When Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston died, there was an outpouring of grief from the public. These two entertainers were pop icons of their generations in a way that’s hard to imagine today. When Michael and Whitney were at the height of their fame, most people watched four television channels. Reality TV and YouTube didn’t exist. Entertainment had yet to fracture the world into 1,000 cable channels and millions of Facebook groups. Everyone watched the same TV shows and listened to the same music.
That got us at Lovelyish thinking: do entertainers or celebrities today have that same hold over the country? To address that question, we’ve pulled together a gallery of the top artists of the past decade. To get the conversation started, we thought we’d start with the Top Artists of the past Decade according to Billboard (please add more artists in the comments!).
* Eminem
* Usher
* Nelly
* Beyonce
* Alicia Keys
* 50 Cent
* Nickelback
* Britney Spears
* Jay-Z
There are other top entertainers not on Billboard’s list, like Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey and Madonna. Obviously, not all of these artists will stand the test of time (except for Nickelback, of course). But putting them aside, which artists do you think are a true cultural icon? Or to put it another way: are there any modern artists that our country will mourn the way that we’ve mourned Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston?
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guest
It’s a shame that no talented rock artists are on the list.
guest
If these are all of the “icons” of our generation… then I want a new generation.
hydrangea / 90 posts
@surveys_fortheteenageesoul@xanga - I’m with you. I don’t want to be remembered as the half-naked generation of females. Alicia Keys is the only classy woman on this list.
guest
I don’t think we will see talent like Michael Jackson again,imo! I think artists are overly exposed. part of the excitmebt and pandemonium caused by these stars back in the day was how elusive they appeared. There is no mystique today, I can find out what they’re having for dinner,etc. via Twitter! stardom isn’t the same these days when people like kim k exist!
Beyonce, Stevie wonder, Paul McCartney and Mariah are true icons
guest
The industry is purely based on entertainment and amusement without considering the means of it all. It seems talent is usually neglected unless it really is unique. An amazing singer or dancer is nothing new but a there will always be somebody stupider and newer than the others that we can laugh at, hate, love, or be entertained with. It’s sad but thatr’s the case. Music trends nowadays are brainless and thoughtless and seem to target the ones with low attention span who want to party all day and night which is majority of this generation.
guest
Yet another occasion on which I really wish I belonged to a different generation.
daffodil / 1615 posts
HA! Nickelback has to be on there as a joke. Nobody seriously likes them.
guest
[Obviously, not all of these artists will stand the test of time (except for Nickelback, of course)]
I couldn’t stop laughing.
guest
nickelback?…ugh so terrible.
on another note: why are so many people commenting about how they hate our generation for this list? i mean, i listen to a lot of folk, punk, indie, etc… but i would still agree that these are iconic artists. iconic in the sense that they brought a new perspective on modern music (especially britney spears, beyonce, and eminem). while they might not be the “most talented” of our generation, the context of “icon” doesnt NEED talent… it’s about impact and relevancy. so, i guess to all the bitter people wanting to be part of generations past: get over yourselves… your taste might be better, but that doesnt make these artists unimportant.
guest
Madonna is a bit out of “our” generation isn’t she? I would consider her as being in the same generation as Michael Jackson. Definitely an icon, whether you like her or not. I think at the rate gaga is going, shell be an icon too someday.
Here’s why I think so. To be an icon I think you need to be able to influence a large enough number of people to know you. And both Madonna and gaga did that. No matter where you go in this world, people will know them. I can’t say the same for Alicia keys (even though I love her) or usher. They’re not “pop” enough. Also these people can influence not only music industry, but fashion as well. Who doesn’t know MJs shorted long pants with white socks and gloves plus fedora hat?
Simply put, if u can dress up like those people during Halloween then I think they’re icons
guest
…This list is automatically invalid because Nickelback is on it.
guest
The only ones I would say are Lady Gaga and Eminem. I’m unsure about the iconic potential of any others.
guest
@Digital_Angel21@xanga - agreed.
though i’m not really a fan of hers, i would add beyonce.
i could also see rihanna becoming an icon, depending on where her career goes from here. mostly because i’m just a hopeless rihanna fan.
adele could definitely end up an icon too.
the rest are mostly not that important in my view. they’re obviously famous and some are talented, but i don’t see them being talked about regularly 20 years from now. we’ll see.
though i’m not a big fan, i think nickelback bears a portion of the hate that is not proportional to their hateability, mostly because there are artists out there with far less talent who get far less hate, and there are artists similar to nickelback who no one freaks out about. still, though i think they should be hated a little less, i certainly would not call them icons. ever.
guest
No, no, no. Everyone did not listen to the same music back then either. There was country. There was rock. There was soul. This is pop. I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with pop. Just saying that there was variety then as well.
As for who the world will mourn from our generation… I don’t think we’ll know that for a few decades yet.
guest
Honestly, I think Britney Spears and Beyonce are the only two names that people will really remember in 50 years. Maybe Eminem too, MAYBE. I feel like the last time I really heard people freaking out about the other artists was back when I was in middle school and that was kind of a few years back. >.<
guest
NO stunners..no amazing eyes…no perfect lips (minus inflate-a-flat)…but worst of all…no defining STYLE…just…BLAH.
guest
i know i must be drunk. there’s no way i just saw someone say nickelback was the only one that will stand the test of time in a list with the likes of eminem, jay-z, and alicia keys.
hydrangea / 62 posts
@TheMANinTHEyellowHAT@xanga - It was sarcasm.
guest
@john@xanga - oohh. hah. i get it!