ATRL decides: Who are the Top 10 greatest pop stars of the century so far?

[Revolution]

What is your Top 10? This was Billboard's Top 25 for reference. 

 

1: Beyonce

2: Taylor Swift

3: Rihanna

4: Drake

5: Lady Gaga

6: Britney Spears

7: Kanye West

8: Justin Bieber

9: Ariana Grande

10: Adele

11: Usher

12: Eminem

13: Nicki Minaj

14: Justin Timberlake

15: Miley Cyrus

16: Jay-Z

17: Shakira

18: The Weeknd

19: BTS

20: Bruno Mars

21: Lil Wayne

22: One Direction

23: Bad Bunny

24: Ed Sheeran

25: Katy Perry

 

Honorable Mentions: 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Billie Eilish, Cardi B, Carrie Underwood, Chris Brown, Christina Aguilera, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa, Future, Jennifer Lopez, Kelly Clarkson, Kendrick Lamar, Kesha, Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Maroon 5, Megan Thee Stallion, Missy Elliot, Nelly, Olivia Rodrigo, P!nk, Post Malone, Sean Paul, SZA

[trainsskyscrapers]

Wow. Just realized that Ciara / Ashanti / Ludacris / J. Cole were missing from the honorable mentions list.  All 4 have been big acts at multiple points in time. 

[Mordecai]

Ariana above Adele, Usher, Eminiem, Nicki and pretty much every other name after her is... a choice

 

As I went down the list ticking off names until I got to 10 I have: Adele, Beyonce, Britney, Bruno, Eminem, Justin Bieber, Kanye, Gaga, Rihanna and Taylor. Would have also chosen the Weeknd. Really hard list to make

[Maneater]

It didn't even cross my mind to vote for a man although I should have 

[RideOrDie]

Any artist who is a stadium touring streaming juggernaut that caused a cultural shift in musical landspace with insane critical acclaim is one of the greatest in my book. It doesn't matter if they don't have quick lil payola'd and radio fuelled singles that will be forgotten in a couple years, while her album cuts outstream and keep reaching wider audiences. 

 

[Saint James]

Gaga, Bey, Brit, Taylor, Nicki, Kanye, Shakira, Lana, Usher, Rihanna

 

honorable mention to Miley

 

Drake is successful but he's not the 'greatest' to me...

[superben]

Taylor Swift is obviously #1

 

The rest of top 5: Britney, Eminem, Rihanna, Bieber

[LosingHimWasBlue]

1. Taylor

2. Rihanna

3. Beyoncé

4. Drake

5. Britney Spears

6. Maroon 5

7. Katy Perry

8. Adele

9. Lady Gaga

10. Ariana Grande

Edited 5 hours ago by LosingHimWasBlue

[CottageHore]

Taylor (not MY mpg but I exist in reality)

Beyonce

Lana

Ariana 

Gaga

Billie

Shakira

Miley 

[Taylena]

1. Taylor Swift

2. Loona

3. Red Velvet

4. BLACKPINK

5. TWICE

6. SNSD

7. NewJeans

8. aespa

9. (G)I-DLE

10. WJSN

[Devin]

2 minutes ago, Taylena said:

1. Taylor Swift

2. Loona

3. Red Velvet

4. BLACKPINK

5. TWICE

6. SNSD

7. NewJeans

8. aespa

9. (G)I-DLE

10. WJSN

and not one black person in ur list mhmm.

[Cruel Summer]

1 hour ago, RideOrDie said:

Any artist who is a stadium touring streaming juggernaut that caused a cultural shift in musical landspace with insane critical acclaim is one of the greatest in my book. It doesn't matter if they don't have quick lil payola'd and radio fuelled singles that will be forgotten in a couple years, while her album cuts outstream and keep reaching wider audiences. 

 

I'll have to think about my other notes, personally, but there is no just world in which Lana misses the top ten on a list like this if it's well-considered.

[makeme]

Gwen Stefani would be in my top ten 

[Anvarie]

1 hour ago, Saint James said:

Gaga, Bey, Brit, Taylor, Nicki, Kanye, Shakira, Lana, Usher, Rihanna

 

honorable mention to Miley

 

Drake is successful but he's not the 'greatest' to me...

This plus Eminem 

[Joaco95]

23 minutes ago, Taylena said:

1. Taylor Swift

2. Loona

3. Red Velvet

4. BLACKPINK

5. TWICE

6. SNSD

7. NewJeans

8. aespa

9. (G)I-DLE

10. WJSN

kpop trash and taylor omg 

[Solaria]

Beyoncé is rightfully No.1. Her artistic vision transcends that of any other artist. The most risk taking and innovative star of our lifetimes by a long shot.

 

Taylor for her cultural and ubiquitous status alone deserves to be in the top 3. Her dominance across all metrics is unprecedented and she has singlehandledly shaped the entire face of what it means to be a popstar, from a Madonna/Britney perspective to her perspective. She's birthed many daughters, and there's probably still many to come. 
 

Dua is in my personal top 3 but I wouldn't be as delusional to bring that into discussion. I just think she out of all the post-2008 girls understands the pop game the best, her influences are fresh and I love that she's unapologetically European in terms of sound. It's a nice contrast to the heavy American sound that's still present in contemporary pop music. My personal bias though!

 

 

[James_Joint]

This list should've obviously been: 

 

10. Carley Rae Jepsen 

9. Ava Max 

8. Dev 

7. Jessie J 

6. Alessia Cara 

5. Zara Larsson 

4. Ellie Goulding 

3. Bebe Rexha 

2. Halsey 

1. Rita Ora 

[Riverbank]

In no particular order:

 

Rihanna

Justin Bieber

Taylor Swift

Drake

Shakira

Adele

Kanye West

Eminem

Beyonce

Lady GaGa

[Selegend]

my greatest pop star:

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Selegend

[Saint James]

where's Morgan Wallen? he should be #1 

[OnikaSlays]

I might be the only one who thinks Billboard was pretty spot on with their top 10. Everyone belongs where they should be.