Many people acquired the notion that a diva was a difficult person—someone who was just interested in themselves and not interested in others. However, opera is where the word “diva” first appeared. A divo was the male equivalent to a diva, who played the female lead. Here, you are referring to a pop diva. According to the Oxford Dictionary, it is simply “a famous female singer of popular music.” The Top 5 pop divas from the 1980s are listed below.
1. Madonna
In the 1980s, The Material Girl had 17 Top 10 hits. On the Billboard Hot 100, “Like a Virgin,” “Crazy for You,” “Live to Tell,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” “Open Your Heart,” “Who’s That Girl,” and “Like a Prayer” all reached the top spot. In 1978, Madonna relocated to New York to pursue a dancing career. In 1983, she released an album of the same name, and the song “Lucky Star” peaked at number ten. She later created Maverick, an entertainment firm with a record label, a film division, a television production company, a book publishing company, and a music publishing section after making appearances in films. Madonna is the most successful female music artist of all time, with more than 300 million albums sold worldwide.
2. Whitney Houston
“Saving All My Love for You,” “How Will I Know,” and “Greatest Love of All,” all No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, were created by Whitney Houston for her debut album. Whitney’s follow-up album outperformed her first one with four of its tracks reaching the top spot: “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” “Didn’t We Almost Have It All,” “So Emotional,” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go.” Through the 1990s, Houston maintained the same level of popularity and set a global sales record of more than 220 million albums, earning the nickname “the voice.”
3. Paula Abdul
Four No. 1 singles came from Forever Your Girl: “Straight Up,” “Forever Your Girl,” “Cold Hearted,” and “Opposites Attract.” To be safe, the lead single, “(It’s Just) The Way That You Love Me,” reached its highest peak at position three. Paula Abdul was found by the Jacksons while she was a Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader. She was hired to choreograph the song’s music video, “Torture.” The dance sequence using the enormous piano in the Tom Hanks film Big was choreographed by Abdul, who later worked with Janet Jackson. Later, in the 1990s, she had additional significant hits.
4. Janet Jackson
With singles like “What Have You Done For Me Lately,” “Nasty,” “Control,” “Let’s Wait Awhile,” and “Rhythm Nation,” Janet Jackson originally became popular in the 1980s. She began her career as a child actress and started putting out songs in 1982. She topped the Billboard Hot 100 with the songs “When I Think Of You” and “Miss You Much.” In the 1990s and 2000s, she kept on scoring significant hits. Jackson has amassed a record of awards that is too extensive to mention, with global album sales of more than 100 million.
5. Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper’s breakthrough single, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1983), peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The follow-up song “Time After Time” reached the very top. The songs “She Bop” and “All Through the Night” reached the Top 5. Back at the top thanks to “True Colors” In the 1980s, Lauper achieved a total of eight Top 10 hits. She has more than 50 million albums sold globally and is a Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award winner. 2014 saw Lauper’s induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.