Top Ten Most Popular Music Artists and Bands of the 2010s in Austria

Her album "Farbenspiel" went 18 times platinum, becoming the third best selling album in Austria, behind Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Herbert Grönemeyer's "Mensch". The lead single "Atemlos durch die Nacht" stayed on the charts for 90 weeks and is probably the most played song of the 21st century (that goes for Germany and Switzerland as well, where she is similarly huge). The German singer is all over T.V., her concerts are sold out, and she managed to gather a fanbase of every gender and age.

It always amazes me how Germans got into a Russian singer (and Austrians, too).

Everything Adele touches turns to gold, at least. Her many hit songs play all over the radio, and of course, her albums sell well, she has little to no haters, and many people, old and young, view her as the greatest artist of her era.

Should be first, beautiful voice.

Wurst was a moderately famous T.V. personality for a few years, who wasn't that much noticed until she won the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest with "Rise Like a Phoenix" (I know the importance of this event differs widely from country to country, but in Austria it's a really big deal where the entire nation stays up late to watch it). Then she became a cultural icon. Her messages of tolerance, LGBT rights and self empowerment hit the country like a tornado, and caused a massive hype for equality of any kind. She performed in front of politicians, was on every show and newspaper, and was named person of the year. Although her last musical output was in 2015 (she will release her second album soon, though), she is still the national number one celebrity of the decade and is often seen in the media.

I don't need to tell you about his popularity. Fact is, this guy is as massive all around the globe, and his hits are just as huge, chart topping and excessively played over here as in your country. I just feel that he has more haters abroad. No one really hates this man over here.

I wonder if there is a country where he isn't popular.

With all his albums to date ranging from three to eight times platinum, this singer-songwriter who mixes traditional Austrian elements (squeeze box, Viennese dialect, slight touches of yodelling) with commercially accepted pop rock music (guitars, raspy vocals, percussion, earworm choruses) is definitely one of the best selling stars of his generation. He polarizes heavily, though, and for every fan comes a hater. But judging by his sales, I don't think that's a problem for him.

Long before Chester Bennington's tragic death, Linkin Park have been a generation defining band that managed to touch many. Their albums were all extremely popular, and they have already been legendary for years, and will be even more under these sad circumstances.

Originally, Seiler und Speer were a comedian and a director (none of the big names though) who thought it would be fun to go to the studio and record some indie music. Their single "Ham kummst" immmediately topped the Austrian charts, has 30 million views on YouTube (that's a lor for German music and the biggest of the biggest blockbusters for Austrian music) and still gets tons of airplay four years later, and the album of the same name was awarded four times platinum, the follow up album got another platinum certificate.

Robbie Williams isn't just a successful pop star, he's a music legend that is universally loved by all audiences no matter the age or gender. His songwriting craft and singing is acclaimed by pretty much everyone, and every new music he creates immediately becomes insanely popular. Apart from the fact that his songs from the 90s and 00s are still much loved, his "Swings Both Ways" album was a huge hit in the 2010s, and his other records were also really successful.

Germany's biggest rapper is just as successful and chart topping over here. Much like in Germany, interest in English language hip hop has declined in the 2010s, paving the way for the German language counterpart to take its place, and Bushido, being the Godfather of German hip hop, of course is what every genre fan digs.

Katy Perry has many hits that are all over the radio, but especially "I Kissed a Girl" is one of the most popular pop songs of the last fifteen years. She's also way better received in Austria than in the US, her latest album and songs didn't get hate, and "Chained to the Rhythm" is everywhere.

Of course, Lady Gaga is still used synonymously with great and well crafted pop music blockbusters, and several her songs have already turned to evergreens, but in the first half of the decade, she would have topped the list. It was absolutely clear she has a place next to Madonna, Michael Jackson and Prince as the peak of creative mainstream pop singer-songwriters.

Sometime in the mid-to-late 2000s, the Finnish alternative rock band became much more popular in German language territories than any of their American emo counterparts, and lead singer Samu Haber became a well known celebrity who often appeared on German shows. In the 2010s, their popularity increased even more, and so they have received lots of airplay, have popular concerts and have good album sales. Many people of different target groups like them - although music is often similar to the American emo movement (also that their more recent output is poppier), they are much less gimmicky and aren't really associated with a certain group of people.

