American singer Britney Spears has released nine studio albums, eight compilation albums, nine box sets, three extended plays (EPs), 50 singles, 11 promotional singles, two charity singles, and has made three guest appearances. In 1997, Spears signed a recording contract with American record label Jive Records in order to launch her career.
British rock band Coldplay have released 9 studio albums, 6 live albums, 12 compilation albums, 18 extended plays, 43 singles, 13 promotional singles, and 5 charity singles. According to Parlophone, they have sold over 100 million albums worldwide as of May 2021, making them the most successful group of the 21st century and one of the best-selling artists of all time. Luminate revealed that, in terms of pure sales, they have tallied 18.2 million albums and 33.6 million song downloads in the United States alone as of February 2015. Moreover, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) attributed the rise in British music exports to their success multiple times, adding that it boosted the balance of payments of the United Kingdom.
American singer and songwriter Pink has released nine studio albums, one live album, five video albums, six compilation albums, 59 singles, three charity singles, six promotional singles, and 51 music videos. Throughout her career, Pink has sold 60 million albums, 75 million singles and 2.4 million DVDs worldwide. According to RIAA, she has sold 18 million albums and 13.5 million digital singles. She is also UK's second best-selling female artist of the 21st century. Billboard ranked her as the fifth top female artist of the 2000s, eighth top female artist of the 2010s and the 59th greatest artist of all time. Official Charts Company hailed her as UK's most played female artist of the 21st century.
The discography of American heavy metal band Metallica includes 11 studio albums, eight live albums, three extended plays, 49 singles, 10 video albums, 43 music videos, one soundtrack album, one collaboration album and three box sets. They are a San Francisco-based metal band formed in 1981 by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich (drums). After several bassist and lead guitarist changes, the band settled on Cliff Burton and Kirk Hammett, respectively. Metallica started playing locally, releasing their first widely circulated demo, No Life 'til Leather, in 1982. The demo caught the attention of Johny Zazula, who signed Metallica to Megaforce Records. The band released Kill 'Em All in 1983, and the following year they released Ride the Lightning. After Ride the Lightning was released, Metallica left Megaforce and signed to Elektra Records. In March 1986, the band released its third studio album, Master of Puppets, which was Metallica's first album to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). While promoting the album, Burton was killed in a bus accident. Jason Newsted was hired as a replacement. The band's first release to feature Newsted was The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited, and then followed by ...And Justice for All in August 1988, which peaked at number six on the Billboard 200.
Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne has released seven studio albums, nine extended plays (EPs), 33 singles, and 40 music videos, and she has appeared on several movie soundtracks and charity albums. With worldwide sales of 40 million albums and 50 million singles, Lavigne is ranked as the third top-selling Canadian female artist in history. Billboard listed her as the eighth best-selling Canadian artists of the Nielsen Music Canada era. According to Recording Industry Association of America, Lavigne has sold 28.07 million albums and singles in the United States.
The American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake has released six studio albums, two compilation albums, three extended plays, and 51 singles. Timberlake started his music career in 1995, as a member of boy band NSYNC. Following the group's hiatus in 2002, he released his solo debut studio album, Justified, in November that same year. The album was a commercial success and peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart and additionally topped the charts in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Justified earned multiple multi-platinum certifications, including a triple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and a sextuple platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It produced four singles: "Like I Love You", "Cry Me a River", "Rock Your Body" and "Señorita"; all performed well commercially, with two of them becoming top 5 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and top two hits on the UK Singles Chart. "Rock Your Body" also reached number one in Australia.
American R&B singer-songwriter Chris Brown has released 11 studio albums, 1 collaborative album, 1 extended play, 9 mixtapes, 63 singles and 29 promotional singles.
American singer Miley Cyrus has released eight studio albums, three live albums, four extended plays and 42 singles. Popularly referred as the original "Teen Queen", Cyrus has sold 55 million singles and 20 million albums worldwide. According to Recording Industry Association of America, she has sold 32 million singles and 10 million albums in the US. Billboard ranked Cyrus as the ninth greatest Billboard 200 female music artist of all time and the 62nd greatest artist of all time.
American singer Lady Gaga has released five solo studio albums, two collaborative studio albums, three film soundtracks, three remix albums, two compilation albums, four EPs, two live albums, 40 singles, and 14 promotional singles. Gaga made her debut in August 2008 with the studio album The Fame, which peaked at number two in the United States, where it was subsequently certified triple Platinum, while topping the charts in Austria, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Its first two singles, "Just Dance" and "Poker Face", reached number one in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and for the latter, becoming the world's biggest single of the 2009 calendar year. The album spawned three more singles: "Eh, Eh ", "LoveGame" and "Paparazzi". The latter reached the top ten in many countries worldwide, and number one in Germany.
American singer Demi Lovato has released eight studio albums, two soundtrack albums, one remix album, five extended plays (EPs), 53 singles, and 16 promotional singles. According to Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Lovato has achieved 51 million certified units. As of August 2023, she has sold 9.7 million albums and 23.9 million song downloads and her songs have registered 7.7 billion on-demand streams in the United States. Each of Lovato's studio albums debuted in the top-ten on the US Billboard 200, and four of which have received platinum or higher certifications and two gold certifications in the U.S. She has a total of 36 chart entries on the US Billboard Hot 100, including four top-ten songs.
