 | | In the wake of Madonna's success, many dance-pop divas filled the charts, but out of them all, Paula Abdul was the only one who sustained a career. |
 | | After stars reach a certain point, it's easy to forget what they became famous for and concentrate solely on their personas. |
 | | Debbie Gibson became a pop phenomenon in the late '80s, scoring a string of hit singles when she was only 17. |
 | | Cyndi Lauper was one of the biggest stars of the early MTV era, selling five million copies of her debut album, She's So Unusual, as well as scoring a string of four Top Ten hits from the record, including the major hits "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "Time After Time. |
 | | Before he became a pop/rock heavyweight during the late '80s (and an adult contemporary balladeer throughout the following two decades), Richard Marx sang on commercials and performed as a backing vocalist for Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston, and Julio Iglesias. |
 | | Roxette were one of the biggest global pop acts of the 1980s, selling over 75 million records around the world and dominating the charts with songs like "The Look," "Listen to Your Heart," "Joyride," and "It Must Have Been Love. |
 | | The Bangles combined the chiming riffs and catchy melodies of British Invasion guitar pop with a hint of the energy of new wave. |
 | | Cher has had three careers that place her indelibly in the public consciousness, and two have been in association with her then-husband, composer/producer/singer Salvatore "Sonny" Bono (February 16, 1935-January 8, 1998). |
 | | George Michael was the biggest British pop star of the 1980s, spinning a series of infectiously catchy pop singles into global stardom that saw him sell over 100 million albums worldwide. |
 | | In addition to scoring several big bubblegum pop hits in the late '80s, teen queen Tiffany also helped pave the way for the decade's ultimate (and most successful) teenybopper band, the New Kids on the Block. |
 | | Belinda Carlisle pursued a solo career after leaving the Go-Go's in 1984. As her solo career progressed, Carlisle removed any of the rough edges remaining in her style, transforming from a new wave rocker to a polished adult contemporary pop singer. |
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 | | Comprised of vocalists Jenny Berggren and Linn Berggren, and keyboardists Jonas "Joker" Berggren and Ulf "Buddah" Ekberg, the Swedish quartet Ace of Base became a phenomenally popular international act with their 1993 debut album, The Sign. |
 | | Rising from humble beginnings in the small town of Charlemagne, Quebec, Celine Dion became one of the biggest international stars in pop music history, selling more than 100 million albums worldwide. |
 | | Whitney Houston was inarguably one of the biggest female pop stars of all time. Her accomplishments as a hitmaker were extraordinary; just to scratch the surface, she became the first artist ever to have seven consecutive singles hit number one, and her 1993 Dolly Parton cover "I Will Always Love You" became nothing less than the biggest hit single in rock history. |
 | | As one of the biggest new stars to emerge during the mid-'80s, singer Gloria Estefan predated the coming Latin pop explosion by a decade, scoring a series of propulsive dance hits rooted in the rhythms of her native Cuba before shifting her focus to softer, more ballad-oriented fare. |
 | | Phil Collins' ascent to the status of one of the most successful pop and adult contemporary singers of the '80s and beyond was probably as much of a surprise to him as it was to many others. |
 | | Dance-pop diva Taylor Dayne (born Leslie Wonderman) had a remarkably quick ascent to stardom in the late '80s, sailing into the Top Ten with her first single, "Tell It to My Heart. |
 | | Wham! sparked something of a pop revival in the mid-'80s and could arguably be held responsible for sparking off the boy band trend of the '90s. |
 | | Few celebrity siblings can emerge from the shadows of their already famous relations to become superstars in their own right and with their own distinct personalities. |
 | | Michael Jackson was unquestionably the biggest pop star of the '80s, and certainly one of the most popular recording artists of all time. |
 | | After his success with New Edition, producer Maurice Starr decided to replicate the singing group by substituting suburban white kids for the young black teenagers. |
 | | According to Billboard chart statistics, Chicago is second only to the Beach Boys as the most successful American rock band of all time, in terms of both albums and singles. |
 | | The most dynamic female soul singer in the history of the music, Tina Turner oozed sexuality from every pore in a performing career that began the moment she stepped on-stage as lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the late '50s. |
 | | Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson are the creative spark behind Heart, a hard rock group who initially found success in the mid-'70s only to reach greater heights after engineering a major comeback a decade later. |
