Google's Top Five Most Popular Female Artists
The below graphic displays Google's Top 5 most searched female artists spanning the time period of a little over 9 years. These women have taken the world by storm with their smash singles, batty antics (both on and off stage), outlandish fashion, and controversial music videos. When we look back at pop culture during this time period these will be the women who will be remembered for having left their mark as true superstars in every aspect of the term.
Why the Data Is Important
Since 2004 Google has openly revealed specific detailed data for web searches performed by its users. As the world's most popular search engine, Google receives approximately five billion searches a day making its data the most reliable display of popularity on the web. The web, of course, has became the world's primary source of information retrieval over the last decade. This data represents our interests, as a generation, more accurately than any other source could hope to compile.
In regards to the subject of females in music this can help paint a better picture of who is truly capturing the attention of music listeners and pop cultural enthusiasts. Magazine editors, radio jockeys, and the news tell the public who they want to see, but on the internet it is all up to the consumer to find their content. Another aspect to consider is the music industry crash ironically beginning to take its most devastating toll near the start of this period. People haven't stopped listening to music, but have instead opted to online service such as streaming (YouTube) and illegal file-sharing.
How to Read the Data
When referring to the graphic found above, first look at the line graph at the right. This represents search interest at any given moment since 2004 for these five subjects. You can determine the color line of each subject by noticing the color found next to the name underneath the graph. The scale of the graph is proportionate to the peak interest point of the highest subject. In other words, "100" represents the most searched moment during this time period. A number such as "40", therefore, represents 40% of that interest at a specific point for that subject. Note: the actual given values do not represent the number of searches.
The most important part of the data, at least in relation to this article, is actually found at the bottom of the graphic however. These five women were displayed because they had the five highest average search interests since 2004. Women who debuted after the starting period essentially received scores of "0" for the months of inactivity counted toward their average, which makes these standings even more impressive.
A Breakdown of the Top Five
05. Shakira
The Colombian-born singer, Shakira, shakes in at #5 on the list. Her biggest hit single during this time period was "Hips Don't Lie". She is the rare worldwide superstar who sees just as much as success in the English speaking world as she does Spanish. Her singular most searched month overlapped with her performance at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Africa. Her song, "Waka Waka", was also the official song of the event and went on to become a massive international hit.
04. Beyonce
During this time period Beyonce made a name for herself as a solo artist, breaking off from the hugely successful girl group, Destiny's Child. Her biggest hit came in 2008's #1, "Single Ladies", which was accompanied by a music video that featured a viral dance routine sensation. Beyonce has shown that she is a highly calculated pop superstar who is idolized by audiences young and old. Her singular most searched months overlapped her 2013 Superbowl performance and 2011 VMA baby announcement. She's currently on a world tour, but rumors have been circulating that she's expecting another despite her camp's best efforts to shut them down.
03. Lady Gaga
Why is Gaga #3 as opposed to #4 despite having the same average as Beyonce, you ask? Well, we first noted the fact that she only debuted on the scene in 2008. Then we considered that she had several higher peaking months than her "Telephone" collaborator. Lady Gaga took the world by storm when she debuted on the scene with electro-pop stompers in "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". Her theatrical fashion and on-stage antics have captivated the general public. Aiming to do more than shock and awe her audience, she released the empowering single, "Born This Way", which sparked as much debate over equal rights as it did regarding whether or not it sounded a little too similar to another pop artist's earlier hit. Regardless how you sway on those subjects, surely it is not a surprise to see she landed this high placement. The world is currently awaiting her third full-length studio album set to be released later this year.
02. Britney Spears
Despite coming in behind the next artist, Britney Spears, ironically, may truly be this period's "good girl gone bad". Since her debut, Britney had turned heads with her revealing outfits and suggestive performances, however, around 2006 the calculated character to this attention began to disappear quickly. This came to a head, at the most searched month for any of these artists in February 2007, when photos of a clearly distraught Britney shaving off her hair at a seedy barber emerged. What followed included everything from paparazzi boyfriends, an assault on a vehicle with an umbrella, bizarre British accents accompanied with pink wigs, and, the second most searched moment, a highly criticized 2007 VMA performance.
The following year we would see her sweep the VMAs looking as beautiful as she did at her peak, release a platinum album with several major hits, and offer some insight to the public in a critically acclaimed documentary. Despite all the doom and gloom previously surrounding her, Britney managed to pull herself out of the situation making her the comeback story for this generation. Later, she would judge a talent competition alongside Simon Cowell, go on to two hugely successful world tours, and announce a Las Vegas residency. Britney may have had monumental success as an artist before and after her dark period, but Britney's power to overcome those trials has left a legacy on its own.
01. Rihanna
Rihanna's beginnings read like a fairytale. In 2004, Rihanna was still a fourteen year old girl living on the small island island of Barbados with a relatively poor family. Her father reportedly a drug addict, while her mother supported the family leaving young Rihanna to watch after her siblings. Despite her bleak situation she still dreamed of becoming an internationally known singer, with sighted inspirations from popular divas like Mariah Carey and Shania Twain. The unimaginable did happen however, as it was around this time when Rihanna would get plucked from the island by two producers on vacation after seeing an audition of hers. She shortly was flown to New York where she would get signed on the spot by hip-hop mogul Jay-Z to Def Jam Records.
The following years we would see her develop into a worldwide superstar with a record-breaking pace of hit singles, millions of albums sold, and increasing notoriety among the fashion world. Unfortunately, in 2009 then-boyfriend Chris Brown would viciously assault Rihanna on the way home from a pre-Grammy event igniting an international discussion on domestic abuse and its victims. This event would set the ground-work for a series of events that would draw both criticism and praise for the young singer and those around her.
Rihanna, however, did not allow this event to hinder her popularity nor define her celebrity. She would return with an even more relentless assault of hit singles, albums, high-profile endorsements and world tours. Her second most searched news story came following her 2013 Grammy performance of "Stay", which subsequently sent the song to the top of iTunes. From her music videos, being the most watched female artist on YouTube, to her always controversial Twitter feed, she has built a persona that keeps everyone watching on her own terms.
