Top 10 Pop Music Divas of All Time

Cher In Concert With Cyndi Lauper 'Dressed 2 Kill' Tour - Los Angeles, CA
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The dictionary defines diva as a goddess. All of these women are pop goddesses. They are 10 of the most successful female pop artists of all time.

01
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Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey

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Mariah Carey has more No. 1 pop hits in the U.S. than anyone but the Beatles. She is a winner of five Grammy Awards. After her career seemed to be fading in the early 2000s, she returned with one of the biggest pop music comebacks of all time. Her hit "We Belong Together" spent 14 weeks at No. 1 and became one of the biggest pop hit singles of all time. Her collaboration with Boyz II Men on "One Sweet Day" is the longest reigning No. 1 hit in the U.S. ever spending 16 weeks at the top. She has spent 79 weeks at number one in total, more than any other recording artist. Carey has sold more than 200 million records worldwide.

Carey's five-octave vocal range and melismatic style influenced a generation of pop singers who followed, particularly the contestants through 15 years of "American Idol." Carey also brought hip-hop into the pop mainstream. Her collaboration with rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard on the remix of "Fantasy" surprised some observers but delighted most of Carey's fans. She also achieved something most pop stars only dream about. Her Christmas song "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a holiday classic.

Top Five Hits

  • 1995 - "One Sweet Day" with Boyz II Men - No. 1
  • 2005 - "We Belong Together" - No. 1
  • 1995 - "Fantasy" - No. 1
  • 1993 - "Dreamlover" - No. 1
  • 1993 - "Hero" - No. 1
02
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Cher

Cher

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Cher is not only an iconic singer, she is also an accomplished actress. This has enabled her to become one of the small group of artists to take home a Grammy, Oscar, and Emmy award. She began her music career as a teenage backup singer in Phil Spector's legendary Wall of Sound, was half of the highly successful duo Sonny and Cher with her husband Sonny Bono, and then fully eclipsed that success as a solo artist. Her first farewell concert tour took a phenomenal three years to complete largely due to the demand for tickets from her fans. She is the first artist to earn a No. 1 hit on at least one Billboard chart in every decade from the 1960s to the 2010s. Cher is estimated to have sold 200 million records worldwide.

Master of Pop Culture

Cher became the master of the pop culture comeback. When the popularity of Sonny and Cher's music faded at the end of the 1960s, they came roaring back with a wildly popular TV variety show in the early 1970s. Cher released a trio of No. 1 pop hit singles firmly establishing herself as a solo music star. Following her divorce from Sonny in 1975 and failure of their return to hosting a TV variety show, she came back with the top 10 disco hit "Take Me Home" in 1979.

Cher's star dimmed once again, but this time she embarked on an acting career to engineer a comeback. Her first film success came with Silkwood in 1983, and she earned a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. Her acting career peaked in 1987 with Moonstruck which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress. On the heels of the acting success, she returned to mainstream pop music success as well with four top 10 pop hits including the No. 3 smash "If I Could Turn Back Time." Cher had one more phenomenal music return up her sleeves. Following Sonny Bono's death in 1998, she released her 22nd studio album Believe. It included the title song, the biggest pop hit single of Cher's entire career.

Top Five Hits

  • 1998 - "Believe" - No. 1
  • 1971 - "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" - No. 1
  • 1973 - "Half-Breed" - No. 1
  • 1974 - "Dark Lady" - No. 1
  • 1966 - "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" - No. 2
03
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Celine Dion

Celine Dion

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Born and raised in Quebec, Canada, Celine Dion began her career as a successful teen singer performing in French. Her first major international acclaim came in 1988 when she won the Eurovision Song Contest singing for Switzerland. Dion eventually emerged as one of the top pop singers overall performing mostly in English. By 2007, Sony BMG announced that she had sold over 200 million albums worldwide. She has won five Grammy Awards. Her nearly five-year stint at Caesars Palace in the show A New Day... was acclaimed as one of the top Las Vegas shows of all time earning $385 million.

