Who runs the world? The women of the music industry, at least according to statistics. These ladies are household names thanks to the sheer number of records that they’ve sold. here’s a look at the most iconic females in the music biz, and everything that they’ve achieved.
1. Nicki Minaj
The Trinidadian queen of hip hop is still on top, after over a decade. Her best-selling album was
“Pink Friday”, and her true success arrived after she signed to Lil Wayne’s label. Many say that her success comes thanks to her alter-ego known as Roman, and she’s won 100 million records all over the world. She’s earned six AMAs, 12 BET awards, and 4 MTV Music Awards, as well as a handful of Billboard accolades.
2. Beyonce
Just one step ahead of Nicki in the race, Beyonce has the rapper beat with 118 million album sale. Her most popular piece of work was “Dangerously In Love”, and while she earned her initial success in the 1990s with Destiny’s Child, in 2002 when she launched her solo career with an Austin Powers song (and appearance). The year after came “Dangerously In Love”, and since she became a power couple with Jay Z, it was history. She’s won a total of 28 Grammys.
3. Adele
With her larger-than-life voice and personality, it’s no wonder that Adele has won over the hearts of people worldwide. Her album to sell the most copies is 21, and in total, she’s sold more than 120 million records. She’s gotten a few Grammys for her work, and her song Hello has over 3 billion views on YouTube.
4. Lady Gaga
With 124 album sales under her belt, Gaga’s best-selling album is still her first work, The fame. This album was triple platinum certified. While she is famous for her sky-high platform shoes and get-ups made of raw meat, Gaga has given up plenty of gems in her own work. She’s one of the best paid musicians in the world and besides an impressive bank account, she won 12 Grammys and even some Guinness World Records.
5. Katy Perry
You would never guess that Katy Perry was into Christian rock and started out singing gospels. Although her initial album was an epic fail, she soon followed it up with “One of the Boys” in 2008, which contained her epic hit “I Kissed a Girl”. After that album, she released banger after banger, including “Teenage Dream” and “Dark Horse”. She’s not just one of the highest-earning female stars today — she’s held that title for over a decade.
6. Barbra Streisand
The queen of musicals is known in almost every country of the world — perhaps that’s the reason why she has sold over 150 million sales. Gaining fame in the 60s, Streisand has a whopping 80 albums under her belt, 11 of which have been chart-toppers. She has 52 gold works, 31 platinum albums, and she’s officially the most certified female artist in the US.
7. Celine Dion
Celine is probably still making residuals off her instantly recognizable hit from The Titanic — as a matter of fact, the hard-working actress is still performing today. With over 200 million album sales, it’s hard to believe that she first came on the map selling French albums and winning the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest.
8. Whitney Houston
RIP to one of the best musicians that ever lived. Whitney is up there with Celine at 200 million sales total, and besides her memorable songs, her vocal chops are what keep her in the hearts and minds of others. After all, that voice got her a contract when she was just a teenager.
9. Mariah Carey
Although her early 2000s tracks will always be loved by us, Mariah pretty much has created a legacy just from her Christmas jingles which are featured, well, everywhere — especially “All I Want For Christmas”. Her most successful album to date is “Music Box”, and she’s had 75 singles total, with 19 climbing to the top of the charts. She even stayed on the charts for 82 weeks at a time, once.
10. Taylor Swift
From innocent country star to mega pop star who rules the world, 2006 was a big year for Taylor Swift. While her first album remained on the charts for nearly 157 weeks, her second album, “Fearless”, was the first diamond-certified record that she came out with. She’s even up there on the official roundup of Billboard’s Greatest Artists of All Time. Today, she has 200 million sales to her name.
11. Rihanna
Remember when Ri Ri was just a cute lil’ thing in “Pon De Replay”? Now, she’s one of the leading ladies in the industry, with 250 copies sold globally and 9 albums that are both platinum certified, and multi-platinum. A big part of that success is due to “Umbrella”, which remained a chart-topper in 15 countries and staying on the Hot 100 for nearly 2 months.
12. Madonna
Katy and Taylor can try all they want, but no one will ever steal the title of Madonna’s eternal Queen of Pop status — she has 300 million sales, making her the queen of this list. Year after year, she’s served us hits, starting back in 1982. Unbelievably, her album “True Blue” earned #1 in 28 nations, but her most esteemed work is “The immaculate Collection”.
