15 Singers From The 90s You Never Thought Would Still Be Famous Today

There are some artists who appear on the scene suddenly, release one hit or one great album, and disappear within the next year or so. Sometimes, they stay in the entertainment industry in a different, behind the scenes career. Sometimes they return to normal life and take jobs that have nothing to do with their former aspirations of superstardom. Either way, there are countless artists from the 90s who were beloved at the time but that you've probably forgotten all about since then. It's through no fault of their own - the music industry is just a very, very competitive market with a ton of hopefuls, so even talented performers can sometimes fizzle out after one or two hits,

And then, there are the lifers. The ones who gained a ton of fame in the 1990s thanks to some great songs, and managed to stay in the industry for decades after that. Sure, they've undergone some evolutions and style changes, and their sound may not be exactly what it was on their debut album. However, they're still relevant on the music scene today - and are still gaining new fans with every release, in addition to all the old fans who have been with them since the 90s. It's something that's hard to predict - but some have managed to stick it through.

Here are 15 singers from the 90s who are still a big deal today.

15 Mariah Carey

In order to truly make an impact in the music industry, most of the time, you have to have some quality that truly sets you apart from all the other hopefuls trying to make it big. In Mariah Carey's case, that quality was fairly obvious - her insane multi-octave vocal range. While other singers may be able to go toe-to-toe with her on certain songs, once she starts busting out those whistle notes, very few can keep up. The young singer shot to stardom in the 1990s with iconic albums like Emotions, Daydream and Butterfly - and, of course, the unforgettable Christmas hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You. Carey definitely had some drama over the years, including her highly publicized quasi-breakdown. However, in the past few years, she's managed to come back out on top with a stint on American Idol, a residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and more. Nobody puts Mimi in the corner.

14 Justin Timberlake

While he achieved a small degree of fame in his childhood as a member of the popular The Mickey Mouse Club, the show that birthed stars like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Ryan Gosling, he truly shot to stardom when he was a part of NSYNC. While the boy band didn't have a lead singer like other bands may have, there's no doubt that Justin was usually the star - he was always in the center in photo shoots, he got tons of solos in the group's songs, and his adorable face graced countless posters around the world. He even dated the princess of pop, Britney Spears, for awhile. When NSYNC took a break, Timberlake wasn't willing to leave the entertainment industry, or even just take a spot behind the scenes. Instead, he did what many boy band and girl group members do - release a solo record. While most former group members don't have success with their solo albums, Justin's solo debut, Justified, spawned huge hits including “Rock Your Body” and “Cry Me A River.” While he was a 90s heartthrob, Timberlake is an even bigger superstar now - I mean, we're pretty sure “Can't Stop The Feeling” should officially be named the hit of summer 2016.

13 Britney Spears

Britney Spears has had her ups and downs over the years, and there were times when she went from a svelte, sexy pop princess to a somewhat frumpy, unstable, Frappuccino-drinking mess. However, her fans have stood by her side through it all, because they know that Britney would never disappear from the industry for too long - she's an icon! When she stepped onto the scene in the 90s, the fresh-faced teen shot to stardom with hits like “Baby One More Time” and “Oops I Did It Again.” Since then, just when you think she's finally at the end of her career, she releases another smash hit, or embarks on another new venture like her Las Vegas residency. I mean, just take a look at when her newest song, “Make Me,” was released - literally every pop fan almost immediately downloaded it because they knew it would be fantastic. Just when the world thinks she may be on her last legs in the pop world, she busts out a mega hit - in her own words, “it's Britney, bitch.”

12 Gwen Stefani

Gwen Stefani has probably had one of the biggest style evolutions over the decades, but she's kept on top of the industry because of her killer vocals and unique style. When she stepped onto the scene, she was the face of the alternative-sky band No Doubt. Her hair was constantly changing colours, her style was definitely nothing like most women in the music industry at the time, but there's no question that she was crazy talented - and with Gwen at the vocal helm, No Doubt made hit after hit including “Hella Good” and “Don't Speak.” The band eventually took a hiatus and Gwen decided to make a solo record, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. As everyone expected, her talent shone once again, and the record had several hits including the still popular “Hollaback Girl.” Her career is bananas - b-a-n-a-n-a-s. She recorded another solo album, she did more work with No Doubt, she snagged a judging spot on The Voice to help mentor other young singers, and she's been making tabloid covers lately thanks to her highly publicized romance with fellow singer Blake Shelton. Whatever project she does next, we have no doubt it'll be a success - Gwen is constantly hitting them out of the park.