In 2007, Dion released some of the most adventurous music of her career on the album Taking Chances. Its commercial success was muted in the US, but it was a No. 1 smash at home in Canada and inspired a phenomenally popular concert tour. Dion suffered personal tragedy in January 2016 when her husband and brother both died of cancer just two days apart. By the end of February, she returned to the Las Vegas stage and in May accepted the Billboard Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards. She sang Queen's "The Show Must Go On" live.

Top Five Hits

  • 1996 - "Because You Loved Me" - No. 1
  • 1998 - "I'm Your Angel" - No. 1
  • 1993 - "The Power Of Love" - No. 1
  • 1998 - "My Heart Will Go On" - No. 1
  • 1996 - "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" - No. 2
04
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Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin

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Aretha Franklin is the "Queen of Soul," but major pop hits spanning over three decades prove she is one of the top pop divas of all time as well. She has reached the Billboard Hot 100 more than 75 times. Beyond her singing, Franklin is a very skilled piano player and songwriter. She has won 20 Grammy Awards in her career, and she became the first female artist to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Rolling Stone magazine recognized Franklin as the top singer of all time.

Franklin returned to the top 50 of the R&B chart for the first time in seven years with her 2014 cover of Adele's "Rolling In the Deep." The recording also reached No. 1 on the dance chart, her first club chart-topper in sixteen years. In December 2015, Franklin earned a mid-song standing ovation and moved many in the audience to tears when she sang "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" at the Kennedy Center Honors in recognition of the co-writer of the song Carole King.

Top Five Hits

  • 1967 - "Respect" - No. 1
  • 1967 - "Chain of Fools" - No. 2
  • 1971 - "Spanish Harlem" - No. 2
  • 1973 - "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" - No. 3
  • 1985 - "Freeway of Love" - No. 3
05
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Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston

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Whitney Houston's self-titled debut album released in 1985 became the bestselling debut album by a female artist of all time. Houston also earned success as a film actress. Her second album was the first by a woman to debut at the top of the album chart. Four studio albums, a movie soundtrack, and her greatest hits collection are all estimated to have sold 10 million copies or more around the world. Houston became the first artist ever to release seven consecutive No. 1 singles. She died tragically at age 48 in 2012.

Houston was given credit for continuing to break down color lines in popular music in the late 1980s. She was just as popular with mainstream pop audiences as with R&B audiences. Her music videos beginning with 1985's "How Will I Know" were popular on MTV.

Top Five Hits

  • 1992 - "I Will Always Love You" - No. 1
  • 1986 - "Greatest Love of All" - No. 1
  • 1987 - "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) - No. 1
  • 1990 - "All The Man That I Need" - No. 1
  • 1987 - "Didn't We Almost Have It All" - No. 1
06
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Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson

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Janet Jackson's success as a pop artist rivals that of her brother Michael Jackson. She has not only been successful as a singer, her dancing and the choreography in her shows has influenced a wide range of performers, and she is an accomplished actress. Five consecutive Janet Jackson albums debuted at No.1 on the album chart. None of her studio albums since 1984's Dream Street have failed to reach at least No.2 on the album chart. 10 of her singles have reached No. 1 on the pop chart in the US. She has sold over 160 million records worldwide.

In 2015 she returned with Unbreakable, her first album in seven years, and it promptly hit No. 1 on the album chart. The single "No Sleep" found a successful niche at adult R&B radio peaking at No. 1 on that chart. It also climbed into the top 20 on the overall R&B chart.

Top Five Hits

  • 1993 - "That's the Way Love Goes" - No. 1
  • 2001 - "All for You" - No. 1
  • 1989 - "Miss You Much" - No. 1
  • 2000 - "Doesn't Really Matter" - No. 1
  • 1990 - "Escapade" - No. 1
07
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Madonna

Madonna

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Madonna has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the "Guinness Book of Records" considers her the most successful female artist of all time. Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide. She is the artist with the most top 10 hits in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. She has long been admired as one of the top businesswomen in the music industry. Billboard ranked Madonna second only to the Beatles as the most successful pop singles artist of all time.

