The Guinness Book of World Records named Mariah Carey the “Songbird Supreme”. This is due in part to her unbelievable five-octave vocal range, power, style, and use of whistle tones. She got her start to fame in 1990, when she was signed to Columbia Records. She then released her debut album, which topped the US Billboard 200 for 11 weeks. Carey became the only artist to have their first five singles reach number one on the chart.
Carey became Sony’s highest-selling act, with the follow-up albums Music Box (1993), Merry Christmas (1994), and Daydream (1995). Billboard called her the most successful artist of the 1990s – at the same time the World Music Awards honored her as the world’s best-selling recording artist of the 1990s.
$10 Million
Probably one of the most important names if you're a Rock n' Roll fan. Chuck Berry was the first to ever do it, and the genre's first guitar hero. He was inspired by singer-songwriter, Muddy Waters, but quickly took his own spin on Country and Blues to create what we call, Rock n' Roll.
His songs celebrated freedoms that were back then uniquely American, like fast cars in his song "Maybellene," or class mobility, like in "No Money Down," and even the country itself like in his famous "Back in the U.S.A." John Lennon once summed up Berry's immeasurable impact on the world of music once by saying, "If you gave rock & roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry."
$25 million
Sia’s career got off to a rocky start as a solo artist, but in 2005 she opted instead to collaborate with other artists. Before long, her hit single “Titanium,” produced along with David Guetta, was peaking on Top 10 lists within the U.S., Australia, and diverse European regions. However, Sia wasn't happy with the success of the single, since she was hoping to retire and leave the spotlight.
Additionally, from 2011 to 2013, Sia co-wrote songs for several recording artists, including Beyoncé, Kylie Minogue, Flo Rida, and Rihanna. Her joint work with Flo Rida peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, and ‘Wild Ones’ was the tenth most popular song of 2012, globally.
$70 Million
This American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and film score composer is the founder, lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the popular rock band Nine Inch Nails. Outside of Nine Inch Nails, he has also contributed to numerous renown works of artists, films and even video games. He, along with composer Atticus Ross, won a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and an Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Social Network.
Surprisingly, Reznor's net worth is $70 million, which with all the different industries he's involved in, seem relatively modest. But Reznor has never chased the money, and is truly committed to the art itself. In fact, he's an outspoken critic of the music industry, which is why he's published several albums independently, and he even encourages fans to steal his music.
$305 million
Justin was discovered in 2008 by a talent manager through his YouTube channel, where he covered songs. Shortly after, he signed to RBMG. It was then that Bieber released his debut EP, My World. The album was certified platinum in the US. Justin became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut record rank on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2010, Bieber released his first full-length album, My World 2.0. The album debuted at number one and was certified triple platinum in the US.
Bieber was a part of many successful collaborations, including "Cold Water", "Let Me Love You", "Despacito (Remix)", and "I'm the One". His album and singles sales total an incredible 44.7 million. He has sold 140 million records, which makes him one of the world's best-selling music artists. He also became the second person to gain 100 million followers on Twitter, only after Katy Perry.