1. Cyndi Lauper

When I think 80s, I think Cyndi Lauper. ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ was and will always be a total bop. Her 1983 debut album, ‘She’s So Unusual,’ broke records, when four of her tracks reached higher than the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first debut album by a female artist to achieve that impressive feat.

Cementing her status as an 80s icon, she was also involved with ‘The Goonies’ movie soundtrack, and released her second album, ‘True Colors,’ in 1986. She’s had an impressive career that’s spanned over 40 years, even becoming known for her LGBT activism.

2. Whitney Houston

Before she was proclaiming her everlasting love in ‘The Bodyguard,’ Whitney Houston was looking for someone to dance with in 1987. But even earlier than that, she was dazzling audience with iconic hits off her debut album such as, ‘How Will I Know,’ which helped introduce her to the MTV audience. This song and her future hits being played on MTV made her the first African-American women to receive consistent heavy rotation on the channel.

She’s currently the only artist to have seven consecutive number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts, beginning with ‘Saving All My Love For You’ and ending with ‘Where Do Broken Hearts Go?’

Overall, the 80s were an amazing time for her, both her albums went to number 1, 7 Grammy award nominations, and 2 Grammy wins. Her success helped other 80s icons like Janet Jackson and Anita Baker find success in popular music and on MTV as well.

3. Madonna

The Queen of Pop, one of the most influential figures in pop culture and our breakfast hosts favourite artist of all time; Madonna burst into the 80s with a self-titled debut album and a fashion style that quickly became a widespread trend. Her song ‘Holiday’ launched her to international stardom, earning her top ten chart spots in a handful of European countries, and right here in Australia. Her debut album was released in 1983 and featured underrated classics ‘Borderline’ and ‘Lucky Star’.

Madonna did the absolute most in the 80s, releasing four albums between 1983 and 1989, appearing in 5 different movies including ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ and ‘Shanghai Surprise,’ and who could forget her iconic performance of ‘Like a Virgin’ at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards.

Since the 80s, Madonna has completely reinvented herself time and time again, showing the kind of versatility that’s kept her relevant and iconic for decades. The impact she’s had has been compared to other influential artists like Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley; and she’s been credited with completely changing the music scene and paving the way for every other female artist who came after her.

4. Tina Turner

The 80s was not only a time for brand new styles and artists, but also for reinvention. Tina Turner launched possibly one of the best comebacks in music history when she started releasing music as a solo artist, earning huge success with her 1984 album ‘Private Dancer.’ The song, ‘What’s Love Got to Do with It,’ came from this album and became wildly successful, earning her a Grammy award and topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

She even travelled to Australia during the 80s, starring in the 1985 film ‘Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,’ and recording two songs for the soundtrack. Other notable 80s achievements for her include recording vocals for ‘We Are The World,’ performing at Live Aid, publishing her autobiography and receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

5. Kylie Minogue

Our very own homegrown talent Kylie Minogue started her journey to superstardom in the 80s. After a few smaller tv gigs, including her first televised singing performance on Young Talent Time in 1985, she was cast in ‘Neighbours’ as Charlene Mitchell. The role boosted her profile massively, with over 20 million viewers tuning in to watch her characters TV wedding to Jason Donovan’s character on the show. She won four Logie awards at the 1988 ceremony, and became the youngest Gold Logie recipient at 19 years old.

She released her first single, ‘Locomotion” in 1987, and it spent 7 weeks at number 1 on the Australian singles charts, and became Australia’s best-selling single of the 80s, earning her an ARIA award. Her debut album ‘Kylie’ was also quite successful, reaching number 2 in Australia and number 1 in the UK.

She’s most recently become the first female solo artist to achieve a number one album in five consecutive decades when her latest album ‘Disco’ hit number 1.

6. Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson released four albums in the 80s, the first two under supervision of her father, but the latter two without him, after severing business ties from her family in the end half of the decade.

She released ‘Control’ in 1986 which became an immediate success despite it only being produced in 6 weeks. The album was praised as being mature despite coming from a teenaged artist, and sparked comparisons to Donna Summer. ‘Control’ contained hits like ‘Nasty’ and ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately.’

Her songs had always contained socially conscious themes, and her follow up ‘Rhythm Nation 1814’ was no different. She said that the catchy sounds and well-choreographed dances were intentional, so it would help catch people’s attention long enough for them to consciously listen to the lyrics. By the end of the 80s, she had well and truly stepped out of the shadow of her famous family roots.

7. Olivia Newton-John

Another Aussie icon, Olivia Newton-John, reinvented herself in the 80s, a change mirrored by her character in Grease. Her most successful album to date, ‘Physical,’ released in 1981, reinforced her image change by showcasing more risqué and rock-oriented material. The title track spent ten weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The overtly suggestive tone of the song led a few radio stations to ban the track altogether. The music video works to counter the lyrics, the exercise-themed visuals turned the song into an aerobics anthem and started the trend of wearing headbands outside the gym.

She teamed back up with John Travolta in 1983 to release album ‘Two of a Kind,’ which was less than successful, but gave us the great track, ‘Twist of Fate,’ which peaked at number 4 on the Australian music charts. Currently, she is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, selling over 100 million records worldwide.

8. Stevie Nicks

Stevie Nicks gained popularity pre-80s with the band ‘Fleetwood Mac,’ but decided to undertake some solo projects on the side during the bands recordings of their album ‘Tusk.’ Her solo work would solidify her status as a rock legend of her own merit by the end of the 80s. Fighting for her place as a songwriter in the band, going solo meant that her song-writing prowess was exposed to the world.

She released her debut solo album ‘Bella Donna’ in 1981, and it featured singles we all still love like ‘Leather and Lace’ and ‘Edge of Seventeen.’ The release of the album led Rolling Stone magazine to dub her the “reigning Queen of Rock and Roll.” She went on to release 3 more solo albums in the 80s, giving us iconic hits like ‘I Can’t Wait,’ and ‘Rooms on Fire.’

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