Today's countdown focuses on the area of the world where true globalness is usually achieved: mainland Europe.
With dozens of languages and cultures, penetrating this area of the world as an artist is a true sign of global relevance.
The singles charts of 16 countries have been analyzed, each having equal weight. Some countries have been grouped so the result tables fit in the thread.
DE = Germany
FR = France
IT = Italy
ES = Spain + Portugal
NL = Netherlands + Belgium
CH = Switzerland
AT = Austria
NO = Norway + Sweden
DK = Denmark + Finland
GR = Greece
RU = Russia + Ukraine
Sources:
http://top40-charts.com/ for Portugal, Greece, Russia, Ukraine
http://hitparade.ch/ network for all other countries
Artists get credit for their features (as long as they're in the "artist" field at the source).
Scoring: A week at #1 = 2.0, #2 = 1.9, #3 = 1.8, ..., #20 = 0.1
Bonus for the elders: +50% 1950-1975, +25% 1976-1995 (to make it a bit fairer due to limited data in earlier decades)
No one hit wonders or local artists: at least 2 singles, and the artist must have charted in at least 4 countries.
Final top 150:
1. Madonna
2. Rihanna
3. Shakira
4. Michael Jackson
5. Britney Spears
6. Eminem
7. Black Eyed Peas
8. David Guetta
9. Lady Gaga
10. ABBA
11. The Beatles
12. Pitbull
13. Cliff Richard
14. Christina Aguilera
15. P!nk
16. Elvis Presley
17. Jennifer Lopez
18. Elton John
19. Adele
20. The Rolling Stones
21. Bee Gees
22. Boney M
23. Céline Dion
24. U2
25. George Michael
26. Enrique Iglesias
27. Katy Perry
28. Beyoncé
29. Flo Rida
30. Bryan Adams
31. Robbie Williams
32. Whitney Houston
33. Backstreet Boys
34. Anastacia
35. Kylie Minogue
36. Roxette
37. Mariah Carey
38. Depeche Mode
39. Sweet
40. Queen
41. Bruno Mars
42. Snap!
43. Nelly Furtado
44. Justin Timberlake
45. Maroon 5
46. Bon Jovi
47. Phil Collins
48. Shaggy
49. Pet Shop Boys
50. Timbaland
51. Akon
52. Rod Stewart
53. Scooter
54. will.i.am
55. Alicia Keys
56. Tina Turner
57. Cher
58. 2 Unlimited
59. Dr. Alban
60. Modern Talking
61. Coldplay
62. Usher
63. Ace Of Base
64. David Bowie
65. Tom Jones
66. Olivia Newton John
67. Rednex
68. Pussycat Dolls
69. Sean Paul
70. Spice Girls
71. Ricky Martin
72. DJ Bobo
73. Kim Wilde
74. Smokie
75. UB40
76. Prince
77. Eros Ramazzotti
78. Falco
79. Middle Of The Road
80. A-Ha
81. Sia
82. Metallica
83. Mika
84. Gwen Stefani
85. Paul McCartney
86. Slade
87. Kelly Rowland
88. Creedence Clearwater Revival
89. 50 Cent
90. Wham!
91. George Baker Selection
92. Donna Summer
93. Blue
94. Stevie Wonder
95. Taio Cruz
96. Destiny's Child
97. Dido
98. Janet Jackson
99. Las Ketchup
100. Evanescence
101. Ke$ha
102. Crazy Frog
103. DJ Ötzi
104. Coolio
105. R. Kelly
106. Guns N' Roses
107. James Blunt
108. Bruce Springsteen
109. Aqua
110. Calvin Harris
111. Jay-Z
112. Leona Lewis
113. LMFAO
114. O-Zone
115. Lionel Richie
116. Michel Teló
117. Sandra
118. Blondie
119. t.A.T.u.
120. Tiziano Ferro
121. Status Quo
122. Will Smith
123. Take That
124. Snoop Dogg
125. Haddaway
126. Vengaboys
127. Milli Vanilli
128. OneRepublic
129. Demis Roussos
130. U96
131. Culture Beat
132. Nelly
133. PSY
134. Sugababes
135. Kinks
136. Avril Lavigne
137. Carly Rae Jepsen
138. Wyclef Jean
139. Electric Light Orchestra
140. Shakin' Stevens
141. Ne-Yo
142. Neneh Cherry
143. The KLF
144. East 17
145. Nena
146. Baccara
147. The Rasmus
148. Nightwish
149. Eiffel 65
150. Duran Duran