American singer Selena Gomez has released three solo studio albums, one compilation album, three extended plays (EPs), 36 singles, 3 promotional singles and 2 charity singles. Gomez has sold 6.7 million albums worldwide by October 2015. As of August 2023, she has sold 3.6 million albums in the United States, and shifted more than 11.5 million album equivalent units, including her releases with The Scene. As of May 2017, she has sold 24.3 million songs in the U.S. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she has achieved 47.5 million certified units, and a further 19.5 million as part of Selena Gomez & the Scene, in the U.S. She has a total of 41 chart entries on the US Billboard Hot 100, including a number one and nine top-ten songs.
The Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj has released five studio albums, one compilation album, three mixtapes, 136 singles, and 20 promotional singles. After becoming involved with dancing, music and acting in high school in New York City, she eventually pursued her passion for rapping. Minaj was discovered by American rapper Lil Wayne and signed to Young Money Entertainment—a subdivision of Cash Money Records with distribution through Republic Records—in 2009. Her first solo single, "Your Love", peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, an achievement that made Minaj the first female artist to top the chart as a solo artist since 2002. Minaj's next three singles, "Check It Out", "Right Thru Me" and "Moment 4 Life", all peaked within the top 40 on the Hot 100. Her debut studio album, Pink Friday, was released in November 2010, topping the US Billboard 200 and has since been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album's fifth single, "Super Bass", reached the top ten in multiple countries, including the US where it peaked at number three and has since been certified Diamond by the RIAA for selling over 10 million units in the country.
The discography of 3OH!3, an American electropop group, contains six studio albums, four extended plays and 11 singles. They are best known for their single "Don't Trust Me" from their album Want, which reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Their second single, a remix of "Starstrukk" featuring Katy Perry from Want, was a top ten hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, and Australia. They gained further recognition by featuring Kesha on the song "My First Kiss", which was made the lead single from their album Streets of Gold. The album later peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200.
American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars has released three studio albums, one collaborative studio album, one EP, 33 singles and four promotional singles. With estimated sales of over 26 million albums and 200 million singles worldwide, Mars is one of the best-selling artists of all time. Six of his singles are among the best-selling singles of all time: in order of release date, "Just the Way You Are", "Grenade", "The Lazy Song", "When I Was Your Man", "Uptown Funk" and "That's What I Like". According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), he has sold 91.5 million copies in the United States. His first two albums have sold 5.04 million copies in the US market alone. In 2012, Mars was named 2011's best selling music artist worldwide. In 2022, he became the first artist to receive six diamond certified songs in the United States.
The discography of English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran consists of seven studio albums, seventeen extended plays, one video album, sixty-five singles, eight promotional singles, one box set, and seventy-one music videos. As of October 2021, Sheeran has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists in history. According to RIAA, Sheeran is the 13th best-selling digital singles artist in the United States with certified sales of 80.5 million.
English-Irish boy band One Direction have released five studio albums, ten extended plays, seventeen singles, two video albums, and seventeen music videos. They signed with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Records after being formed and finishing third in the seventh series of British television singing competition The X Factor in 2010. They subsequently signed in North America with Columbia Records. One Direction: This Is Us, a 3D documentary concert film was released on 29 August 2013 in the United Kingdom and 30 August 2013 in the United States. The film captures the band on the road during the Take Me Home Tour and documents their origins and rise to fame.
American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey has released nine studio albums, three extended plays, 41 singles, 18 promotional singles, and one box set. She also has one leaked demo album, which was not released officially. According to Universal Music Group (UMG), Del Rey has sold over 41 million albums worldwide and has garnered over 58 billion streams worldwide. In the United States, Del Rey has sold over 48 million certified singles according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Billboard ranked her as the 37th Top Rock Artist of the 2010s. Del Rey has also sold 7.1 million singles units, and 4 million albums in United Kingdom.
The American singer, songwriter, and actress Ariana Grande has released seven studio albums, one reissue, two compilation albums, one live album, two extended plays (EPs), fifty-four singles, and fifteen promotional singles. Throughout her career thus far, Grande has sold over 90 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she has sold over 131 million units, across albums, singles, and features, and 12 million albums and 93.5 million digital singles units as a lead artist. In the U.S., Grande has moved 22.4 million album units, and garnered over 23.6 billion streams across lead artist credits, according to Luminate. Having amassed over 105 billion consumed streams thus far, Grande is the most streamed female artist ever. She is also the most streamed female artist of the 2010s on Spotify and Apple Music. She has amassed 85 chart entries on the Billboard Hot 100—the third most entries for a female artist—including nine number ones and 22 top-10 hits altogether so far. Grande was named the sixth top female artist of the 2010s decade, and was ranked among Billboard's Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Artists, at number 78. Grande is also one of the most certified artists in the UK, with over 30 million units.
New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde has released three studio albums, four extended plays, 12 singles and 13 music videos. At the age of 13, she was signed to Universal Music Group (UMG) and started to write music. In November 2012, when she was 16 years old, she self-released The Love Club EP via SoundCloud. It was released for sale by UMG in March 2013; a song from the EP, "Royals", topped numerous single charts internationally, including the US Billboard Hot 100. The track sold over 10 million units worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.
Russian-born German DJ Zedd has released three studio albums, one compilation album, 13 music videos, three extended plays, 38 singles and 30 remixes.
