There’s No Way Someone Can Name Over 80% Of These Singers
- by Clayton Leir
- – on
- in Entertainment
I don't know if people here know this, but there is an incredible breadth of music out there. I mean, music doesn't just come from the U.S. or something. There is all sorts of world music that I bet most people here have hardly ever touched. And don't worry, I'm not going to jump all around the world just to make sure that quiz-takers don't get to 80% on this one.
However, I will still suggest that the vast majority of people here will not break 80% when it comes to naming all of these singers. And I've stuck pretty much to North America here. So yeah, there are some musicians from the great white north but I promise they are well-known enough that people here should be able to guess them if they know anything about popular music.
So, for those who have not already skipped right past the intro and started digging in to try and score at least an 80% on this quiz, let me a outline it a little. Below, there are musicians from all genres and all walks of life and it is the quiz-takers job to correctly guess the name of each and every one of them. And those who are lucky might just score 80% or higher. Best of luck!
Name that singer!
Here is one of the biggest names in R&B, for sure. And just the way in which this woman could move is something truly incredible. It didn't ever seem to matter, even if she had completely injured her knees to the point of immense pain, she was always still strutting around the stage and belting out some amazing music. I talk about her like she's no longer with us, but she's still kicking around at age 78. I haven't heard her sing recently but I'm sure she could still get something out there, for sure. I love when she sings with Bryan Adams!
Name that singer!
There is something about this guy that is really street and then a whole lot about this guy that is real sellout, I seem to think. Now, that's not to say that he can't sing and that he isn't very good at what he does and that he isn't incredibly famous. He is all of those things. But it is amazing just how much more of a business his name seems to be than anything to do with music. He has had some pretty iconic music out there in the world though and that has got to count for something.
Name that singer!
Here is an interesting singer. She is pretty young, pretty tiny and got her start on the Barney & Friends show way back in the day. I mean...she definitely did sing in that show. All the kids did. After her stint on that show, she ended up working for the Disney Channel before she finally made a break of her own into the real music industry. And that wasn't all that long ago. She was with the Disney channel until 2012! That being said, she has sold a ton of albums and singles out there and is now a big solo name.
Name that singer!
Here is one of the musical greats, even if people think he is too weird or too out there to really be considered someone worth listening to. Aside from how strange this guy's guitar is, he can really play the thing better than most, I think. He is probably one of the world's greatest guitarists. I would not go so far as to say that he is one of the world's greatest singers but that is, of course, just a matter of opinion. I'm sure there are some people who think he is. Or was anyway. He's no longer with us.
Name that singer!
I will be totally honest when I say that I know actually very little about this singer. At least in terms of her discography. She is not the sort of singer I go out of my way to listen to all the time and so I don't know much about how much she's written or recorded and all that. I will say that there is a project of hers that I do very much love though. She did a whole album with Dallas Green and the music that they did together is breathtaking. I mean, the harmonies that they managed to pull are so beautiful.
Name that singer!
Here is a very interesting singer who really can sing. I mean, she has got an incredible voice that she thankfully has gotten out there to show to the world. Something she spent a lot of time not showing to the world though? Her face. She used to appear on late night shows and talk shows to do a performance and she would always have her back to the audience and a little girl dancing in the foreground to make up for it. I think that little girl must represent this singer in her childhood when she was more open to full expression.
Name that singer!
Oh, here is a singer that I don't think anyone could get wrong at all. Even if people here do not like her music. Even if people here have never even really heard her music (which I doubt is many people taking this quiz)...I think there is very little chance that no one here knows who this is. She is very well-known for having some high-profile relationships and then writing albums all about her breakups. I think there was even a lawsuit at one point or another because of content in some of her songs. She does have some catchy tunes, to be fair to her.
Name that singer!
This guy is probably one of the best-known young and new talents in the music business. He also happens to hail from the great white north, for those who did not know. He comes from Toronto, Ontario, and is thankfully a much bigger thing than Drake is now. I was worried that Drake would never quite go away. But this kid, who is only 20-years-old has taken the spotlight in not only Toronto but around the whole world. The amount of radio play that this kid gets all over the place is incredible. And he still seems to be pretty humble about it.
Name that singer!
