25 pop hitmakers who should be your house cleaning soundtrack

Adele cleaned up at the 59th Grammy Awards with 25, her third studio album, and its lead single "Hello"—collecting both album and record of the year—but the 32-year-old had said hello long before then and never looked back. Adele is a 15-time Grammy winner with anthems that inevitably ring around the world as soon as she releases them. It's also worth noting that the London native has worked extensively with pop songwriter extraordinaire Ryan Tedder, who earned his first of three Grammys when 21 was named album of the year in 2011.

Nobody is ruling the charts quite like Ariana Grande right now. Earlier this month, the 27-year-old's Positions became the best-selling album by a woman solo artist in the United States this year. Grande owns 20 Guinness World Records, including five singles debuting atop the Billboard  Hot 100: "Positions," "Thank U, Next," "7 Rings," Rain On Me" (with Lady Gaga), and "Stuck With U" (with Justin Bieber). What's most impressive is that all of those records were released within the last three years, with three dropping in 2020. More still, Positions is her fifth album to top the Billboard 200—along with Thank U, Next (2019), Sweetener (2018), My Everything (2014), and Yours Truly (2013).

The great debate of 1997: Backstreet Boys or NSYNC? You can stand one or the other, but absolutely not both. For those who were (or are still) firmly on Team Backstreet Boy, the memory lane to stroll down while dusting is lined with bangers: "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," "As Long As You Love Me," "I Want It That Way," "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)," and so on. The best news is that AJ, Brian, Howie, Kevin, and Nick have way more recent material after dropping DNA in January 2019. That album landed the Backstreet Boys atop the Billboard 200 for the first time since 2000's Black & Blue.

Queen Bey needs no introduction. In fact, even writing a caption as short as this one is an insult because everybody everywhere should instinctually know Beyoncé Knowles-Carter's biography and discography from front to back. Alas, the most recent accomplishment that cemented the 39-year-old's place in music history came at March's 63rd Grammy Awards, becoming the winningest solo woman in the award show's history with 28. Beyoncé is a hip-hop/R&B goddess through and through—dating back to Destiny's Child, which should also definitely be in your rotation—but she is on this pop-centric list because you can't have a conversation about music without at least mentioning her.

Any time vintage Britney Spears comes on shuffle, it's impossible not to stop what you're doing and start dancing or (probably poorly) singing along. Wait, maybe including Brit isn't conducive to productively cleaning the house—whatever. Take your pick: "...Baby One More Time," "(You Drive Me) Crazy," "Oops!... I Did It Again," "Toxic," or "Womanizer."

Bruno Mars is gearing up to give us even more material with new funk/R&B duo Silk Sonic. which he formed with Anderson .Paak. Their debut single, "Leave The Door Open." has already made a chart-topping mark. But as a solo artist, Bruno has consistently been the standard since 2010. The 11-time Grammy winner has produced three stand-out studio albums: Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010), Unorthodox Jukebox (2012) and 24K Magic (2016). Bruno has twice claimed record of the year, first in 2015 with "Uptown Funk" and again in 2017 with "24K Magic." The 60th Grammy Awards were monumental for him as 24K Magic won album of the year and "That's What I Like" racked up three Grammys, including song of the year.

There is one person who for sure won't agree with Cher's place on this list, and her name is Cher. "I'm not a Cher fan," the 74-year-old said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in September 2018. "I'm really not." Cher then doubled down: "I don't want to listen to (my music). I don't wanna see it." Luckily for her, a significant swath of people have disagreed for decades. "Believe" (1999), "I Got You Babe" (1965), "Dark Lady" (1974), "Half Breed" (1973), and "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" (1971) all topped the Billboard Hot 100—and that's before mentioning "If I Could Turn Back Time."

If you prefer having a movie on in the background instead of music playing—first of all, you've clicked on the wrong list—Cher has Oscar (Moonstruck) and Emmy awards to go with her Grammy. Moonstruck aside, she also starred in Silkwood (1983) and Burlesque (2010).

Way before Christina Aguilera co-starred with Cher in the aforementioned Burlesque, Xtina had a presumed rivalry with Britney Spears around the same time fans were split between Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. Aguilera's self-titled debut album skyrocketed her to mainstream success in 1999 with No. 1 hits "Genie in a Bottle" and "Come On Over (All I Want Is You)." The album's tracklist boasted "Reflection," a definitive element of Disney's Mulan soundtrack, and "What a Girl Wants." 

The five-time Grammy winner continued to make statements with "Dirrty" featuring Redman and the rest of her 2002 Stripped album, followed by a pivot in 2006 with Back to Basics and its lead single "Ain't No Other Man." Aguilera finds ways to remain relevant, either: whether that be through her ninth studio album Liberation —including "Fall In Line" featuring Demi Lovato that was nominated at the 61st Grammy Awards—or lending her vocals to Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" or A Great Big World's "Say Something."

