That's not really the best way to rank "Pop Stardom" at all...

The list is unnecessary. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the level of "pop stardom" that Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson reached, has not been matched before or since.

Did they mean ultimate ranking of stanism?

LOL! Mariah Carey's hits were all front-loaded by Sony. But even so, this list is made up with with some crazy methodology. When Mariah's career is in the gutter, she finds a way to pay news outlets to call her things like "Biggest pop star of all time" and "Greatest female artist of the century.

Her music

These types of lists only further prove that number ones, chart positions, and sells really do not matter or determine how much of an impact an artist has made. Mariah was successful and was a great singer but she is no where more successful or has made a bigger impact than MJ, Beatles, Elvis. The fact that she is number one is laughable.

mjscarousal said:

These types of lists only further prove that number ones, chart positions, and sells really do not matter or determine how much of an impact an artist has made. Mariah was successful and was a great singer but she is no where more successful or has made a bigger impact than MJ, Beatles, Elvis. The fact that she is number one is laughable.

this list looks like it was voted on by a bunch of 9 year olds. To be honest as much as i liked Mariah the first part of her career I still would not consider her OVERALL an influence, or has having that much of an impact, she was a pop star with a bunch of HITS, ok we get that, but you know GIRLS ALOUD over in the UK had the same amount of hits and really probably the same influence as now there are a ton more UK girl groups and also american ones to that are a direct influence of that, just like X tina and Ariana are off shoots of MC it doesnt mean she has had impact on the scale of a Beatles, Elvis, Chuck Berry Motown, MJ, Springsteen Elton, Pearl jam, nirvana etc....MC despite a list of hits and tons sold has had very very little impact and WILL not stand the test of time on her own, it will take lists like these to keep reminding us of who and what she did, to me if you need reminder u didnt make an impact.

lastdecember said:

phillymonster said:

LOL! Mariah Carey's hits were all front-loaded by Sony. But even so, this list is made up with with some crazy methodology. When Mariah's career is in the gutter, she finds a way to pay news outlets to call her things like "Biggest pop star of all time" and "Greatest female artist of the century.

So? Beyonce is paying people to use the media to spoon feed the public bold-faced lies about how wonderful and amazing she is and how no one ever has or ever will have more talent than she does so there is no reason why other people can't do the same.

Message deleted--I said something stupid.

[Edited 9/1/14 16:39pm]

3000 said:

I guess you all are butt hurt youre treasured artists didn't top the list

Mariah has 18 #1 hits, and has sold over 200 million records. Two of her albums, Daydreaming and Music Box have each sold 25 million+ WW, Prince, Led Zepp, or David Bowie werent doing those numbers at their peak , shes a legend now deal

3000 said:

That subject is therefore subjective and is open to opinions. Regadless lists like these mean nothing at the end of the day, unless their objective

Then if all opinions are subjective why are you acting pressed about people's opinions? Whether someone has criticism or not they are entitled to say whatever they want.

MotownSubdivision said:

3000 said:

I guess you all are butt hurt youre treasured artists didn't top the list Mariah has 18 #1 hits, and has sold over 200 million records. Two of her albums, Daydreaming and Music Box have each sold 25 million+ WW, Prince, Led Zepp, or David Bowie werent doing those numbers at their peak , shes a legend now deal

Lol if you think record sales and number of hits are the deciding factors of whether or not an artist is a legend. And that's not to say Mariah is not a legend (she is) but actually using record sales and hits as the basis for your argument and then using that to not only compare her to bigger legends in music but to imply that that's what makes her better than said legends is laughable. [Edited 9/1/14 18:16pm]

THIS.

PeRecord sells, awards, popularity as well as chart positions do not make you a legend. What makes someone a legend is their impact, their innovations, their contributions, their influence, their music etc. If chart positions was the deciding factor on what made an artist a legend than I guess Marvin Gaye and Prince ain't shit compared to Rihanna We will see who the real legends are when their music is still playing 30 years from now like they do Marvin and Prince.