Here is a singer who has done some very interesting work. I mean, I think everyone can say that Umbrella and Werk are very annoying songs. They just are. They have been repeated so much and they are themselves very repetitive songs. Beyond that though, this singer has really taken off as a star, dropping hit song after hit song and always finding some time for some drama. Thankfully, she's not got anymore time for Chris Brown. That was a very interesting bit of media coverage, for sure. She did some great music, however mainstream and repetitive it might be, with Eminem.
Name that singer!
This girl is kind of nutty. I don't think that this is quite an insult. I mean...she would probably agree with me. It is not like she hasn't seen her own music videos and the way she goes out there and promotes herself. It seems to just be a fact that she is pretty out there and a little nutty. I find it really interesting that this singer happens to be from Trinidad but no one would really necessarily know that because she was also raised in Queens, New York, which I think changes a person in quite a bit way. She is a very interesting rapper.
Name that singer!
Here is a very interesting singer from the great white north. And she is literally from the white north. I'm not sure if Timmins is all that great, but she certainly comes from a place that is more frequently white throughout the year, given where it is located in Ontario. Regardless, she became a big hit back in the 90s. I don't think she has done all that much other than casino gigs in the past few years but that does not stop her from thinking that she is one of the greatest and most important singers out there. At least in her own country.
Name that singer!
Well, no one can deny that this is a very interesting singer, to say the very least. I mean, this girl used to be so seemingly sweet and innocent. She started out on the Disney Channel but she left in an uproar of some pretty racy stuff. I'm pretty sure she breached her contract with Disney and went out on her own because they would let her...express herself the way she wanted to. And I think that is fair enough but boy did she ever go out and express herself once she was free from Disney. Now, she mostly works as a tv judge.
Name that singer!
This guy just so happens to be knight. Which is something I don't think most people think about coming across anymore these days. But it is true. This guy has contributed so much to music that he has been granted a knighthood. That being said, I think it is pretty obvious (or at least it should be) that this guy is from across the pond. Either way, he is one of only two surviving members of The Beatles. For those who do not know who the Beatles are or were...I really have nothing to say to those people, as it happens...
Name that singer!
This woman has built herself an empire from her singing. I mean, I don't think she ever dreamed that she would end up with servants and several gigantic homes and a reality tv show that is just based on whatever she decides to do on whatever day they shoot. I mean...that is pretty well what her reality show is all about. It's just her at home and going out doing what she does. It's the closest to reality but also one of the most ridiculous shows out there to bother watching. She was a huge hit in the 90s though.
Name this singer!
This is an interesting one. This singer really did not hit the music scene until the mid 00s. But she made it big with "I Kissed A Girl". It seemed not to matter what other songs were on her debut album because of this one single. Well, "Hot And Cold" was a big one as well. Otherwise though, the rest of the album just kind of vanished. Since then, she has put out a number of hits and while her fame has sort of dwindled in the past few years, she is now doing what they all do...judging a talent show!
Name this singer!
This guy was a hit back in the 90s. He really was. Even if people really did not like him, they could not deny that he was very popular. And he even had songs that had gibberish in them as a chorus. It was strange but enjoyable for a lot of people. He was like some sort of southerner who was very country and very rock...but also couple with rap...which was certainly a very interesting move to make. I mean, it helped him make it big but I think that was mostly a phase of the 90s. He nowhere near as big these days.
Name that singer!
Here is a classic singer from the 80s and 90s. She really made a huge name for herself and she rivals some religious imagery now because of that. And that is not a joke. It might be a play on words, but it is definitely not a joke at all. She has delivered so many big smash hits out there in the music world that she could pretty well never do anything again, all the rest of the days of her life. And that being said, she may still be doing a lot of stuff under the radar, but it's not often she pops up anymore.
Name this singer!
I really do remember a lot of guys making fun of this singer back in the day. Back in the 90s. I seem to have a memory of someone singing one of her songs in the change room in school and people making up joke lyrics to poke fun at her. It was strange. I really knew nothing about her but knew that she had some hit songs like Breakaway thanks to the beginning of those big tv hit talent shows. She made a huge life for herself because of that and now works as a judge on one of those shows.
Name that singer!
