Billboard's Top Female Singles Artists of the 1980s

And to think Cyndi - with her millions - is hogging a rent-controlled apartment in NYC.

"Ms. Lauper went to court recently to get her US$3,250 rent lowered to US$508 for a suite in a building where some units rent for US$10,000. The judge said she was being too ambitious, but the singer, whose hits include Girls Just Want to Have Fun, still came away with permission to pay only US$989."

I do not like Gloria Estefan or that holier than thou Diana Ross

What’s interesting about that list is each of those artists is so different and unique. Each one had a very distinctive style that couldn’t be mistaken for any of the others.

Uh not really r3

Diana Ross and Donna Summer

Olivia Newton-John and Sheena Easton

Madonna and Cyndi Lauper

Kinda surprising ONJ managed to be above Janet, considering her last top 10 hit was in 1983. I guess Physical helped a lot.

R5 yes physical was #1 for ten weeks, Magic was #1 for four weeks plus, Xanadu, Make a Move on Me, Heart Attack and Twist of Fate which peaked in the top 10 in January 1984. Plus other top 40 songs, Suddenly, Soul Kiss, etc.

Diana Ross and Donna Summer were from different planets, musically.

R5 what’s the big deal Olivia’s 80s big hits were 80-84.

Janet’s were 86-89.

That list is PRESSED!

Some gays who were not around in the 80s fail to realize just how popular Olivia was, especially in the early 80s.

Only 2 of those artists had early AND late 80s hits

Sheena Easton

Donna Summer

Shrena “Morning Train (9 to 5) in 1981 & The Lover In Me 1989

Donna The Wanderer 1980 and This Time I Know It’s For Real 1989

No Stevie Nicks, Tiffany, Laura Branigan, Belinda Carlisle, Samantha Fox, Jody Watley, Taylor Dayne, Aretha Franklin, Cher,.

NO QUEEN BEY???

Gurl. Hell no.

She *literally* invented 80s music.

Gloria Estefan is one of the most overrated artists of all time. And her personality is utterly boring.

That being said- I vividly remember her being EVERYWHERE in 1989. I was 10, and her songs played CONSTANTLY on the radio.

I don't want too lose you NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW

FOREVAHHHHHHHHHHH, FOR-EVA-YEAH-YAY-YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Fucking cunt broke all of our car windows with that caterwauling.

Estefan was a great songwriter.

I don't hate Gloria Estefan. I do like many of her songs though most are from her albums with Miami Sound Machine.

Madonna was a whore produced by talented men and women she used.

[quote]Shrena “Morning Train (9 to 5) in 1981 & The Lover In Me 1989

Lover In Me was such a hot jam! My 11 yr old ass used to rock out to it.

R19 you talk about good lovin’ let’s talk about the lover in me (sho-do-wop).

What, so 1983 isn't the early 80's, R11?

I liked all the singles from "The Lover in Me" EXCEPT "The Lover in Me" and, of course, they all tanked. Good thing I don't work for a record company.

R21 not like 1980 & 1981, fool.

It's also not the mid 80s, Jackass.

^^^Fuck off Madonna worshipper.

Hey, what about me? After all, I AM the greatest star!

Hi Babs you didn’t score enough during the 80s to make the list

Janbot will flip when they see the #7 ranking.

[quote] Gloria Estefan is one of the most overrated artists of all time.

Who the fuck is rating Gloria Estefan? 80s Miami Cubans???

Poor JanBot right now.

R28 see r9

I'm surprised Donna Summer made the list. Didn't she only have two or three hit songs in the 80s?

Gloria Estefan has always sucked. She was the queen of that garbage Lite FM/easy listening shit that was so popular in the late 80s and early 90s.

R32 she had several top 40 hits and a few big ones. She Works Hard For The Money was super popular when it came out.

Thanks r34. I can only remember She Works Hard For the Money and This Time I Know It's For Real. I'm blanking on any other songs of hers that were big hits.

Sorry, I meant to say big hits IN THE 80s. God knows Donna had a ton of big hit songs in the 70s.

^^r36 Others are

The Wanderer

Love is in control (finger on the trigger)

I liked Madonna. I liked Cyndi Lauper. I liked Sheena Easton. I liked Olivia Newton-John. I liked Tina Turner. I liked Debbie Gibson. I liked Janet Jackson. I liked Pat Benatar. I liked Donna Summer.

Whitney save for 2 songs made me hurl

Diana Ross was nothing but fluff shit

Gloria Estefan was boring like wallpaper paste.

R38: which two Whitney songs? I ask as a lot of her stuff is quite similar so interesting to know which two stand out vs others making you want to vomit.

I forgot all about Debbie Gibson.

