# Billboard's Greatest Pop Stars

The Greatest Pop Stars is an annual list ranking the most important and impactful music artists in the US, selected by a panel of editors of Billboard magazine. It differs from the Billboard Year-End Top Artist chart, which ranks artists based on statistical performances on the Billboard charts. The Greatest Pop Stars list is based on a more variety of factors, such as cultural importance, industry influence and overall omnipresence over popular music. The list was first published in 2019, with retrospective annual rankings back to 1981, the year MTV premiered, which Billboard noted as the start of "modern pop stardom". In 2024, Billboard published the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century list, a ranking of 25 most important and impactful popular music artists from 2000 to 2024, with Beyoncé being listed at number one.

## History

In 2019, American music magazine Billboard began publishing a list of the greatest pop star of every year since 1981, with essay tributes for each artist. The first year of 1981 was chosen as "the year that forever changed modern stardom", with the premiere of MTV which established music videos as an essential element for popular music iconicity. In 2024, to mark the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, Billboard decided to make a list of the artists who have defined popular culture, music and stardom, and been the "most important and most impactful" over the period of 2000 to 2024.

## Criteria

The Greatest Pop Stars list is not exclusively determined using chart positions, streams or sales numbers. It also uses factors such as acclaimed works, music videos, live performances, social media presence, cultural importance, industry influence and overall omnipresence. The 21st century list are measured over the years of 2000 to 2024. Billboard used the term "pop star" in a broad definition, not only top-40 type pop music soloists, but also other popular music types of performers such as rappers, singer-songwriters, rock bands, or R&B groups.

## List of artists
### By year

The following artists are crowned the Greatest Pop Star of the year by Billboard. Madonna, Janet Jackson, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift are the only acts to top multiple years, with Swift remains the only one to top three different calendar years.
* 1981: Blondie
* 1982: John Cougar Mellencamp
* 1983: Michael Jackson
* 1984: Prince
* 1985: Madonna
* 1986: Whitney Houston
* 1987: Bon Jovi
* 1988: George Michael
* 1989: Madonna
* 1990: Janet Jackson
* 1991: Mariah Carey
* 1992: Nirvana
* 1993: Janet Jackson
* 1994: Boyz II Men
* 1995: TLC
* 1996: Alanis Morissette
* 1997: Puff Daddy
* 1998: Backstreet Boys
* 1999: Britney Spears
* 2000: NSYNC
* 2001: Jennifer Lopez
* 2002: Eminem
* 2003: Beyoncé
* 2004: Usher
* 2005: Kanye West
* 2006: Justin Timberlake
* 2007: Rihanna
* 2008: Lil Wayne
* 2009: Lady Gaga
* 2010: Katy Perry
* 2011: Adele
* 2012: Rihanna
* 2013: Miley Cyrus
* 2014: Beyoncé
* 2015: Taylor Swift
* 2016: Justin Bieber
* 2017: Ed Sheeran
* 2018: Drake
* 2019: Ariana Grande
* 2020: BTS
* 2021: Taylor Swift
* 2022: Bad Bunny
* 2023: Taylor Swift
* 2024: Kendrick Lamar

### 21st century

Billboard launched the project in on August 14, 2024, releasing a list of 25 honorable mentions. From August to December, Billboard incrementally rolled out the full ranked list. For each artist, an essay was released recapping their careers and explaining why they have "exemplified pop greatness" over the period, as well as podcast and video discussions of the chosen stars' careers and legacies. The full ranked list of the 25 greatest pop stars of the 21st century are as follows:
* Beyoncé
* Taylor Swift
* Rihanna
* Drake
* Lady Gaga
* Britney Spears
* Kanye West
* Justin Bieber
* Ariana Grande
* Adele
* Usher
* Eminem
* Nicki Minaj
* Justin Timberlake
* Miley Cyrus
* Jay-Z
* Shakira
* The Weeknd
* BTS
* Bruno Mars
* Lil Wayne
* One Direction
* Bad Bunny
* Ed Sheeran
* Katy Perry

#### Honorable mentions

The 26th through 50th greatest pop stars on the 21st century were listed alphabetically as 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 Elliott
* Nelly
* Olivia Rodrigo
* Pink
* Post Malone
* Sean Paul
* SZA

## Statistics

Female musicians dominated Billboard's Greatest Pop Star lists, showing the omnipresence of women within popular music in post-Madonna era. Madonna became the first act to be named the Greatest Pop Star twice (1985 and 1989). Women were also ranked highly on the 21st century list as only three men made into the top ten, with Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Rihanna appearing in the top three.
Appearances by types of artists :
| List | Male | Female | Group | Total |
| Greatest Pop Stars By Year | 15 | 21 | 8 | 44 |
| Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century | 12 | 11 | 2 | 25 |

## Controversy

After Taylor Swift was placed at number 2 on the 21st century list, some Swifties were accused of sending racial abuse to Beyoncé, the assumed number-one pick. The hashtag #SwiftieRacism later trended on Twitter, with some Swifties facing backlash for racist behavior in the past. Various Swifties also criticized Billboard for including a clip from Kanye West's 2016 music video for "Famous", which included a nude wax figure resembling Swift, in a tribute video to Swift, although the video in question was covered in detail in the article about Kanye West. In response, Billboard removed the clip and apologized on social media.