While she may not be a household name, Nana Mouskouri has one of the most impressive careers in the industry. During the entirety of her career, she has released 200 albums and singles in more than twelve different languages. Some of the languages include Greek, French, English, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Hebrew, and many more.
She became famous throughout Europe for her song “The White Rose of Athens”, which she recorded in German as “Weiße Rosen aus Athen” as a rendition of her Greek song “Σαν σφυρίξεις τρείς φορές” (Greek for “When you whistle three times”). This soon became her first album to sell more than a million copies.
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj, known professionally as Nicki Minaj, the rapper, singer, and songwriter, was born in Trinidad and raised in Queens, New York City. Minaj has received numerous awards and accolades, including 4 Billboard Music Awards, 4 MTV Video Music Awards, and 10 Grammy nominations. The superstar has sold over 20 million singles as a lead artist, 60 million singles as a featured artist, and 5 million albums worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists in the world.
With all of her accomplishments, it's not surprising that she's also one of the highest-paid women in her genre. Minaj is listed as No. 15 on Forbes Magazine’s Hip-Hop Cash Kings. Besides music, Minaj was a judge on the twelfth season of "American Idol". She is also a philanthropist who has awarded dozens of college tuition scholarships to her fans.
Taylor Swift
Barely a teenager at the time, Taylor moved to Nashville to pursue her music career. Specifically, country music. It wasn't long before she got signed to Big Machine Records, becoming the youngest artist ever signed by Sony/ATV. Her debut album got to number five on the Billboard 200 and spent the most weeks on the chart over any other song in the 2000s.
Her second album, "Fearless", was released in 2008. "Fearless" became the best-selling album of 2009, mostly due to the success of her pop crossover singles. The album won four Grammy Awards, making Swift the youngest Album of the Year winner.
Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson is the youngest child in the Jackson family. She got her career started with the television series "The Jacksons", in 1976. She went on to appear in other shows throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including TV hits such as "Good Times" and "Fame". In 1982, she signed a record contract with A&M Records, and the rest was history. She soon became a world-renowned pop icon.
Her widely known collaborations with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, which incorporated rhythm and blues, disco, rap, and funk, helped Janet’s crossover success in popular music. She has sold over 100 million records, which makes her one of the world's best-selling music artists.
Whitney Houston
Regarded as one of the greatest singers of all time, Whitney Houston held the Guinness Record for the most awarded female artist of all time. She has sold over 200 million records worldwide.
Her first album was released in 1985 and its success was immediate. It turned her into the first woman to have a debut album that reaches the first place in the Billboard chart. Her tragic death in 2002 left her many fans mourning the loss of her outstanding vocal cords.