I love some of Mariah's music, but everybody who has ever worked in the music industry know that several of her supposed "chart hits" were manipulated by Sony and Tommy Motolla. Her songs were practically given away at a time most singles went for $2.00 or more. Her constant bragging about having more number one hits than any artist is laughable. Can you name all of them? No, because many of them weren't really hits.

In the 1980s and before, it was much harder to fake a hit. There was payola, but it wasn't as relevant as it was in the 1990s. Comapring the way songs charted in the 1990s and beyond to the way songs charted in the 1960s to 1980s is very irresponsible.

In terms of album sales, Mariah's were heavily manipulated as well. "Butterfly" and "Rainbow" were WAY overshipped. It was a huge story at the time. Mariah likes to constantly pay people to call her the greatest selling artist in the history of music, but here are the facts from the RIAA. She isn't even CLOSE:

http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinum.php?content_selector=top-selling-artists

mjscarousal said:

3000 said:

lastdecember said:

mjscarousal said:

These types of lists only further prove that number ones, chart positions, and sells really do not matter or determine how much of an impact an artist has made. Mariah was successful and was a great singer but she is no where more successful or has made a bigger impact than MJ, Beatles, Elvis. The fact that she is number one is laughable.

this list looks like it was voted on by a bunch of 9 year olds. To be honest as much as i liked Mariah the first part of her career I still would not consider her OVERALL an influence, or has having that much of an impact, she was a pop star with a bunch of HITS, ok we get that, but you know GIRLS ALOUD over in the UK had the same amount of hits and really probably the same influence as now there are a ton more UK girl groups and also american ones to that are a direct influence of that, just like X tina and Ariana are off shoots of MC it doesnt mean she has had impact on the scale of a Beatles, Elvis, Chuck Berry Motown, MJ, Springsteen Elton, Pearl jam, nirvana etc....MC despite a list of hits and tons sold has had very very little impact and WILL not stand the test of time on her own, it will take lists like these to keep reminding us of who and what she did, to me if you need reminder u didnt make an impact.

I like Mariah but I agree. She is without a doubt successful, influential and was a very talented singer. She also has a handful classics that she even wrote herself. I actually think she is pretty underrated as a songwriter. I also think she deserves her success. However, I think she deserves to be called an Icon more so than "legend". The media exaggerates her impact in my opinion. I do think she is one of the best pop singers in terms of vocals but if you were to ask people on the street if they could name all her 18 number one singles would they be able to? Maybe probably 4 or 5. They would be able to name multiple songs from Michael or Whitney though who are further down than her. That's why these list really don't mean anything in the long run because they really do not reflect what songs are classics and what songs are not.

MotownSubdivision said:

3000 said:

That subject is therefore subjective and is open to opinions. Regadless lists like these mean nothing at the end of the day, unless their objective

Objectively speaking, Mariah was never bigger than The Beatles, Michael, Janet, Whitney, or Madonna. This list is objective however it subjectively uses a objective variable that has no bearing on what is being asked. It isn't a poll where fans voted on who they think is the biggest star of all time, it's an analysis that uses a variable that is objectively wrong to use for what is being determined. Yes, the list means nothing and holds as much weight as a wet paper bag but it's pretty sad seeing an established periodical like Time being responsible for such a one dimensional analysis of what makes a star.

^I don't think anyone implied that she didn't make a impact but just arguing that her impact is often exaggerated. For instance, I don't think she deserves to be lumped with MJ or Stevie in terms of impact. I think she made an impact in terms of vocals but I wouldn't say it was a HUGE impact. There were vocal powerhouses before her i.e. Whitney so it is not like she was bringing something innovative to the game. I insisted that she was influential and acknowledged her accomplishments so not sure what your point is. You don't have to put down Janet to big Mariah up .Janet has succeeded in areas Mariah has not as well.

mjscarousal said:

phillymonster said:

LOL! Mariah Carey's hits were all front-loaded by Sony. But even so, this list is made up with with some crazy methodology. When Mariah's career is in the gutter, she finds a way to pay news outlets to call her things like "Biggest pop star of all time" and "Greatest female artist of the century.

THIS