Who are the Big Pop Girls in 2019?

Jark

Jark

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Inspired by Sheena's comment in the Taylor thread - who are the top 5 "big pop girls" of the moment (as in the last 2 years)?

I'd say:

01 Ariana - her record-breaking dominance on streaming doesn't leave much room for doubt that she's the current pop girl du jour, although when you achieve popularity on this level there's only one way to go
02 Taylor Swift - the inevitable backlash may be in motion but it doesn't seem to have affected her much (in terms of commercial clout - on a personal level I'm sure it's fair to say she's absolutely RAGING at not being the nation's sweetheart anymore)
03 Katy Perry - last era was a big misstep but Idol gave her a ton of goodwill and she's making this rebound look surprisingly easy - will never be Teenage Dream big again but she definitely has the drive and self-awareness to stick around at this level for some time
04 P!nk - a huge touring force still capable of scoring a pretty little hit with her lead singles, she's the last of her generation to remain at this level and it seems that unlike the others, nobody really cares about her age, and being less of a celebrity means she's never been overexposed - her penchant for being airborne also seems to have cemented her as the one whose talent on stage is most revered
05 Lady Gaga - hard to place her stock as a popstar given that A Star Is Born was an MOR-baiting side project which could exist in isolation or might feed back into her comeback, but she did just have a global #1 single and album so the omens seem good for her, in much the same way as Katy (only Gaga seems likelier to fuck it up)

Beyoncé has been quieter lately, hence her absence here...

I still laugh when I think of DC's comment in my previous aborted best of the decade list

Dark Carnival said:
I don't think I've ever come across a single Arianagai.
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simpler times :D

have I missed anyone?
 
In terms of right now, surely Billie Eilish is one of the biggest female pop stars around?
 
I think Eilish is one of the most important as well - she has a very alternative aesthetic (a couple of her videos are like mini-horror movies) but she appeals to a very wide audience musically.
 
octophone said:
I think Eilish is one of the most important as well - she has a very alternative aesthetic (a couple of her videos are like mini-horror movies) but she appeals to a very wide audience musically.
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Bad Guy has been all over radio here in Ireland and I just don't get it? It's just unpleasant to me.

I wish Kim Petras could be one of the big pop girls 2019 :(
 
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Absolutely Billie Eilish and Ariana.

Billie Eilish is Britney debut album levels of huge right now, albeit measured in a different way to pure record sales.
Katy Perry desperately WISHES she was a big pop girl still. She's borderline heritage act already despite NRO not completely flopping.

Very interested to see what Gaga brings next following ASIB. The goodwill is there, she's made herself relevant to younger audiences again - DON'T FUCK IT UP! In so many ways Nothing Breaks Like A Heart would have been the perfect bridge single for Gaga between ASIB and new album.
 
wurst said:
Absolutely Billie Eilish and Ariana.

Billie Eilish is Britney debut album levels of huge right now, albeit measured in a different way to pure record sales.
Katy Perry desperately WISHES she was a big pop girl still. She's borderline heritage act already despite NRO not completely flopping.

Very interested to see what Gaga brings next following ASIB. The goodwill is there, she's made herself relevant to younger audiences again - DON'T FUCK IT UP! In so many ways Nothing Breaks Like A Heart would have been the perfect bridge single for Gaga between ASIB and new album.
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I desperately wish Gaga had gotten Nothing Breaks Like A Heart, actually. Miley is tremendous on it, but I would have loved to hear what Gaga could have done with it.
 
Miley's vocal has a lot of nuance on Nothing Breaks. I think Gaga would probably just HONK her way all over it.

wurst said:
Katy Perry desperately WISHES she was a big pop girl still. She's borderline heritage act already despite NRO not completely flopping.
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You may wish this was the case but it's really not. It's doing big streaming numbers and is on track to become one of the biggest hit of summer. After the last album and 365 it would've been easy for this to flop but the song is too strong and interest in her is quite obviously there again. She's a big pop girl for sure.
 
Also, I would not put Katy and Gaga (and possibly Pink) in the same bracket as Ariana and Taylor.

COMPLETELY different demographic.

