Originally posted by Lovato

Ashanti in 2002?.....well, the name starts with 'A' but it's...


As for 2012, Carly Rae Jepsen.

Originally posted by DejaVu

1999 - Britney Spears (unquestionable)
2000 - Britney Spears (best selling album of the year by a female and her first album was still in the top 10)
2001 - Alicia Keys/J Lopez (their album sales were nearly even for the year and both ladies were HUGE.
2002 - Avril Lavigne (best selling album by a female that year, Ashanti not even top 10)
2003 - Beyonce (best selling album of the year, male or female)
2004 - Avril Lavigne (best selling album by a female that year, both in the US and WW only behind "Confessions")
2005 - Kelly Clarkson/Mariah Carey(Kelly had the 2nd best selling album by a female behind Mariah, but major endorsements from everywhere and most played radio artist, male or female, according to mediabase for 2005 & 2006. Maria had TWO songs to reach 200 million AI and it was a huge comeback year for her. Her success in 2005 and 2006 alone prompted BB to make her the #1 artist of the decade.)
2006 - Nelly Furtado (best selling album by a female. no one else was even close)
2007 - Carrie Underwood ("Before He Cheats" blew up on radio and was the first major country crossover in years. Won best new artist at the Grammys. Snagged up dozens of other awards. Sold 4 million copies of her debut in one year)
2008 - Rihanna (The Major Success of GGGB didn't really take place until this year where she made her first appearance on the bset selling albums list. This is the year she went from a no name pop star with two "mixtapes" to a radio staple with multiple chart topping hits)
2009 - Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga Both ladies saw a huge breakout on Pop this year. Taylor sold more albums. They got the same amount of awards. Gaga OWNED radio with all of her singles (was it 6 pop #1s from her debut alone?) and Taylor owned radio with "You Belong With Me". Bothe ladies owned the VMAs stage that year.
2010 - Lady Gaga/Katy Perry The Fame Monster and it's singles were inescable for the first half of the year. Gaga had the music industry in the palm of her hands after less than 2 years and the respect of many legends. The second half of the year, Katy took over and was breaking spin count records with all of her singles. I've never seen someone slay so consistently with each radio update and each consecutive single, like Katy did. Taylor Swift may have sold the most albums that year, but she had no presence in the pop world.
2011 - Adele (Crushed the hopes & dreams of every female popstar that year. Single handily saved the music industry.)

There's absolutely no clear winner right now. Adele is still the best selling album, but she has no presence in media or radio anymore. I have a problem giving it to Carly after only one hit (see Leona Lewis). We'll have to wait until awards season and final sales for the year.

Originally posted by jqnetto

Who is Ashanti?

Originally posted by jqnetto

Who is Ashanti?

Originally posted by Music 2005

Worldwide: Nobody really comes to mind...

U.S: Katy Perry or Kelly Clarkson IMO are the only fair answers.

Carly can't be "It Girl" with only one hit just like Leona shouldn't be there because of Bleeding Love...

I say Katy so far because she has had 2 hits while Kelly has only had 1 (So far) P!nk or Ke$ha might take it too

Edit: oh and I forgot Rihanna...she is a contender but she will need another hit as We Found Love is split between 2011 and 2012