackout2006 Posted August 14 Posted August 14 I just know this list is going to be a mess like the Rolling Stones saga, considering I can count on my fingertips the times BB got a list right
UseYourIllusion2002 Posted August 14 Posted August 14 7 minutes ago, Gwendolyn said: I recommend you guys read the why they didn't make it in the list sections, some are stan twitter level lashings They explained it (I guess their not going by influence on music, based on the chart mentionings) I mean the quote provided in the OP literally says "OUR PICKS for the 25 most important and IMPACTFUL pop stars of the last 25 years" so I didn't read the full article
Wicked Posted August 14 Posted August 14 Future just tied some record with Swift and Drake for chart positions or something surprised he didn't make it.
RideOrDie Posted August 14 Posted August 14 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Gwendolyn said: I recommend you guys read the why they didn't make it in the list sections, some are stan twitter level lashings They explained it (I guess their not going by influence on music, based on the chart mentionings) i knew that was going to be the reason, when they make these lists they are usually ranking them based on billboard performance, still so dumb to say her following is a cult when she has been one of the most streamed female artists in the last few years only second to taylor, and her albums almost always are #1 or #2 on 200 cult my ass Edited August 14 by RideOrDie 1
Gwendolyn Posted August 14 Author Posted August 14 1 minute ago, UseYourIllusion2002 said: I mean the quote provided in the OP literally says "OUR PICKS for the 25 most important and IMPACTFUL pop stars of the last 25 years" so I didn't read the full article I will update the OP now; I was worried that it would violate DMCA if I posted the full thing.
UseYourIllusion2002 Posted August 14 Posted August 14 9 minutes ago, alfonso12 said: It's probably based on chart performance and even though Billie and Olivia had huge eras they are competing against people that has been releasing music and charting for over 20 years. Lana has been around for a decade but I don't think her chart performance besides BTD is impressive. This is all true I agree, if it's based on chart performance. 6 minutes ago, byzantium said: I think you might be underestimating how many artists are in the running. If Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, and Carrie Underwood did not make it, Billie and Olivia were not going to make it either. Just thinking of the female artists there are: Taylor Beyonce Britney Pink Rihanna Lady Gaga Adele Ariana Nicki Madonna Mariah . thats 11 and then there are all the male artists like Eminem 50 Cent Usher lil wayne the BEP (with Fergie) Justin Timberlake Drake Kendrick the Weeknd This is also very true. I just think one of them should've been on the list so it can be a full representation of the 21st century.
Almighty Gaga Posted August 14 Posted August 14 How are you gonna drag out a top 25 list over 120 DAYS? bffr. 1 1 2
elincomprendid Posted August 14 Posted August 14 14 minutes ago, Davidoff said: Another fluff piece paid for by Taylor's publicist. The #25 hasn't even been unveiled and OTHs already crying Anyways you can cry all you want not having Taylor at #1 when she is THE Pop star of the century would be crazy, basically any person with a brain would agree, there is no need for Tree to waste money 1 2
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