This Was the Hottest Pop Star the Year You Graduated

1970: Jackson 5

If you graduated in 1970, you probably heard a lot of the Jackson 5 during your senior year. The group had multiple hits that year with “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save,” and “I’ll Be There.” With those songs, they were the first group to debut with four straight number ones on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

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1971: The Osmonds

The Osmonds were a big deal in 1971, particularly younger brother Donny Osmond, who started his solo career in the same year at only 14 years old. The group made it to the top of the charts with their song “One Bad Apple.” Meanwhile, Donny’s songs “Sweet and Innocent” and “Go Away Little Girl” helped him become a teen idol.

1972: Roberta Flack

The biggest song of 1972 was Roberta Flack’s “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face.” For the hit single, she won the Grammy for Record of the Year, a feat she would accomplish again in the following year for “Killing Me Softly With His Song."

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1973: Stevie Wonder

In 1973, Stevie Wonder released his sixteenth album—that’s what happens when you start when you’re 12 years old. Innervisions features two of his big hits, “Higher Ground” and “Living for the City.” As if that’s not enough, the same year he also had number one hits with “Superstition” and “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” from his previous album, Talking Book.

1974: Elton John

Do you remember when Elton John came on to the scene? If so, you may have graduated around 1974. By this point, he’d been around for a few years, but some of his biggest singles were coming out. This year, he had hits with “Bennie and the Jets,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me."

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1975: Captain and Tennille

Graduates of 1975, I am sorry to get this song stuck in your head again after so long, but you must remember that Captain and Tennille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together” was the biggest song of that year. In fact, it won the Grammy for Record of the Year.

1976: Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac had a particularly big year in 1976. After the release of the album Fleetwood Mac the previous year, the band had hits with the singles “Rhiannon” and “Say You Love Me.” The album also featured “Landslide,” but it would not become one of their biggest songs until years later.

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1977: Rod Stewart

The top song on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977 was Rod Stewart’s “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright).” He was releasing albums pretty much every year, which means that in 1977 fans were listening to both A Night on the Town and Footloose & Fancy Free.

1978: Bee Gees

You didn’t think we would skip disco, did you? Toward the end of 1977, Saturday Night Fever was released with music from the Bee Gees. Hits from the soundtrack album, which won the Album of the Year Grammy, include “Stayin’ Alive,” “How Deep Is Your Love,” “Night Fever,” and “More Than a Woman,” all of which remained big songs into the following year. On top of that, the Bee Gees’ younger brother Andy Gibb had a popular solo career at the same time with songs like “Shadow Dancing” and “An Everlasting Love.”

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1979: Donna Summer

In 1979, disco was still the thing (but not for much longer). Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls” and “Hot Stuff” were huge hits at the end of the ‘70s, and the singer won the very dated awards Favorite Female Disco Vocalist, Disco Album, and Disco Song at the 1979 American Music Awards.

1980: Diana Ross

Diana Ross had been a massive pop star for years by the time 1980 rolled around, thanks to both her time with the Supremes and her solo career. But this was the year she released the hugely popular album Diana, which included the singles “Upside Down” and “I’m Coming Out.”

1981: Kim Carnes

Kim Carnes is the top pop star of 1981 thanks to her biggest hit, “Bette Davis Eyes.” It became the number one song in the country, and also won the Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

1982: Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John put out music long before and long after her breakout acting role in 1978’s Grease. And while playing Sandy will be a big part of her legacy, her biggest hit as a singer was the title track from her late 1981 album Physical. “Physical” became the number one song on the Hot 100 chart and was on the chart for a total of 26 weeks.

1983: Michael Jackson

Thirteen years after being part of the biggest pop sensation in the country with the Jackson 5, Michael Jackson became the biggest pop star in the world as a solo artist. While his music was selling throughout the ‘80s, 1983 was a very big year. Thriller was released in late 1982, so his hit singles in 1983 were tracks from the album including “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” “Thriller,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin,’” and “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing).”

1984: Cyndi Lauper

When you think of Cyndi Lauper, there’s a good chance you think of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” or “Time after Time.” Both of these songs were popular in 1984, so if you graduated that year, you probably heard them at prom and every other event or party you attended.

1985: Madonna

You can’t have a list of the hottest pop stars without Madonna. In 1985, she had just released her second album, Like a Virgin, with tracks including “Like a Virgin,” “Dress You Up,” “Into the Groove,” and “Material Girl.” So, yeah, 1985 was a very good year for the Queen of Pop.