There’s a lot more nuance now, I would say. You have the big pop girls for kids, the big pop girls for gays, the big pop girls for straights, ETC.

Bring back the days when Britney, Christina, Mandy, Jessica and Billie were the big pop girls for ALL!
 
For someone like me who barely listens to any current pop music, I would say I agree with Jark’s list. Especially about Ariana. She’s the only current one that I listen to sometimes.
 
RaspberrySwirl said:
And this was the first time I’ve ever heard of this Billie Eillish. Literally no idea.
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I’ve heard the name but not the music and couldn’t tell you what she looks like. It’s not exactly like when Britney first came about and was everywhere, although I fully acknowledge things weren’t so marginalised then. But even Lady Gaga 10 years later was inescapable and made a huge impact. If you didn’t listen to the radio or follow music, you would have heard about her in another way if you were even vaguely interested in pop culture.
 
Billie Eilish is my current 'pretending that my music tastes are still relevant' artist de jour.
 
g5jsDsu.jpg
 
:D

and that's why I'm not going to Ariana's tour (plus, y'know, it had already sold out when I tried for tickets)
 
OutSynk said:
I can’t believe no one has even mentioned Rihanna.
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Rihanna transcends the label, she's closing in on Beyoncé superstar territory now and hasn't released an album in 3 and a half years, plus seems to see herself more as a business bitch/sometime-actress/anything BUT a popstar.
 
Ellie said:
I’ve heard the name but not the music and couldn’t tell you what she looks like. It’s not exactly like when Britney first came about and was everywhere, although I fully acknowledge things weren’t so marginalised then. But even Lady Gaga 10 years later was inescapable and made a huge impact. If you didn’t listen to the radio or follow music, you would have heard about her in another way if you were even vaguely interested in pop culture.
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Plus of course you're twenty years older.
 
Well it's not like I've only aged 2 years in the same period :D

I mean I agree that Eilish is hardly Britney levels of fame or ubiquity (but then you really are comparing her with the biggest name of a generation in that respect), but then I do think saying 'I've never heard of her' says far more about the person saying it than Eilish or her success.
 
Mainstream Pop has basically turned into a wasteland, where you might come across the occasional decent track between Adele albums.

In the meantime, I'm sticking to Marina and Carly.
 
Ellie said:
I’ve heard the name but not the music and couldn’t tell you what she looks like. It’s not exactly like when Britney first came about and was everywhere, although I fully acknowledge things weren’t so marginalised then. But even Lady Gaga 10 years later was inescapable and made a huge impact. If you didn’t listen to the radio or follow music, you would have heard about her in another way if you were even vaguely interested in pop culture.
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Have you watched Brightburn? Bad Guy is the song that played over the end credits.
 
Slave said:
Also, I would not put Katy and Gaga (and possibly Pink) in the same bracket as Ariana and Taylor.

COMPLETELY different demographic.

There’s a lot more nuance now, I would say. You have the big pop girls for kids, the big pop girls for gays, the big pop girls for straights, ETC.

Bring back the days when Britney, Christina, Mandy, Jessica and Billie were the big pop girls for ALL!
Click to expand...

This. There are many big ones, but in different ways.

Ariana is stream queen, Billie is the new fresh one, Taylor is the older one but with the biggest hardcore fan base (that album will wipe the floor first week with all the others I imagine), Pink probably for the middle aged casuals etc.
 
VoR said:
Have you watched Brightburn? Bad Guy is the song that played over the end credits.
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Nope. That’s one of those films I’ll only see on the condition that I’ve already seen everything else, that it starts within half an hour of finishing work on a day when I’m free and can be bothered. I don’t think I’ll end up seeing it.
 
the other day some friends were verbally trashing beyonce. can't wait for her reign of bland music and posturing to end *.*

can't say i care much about what the streaming charts say, the ones that excite me the most these days are:

carly rae
robyn
maggie rogers
sigrid
mabel
nao

boys:

alex cameron
tame impala
sunni colon
 
sidebar: i'm always amused how proud people seem to be of themselves for not hearing of something/someone.

curiosity found dead (listening to madame x).
 
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