The 12 most successful female R&B singers of all time
There are many female R&B singers worldwide, some of whom have achieved great fame and inspire their fans worldwide. With their fantastic voices and their very different talents, they are bringing and have brought new music trends and have become role models for many singers. As for the music and the paths some of them have taken. The 12 best, most famous and most successful R'n'B singers are listed below. With their greatest successes or sometimes defeats. Perhaps the most famous comes first.
1. Whitney Houston
One of the most successful singers, but also arguably the most tragic figure in R&B. She died at the age of just 48, destroyed by drugs and alcohol. She started her singing career at the age of just 14 as a solo singer and as a background singer for Chaka Khan. In 1985, her debut album “Whitney Houston” was released and became the most successful and famous debut in the USA. From then on, her career went from strength to strength, with one superlative achievement after another.
She was not only successful as a singer, but also as an actress, gaining a foothold. She became immortal alongside Kevin Costner in “Bodyguard” and the songs she sang in it. The song “I Will Always Love You” and the soundtrack to the film are among her most successful albums.
During her career, she sold over 170 million records, won six Grammys and received around 200 gold, platinum, silver and diamond records. However, her success and divine voice remain legendary despite her untimely death.
2. Beyonce
The singer, born in Houston, Texas in 1981, is arguably the smartest and one of the most famous artists in the music business. She began her career in 1997 in the R'n'B girl group Destiny's Child. During that time, she also launched her solo career. She left Destiny's Child in 2005 and regularly reached number 1 on the American Billboard charts with her solo albums. She is one of the richest and most influential musicians in the world. In addition to over 200 million records sold, she also has 22 Grammys in her collection. Since April 2008, she has been married to the rapper Jay Z, with whom she has worked very successfully on a number of projects.
Her album “Lemonade” was released in 2016. The magazine “Rolling Stone” voted the album number 1 of the 50 best albums on the Billboard charts. In addition to her commitment to the hurricane victims and her work, she is now also a mother of three.
3. Alicia Keys
She was born and raised in New York in 1981. She began her career with individual songs that were released on soundtracks of well-known Hollywood films (Men in Black, Shaft). Her debut album “Songs in a Minor” was released in 2001. The title song went six times platinum in the United States. At the 2002 Grammy Awards, she won five Grammys. One of them was for “Best R&B Female Vocal Performance”. She received this Grammy multiple times. Further awards followed. Her sixth album “Girl on Fire” received the Grammy for Best R&B Album in 2014. She is one of the most popular artists and is also known for her many charitable donations and activities. As a songwriter, she is popular with her colleagues. She has also made a name for herself as an actress. Most recently, she made a guest appearance in two episodes of the music series “Empire”.
Keys is married to the producer and rapper Swizz Beats and has a son with him.
4. Mariah Carey
Her five-octave range has greatly impressed the music industry. She is considered one of the best singers of all time. Born in 1970 in New York State, the singer also attracted attention with her turbulent personal life. Her debut album, Mariah Carey, was released in 1990 and to the top of the Billboard 200 charts in 1991. With a total of 18 number-one hits and over 200 million records sold, Mariah Carey is one of the most successful singers of all time. Her net worth is estimated at around 535 million dollars.
After a few unsuccessful films and separations from her husband and management between 1997 and 2003, she made a sensational comeback in 2005. In addition to her hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, her album “The Emancipation of Mimi” is the most successful of her albums.
She is married to Nick Cannon and has twins with him. It was recently revealed that Carey has long suffered from bipolar disorder.
5. Rihanna
Born in Barbados in 1988, Rihanna is now one of the most popular and successful singers in the R`n`B genre. Her trademark is the fusion of R&B, reggae and dancehall. She really took off in 2005 with her debut album “Music Of The Sun”. The single “Pon de Replay” quickly stormed the charts worldwide. The same goes for the second single “Unfaithful”. She already has eight Grammys in her closet and in 2017 she was the artist with the most online streams worldwide. In addition to eight albums, Rihanna has also been awarded the official Style Icon Award by Vogue and the Council of Fashion Designers. This makes her one of the most famous representatives of fashion and pop culture.
She is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the artist who became the “Best-Selling Download Female Artist in the U.K.” with her single “Umbrella*”. She was in a relationship with singer Chris Brown, who was convicted of assault in 2009.
6. Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez, also known as J Lo, was born in New York in 1969 to parents of Puerto Rican descent. She was a dancer and made a name for herself not only as an R&B singer but also as a serious actress. Her most famous songs worldwide are “Jenny from the Block”, “Love Don't Cost a Thing” and “If You Had My Love”. She has sold more than 80 million records and was honored for her life's work at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. Her biography was released in bookstores that same year. During her musical career, she also released albums in Spanish that reached the top of the Hot Latin Charts. She was one of the first artists to reach number one on the Billboard charts and in the box office at the same time.