1986: Janet Jackson

1986 was all about Janet Jackson—”Ms. Jackson, if you’re nasty." Her music career reached new heights with the release of her album Control, which features the singles “When I Think of You,” “Nasty,” and “What Have You Done for Me Lately," all proving she was more than just the Jackson sister.

1987: Tiffany

Then, 1987 was the year of Tiffany. The teen singer, whose full name is Tiffany Darwish, scored a number one hit with her cover of “I Think We’re Alone Now,” While her career didn’t really flourish as the years went on, anyone who was graduating at the time of “I Think We’re Alone Now” definitely remembers it.

1988: George Michael

George Michael was already huge by the late ‘80s thanks to his time in Wham!, but at the end of 1987, he released his debut solo album, Faith, and a new chapter of his career began. The next year brought songs such as “One More Try,” “Father Figure,” and “Faith,” which was the top song of the year.

1989: Paula Abdul

Straight up now tell me… do you remember Paula Abdul being a really big deal in 1989? Around this time, the singer and future American Idol judge had hits including “Straight Up,” “Opposites Attract,” and “Cold Hearted."

1990: Wilson Phillips

When Wilson Phillips released their first album in 1990, they found massive success with the very catchy single “Hold On,” which was the top song of the year. They had a second number one the same year with their second single, “Release Me”.

1991: Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams is the biggest pop star of 1991 thanks to a song that you’ll still hear all the time on any easy listening station today. In 1991 ,“(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” was a huge hit (thanks to the movie Robin Hood: The Prince of Thieves) from the singer’s album Waking Up the Neighbors, along with “Can’t Stop This Thing We Started” and “There Will Never Be Another Tonight."

1992: Boyz II Men

Graduate in 1992? You probably witnessed a lot of slow dances to Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road.” The song set the record for the longest run at number one, topping the chart for 13 weeks. This record was then broken twice by Boyz II Men themselves with “I’ll Make Love to You” and “One Sweet Day,” which featured Mariah Carey (more on her later).

1993: Whitney Houston

While Whitney Houston was a big deal throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s—and will be forever—she takes the 1993 spot. In 1993, she topped the charts with “I Will Always Love You.” That alone would be enough to earn her this honor, but she also starred in The Bodyguard and had several other songs on the soundtrack. Two other songs from the movie, “I’m Every Woman,” and “I Have Nothing,” were hits in 1993.

1994: Ace of Base

Unless you’re a huge fan of the Swedish group, every Ace of Base song you know hit the charts during this year. “The Sign,” “All That She Wants,” and “Don’t Turn Around” were all hits in 1994. “The Sign” was particularly huge and appeared on the Hot 100 chart for a total of 41 weeks.

1995: TLC

One guess as to why TLC are the hottest pop stars of 1995… Yep, it’s “Waterfalls.” The singing trio’s album CrazySexyCool was released at the end of 1994, so 1995 was their year. In addition to “Waterfalls,” the group also had success with “Creep” and “Red Light Special.”

1996: Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey was one of the top pop stars of the entire '90s, but 1996 was especially career-making. That year, she and Boyz II Men broke the record for the longest time a song had been number one with “One Sweet Day.” With 16 weeks at the top of the chart, it held the record until 2019. On top of that, Carey also had hits with “Always Be My Baby” and “Fantasy."

1997: Spice Girls

The Spice Girls hit the peak of their popularity in 1996 and 1997. In the U.S., “Wannabe” and “Say You’ll Be There” were everywhere in 1997, and it was also the year that the group’s Spice World movie was released. So, 1997 graduate, were you a Posh, Ginger, Baby, Scary, Sporty, or someone who thought they were too mature to pick a favorite?

1998: Backstreet Boys

As we reached the new millennium, boy bands and pop princesses ruled Top 40 radio. So, the 1998 spot must go to the Backstreet Boys, who were on the radio constantly with songs like “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” and “Quit Playing Game (With My Heart).” (Song titles with parenthesis were also big in pop music at the time.)

1999: Britney Spears

Speaking of pop princesses, the biggest sensation in 1999 was undoubtedly Britney Spears. This was the year she released her ...Baby One More Time album, which includes the singles “...Baby One More Time,” “Sometimes,” and “(You Drive Me) Crazy.”

2000: Destiny’s Child

And finally, we reach 2000. Despite going through a major lineup change during the year, Destiny's Child was on top with their hits “Say My Name,” “Jumpin’ Jumpin’,” and “Independent Women.”