Eight of Madonna's studio albums have charted at No. 1 in the U.S. including a streak of five in a row. She has never failed to reach the top 10 across a career encompassing 13 studio releases. In addition, three movie soundtracks and four compilation albums have reached the top 10 giving Madonna 20 top 10 charting albums overall. 12 of Madonna's singles have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. A phenomenal 46 songs have topped the dance club chart. That gives Madonna the most No. 1 appearances on any currently active Billboard chart surpassing George Strait's 44 No. 1 country songs.

Top Five Hits

  • 1994 - "Take a Bow" - No. 1
  • 1984 - "Like a Virgin" - No. 1
  • 2000 - "Music" - No. 1
  • 1990 - "Vogue" - No. 1
  • 1989 - "Like a Prayer" - No. 1
08
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Diana Ross

Diana Ross

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Diana Ross began her career in the 1960s as a member of the Supremes, the most successful female group ever at that time. She went solo in the 1970s and became one of the most successful female solo artists of all time. Ross was the first female solo artist in the U.S. to release six No. 1 pop singles. She is an accomplished actress receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her part in "Lady Sings the Blues." She has won a Tony Award for her stage show "An Evening With Diana Ross." Ross earned a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.

Ross broke down barriers for women in multiple ways. Although her chart achievements were later surpassed, in 1993 the "Guinness Book of World Records" declared her the most successful female recording artist in history. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 as a member of the Supremes. Ross was celebrated in 2007 at the Kennedy Center Honors and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.

Top Five Hits

  • 1980 - "Upside Down" - No. 1
  • 1970 - "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - No. 1
  • 1976 - "Love Hangover" - No. 1
  • 1973 - "Touch Me in the Morning" - No. 1
  • 1975 - "Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" - No. 1
09
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Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand

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As well as being one of the top singers of all time, Barbra Streisand is accomplished as both a film actress and director. She has won nine Grammy Awards, two Oscars and four Emmys. Barbra Streisand has sold more than 240 million records worldwide. In 1974, her single "The Way We Were" became the first single by a female recording artist to be the top-selling pop single of the year. She has released 33 top 10 albums, the most by any female recording artist, and they span fifty years. 52 of her albums have been certified gold.

In her 70s, Streisand's recording and performing career continue to be strong. In the fall of 2014, she released the duets album Partners. It went to No. 1 on the album chart selling nearly 200,000 copies in its first week and making Streisand the first recording artist to have a No. 1 album in six consecutive decades. In 2016 her album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway became her eleventh No. 1 chart topper. It tied her with Bruce Springsteen in third place all-time for the most No. 1 albums by an artist.

Top Five Hits

10
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Donna Summer

Donna Summer

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Donna Summer was the undisputed "Queen of Disco." She is the first artist to hit No. 1 with three consecutive double albums. She is the first female artist to have five top 10 singles in one calendar year. Donna Summer has earned five Grammy Awards. Her No. 1 hits on the dance music chart have spanned from 1975 through 2010. Summer passed away in 2012 at age 63. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.

Donna Summer's 1970s disco recordings remain some of the most influential pop recordings of all time. "I Feel Love" broke ground in its use of electronic sequencing. David Bowie reported that his collaborator Brian Eno listened to "I Feel Love" and proclaimed, "I have heard the sound of the future." The 1979 No. 1 smash "Hot Stuff" laid the groundwork for blending disco with rock music. It included a guitar solo from Doobie Brother and Steely Dan guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter.

Top Five Hits

  • 1979 - "Bad Girls" - No. 1
  • 1979 - "Hot Stuff" - No. 1
  • 1978 - "MacArthur Park" - No. 1
  • 1979 - "Dim All the Lights" - No. 2
  • 1975 - "Love to Love You Baby" - No. 2