1980s
Notable highlights for pop music in the 1980s are Michael Jackson's
second Epic label release, Thriller, which went on to become
the best-selling album of all time. Jackson was the most successful
artist of the 80s, spanning nine #1 singles in the United States
alone during that decade, and selling over 136 million copies
with only two albums — Thriller, and its follow-up Bad.
Since the early nineties, Jackson has been often referred to
and regarded as the "King of Pop".
Another
important artist in the 1980s was Madonna. Considered the Queen
of Pop Madonna have a unique style mixing pop music with different
musical styles such as Techno, electronic and Hip-Hop. The albums
Madonna, Like a Virgin, True Blue and Like a Prayer reached
high positions in Europe and in the USA. The singles “Lucky
Star”, “Like a Virgin”, “Material Girl”,
“True Blue”, “La Isla Bonita”, “Like
a Prayer” and “Cherish” also reached high
positions in the USA and in the UK. She received a diamond certification
for her album Like a Virgin by selling more than 10 million
copies (Totally the album sold 20). MTV awarded her as the Artist
of the Decade.
Prince also made a popular impact in the 1980s, and he was particularly
adored by music critics. A large number of his albums and singles
topped or held prominent positions on the yearly Village Voice
Pazz and Jop Poll including albums 1999, Purple Rain, and Sign
"o" the Times. Songs like "When Doves Cry"
and "U Got the Look" were hits for Prince, as were
songs he penned for others such as "Manic Monday"
(The Bangles) or "I Feel for You" (Chaka Kahn). Other
top-selling artists included Cher, Kim Wilde, Gloria Estefan,
Paula Abdul, Tina Turner, Tiffany, Kylie Minogue, Janet Jackson,Pet
Shop Boys,Olivia Newton-John, Duran Duran, The Go-Go's, Erasure,
Huey Lewis & The News, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Lionel
Richie, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Rex Smith, Cyndi Lauper,
Thompson Twins, Debbie Gibson, a-ha, Modern Talking, David Pomeranz,
Whitney Houston, Juice Newton, Richard Marx, Phil Collins,Laura
Branigan, Talking Heads, Eurythmics, The Bangles, Hall &
Oates, David Slater, Kenny Rankin, George Michael (Wham) and
Rick Springfield The late 1980s saw the rise of the Swedish
pop duo Roxette. Pop music in the 1980s was heavily influenced
by an electronic sound with synthesizers and drum machines,
and dance type music. Now in the present, the 1980s is viewed
as having many one-hit wonders (although the 1990s have just
as many), and the style and fashion sense and "look"
in the music videos has been influenced and has been brought
back in present clothes and style. |
