10 Artists Who Defined 2010s
by Batuhan Işık
10. BTS
You may have not heard about them, or you can be their biggest fan. Either way, there is no way you can refuse their impact. They had the first Korean pop album to make it to the number 1 spot on Billboard 200 Chart in 2018 with “Love Yourself: Tear.” They have collaborated with various western artists such as Halsey and Nicki Minaj, reaching to wider audiences. Their fans cannot be limited by the adjective “dedicated” as they have helped BTS sell out arenas, even stadiums all around the world and win many fan-voted awards.
9. Nicki Minaj
The queen of rap, Miss Nicki Minaj had a pretty good decade of her own. She released 4 albums in total, all of which defined her place in the music industry. She topped the charts and collaborated with tens of artists including the Weeknd, Ariana Grande, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Future, Beyonce, Drake, Little Mix, Normani, and Jason Derulo. The fans thought she was leaving music industry TWICE this decade. First, when she gave a 4 year break after releasing “The Pinkprint” and then after her highly impactful tweet stating that she is leaving the music industry. Hopefully, the confusion was cleared out and Minaj got back up real quick. Also, her feud with Cardi B has been one of the highlights of this decade, especially when their fight got “physical” at a New York Fashion Week Event. In the list released by National Public Radio, it is even noted that "She entered an industry mainly occupied by men, shook it up and paved the way for others to come in."
8. Kendrick Lamar
As one of the highlight rappers of the 2010s, Kendrick Lamar had a very successful decade. With “Overly Dedicated”, it all began. On top of releasing 6 albums of his own, he also released the soundtrack of “Black Panther” in which he collaborated with numerous star artists including SZA, The Weeknd, Khalid and Travis Scott. His album DAMN. was a huge success and he topped the charts with his songs, the most notable of them being “Humble”. His DAMN. tour was a huge success and he keeps on influencing the rap music through her collaborations.
7. Drake
Toronto’s golden boy, Drake. Where to begin? It seems like he has had a project each year this decade. He released five studio albums: Thank Me Later, Take Care, Nothing Was the Same, Views, and Scorpion. Along with three mixtapes: We Are Young Money, Rise of an Empire and Care Package. No surprise he was the decade’s most streamed artist on Spotify and Billboard’s Artist of the Decade with such successful work. And no one can deny the versatility of his jams, ranging from being perfect for parties to cry sessions. Even though he has had controversy, like beefing with other artists and texting underage girls, he equates to the rapper-singer becoming one of the defining figures of the 2010s.
6. Lady Gaga
The queen of monsters succeeded this decade as she did in the last one. Apart from releasing 3 of her most influential albums, she also starred in an Oscar winning movie, “A Star is Born”. With the track “Shallow”, she topped the charts and performed the song on numerous occasions with Bradley Cooper, the most memorable of them being during the Oscars. In 2017, she was the artist to perform at the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show. She also started her own make up brand, Haus Laboratories, and is thriving in the beauty industry. Needless to say, this decade, she did it all: music, movies, entertainment, business and even started her own beauty line.
5. Lana Del Rey
With her rise in 2010s and releasing 6 albums, she was and still is one of the best artists our generation has seen. She developed a genre of her own and found her own sound, creating timeless tracks and making a generation of pop music with calm and meaningful tunes. Her abilities both lyrically and vocally keeps on impressing the music industry and her each album and tour are a success. She collaborated with numerous artists and even starred in the soundtracks of numerous movies. For instance, “Young and Beautiful” for the Great Gatsby, “Don’t Call Me Angel” for Charlie’s Angels, “Season of the Witch” for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark are all examples of tracks she made for movie soundtracks. Her latest album Norman F****** Rockwell was a huge success and she is up for the Album of the Year Grammy, with all of her effort and success, we can clearly say that she is the nominee deserving the win, fingers crossed!
4. Adele
Even though she is not present a lot in the music scene nowadays, she is and has always been a gem in music. Her 2 albums that came out this decade, 21 and 25, were of high importance for the music industry. Winning 13 Grammy Awards this decade was the cherry on top of her success in the music industry and proved Adele to be one of the most influential artists, with only 2 albums coming out this past decade. With each album winning more than 5 Grammy awards, her impact still persists in the music industry and we hope she’ll get back as soon as possible to snatch more of those Grammys with new songs.
3. Ariana Grande
What a glow up! She became known as the spacy, bubbly and red-haired Cat Valentine as soon as “Victorious” premiered on Nickelodeon in 2010. Just after three years, Ariana Grande debuted with her first studio album, “Yours Truly” which included sounds from R&B, retro pop and doo-wop. A year later, she dropped “My Everything” featuring superstars’ first hits: “Problem” which was a collaboration with Iggy Azalea and iconic “Break Free”. As years passed by, she has demonstrated her place in the industry through her popular albums: “Dangerous Woman” which portrayed Grande as a budding feminist and an unstoppable streaming force, “Sweetener” which won the best pop vocal album award at the Grammys and with “Thank U, Next” she turned a string of tragedies into her most intimate and personal project and earning Grande a Grammy nomination for album of the year.
2. Beyoncé
Where do we even start? Queen B had a busy decade. She released three studio albums: 4, the self-titled (Beyoncé) and Lemonade which redefined the standards for the genre. The past 10 years have been the most vigorous for Beyoncé in her two-decade-long career. Not necessarily in terms of sales, neither awards, but personal and artistic growth. Through her albums and live performances (including her Coachella performance, or should we say Beychella?) she proved the icon she is, demonstrating that sales don't always designate what music is the most impactful. Not only did Beyoncé reveal private information about her life on "Lemonade," but she was not afraid to be natural, political, and blatantly black. Her fans saw a naturally private woman sharing parts of herself, her beliefs, and her life that fans had only dreamt about.
1. Taylor Swift
Many people see Taylor Swift as a global superstar when she is a lot more than that. Before being a singer, she is a businesswoman, a songwriter and an activist. She started her musical journey with her self-titled debut album, Taylor Swift. With her sophomore album, Fearless, she was the youngest artist to win the album of the year at the Grammy Awards. Even though Fearless was released in 2008, Swift became a global phenomenon over the course of 2010s. Many saw her as someone they could see themselves in as they navigated their own lives and romances. She demonstrated her songwriting ability as her entirely self-written album, Speak Now, spent 137 weeks on Billboard Hot 200. In 2012, she released “Red”, an album that redefined the country music. Swift was never afraid to try new sounds, as she completely transitioned from country to pop with 1989. 1989 soon after became the most awarded pop album in the history. Moreover, “1989" also earned Swift another album of the year win at the Grammys, making her the first woman to ever be honored with that award twice. She continued her artistic growth with “reputation” addressing the unnecessary drama she was involved in by taking over the narrative. Last year she released “Lover”, her most political album up to date. She was always outspoken whether it was addressing the double standards in the industry or standing up for the sexual assault she experienced and supporting the #MeToo movement.