This singer, I have to say, cards out on the table, with complete honesty here...is way better when she is not singing all of that pop stuff that I'm sure her producers and managers love to get her to do. I'm sure she must enjoy it to some extent but before she became the superstar that she is, her music was way better. So much more feeling and so much more enjoyable. That being said, she just premiered a film where she stars alongside Bradley Cooper and the music in that film is so gorgeous. I'm happy she went back to something less poppy. Give me her stage name, not her real name.
Name that singer!
This singer is definitely one of the most famous on this list which is very interesting considering that he is not anywhere near one of the oldest on this list by any stretch of the imagination. He start out in the 90s in a boy band called N'Sync. Now, I preferred The Backstreet Boys myself (who are still going strong and just released new music) but I also preferred just not having to listen to boy bands. All of that being said, this guy has built an empire on his solo brand. Millions and millions go into make just one concert work!
Name that singer!
Here is one of those singers who has come from the great white north. To be fair though, I think Stratford could hardly be considered part of the white north. At least not most of the year. Either way though, this kid got his start busking out on the streets of Stratford until some guy saw a YouTube video of this, decided to chase him down and offer him a contract, and suddenly, a star was born. And this star went out of his way to be a pretty unimpressive human being. Great in the music business but not a nice kid. Not right away.
Name that singer!
This is a singer who I don't think even really expected to end up being such a bit hit herself. I mean, to be fair, she made it as big as she did because of the amount of junk in the trunk. When people talk about this singer now, that is mainly what they mention. She used to just be a dancer in the awesome 90s show In Living Color. She then went into acting and played in some pretty questionable movies before she finally made it big with her singing. She was, at one point the highest paid Latin actress in the world...which is a little nutty.
Name that singer!
This guy is probably one of the most famous singers on this list and even though he is no longer with us, and has not been with us now for almost 38 years, his influence really does linger on in an incredible way. There is just no doubt about that at all. He was one of the members of the great band The Beatles. Once they split he, like every other member, began going solo with his music. He went further than that though and really went out of his way to work for peace and equality. But he wasn't perfect either.
Name that singer!
Oh, this guy is something else, I have to be totally honest here. He goes out of his way to write rap songs about people who diss him in other rap songs. That only happened just recently. Some rapper came out with a dig on this guy after he dropped his latest album. And this rapper just came right back in almost no time with a slag against the other guy. He started out in the 90s and is perhaps one of the most prolific rappers out there, which I think was a big surprise to a lot of people.
Name that singer!
This guy has more recently become a tv personality much more than a singer. That being said, he still has one of the most interesting and unique voices in history. His work through the 70s 80s and 90s is pretty incredible. It is true that he did still do some singing through the 00s, but I have heard more often than not that he has lost a lot of his voice. And that makes total sense to me. I mean, this guy's voice, in his prime was so high and so scratchy...there is just no way that can be sustained for a long time.
Name that singer!
This lovely lady is actually a very surprising singer, to say the least. I mean, her style and genre and talent are not all that surprising. That sort of stuff is bound to happen but I mean... there is something about the fact that she is currently 72 and still out there pushing her music that is just very surprising. She made her first big foray into the music business back in 1967. That is some time ago. She rivals The Rolling Stones in terms of time spent with a solid life in music. And she doesn't seem to be done yet.
Name that singer!
This big name singer is only 26 and yet she has a very solid life in music already and she is not likely to fall away from the spotlight anytime soon. Not so far as I can see anyway. She, like at least one other singer on this list, started out in Barney & Friends...which is really just funny for me to say. And like most singers who end up making it on the other side of Barney & Friends, she ended up working for the Disney Channel and more specifically in Camp Rock. Now she has her own solo star power!
Name that singer!
Perhaps one of the best piano players out there, this singer has long been a big hit across the world. He has been a knight for some time now, I believe. I recall that he was over the Moon when he could finally marry his very long term boyfriend. It was a long and difficult go, for sure. This guy has some great solo stuff that stands alone, but he also went out of his way to work with Disney and produce songs for the soundtrack to The Lion King. And what a great job he did, to be sure.
Name that singer!
This young singer has been the new heartthrob out there in the music scene for a number of years now and he just keeps releasing new tunes that keep getting the girls all excited. That seems to work very well for his business, that is for sure. And there are also songs that play well with the male audience as well. He's got something for everyone and he just keeps pumping out great tunes. He used to busk around town and slept on the subway back in the day before he really made it big. However, now he can sleep wherever he wants!