Drake has pulled off—and keeps pulling off—unprecedented musical feats from the moment he dropped his first mixtape in 2006. The 34-year-old made it the norm for rappers to sing, and there is a strong argument that no rapper has successfully merged hip-hop with pop as seamlessly as Aubrey Drake Graham. In 2009, Drake received the king of all rap co-signs when Lil Wayne signed him to his Young Money label. But—and this is in no way a disparagement—Drake has since become at the very least one of the biggest pop stars in the universe. He even partnered with DJ Khaled on last summer's smash single "POPSTAR."

Drake has notched eight No. 1 Hot 100 hits, the third-most this century, and debuted atop the chart four times in his career, and that is tied with Justin Bieber for second all-time behind Ariana Grande's five. Do I need to go on?

Speaking of Canadian-born kings, Justin Bieber reminded everybody that his "Prince of Pop" nickname has never been more valid with Justice, his sixth full-length studio album that arrived March 19. The rollout to the album included singles "Holy" featuring Chance the Rapper last fall followed by "Anyone" on New Year's Day and "Hold On" on March 5. Long before this body of work propelled the 27-year-old to a place only Elvis Presley had occupied before, Bieber became a type of pop star the world had never seen before. Nobody had become globally famous from the internet before Scooter Braun discovered a 13-year-old Bieber on YouTube.

Justin Timberlake peeled off from NSYNC's 2001 "indefinite hiatus" and never looked back. Well, except for the surprise NSYNC cameo during Timberlake's 15-minute 2013 VMAs performance that saw them perform "Girlfriend" and "Bye Bye Bye" together again. The 40-year-old was awarded the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, given to artists as a symbol of lifetime achievement.

Timberlake's solo career began with 2002's Justified, which won best pop vocal album and birthed best male pop vocal performance "Cry Me A River" at the 46th Grammy Awards. He has claimed 10 Grammys overall, dating back to his NSYNC days, including eternal hits "Sexy Back," "My Love," "What Goes Around...Comes Around," "Suit & Tie," and "Can't Stop The Feeling!" In total, the Memphis native has five studio albums—most recently 2018's Man of the Woods, dropping days before his Super Bowl LII Halftime Show performance.

Thank goodness Katy Perry didn't stick to her promise to swear off secular music as a teenager. The American Idol judge will make you feel like you're climbing Mount Everest instead of simply folding a pile of laundry with record-breaking anthems such as "Roar," "Firework,"  "I Kissed a Girl" and "California Gurls." Only Rihanna (14) has more No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 records this century than Perry's nine. Cleaning is absolutely not a "Teenage Dream," but a bubbly Perry soundtrack will make it much more bearable. The 36-year-old's most recent album, Smile, came last August.

Lady Gaga is such a prolific pop star that she even played one on the silver screen, becoming the first woman to claim all five major awards for her portrayal of Ally in Bradley Cooper's 2018 A Star Is Born remake. That soundtrack alone could get the job done here, but as Little Monsters know, Gaga's real-life catalog is way too deep to limit yourself. 

The 12-time Grammy winner made an entrance to the pop arena unlike any other with fashion statements for the ages, but nothing ever overshadowed the music. Gaga's debut studio album, The Fame, was a self-fulfilling prophecy. "Just Dance" and "Poker Face" became her first two of five No. 1 hits. Born This Way (2011), ARTPOP (2013), Joanne (2016), and Chromatica (2020) have equal parts global smashes and deep cuts for days.

Sure, there are much hotter pop artists of the moment right now. There's Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo ushering in a new era of pop from opposite ends of the spectrum, but they perhaps wouldn't be if Madonna hadn't paved the way for women's empowerment. The seven-time Grammy winner has held the Queen of Pop designation for decades. She can't not be on this list. "Like A Prayer," "Like A Virgin," "Material Girl" and "Vogue" are all-timers.

Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine may have just (somewhat peculiarly) declared bands "a dying breed," but Maroon 5 hasn't slowed down at all from their 2002 Songs About Jane  debut album. It seems like a sure bet that a Maroon 5 will be on the radio at any given time, including their most recent collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion "Beautiful Mistakes." In fact, the three-time Grammy-winners have bolstered their staying power by teaming up with the likes of Cardi B ("Girls Like You"), Christina Aguilera ("Moves Like Jagger"), Wiz Khalifa ("Payphone"), Kendrick Lamar ("Don't Wanna Know") or SZA ("What Lovers Do").

The King of Pop registered 13 No. 1 and 30 top-10 smashes in his decades-long career. "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "Man In The Mirror" and "Thriller" are just five of countless Michael Jackson songs with evergreen appeal. The 13-time Grammy winner—one of which was the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010—died by Propofol at 50 years old in June 2009.

Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Justin Timberlake, and Lance Bass only put out four studio albums as NSYNC, but that was enough to earn a spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And it was absolutely enough to provide us a roadmap back to our teen years any time we wish. From 1997 through their 2001 split, NSYNC was inescapable (in all the best ways). From a chart standpoint, the group's most monumental songs were "It's Gonna Be Me," "Bye Bye Bye," "Girlfriend," "Gone," and "Tearin' Up My Heart," but even those only tell a small part of the story.

