Many people think about a singing career every year, but not everyone succeeds in achieving success and fame among listeners. Why not? Some lack experience, some lack perseverance, but how do famous singers reach such heights? Here are the most popular musicians of the 21st century and their story of how they got there.
Beyoncé
The American R’n’B singer has been involved in various music competitions since a young age and was active in her school’s amateur music scene. Knowles received her first recognition as the lead singer of the female vocal group Destiny’s Child. After splitting up, she started a solo career, releasing several hit songs ‘Crazy in Love’ and ‘Baby Boy’. Her songs became popular in 2003, and in 2006, she began actively developing her solo career. To date, Beyoncé has successfully won 6 Grammy nominations with her songs and broke the record by becoming the youngest and most awarded contestant with 32 statuettes. In 2019, the girl became the highest paid musician according to Forbes magazine and now her musical compositions ‘Déjà Vu’, ‘Irreplaceable’ and ‘Beautiful Liar’ are popular all over the world.
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran is a popular British singer, actor and sound artist who rose to success in 2011 with the single ‘The A Team’. This track reached the third place in the British chart and opened the listener to a new talented singer. In January 2017, Ed Sheeran released the song “Shape of You”, which reached number one in sales in the US. Ed’s talent has been noticed since childhood, the boy sang in a church choir from the age of 4 and by 11 he had already learned to play the guitar well. As a teenager he repeatedly appeared in the National Youth Theatre in London, where he successfully auditioned and joined their production of Frankenstein. Today Ed Sheeran is included in lists of famous musicians and occupies the honorable second place. His famous compositions include Songs I Wrote with Amy, Best Part of Me and Bam Bam.
Rihanna
Rihanna, aka Robin Rihanna Fenty, is considered not only a popular Barbadian singer but also a music producer. Already at the age of 16 the young singer decided to move to the USA to start her solo career. The girl grew up influenced by reggae music and started singing on her own when she was 7 years old. In December of 2003, the American producer Evan Rodgers moved in next door, to whom she came for an audition together with the other girls and outshone them with her incredible voice. Then the girl sang a cover of Destiny’s Child’s song “Emotion” and was offered a contract. The singer’s first single was the song “SOS”, after which Rihanna recorded a studio album including “Only Girl (In the World)”, “What’s My Name?” and “S&M”. To date, the girl has become the best-selling artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart. At the end of 2018, Rihanna became the highest-paid singer in the world, thanks to the composition “Diamonds”.
Taylor Swift
American singer Taylor Swift has joined the ranks of celebrities attracting the public with her outspoken song lyrics. The girl became a 12-time Grammy winner of the most award-winning country and pop albums. The singer began her career by meeting Lil Rose, who helped Taylor with writing lyrics. Rose herself said that this was the easiest collaboration, as she was more of an editor. The first composition was the song “Tim McGraw”, thanks to which the International Songwriters Association of Nashville honored the girl as the best performer and author of the year. Taylor Swift became the youngest female singer in the Best New Artist category. She is one of the most in-demand female singers, whose 5 albums have sold over a million copies in the USA. Famous compositions of the singer include such singles as “Back to December”, “Mean”, “The Story of Us”, “Sparks Fly”.
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande has been a popular singer and actress since her childhood. The girl began a professional career in show business in 2008, taking part in a Broadway musical called “13. Ariana starred in the TV series “Victoria the Victorious” and took part in the recording of the soundtrack. It was from this period of time that her music career began to develop. With the song ‘My Everything’ the girl made her debut and reached the top of the charts. Her album was acclaimed with many hits: “Problem”, “Break Free”, “Bang Bang” and “Love Me Harder”. Ariana Grande is currently recording tracks with Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and other popular artists. In April Grande recorded ‘Met Him Last Night’ with Demi Lovato and even launched her own cosmetics line.
Adele
British singer Adele is the winner of 15 Grammys, as well as an Oscar and a Golden Globe award. Back in 2011, Adele released her first debut album, which was positively received by the critics. The singer has successfully gained the love of the public and was voted BBC Sound of 2008’s New Artist of the Year. Adele’s success was influenced by her studies at the London School of Performing Arts and Technology. Two months after graduating, she published two of her songs, “Chasing Pavements” and “Hometown Glory,” in the fourth edition of the online art magazine PlatformsMagazine.com. In 2012, Set Fire to the Rain topped the US national charts and Billboard’s Hot 100. Today, the acclaimed artist sells more than a million digital copies of her album per week.
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber rounds out a selection of the best music artists, who is not only a songwriter of his own, but also an actor. Originally, Bieber was Scooter Braun’s manager and helped him publish videos on the YouTube platform. Later, the guys came to a joint label, Raymond Braun Media Group. Their first studio track was ‘Under the Mistletoe’. In 2016, Bieber was able to pick up the annual Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. Justin has not only been seen performing, but has also been featured in many films. To date, he has posted a post on his social media where he shared with fans his illness – Ramsay Hunt type 2 syndrome. Half of his face is paralysed, so he no longer performs or gives concerts. Fans are very upset, but nothing is stopping them from listening to tracks already released – “Bad Day”, “All Bad”, “PYD”, “Roller Coaster”, “Change Me” and others.