Name that singer!
I know a lot of people who really try to match the trills of this particular singer. She has a certain way with her voice that people love so much they just wish they could do it themselves. She became a big hit toward the end of the 90s and her song "Genie In A Bottle" really rubbed people the right way, it seems. She may not have the same fame she did then, but she has not ever truly left the playlist since her debut. She even sort of broke into acting...thankfully, only to mostly sing and dance though.
Name that singer!
This guy is one of the most creative and most artistic of all the singers on this list. I would go so far as to say that he is the most creative and artistic of all the singers here. I mean, he may not be the best of all the singers here, but he does have a very unique quality to his voice and he really knows how to work what he has. I talk about him in the first person when I have to be honest here and say that he passed a couple of years ago. It broke my heart and I lay there at 4am, listening to his most recent album...
Name that singer!
Well, I have to remind everyone who might actually know who this is that she did not begin with a solo life in music, even though most people now probably only recall her solo work. She originally started out with her husband and they made an incredibly famous duo in the 70s. However, her husband had a fatal skiing incident and she had to strike out on her own. And since then, she has never seemed to stop. She'll do some ridiculous films, she'll sing in cameo appearances, and she'll produce so much music! She's still around, though I haven't heard what she's up to these days...
Name that singer!
Here is one of those great northern stars from the great white north. A lot of people actually don't agree with that at all. There are many who really don't like to talk about this singer and how "wonderful" she is. But no one can deny that she has had an incredible life in music. I'm not sure if she's doing much more than the casino circuit these days, but she did definitely make a name for herself when the hit James Cameron film, Titanic came out. She was one of those finds by the genius David Foster. He knows his stars.
Name that singer!
This guy is by no means a new singer out in the music world but he is definitely far more into the mainstream now than he ever has been. I had never really heard this guy's name until the past couple of years and now every country fan I know requests this guy's music at my gigs or compares me to him because of our similar style. Very interesting, indeed. Most recently, he cut a track with Justin Timberlake from NSync fame, and they created a very exciting music video that took the world by storm. If only Timberlake's new album was as good as that song.
Name that singer!
Well, while this guy did start out his music life sometime back around 2008 or so, he has really made only a bigger and better name for himself. Especially with the release of his latest album, 24K Magic. There is something about this album that is so very inspired by 90s R&B and it is awesome because of this. And there are some phat bass lines in there too that really make people want to dance. And I don't think there is a problem with that at all. Apparently, his whole reason for writing music is to write music he'd want to dance to.
Name that singer!
Here is a singer who has been taking the radio waves by storm. He seems to never stop getting some degree of promotion out there. I hear his songs all the time. Granted, it is actually nowhere near as bad as it was when "Attention" first came out to the world, but it's still pretty often that he's heard on the radio. Aside from that, he used to just write music for other people and it is a good thing he decided to do his own work because his is often much better than whatever he wrote for anyone else.
Name that singer!
Well, I remember when this girl started singing her heart out in her music videos while dancing around at the same time. I think the year was 1997 when I was first introduced to her via my brother's taped video of "Hit Me Baby One More Time". And by taped...I literally mean tape. He used the VCR and taped onto a VHS tape a video by this singer. And it's been a very interesting journey with this singer. I mean, she has been through a lot of issues but she has managed to come out on the other side and still perform!
Name that singer!
I will be totally honest here when I say that I had really no idea about this guy's work when I was first introduce to him and I was not even introduced to him as a singer. I only ever knew him as a judge on the hit show, The Voice. And all I knew about him from that was that he would constantly argue and play fight with the singer from Maroon 5. However, it turns out that this guy is a famous country singer and it took a very long time for me to be introduced to any of his music.
Name that singer!
This is one of the greatest singers and musicians on this whole list of 50 singers. For sure. There is something so special about this guy. It also does not hurt at all that this guy is a very well-versed (no pun intended) musician when it comes to training. And that is something that is fascinating to me, especially because he is blind! He can play the keys better than so many people who have fully functional sight. And it's not like he learned to play and then became blind. He was born and then very shortly after he was blind!
Name that singer!
