Most Overrated Singers of the 20th Century

The Top Ten
1 Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone, known professionally as Madonna, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. She influenced a lot of singers such as: Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Beyonce Knowles and Britney Spears. She is known as Queen of Pop and at modern pop culture specifically ...read more.
2 Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara, 5th September 1946 - 24th November 1991) was a Zanzibari-born British singer of Indian descent, songwriter and record producer, known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the British rock band Queen. He also became known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave ...read more.

Difficult to say who is more overrated, Freddie Mercury or Michael Jackson. MJ was legitimately the biggest star in the world for several years, even if undeserving, but Freddie and Queen were never the biggest stars in the world- strictly middleweights during their era. Led Zeppelin, the Eagles, the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, and even Elton John were a much bigger deal at that time.

Queen had way more bad music than good. When Freddie and his one dimensional voice took control, they went in the toilet.

Nope! He deserves all the praise what he gets.

Overhyped not overrated

3 Kurt Cobain Kurt Cobain was born February 20, 1967, in Aberdeen, Washington. In 1987, he started the grunge band Nirvana, which became one of the most successful bands ever. He was a talented yet troubled grunge performer. Kurt Cobain became a rock legend in the 1990s with his band. He committed suicide at his Seattle home in 1994.

Bloody dickward, just popular for being a "rebel" for the most depressing generation of all time - the 90s.

4 K.S. Chithra Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra, often credited as K. S. Chithra or simply Chithra, is an Indian playback singer from Kerala. Chithra also sings Indian classical, devotional, and popular music.

I don't think she's as great as Lata Mangeshkar and neither is her voice as melodious as hers. I feel she's highly overrated. There are singers like Alka Yagnik​ Shreya Ghoshal Anuradha Paudwal Kavita Krishnamurthy Sadhana Sargam who are much better singers and also are versatile

More overrated than Freddie Mercury.

Brilliant singer in the world..

5 Billie Joe Armstrong Billie Joe Armstrong is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and guitarist of the punk rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt. He's also in side-project groups such as The Network, Foxboro HotTubs, Pinhead Gunpowder, and The Longshot. His first group was a band called The Lookouts which disbanded after their 2nd album. He released a solo album consisting of covers in 2020 called "No Fun Mondays" ranging from rock and punk covers. He has a 2 and a half octave vocal ranger, but over time in 2020 and onwards his range has gotten slightly higher. Most notably in their Father Of All album, and during various ...read more.

As much as I do enjoy Billie Joe I will admit he's a bit overrated and his singing isn't best but his guitar skills make up for it in my opinion.

6 Bob Dylan Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, author, and artist who has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for more than five decades.

Overrated as a singer (his singing ability is not great) but he's a great songwriter.

He's definitely better than Axl Rose

7 Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner, better known by his stage name Marilyn Manson, is an American musician, songwriter, actor, painter, multimedia artist, author, and former music journalist.
8 Mariah Carey Mariah Carey, born March 27, 1970, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is one of the biggest best-selling women in the music industry, with 18 number 1 records to her name. She is regarded as a sex symbol through her songs and music videos, and she is "well known" for her over-the-top ...read more.

First album was great. Second album was good. Third album was alright, a few good tracks but also a few very forgettable tracks. After that her music (and not to mention her voice) all went down the drain fast. Ever since the disaster known as "Butterfly" she started to remake the same boring soulless crap again and again, and she also managed to take good hip hop songs and ruin them, the most notable being "Breakdown." Ugh, I hate that song. And I loved "the Crossroads."

9 Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the lead vocalist and a co-founder of the Rolling Stones.

He has the perfect voice for the Stones' brand of rock 'n' roll and R&B. His problem has always been articulation---you need the Rosetta Stone to figure out what the hell he's saying. And to be honest, the Stones have always been a studio band. Big disappointment live.

Rolling Stones is a great rock band, but he has terrible voice!

10 Sade Helen Folasade Adu, known professionally as Sade Adu or simply Sade, is an English singer-songwriter, composer, arranger, and record producer.
The Contenders
11 Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16th 1979 and died August 25th 2001. She was a dancer, an actress and an R&B singer. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, raised in Detroit, Michigan and died at Marsh Harbour, Bahamas. ...read more.
12 Axl Rose William Bruce Rose Jr., better known as 'Axl Rose', is an American singer born on February 6, 1962, in Lafayette, Indiana. He Is the founder and lead singer of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses. He is a celebrated but controversial figure in the world of rock.

He isn't even a good singer.

13 Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy. ...read more.

Maybe for you somekindofaguy, but when you see the sales of his records ( biggest selling individual artist of all time ) it says " not overrated " but " true facts of being best ".

14 Bono Paul David Hewson, known by his stage name Bono, is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician, venture capitalist, businessman, and philanthropist. His original nickname was Bono Vox which means "big voice".
15 Janet Jackson Janet Jackson is a singer and dancer who is well known for her sexually graphic records, iconic performances, and slightly weak voice. She is regarded as a sex symbol through her songs and videos.
16 Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 - August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. She began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father, C. L. Franklin, was minister. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With global sales of over 75 million records, Franklin is one of the best-selling music artists from the second half of the 20th century to the present.

I just don’t get her. Always found her voice to be harsh and her loud ornamentation to be overdone and actually detract from a song. It works on a few numbers..Respect, Think...that are in your face. Otherwise it was always too much, too often.

17 Monica Monica is an R&B singer who was most popular in the 90s. Her most well-known song was "The Boy Is Mine" with R&B singer Brandy.
18 Mya Mýa Marie Harrison is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, producer, and actress. Born into a musical family, before entering the music industry she appeared on BET's Teen Summit. Signed in 1996 to Interscope Records, she released her eponymous debut album in April 1998.
19 John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, actor, activist and humanitarian, whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singer, starting in the 1970s.
20 Steve Perry Stephen Ray "Steve" Perry is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known as the lead singer of the rock band Journey during their most commercially successful periods from 1977 to 1987 and again from 1995 to 1998.
21 The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace, born May 21, 1972, better known by his stage name The Notorious B.I.G (sometimes Biggie Smalls or just simply Biggie), is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York. On March 9, 1997, he was murdered in a drive by shooting in Los Angeles, California at the age of only 24. To this day it’s unknown who murdered him. ...read more.
22 Michael Jackson Michael Jackson (Michael Joseph Jackson; August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, dancer, and songwriter. He passed away from cardiac arrest caused by a propofol and benzodiazepine overdose on June 25, 2009. He donated (at least) a remarkable 500,000,000 dollars to charity. Michael is also known as The King of Pop (a title given to him by Elizabeth Taylor) or under the initials MJ. Dubbed the King of Pop, he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. ...read more.

I like Michael Jackson, but to be honest, a kinda overrated.

23 Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin.
24 John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 - 8 December 1980) was an English singer and songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a co-founder of the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. He was assassinated by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980 at age 40. Lennon was characterised by the rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, writing and drawings, on film, and in interviews. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history.
25 Johnny Cash John R. "Johnny" Cash (1932-2003) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and author, who was widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 90 million records worldwide. He died of ...read more.
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