I essentially hated all of Whitney’s sound a like ballads. They were played 24/7 on Adult Contemporary radio stations and caused a certain segment of society (me) to puke. I was a kid and hated drivel like Greatest Love of All. All At Once, etc.

I liked How Will I Know and I Wanna Dance With Somebody. So Emotional was good too.

I like the list except I have never cared much for Cyndi Lauper, but she did have some hits back then.

The Supremes' music stands the test of time. Diana Ross's does not.

Donna had four top ten songs in the Eighties. The Wanderer , Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger), She Works Hard For the Money, and This Time I Know It's For Real.

^^ no fucking shit? You could have scrolled up Einstein

Endless Love was on the charts For Fucking Ever.

Actually, Donna had more than that. On the Radio counted as 1980, since it peaked in '80, and I wonder if they are counting No More Tears and/or Dim All the Lights, both of which were at their peak at the dawn of 1980.

I don't know how Estefan is that high if they are only counting her solo hits and not her songs with MSM.

Diana Ross is a star. Period.

She puts on a fantastic show at 78. She's performing at Radio City tonight.

Check out her album "Baby It's Me" from the 70's. Her album with Nile Rogers is more funk than fluff. James Brown was a fan. He remarked in Interview magazine that she was a unique talent and wanted to produce an album for her that was soulful because he thought she had the goods but needed stronger producers. This was late 70's/early 80's. Sadly it never happened.

^ They must be counting her MSM songs. Her first solo record was in 1989. Seems suspect.

Not sure how reliable this list is after Madonna. There is no source cited and it's not clear what they are ranking--most #1s, most songs overall, most weeks on the charts, etc. Whitney had 11 songs chart in the 80s, and 7 #1s. ONJ had about 14 songs chart, and only 1 #1 (although that one was huge). Sheena Easton had about 20 songs chart, but no #1s. Debbie Gibson had 9 songs chart and 2 #1s. Pat Benatar had 16 songs chart, and no #1s. Donna Summer had about 15 songs chart and no #1s. So that order doesn't make any sense. And if they are going by total weeks on the charts, according to this site (assuming it's accurate), Sheena Easton would be second after Madonna, followed by Pat Benatar:

[quote] ONJ had about 14 songs chart, and only 1 #1 (although that one was huge). Sheena Easton had about 20 songs chart, but no #1s.

You weren't looking very closely. ONJ had two #1s in the 80s (Magic was the other) and Sheena's first hit went to #1 (Morning Train).

I’m impressed that Donna Summer did so well in the 80s when the last few years of the 70s was clearly her heyday, she would probably top the list of 70s female singers or come close. She’s vastly underrated.

Sheena Easton ranking so high is the biggest surprise. Higher than all these too:

[quote]No Stevie Nicks, Tiffany, Laura Branigan, Belinda Carlisle, Samantha Fox, Jody Watley, Taylor Dayne, Aretha Franklin, Cher,.

I would wager to say that Diana Ross, Donna Summer and ONJ are also in the Top 10 for the '70s, along with Cher, Helen Reddy, Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, and of course, Streisand, who I would assume is #1. Maybe Aretha and Roberta Flack rounding out the list?

Poor old Janet Jackson. Never number 1 in anything and now nobody even knows who she is.

Oh, maybe Carole King instead of Aretha or Cher? Tossup. Trying to find the actual list.

[quote]Dionne Warwick has charted 69 times on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, making her the second-most charted female vocalist during the rock era (1955–1999), after Aretha Franklin.

Oh, I found it. Wow, I actually got the Top 10 correct just guessing, but I was wrong about Streisand being #1. ONJ was. I cannot believe that Anne Murray was #11. She had something like thee hits on the pop chart in the '70s.

^^ Three hits, not thee

R56, I am surprised Dionne Warwick didn't make the Top 12 of the 1970s. She certainly had more hits/singles than Anne Murray. And if they count "Then Came You" (her duet with The Spinners, which they should) she also had a #1.

r52 Sheena Easton was a Hot 100 chart staple during the 80s in the USA. Her first US single went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981. She had 14 singles make it into the Billboard Hot 100 top 40 throughout the decade. 8 of those singles made it into the Billboard Hot 100 top 10.

R50, you're right, I was looking at their home country rankings not the US. Sheena is 20/1 and ONJ is 14/2. The list still doesn't make sense, though.

The only one on the 80s list I would argue is Gloria Estefan, and I have a feeling she was miscounted.

I also am mildly surprised at how high Diana Ross is, especially when you compare her to Olivia Newton-John. They had virtually the same trajectory in the 1980s except ONJ had a few bigger hits. I would assume they would be reversed on the list.

And what's hysterical about that is most people are completely unaware that Olivia had a huge career before "Grease", R57.