This is one singer who started out with a pretty famous group, then left to create a whole kingdom based on her solo music life. If anyone here is a fan of John Oliver's show Last Week Tonight, then each here will know just who this is because of how much he professes his undying love to her...or at least to pictures of her. For those who are not aware of John Oliver, and are still wondering just who this is, then let me go out of my way to remind everyone that she started out in the group, Destiny's Child.
Name that singer!
I was lucky enough to finally see this guy live in concert after wanting to for well over a decade. But things always got in the way and I could never go. Well, I finally managed to get out there to see him in Ottawa and I have to say that he did not disappoint. He has come out with some of the greatest hits of the 80s and 90s...and he even wrote a whole album for the cartoon film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. He probably has the most famous summer time song after Alice Cooper's "School's Out". And everything he does, he does it for you.
Name that singer!
This is yet another famed singer from hailing from the great white north. She came from a very small town and ended up being a very big hit in the early 00s. She was a real big deal with skater kids. Or rather, she was a big deal with poser skater kids. She also played a very interesting role in my life at one time or another thanks to a girlfriend I had who sort of grew up with her music...which was unfortunate but also...sort of endearing. Either way, there is no way anyone can say that she didn't make it big.
Name that singer!
Here is one of the most adorable singers I have ever seen. Here is a rather young and beautiful singer who managed to avoid Disney. She started out on Broadway, the went to Nickelodeon, then made her way in her solo music way of life. The interesting thing about this girl is that she is very much not afraid to make fun of herself. That's for sure. She has played some interesting film roles that make everyone laugh at her expense. Not to mention she has appeared on Saturday Night Live a few times as well. OFten to do impressions. And very well, too.
Name that singer!
This guy has been rocking since the 80s and he can really rock, that is for sure. I know it might seem a little silly but he does not care about his image so much that he is willing to appear on a reality tv show and have a great time with no worries at all...while cutting a hole in the roof of a Lambo Gallardo. Which is very heartbreaking...but I mean, it is this guy so it's sort of ok, I guess. And the owner of the car, famous skater Bam Margera, actually told him to do it anyway.
Name that singer!
Here is a very sad singer. Or rather, her story is sad. She spent a lot of time with some substances issues that unfortunately eventually claimed her life but until that day, she always gave it her all and belted her music from the heart. And it was pretty nutty too considering that she was a pretty tiny girl who had such an enormous voice. She went out of her way to try her hand at a few different genres. The only real issue with her is that they tried to make her go to rehab and she said "no, no, no."
Name that singer!
This guy is one of those singers from the great white north who really did not care at all what people thought about him. He passed only just this past year after clinging on for a long while with brain cancer. It was not a good way to go but he still stuck it out and kept playing and touring until he just couldn't anymore. I was never a huge fan of this guy's voice, but I do have some of his songs in my repertoire to play at bar gigs. Some people love to hear it, and I like putting on my own twist.
Name that singer!
Here is another very interesting case where I really did not know much about her until I happened to see her working as a judge on that hit tv talent show, The Voice. That being said, I am glad that I was introduced to her music because she really knows what she is doing and she has got some incredible feeling for the craft. I'm glad that someone who is so invested in her own art is working to help other people shape their are...even if it is in the form of some nutty tv talent show like The Voice.
Name that singer!
Here is one of the greatest purveyors of rock and roll in the U.S. Or rather, I should say here was. This rather famed musician passed away just this past year which, I'm sure, caused quite a few tears but that does not mean that his music cannot and will not live on. I mean, the number of times I see a live gig at a bar and still hear this guy's music is pretty significant. All it takes is for one person to shout out "Free Falling" at a bar and the musician at hand is right away into playing the tune.
Name that singer!
I always thought, for some reason, that there was no way this singer was just some random singer from across the pond who happened to find her way to the big time. I figured there would have to be much more to her but the only thing she has an abundance of (aside from money now) is power for her voice. That being said, that power really did end up being a bane for her when she lost her voice and could no longer go out and tour and sing because of it. That stopped her musical life for a little while. But she's back.
Name that singer!
This guy, it just so happens, I was more than aware of before I saw him as a judge on The Voice. There is something very unique about this guy's voice and the way he hits those high notes is just pretty nutty. I remember that my sister used to really not like his band from the 00s. I think it mainly had something to do with the fact that they sang a lot of slow balladic sorts of songs. But then, as it just so happened, they started doing some incredible pop songs that my sister very much enjoys.