 | | During their initial 14 years of existence (1973-1987), Journey altered their musical approach and their personnel extensively while becoming a top touring and recording band. |
 | | 1980s pop diva Sheena Easton was born Sheena Shirley Orr in Bellshill, Scotland on April 27, 1959. Inspired to pursue a singing career after seeing Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were, she later attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama while moonlighting with the group Something Else. |
 | | Singer/songwriter Michael Bolton had an extensive (though not very successful) career under his real name, Michael Bolotin, before emerging in the mid-'80s as a major soft rock balladeer. |
 | | With their heavily orchestrated, sweet ballads, the Australian soft rock group Air Supply became a staple of early-'80s radio, scoring a string of seven straight Top Five singles. |
 | | Australian pop duo Savage Garden have taken the world by storm without the record company hype and career-establishing game plan that is often the background for pop-oriented acts. |
 | | Famous for Latin-flavored dance-pop as well as for adult contemporary ballads, the female vocal trio Exposé enjoyed a great deal of commercial success in the '80s and early '90s. |
 | | The best-selling female performer of the 1990s, Mariah Carey rose to superstardom on the strength of her stunning five-octave voice. |
 | | The Backstreet Boys were, in many ways, a contradictory band. Comprised entirely of white middle-class Americans, the group sang a hybrid of new jack balladry, hip-hop, R&B, and dance club pop that originally found its greatest success in Canada and Europe, with their 1996 debut album charting in the Top Ten in nearly every country on the Continent. |
 | | When Vanessa Williams began her singing career, she was known chiefly as the Miss America pageant winner who'd been forced to renounce her title for posing in Penthouse magazine. |
 | | Pat Benatar's polished mainstream pop/rock made her one of the more popular female vocalists of the early '80s. |
 | | Milli Vanilli. The mere mention of the name still calls up the same derision it did when the dance-pop duo's career came to a sudden and ignominious end: Fakers. |
 | | After ushering in the era of pop-metal with their 1986 blockbuster Slippery When Wet and its hit singles “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Wanted Dead or Alive,” and “Living on a Prayer,” Bon Jovi wound up transcending the big-haired ‘80s, withstanding changes in style and sound to become one of the biggest American rock bands of their time, selling over 120 million albums worldwide, and sustaining their popularity well into the new millennium. |
 | | Along with the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, *NSYNC dominated the teen pop explosion of the late '90s with a blend of group harmonies, gauzy ballads, and well-produced dance textures. |
 | | A leader in the parade of Mickey Mouse Club veterans who stormed pop at the turn of the millennium, Christina Aguilera was the sexy, brassy diva of the bunch -- the Rolling Stones to Britney Spears’ Beatles, as it were. |
 | | Seal emerged from England's house music scene in the early '90s to become the most popular British soul vocalist of the decade. |
 | | From their first hit in 1974 through their heyday in the '80s, Daryl Hall and John Oates' smooth, catchy take on Philly soul brought them enormous commercial success -- including six number one singles and six platinum albums -- yet little critical success. |
 | | Few artists have created a body of work as rich and varied as Prince. During the '80s, he emerged as one of the most singular talents of the rock & roll era, capable of seamlessly tying together pop, funk, folk, and rock. |
 | | After leaving the Commodores, Lionel Richie became one of the most successful male solo artists of the '80s, arguably eclipsed during his 1981-1987 heyday only by Michael Jackson and Prince. |
 | | Wielding a rich, deep voice, Rick Astley became an overnight sensation in the late '80s with his well-crafted dance-pop. |
 | | In terms of sales and lasting popularity, Elton John was the biggest pop superstar of the early '70s. |
 | | Duran Duran personified new wave for much of the mainstream audience. And for good reason, too. Duran Duran's reputation was built through music videos, which accentuated their fashion-model looks and glamorous sense of style. |
 | | Although Billy Joel never was a critic's favorite, the pianist emerged as one of the most popular singer/songwriters of the latter half of the '70s. |
 | | Emerging in the mid-'90s, Shania Twain became the most popular country music artist since Garth Brooks. |
 | | Led by the vocalist Mick Hucknall, the English blue-eyed soul band Simply Red became international stars with their debut album, Picture Book. |
 | | Few new wave groups were as popular as Culture Club. During the early '80s, the group racked up seven straight Top Ten hits in the U. |