I remember there was some print beer ad in the 70's with a couple looking at a jukebox and the tagline was Olivia? Brabra? Linda? At least the beer choice is easy. That's how huge Olivia was.

[quote] Brabra?

Was "Shitbra" on the jukebox?

Don’t these lists Billboard puts together take into account number of weeks on the chart, chart position, etc. So someone might have more top 10s than someone else but if they were quick to peak and drop out of the charts they could easily be below someone with fewer high-charting hits if their songs stuck around for longer. They never seem to include actual sales in these lists but that would make more sense too.

"Diana Ross was nothing but fluff shit"

But ONJ and Sheena Easton were so cutting edge and hardcore?

I can't believe Gloria Estefan is #3. Seems like she should be way down the list.

Of course I always thought her music was garbage and I never followed her, so maybe she had more hits than I'm remembering.

Gloria Estefan is garbage....but Debbie Gibson, Olivia Newton-John, and Sheena Easton all make Bob Dylan look like an overrated piece of shit! They're music geniuses!

r69 I'll give you Debbie Gibson but Olivia had some killer songs. Sheena had a few good ones, like For Your Eyes Only, which is one of the best Bond themes.

Does this list go beyond the top 12? I’d like to see where Laura Branigan, Taylor Dayne, Belinda Carlisle, hell, even Juice Newton and Irene Cara, rank. They all had several big hits.

To be fair to Debbie Gibson, Foolish Beat is a great song, especially when you consider she wrote and produced it herself at 16 or younger.

I'd love to see a top twenty too. Predictions?

13. Cher?

14. Belinda Carlisle?

15. Paula Abdul?

Who else?

Anita Baker?

Anita Baker had 4 Top 40 songs in the 80s, and 2 of those reached top 10.

Cher had 5 Top 20 songs, 4 in the top 10.

Belinda Carlisle had 6 Top 40 songs, 3 in the Top 5 and one #1.

Paula Abdul had 4 number ones!

Donna Summer had 8 Top 40s, with 2 Top 5s.

Laura Branigan had 7 Top 40 songs, 3 top 10.

Whitney's 80s success is off just two albums. Madonna had five.

Kim Carnes had 7 songs hit Top 40, 11 if you count duets/trios. One huge #1, of course.

Juice Newton had 7 Top 40s, four of those in Top 10.

Diana Ross had 12 80s top 40s, with 2 big #1s.

Cyndi Lauper had 10, including 2 #1s.

Janet Jackson had 8, also with two #1s.

Pat Benatar reached the top 40 fifteen times, with 4 top 10s.

[quote] Whitney's 80s success is off just two albums. Madonna had five.

Madonna had four: Madonna, Like a Virgin, True Blue, Like a Prayer.

Or am I missing one?

^ Who's That Girl ... soundtrack, I know. But it had 2 singles.

She also had songs from Vision Quest

So that makes it 6 Madonna albums in the 80s

That's not 6 Madonna albums.

A Madonna soundtrack album or a song contribution? There is a difference. If She has 50% or more of the total tracks on the compilation, go ahead and attribute it to her. OTHERWISE it’s an album by various artists.

Yeah, but she had more than one single released from both soundtracks.

Belinda's solo hits =

#1 = Heaven Is A Place On Earth

#2 = I Get Weak

#3 =Mad About You

#7 = Circle In The Sand

"Leave A Light On" just missed the top 10 peaking at #11.

"Summer Rain" peaked at # 30 for 2 weeks.

This chart success should've put her ahead of some of those artists like Donna Summer.

Donna had, in the 80s,

On The Radio

Walk Away

Love is in Control

The Woman in Me

She Works Hard for the Money

There Goes My Baby

This Time I Know It's For Real

As well as the dregs of Dim all the Lights and No More Tears.

As well as those 9 Top 40 hits, she also had a handful of lower rung Hot 100 singles, which Billboard is also counting, so it's not surprising she is ahead of Belinda.

R86, l like Leave A Light On the best out of all of her songs.

r87, you forgot "The Wanderer" (peaked at #3) released in September 1980.

If this list includes Gloria Estefan's hits with Miami Sound Machine, then they should also add the GoGo's hits to Belinda Carlisle's total.

Our Lips Are Sealed - #20

We Got the Beat - #2

Vacation - #8

Head Over Heels - #11

Turn to You - #32

I'm going to guess that Billboard is (erroneously) counting Estefan's over the group billing as solo. First it was just Miami Sound Machine, then Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine, then just Gloria Estefan. If that's the case, then where is Lisa Lisa (with or without Cult Jam and/or Full Force)?

R53 R57 Barbra was always a strong album seller, but her hits were sporadic. Olivia sold less albums, but had a big number of hits during 1973-1983. At one point, she was the most successful solo female singer ever on the Billboard Hot 100.

Olivia sold over 100 million units