I can't at some of the people in here trying to argue for either artist based on their hit counts.
Guys, if you want to consider the hit count of Christina Aguilera's versus Lady Gaga's first four years, stop twisting the numbers in your fave's favour. Laying it out, here are the assumptions.
- All hit singles for each artists within exactly four years from the date of the artist's first release (i.e. NOT the date her first release peaked, hit #1, or so forth) will be counted.
- A hit single is hard to define. We'll say if the song has been met with success or notable impact either commercially or in another way (i.e. Friday by Rebecca Black) in any of the world's major music markets it constitutes a hit (i.e. gone Platinum, reached the top 10 of the main chart, performed very well at a radio format, etc.).
- Group features and otherwise will count towards an artist's hit count. It makes no sense to discredit a hit from an artist just because they performed in a group or duo. It's like saying some of the Beatles hits belongs to John Lennon and Paul McCartney only because they wrote it or "it belongs to them more".
- The major music markets are: The United States, The United Kingdom, Japan, France, and Germany. Flopping in one (i.e. The U.S) but performing well in another does not discredit a song from hit status. Obviously, I take into account the relative sizes of these countries' markets.
Christina Aguilera:
Counting between June 1999 - June 2002 (Four years)
1. Genie In A Bottle
2. What A Girl Wants
3. I Turn To You
4. Come On over Baby
5. * Nobody Wants To be Lonely (ft. Ricky Martin)
6. Lady Marmalade
7. ** Dirrty
8. Beautiful (close enough to June, so I'll include this one as well)
* Denotes significant radio hit. Nobody Wants To Be Lonely was a significant radio hit, peaked quite high and charted well on year-end radio airplay lists.
** Denotes international hit. Dirrty and The Voice Within charted high in many territories around the world.
Therefore, 8 hits. Arguably, her hit count for her first four years ranges between
6 to 8.
Lady Gaga
Counting between April 2008 - April 2011
1. Just Dance
2. Poker Face
3. LoveGame
4. Paparazzi
5. Bad Romance
6. Telephone
7. Alejandro
8. Born This Way
9. * Judas
10. The Edge of Glory (close enough to April, so I'll include this one as well)
* Judas was an international hit and is currently her most viewed Youtube video of the Born This Way era. It has gone 4x Platinum in Australia, charted at #14 Year-End in Japan (a major music market) as well as in the top thirty
year-end in various other territories.
Therefore, 10 hits. Arguably, her hit count for her first four years ranges between
9 to 10.
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I think it's a fair conclusion to say both artists had the same level of popularity in terms of hit treatment and album sales in their first four years. Their album sales have also pretty much been on the same level for their albums within their first four years as well (Christina has around 22.5 million, and Lady Gaga also has around 22.5 million). They have won the same number of Grammy awards (although it's safe to say Lady Gaga and maybe Christina herself may continue to accumulate more).
I'm a fan of both artists, but Lady Gaga just seems to me like a force to be reckoned with not only in pop music, but pop culture as a whole. She
arguably further elevated the expectations of a female in terms of pop music video, created this whole unique image that became the center of popular interest, further developed the trend for electropop/dance music, and became a huge pop star. She's definitely a contender against Rihanna as the "it" girl of our generation, while Christina lost that a while ago to the likes of Britney and Beyoncé. That's why I chose Lady Gaga, because I think in the long run she will have better longevity and a more lasting impact on music and on pop culture.
It's definitely worth saying, though, that both artists have definitely made a large impact during their peaks. What we observe now could easily change later on.