But that's not all: she is also very successful as a fashion designer and has her own perfume and cosmetics line. She has been married three times and is the mother of twins.
7. Aretha Franklin
The great lady of R'n'B. The best singer of all time. Everyone bows down to her and her art. Born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1942, she began her career as a gospel singer. In 1956, her first record of gospel songs was released. As early as 1960, her first pop music LP came onto the market. Her most famous song is “Respect”, which made her an icon of black music in the United States. The song became an anthem of the women's movement and was titled as a manifesto of the black liberation movement. She is literally one of the most successful and influential singers of our time. She is the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Because of her extreme fear of flying, she can only be seen live in North America. In 2009, she moved Barack Obama to tears when she sang at his inauguration.
8. Mary J Blige
The singer and songwriter was born in New York in 1971. She has won a total of nine Grammys and sold over 40 million records. Her debut album, “What's the 411?” was released in 1992 and was so successful that it was reissued two years later. Her second album was released in 1994, despite her drug addiction and depression at the time. She has worked with many greats in hip-hop and released her first live album, “The Tour”, in 1998. A total of 13 albums released and a second career as an actress show the class of the artist. Critics agree that her music and singing has become more mature and complex with each release.
9. Diana Ross
One of the great divas of the stage is without doubt the R&B singer Diana Ross, born in Detroit in 1944. She is known to many as the lead singer of the legendary “The Supremes”. They were the first girl group, formed in the 1960s. Their absolute worldwide hit is “Upside Down”, which was played in almost every disco in the world. Their duet “Endless Love” with Lionel Richie also made it to the top of the charts. In addition to their many disco hits, they also released a jazz album that is an insider tip in jazz circles. From 1970 to today, Diana Ross has been touring the world's stages and landing in the top spots on the charts. She was even nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Billie Holiday in the film “Lady Sings the Blues”. She has only received one Grammy, for her lifetime achievements in 2012.
She has five children, is already a grandmother and is a recipient of the “Presidential Medal of Freedom” awarded by the American president.
10. Janet Jackson
Although she was always somewhat overshadowed by her brother Michael Jackson during her lifetime, Janet Jackson has had a stellar career as an R&B singer. Born in Gary Indiana in 1966, she has sold over 160 million records. She started out as a background singer for the Jackson Five. In 1982, she launched her solo career and released her first album. A total of eleven albums have been released to date. The two albums “Control” and “Rhythm Nation” achieved worldwide attention and reached number 1 on the American album charts. She can often be found on stage with other R'n'B singers. She was also part of the charity single “We are the World 25 for Haiti”, in which 80 artists donated the proceeds to the victims of the hurricane in Haiti.
Unfortunately, a series of scandals, multiple changes of record label and mudslinging with the press have pushed her musical achievements into the background. She has also received great recognition as an actress and author. She has a son. Along with her brother Michael, she is the most famous and popular of the Jackson family.
11. Tina Turner
There is hardly an R'n'B singer who brings more energy and voice to the stage than Tina Turner. Born in 1939 in Brownsville, Tennessee, she is definitely one of the most successful and popular singers. Her early life story, especially with her first husband Ike Turner, was marked by violence. They performed together and the song “Notbush City Limits” comes from this time and is still played today. After separating from him and going through a dry spell, her brilliant rise began in the 1980s. The album “Private Dancer” was so successful that she won three Grammys in 1985. This was followed by roles in feature films and the title song for the James Bond film “Golden Eye”. In 2009, she went on tour and thrilled hundreds of thousands of fans. A practising Buddhist, she has released several albums in recent years featuring mantras and Buddhist and Christian chants.
She has since become a Swiss citizen and lives in Switzerland with her husband. Many consider her to be the most popular R&B singer in the world. Turner died on May 24, 2023 in Küsnacht at the age of 83 after a long illness.
12. Toni Braxton
Born in Severn, Maryland in 1967, she was already performing in singing competitions by the age of five. Her career took off at the end of the 1980s with the album “The Braxtons”, which she recorded with her sisters. Her first solo debut “Toni Braxton” was released in 1993 and was an extremely successful album. With over 10 million sales worldwide, she became a star. This number was exceeded with her second album, “Secrets”, which was released in 1996 and sold 12 million copies. With the song “Un-Brake My Heart”, she topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the US for eleven weeks. The following albums were not very successful and Toni Braxton withdrew for health reasons. Since 2011, she has been successful with her reality series “Braxton Family Values” and her eighth album was awarded a Grammy in 2015 for “Best R&B Album”. She has been awarded a total of seven Grammys.