Top 10 Billboard’s biggest female artists of the 21st century

A few days ago Billboard announced some of the biggest female artists of the 21st century. Billboard has rounded up 100 of the best and most talented women from all over the world. The women included in this list are world-renowned for their musical talent and flair for performance.

Additionally, the ranking made by Billboard is not solely based on their talent. The numbers, awards, nominations, and world tours are also some of the factors that have been taken into consideration.

Have a look at the top 10 female artists from Billboard's extensive list of 100 biggest female artists of the 21st century. See if you can spot any of your favorites in the top 10.

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Top 10 biggest female artists of the 21st century on Billboard's list

Have a look at the top 10 women who have made the biggest impact during the 21st century in the music industry. The artists are arranged in ascending order.

Taylor Swift

It makes sense that Taylor Swift stands at the top of the list. The Tortured Poets Department singer has earned numerous awards under her belt. Starting with her studio albums, Swift has recorded 11 studio albums and re-recorded four of them in the last four years.

She does not only have an extensive discography, but even her filmography is impressive. This includes both films and her own documentaries. Taylor Swift has recently been the talk of the music industry because of her record-breaking world tour known as The Eras Tour which lasted from March 2023 till December 2024.

As for her awards and achievements, Swift has been nominated for a total of 1,623 nominations for different awards and has a total of 755 wins.

Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty is another force of nature in the music industry, as well as the beauty and fashion world. Rihanna has established herself as a businesswoman who owns Fenty, the fashion company, and Fenty Beauty. Although Rihanna isn't as active in the music industry as she once was, she is still regarded as the second-biggest female musician of the twenty-first century.

In 2016, Rihanna released her latest studio album. Rihanna is seen experimenting and adding more films to her repertoire in recent years. In terms of numbers, Rihanna has garnered 479 nominations and a total of 184 wins.

Beyoncé

With numerous reinventions over the years, Queen Bey stands third on Billboard's list of the biggest female artists of the 21st century. She is considered to be the best-selling music artist of all time and is also the only female artist who has achieved the feat of debuting all of her eight albums at no.1 on the US Billboard 200.

Beyoncé has a total of 8 solo studio albums, the latest being Cowboy Carter, which was released in 2024. She also has 5 studio albums with Destiny's Child, one with The Carters, and a soundtrack album for The Lion King: The Gift. She has garnered up to 1,349 nominations as a solo artist and won 742 awards.

Adele

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, who is more popularly referred to as Adele, stands in fourth place among the biggest female artists of the 21st century. She holds 16 Grammy Awards in total and is a 12-time Brit Awards winner. To add to the list, she also has an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award.

Adele last released music in 2021, however, she remains in the top 10 list because of her sheer talent. Regarding her achievements, Adele has had a total of around 760 nominations and 539 wins.

Katy Perry

The Teenage Dream singer and American Idol judge is also on the list of Billboard's biggest female artists of the 21st century. She has also inherited the nickname "Queen of Camp" from Rolling Stone and Vogue. Perry's latest studio album is called 143 (2024) and has a total of seven studio albums so far.

Regarding Katy Perry's achievements, she has been nominated 351 times and has won a total of 108 awards.

Lady Gaga

Mother Monster, as her fans like to call her, has recently released her latest studio album called Mayhem. Gaga has released a total of five studio albums so far, four soundtrack albums for different films, and has dabbled in a lot of acting roles as well.

Lady Gaga has been nominated for 950 awards so far and has taken home a total of 417 awards to date.

P!nk

Ever heard of Alecia Beth Moore-Hart? No? You may recognize her by her stage name P!nk. P!nk's latest album called Trustfall was released in 2023. She even went on the Trustfall Tour from 2023 to 2024 all over the United States and Canada. Hart has a total of 9 studio albums and has collaborated with various well-known female artists over the years.

Back in 2013, she was named Woman of the Year at the Billboard Women in Music. P!nk has had over 250 nominations and has collected up to 136 awards throughout her music career.

Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande's fame started all the way back in 2008 when she starred in Nickelodeon's shows Victorious and Sam & Cat. Her music career blossomed in 2013 when she released her first studio album, Yours Truly. Fast forward to today, Grande has released a total of 7 studio albums so far, and the Wicked: The Soundtrack with her colleague Cynthia Erivo.

Grande's fame was recently boosted by her role as Glinda in the Wicked musical. She has won numerous awards for both her discography and filmography. She has a total of 801 nominations and 307 wins so far.

Miley Cyrus

Child actor Miley Ray Cyrus grew up following the footsteps of her singer/songwriter father, Billy Ray Cyrus. Miley Cyrus currently holds the 9th position in Billboard's top 10 biggest female artists of the 21st century. Miley Cyrus rose to fame as Hannah Montana, a Disney character who lived a double life.

It would not be fair to exclude Hannah Montana's discography from Miley's work. So, in total, Miley has a total of 5 soundtrack albums as Hannah Montana and 8 studio albums as Miley. She has a total of 419 nominations and 131 wins in her bag.

Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys was signed by Columbia Records at a very young age. She started composing when she was just 13 years old. Over the years, Keys grew into a fully trained pianist and singer. She has collaborated with big names in the music industry including Jay Z, Usher, Timbaland, Kanye West, and more. At the moment, Keys is the 10th biggest female artist of the 21st century in Billboard's list.

The last studio album released by Keys was back in 2022 and it was called Santa Baby. It was her ninth studio album but her first Christmas album. Her last tour was in 2023, the Keys to the Summer Tour, which lasted for three months.

Alicia Keys has quite a few achievements under her belt as well. She has collected 18 Grammy Awards, 5 American Music Awards, 9 Billboard Music Awards, and more. The total number of times Alicia Keys has been nominated is 791 and she has recorded a number of 274 wins.

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These are Billboard's biggest female artists of the 21st century. Their works are not only highlighted through their talent but also the numerous awards they have received over the span of their careers.