Alright, one more foray into Boy Band Land. Simon Cowell brought together Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson in 2010 through The X Factor, and for millions of people, life was never the same. The U.K.-based group quickly became citizens of the world by penning pop anthems such as "Story Of My Life," "What Makes You Beautiful" and "Best Song Ever." 

As an added bonus, their August 2015 announcement that One Direction would go on an indefinite hiatus was only the start of five fruitful solo careers. Commercially, Horan (2017's Flicker, 2020's Heartbreak Weather) and Styles (2017's Harry Styles, 2019's Fine Line) have been the most successful on their own. Styles earned his first No. 1 record and first Grammy with "Watermelon Sugar."

Before Pharrell Williams became Pharrell , he climbed the ranks behind the scenes as one of the music industry's best songwriters and producers. The (world's youngest looking) 48-year-old joined forces with his childhood friend Chad Hugo to form The Neptunes, then later, punk/hip-hop group N*E*R*D. Pharrell embodies genre-less music, but he has undoubtedly affected pop music greatly. "Hollaback Girl," for example, Gwen Stefani's only No. 1 hit? Pharrell was there. From a purely pop standpoint, it all culminated with 2013 single "Happy," the best-selling song of 2014. That said, Pharrell produced and wrote on Ariana Grande's 2018 No. 1 album Sweetener and shows no signs of slowing down.

We've covered the King of Pop and the Prince of Pop, but Prince was unbridled royalty across the music and pop culture landscapes. The seven-time Grammy winner had such an overwhelming influence that one nickname wasn't enough: The High Priest of Pop, The Prince of Funk, The Purple One, The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, etc. While "Purple Rain" wasn't one of his five No. 1 Hot 100 songs, it was the namesake of the 1984 film he starred in. And who could ever forget his Super Bowl XLI halftime performance? 

Prince died from an accidental fentanyl overdose in April 2016 at 57 years old. His estate has released two posthumous albums with his 2010 "lost" project Welcome 2 America— the most highly anticipated one—coming July 30.

Rihanna's 14 No. 1 singles are the most by any artist this century, according to Billboard. Beginning with 2005 debut single "Pon de Replay," RiRi has spearheaded the emergence of dance hall and reggae in pop consciousness. Then came "Umbrella," "SOS," "What's My Name" featuring Drake, "Love the Way You Lie" featuring Eminem, "Stay" featuring Mikky Ekko, and "Diamonds." It has been over five years since ANTI (2016), her eighth and most recent studio album, arrived, but the Fenty mogul gave us enough to feed on until she decides to hit the studio again (please, God, soon) with "Work" featuring Drake, "Needed Me" and "Love on the Brain." This is all before mentioning the other Drake-RiRi collaborations, or her dance hits with Calvin Harris ("This Is What You Came For" and "We Found Love").

Taylor Swift pulled off the smoothest lane change in history when she went from country darling to pop force, then during a year where the world was completely shut down by a life-threatening pandemic, the 31-year-old churned out two full-length albums (Folklore and Evermore) that perfectly married her folksy roots with her pop prevalence. Swift's songwriting prowess is unmatched, to the tune of 11 Grammy wins and 41 nominations, and we are her humbled beneficiaries. April 9, she released a rerecorded version of her sophomore studio album Fearless. The project originally dropped in 2008. The 26-track Fearless (Taylor's Version) also gave Swifties six never-before-heard "From The Vault" songs. The nostalgia is real.

Usher—like Beyoncé or Drake or Pharrell earlier on this list—primarily cornered the market in a different genre. The R&B icon, as a result, has a stake in pop. Usher became the hottest R&B artist in the game with nine No. 1 smashes on the Billboard Hot 100. The eight-time Grammy winner really became a widespread influence with 2004's Confessions, one of four No. 1 albums. Usher has given us enough as a solo act, but the 42-year-old doubled down on his history-making by mentoring Justin Bieber from the very baby-faced beginning.

Last month, The Weeknd made history when "Blinding Lights" notched an all-time most 52 weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. "Heartless" and "Blinding Lights" were the lead and second singles respectively for The Weeknd's 2020 After Hours, his fourth No. 1 album. The Starboy crooner further cemented his spot in mainstream lore by performing February's Super Bowl LV halftime show.

Much like Prince's Super Bowl halftime performance, Whitney Houston's Super Bowl XXV national anthem was and will forever be a universally beloved moment. Houston, who died Feb. 11, 2012, from an accidental drowning in her bathtub, was the voice of a generation through hits such as "I Will Always Love You," "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," "How Will I Know," "So Emotional," and many more. The six-time Grammy winner also starred in iconic films The Bodyguard (1992), The Preacher's Wife (1996), and Waiting to Exhale (1995).