I did often say that Nickelback is not really hated over here, but even more: they are also pretty popular and well liked. Not only are their hits of the 2000s still on rotation, also their newer output of this decade found many Austrian fans, especially "Song on Fire" that was everywhere in 2017.

Thirty Seconds to Mars have entered the Austrian top ten when every other country, including the USA and Germany, still had to discover them as more than just some ambitious newcomers. They had a very devoted and widespread fanbase, and while other big emo bands of the USA weren't really that mainstream, 30 Seconds to Mars were the big deal. Many were also baffled that an actor as great as Leto could create music like this, without even promoting it as HIS project. The success only increased from then on, and now in 2018, they finally had their first number one album, when in the rest of the world they finally had the success they had over here in 2005.

Boybands were always embraced very much in German language territories. Remember: the Backstreet Boys had success much earlier over here and had a gazillion more hits than in the US. Although One Direction were just as popular in the rest of the world, maybe even more, they still were very present in this decade's pop landscape.

Also: with Harry Styles' successful departure many see him as the third member of a bunch of former boyband members who managed to be taken very seriously as artists next to the two giants Robbie Williams and Justin Timberlake.

German rapper Shindy brought a bit of light heartedness, relaxed vibrations and a decent mix of high class and lazy casualness to the dark and gritty German hip hop. Not only did all four of his albums to date top the Austrian charts, he also became a favorite of Austrian teens who don't dig the street aesthetics that much.

I am not sure how the situation is in the USA, because as far as I know your radio stations don't like explicitness that much, but "Love on the Brain" was inescapable in the past two years. But even more than this song, "Stay" and "Diamonds" are among the most played songs ever since they came out.

While in the 2000s, American rappers were the big ones with German rap slowly emerging, everything took a 180° turn in the current decade. German rappers top the chart, while most popular American rap songs only appear on some hip hop enthusiast's playlists (we're still CD buyers). Songs that didn't appear on the Austrian top 100 include "Bodak Yellow" and "Bad and Boujee". Somewhere between number 20 and 11 are the big singles by Future, Rae Sremmurd or Kendrick Lamar (as hip hop is an album genre over here, their albums sometimes chart higher, but only when there are physical releases available).
The one exception whose music is always hugely anticipated is Eminem. Here we talk about chart topping success, and here we have one of the very, very rappers who ger regular radio airplay, because they are also heard by people who aren't always into hip hop. Eminem is the one everyone agrees is a genius.

Before Helene Fischer, Andrea Berg was the Queen of Schlager for years. Her albums usually sell multi-platinum and she is extremely present on T.V. (especially music shows) and newspapers (particularly gossip magazines). She's even bigger in Germany but is also pretty damn huge over here

The man with the smooth voice of whom every household seems to have an album (his Christmas album is pretty popular). I don't know how this came to be. He has no big hits, doesn't get as much airplay (only at the end of the year) and isn't constantly in the media. I guess the word just spread that he makes some fine music. He sells very well and every year in December his CDs are always back in stores, although the craze is even more massive in the UK and Germany.

Simply put: in the 80s, Austria had a craze for this man's Italian music and the vibe it spread. Romantic, with personality, and classy. The rest of the world, apart from Italy and Switzerland, barely noticed him, when he topped the Austrian album charts. Nothing about his charm has changed since then, people still have the very same feelings about him.

Although his latest album wasn't as successful anymore, hits like "Just the Way You Are", "Grenade" or "Uptown Funk" are decade defining and are among the most played songs of the 2010s.

American reaction: "Oh no, the formerly good role model of our kids dances naked on a wrecking ball and talks about sex".
Austrian reaction: "Now that she's finally not a children star anymore it's acceptable to like her music. Just wish the gossip press wouldn't treat this harmless video without any explicit nudity like the biggest scandal in the world."

These aren't that exaggerated by the way, but I've read/heard these statements several times.