Who owned the 2010s?

[socotra 3,310]

another thread got me thinking – in the way that Madonna and MJ ruled the 80s, Mariah in the 90s, etc. – who owned the decade we just finished? 

Rihanna? She debuted in 2006, but 11 of her 14 #1s came in the 2010s (and 4 #1s alone in 2010) – but, she disappeared for the last 4 years of the decade. Similarly, Bruno Mars earned his first five #1s faster than any other male artist since Elvis, including Billboard's biggest song of the decade (Uptown Funk), but also hasn't released since 2016. Katy Perry ruled the charts for the first five years of her career, scoring 9 #1s from 2009 to 2013, but experienced one of the biggest commercial declines we've seen of a major popstar after Prism. Adele released just two albums, but the first has become of the biggest of all time. By the end of the 2010s, Drake held the record for most Top 40 entries, most consecutive weeks on the Hot 100, most Top 10 debuts, and surpassed Madonna to hold the most Top 10 singles of all time. Taylor Swift, who had four albums open with over a million sales (the only album that didn't, Lover, was still the #1 album worldwide of 2019) scored five #1s throughout the decade after not having one for the first 6 years of her career. Meanwhile, Lana Del Rey and Lorde initiated the move from EDM to alt/sadcore-influenced pop music in the second half of the decade.

And, of course, Ms. Gaga. Though I think it's a bit difficult to argue she dominated the 2010s, given her peak straddled two decades, her influence on the 2010s is all over it. Pop music as spectacle was revitalized by her, and it's hard to imagine the early 2010 EDM hits coming after anything but late 2000s Lady Gaga – songs like Tik Tok, Break Your Heart, OMG, E.T., Party Rock Anthem, and We Found Love all bear Gaga's imprint. Put another way, I can't imagine those songs being released before Gaga burst onto the scene.

What do you think? Pick a female and male artist a la Madonna/MJ.

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I'm gonna have to go with Taylor Swift and Drake. I wasn't a huge fan of either in the 2010s (though Folklore/Evermore has won me over to Swift), but you can't deny their staying power. They absolutely dominated the decade from 2010, each releasing five albums (all of them were #1 albums). Their biggest albums of the decade (1989 and Scorpion) each yielded three #1s, sold over 1 million copies in their first week, and were nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys (which 1989 won).

In terms of raw commercial popularity + consistency, I don't think anyone else comes close (except Adele, who doesn't have the consistency they do).

[js4754394o9823 6,882]

gaga owns 00', 10' & 20' too with just one album

[r4therupbeat 1,587]

The real answer unfortunately is MEN.

[Guest]

Lana Del Rey  for men Justin Bieber 

[funkyhaus 7,697]

Taylor Swift 

[Lucas 26,831]

It's between Rihanna and Taylor

Gaga could've been up there but she hasn't been as consistent

[RahrahWitch 6,985]

Chart-wise most likely Taylor but impact-wise hands down goes to Gaga.

The world went Gaga when she came onto the scene and brought the theatrics to pop music and fashion, She changed the game.

 

[xoxo Craig 55,649]

Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift 

[River 116,422]

Trap and tropical house

/thread

[Chromatican 4,046]

I’m gonna go with Taylor Swift. In terms of sales, brand growth, and overall consistency across the board. 

[Chromatican 4,046]

12 minutes ago, r4therupbeat said:

The real answer unfortunately is MEN.

And this

[Flawless 2,234]

Honestly, nobody. It wasn't a decade defined by one artist. Despite having huge numbers, mainly in the United States, Taylor and Drake failed to have a cultural impact globally. If Rihanna had continued the decade with constant releases, it would be her. For me, she's the closest name compared to the impact that Michael, Mariah, Madonna and even Britney had in their careers in a global scale. 

[gumzy3000 7,307]

Female - Taylor Swift. She won 2 AOTY grammy's, massive album sales, huge tours, and lots of drama surrounding her feuds and boyfriends.

Male - Drake. Simply dominated pop culture, became countless memes, released memorable albums with huge hits, was constantly talked about with the GP 

[Flawless 2,234]

The male artist is definetly Ed Sheeran or Bruno Mars. HUGE worldwide tours, HUGE album sales & HUGE hits played everywhere, everytime. 

If Gaga had a global massive era during 2016-2017 followed up by ASIB she would be the female name. 

[PunkTheFunk 124,425]

Gaga and Katy owned the early 2010s. Mid to late 2010s were owned by Taylor and Beyonce.