11 Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez has certainly gone through a lot of style changes over the years. She got her start as one of the Fly Girls on In Living Color, and her Latina roots helped a young Jenny from the Block land the role of the superstar performer Selena in the movie Selena. Lopez started out by focusing on her Latin roots, then took things to the block with On The 6. She put out hit after hit year after year, with chart-toppers including “Waiting for Tonight,” “Love Don't Cost A Thing,” “Jenny From The Block” and more. One of her secrets to success is that she has seemingly found a fountain of eternal youth, and continues to look as gorgeous and perform as amazingly as she did twenty years ago. However, another reason behind her success is that she's skilled enough to adapt to the current market and craft hits that audiences will love today - such as “Booty” and the most recent “Ain't Your Mama.”

10 Spice Girls

Every woman who grew up in the 1990s has played the game of deciding which Spice Girl you were - Sporty, Baby, Posh, Ginger, or Scary. That's because the Spice Girls were a huge international phenomenon, and their message of girl power earned them female fans across the world. They eventually split, after Geri left and the group decided to take a bit of a hiatus, but they came back for a reunion tour in 2007-2008. They came together again in 2012 to perform at the London Olympics, which had fans wishing they'd reunite for good. While a full Spice Girls reunion today is too much to hope for, especially given Victoria Beckham's success in the fashion industry, Mel B, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell released a short video celebrating “Wannabe” launched a new website, and sent out some teasers about an exciting new venture - a new, revamped Spice Girls with three members called Spice Girls - GEM.

9 Usher

It's hard to believe it, given how incredible he looks for his age, but Usher is nearly 40 years old - and he's been in the music industry for about half his life. A baby-faced 16-year old Usher broke onto the R&B charts in 1994 with his album Usher, which featured the hit “Can U Get wit It.” He followed his debut album with equally successful albums spawning hits like “You Make Me Wanna… ,” “U Remind Me,” “U Got It Bad” and more. He proved his diversity by taking a step back from doing primarily R&B ballads and slow jams in the mid to late 2000s with the release of hits like “Yeah!”, “OMG” and “Love In This Club,” songs that will get any club hopping even today, years after they've been released. His last album, Looking 4 Myself, was released in 2012, and he's been focused more on behind-the-scenes pursuits in the last few years, but we have absolutely no doubt that Usher has a ton of hits left in him.

8 Backstreet Boys

Back in the 1990s, if you were a boy band fan, you had to declare allegiance to one of two options - NSYNC or The Backstreet Boys. Your heartthrob of choice had to be either Justin Timberlake or Nick Carter. The Backstreet Boys were a huge part of the pop scene in the 1990s, with the five members putting together hits including “Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)”, “Everybody (Backstreet's Back)”, “I Want It That Way,” “Larger Than Life” and many more. I mean, admit it - every single one of us has guilty pleasures from the Backstreet Boys catalogue. The group took a bit of a hiatus in the early 2000s, then released two more albums as a quartet before welcoming Kevin Richardson back into the fold. They released a documentary, Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of (we totally won't tell if you've secretly watched it on Netflix) in 2015, and are working on another album - after celebrating their 20th anniversary together. That's right - 20 years of BSB.

7 Tim McGraw

Those who aren't really into country music might only know about some of the country-pop artists dominating the charts today, but there's one artist in particular who has managed to last through all the country market's trends, staying on the charts year after year - Tim McGraw. Those who primarily know him from his acting roles will be surprised to hear that he's released a staggering 14 albums over the years, and he better have room for a big bookshelf in his home for all the awards he's won - so far he's snagged three Grammys, 14 AMC awards, 11 CMA awards, 10 American Music awards and more. His latest album, Damn Country Music, had been as good as the previous ones, spawning the heart-warming hit “Humble and Kind.” There's no doubt that his style has definitely improved over the years (just check out the album cover of his 1993 debut, on which he sports a cowboy hat, red blazer, high-waisted jeans and oh-so-90s moustache), but his musical talent has remained strong for decades.

6 Radiohead

No matter how amazing the band is, no one ever really expects a band to last over a decade. There are a few that have managed to stay together for the long haul, but there are usually some kind of issues that break the band up far before the ten year mark. That is, unless you're Radiohead. The talented group of Brits formed their iconic band in 1985 - that's right, over 30 years ago - and definitely reached the most widespread fame in the 90s with the release of Pablo Honey, The Bends and OK Computer. Arguably one of their biggest hits ever, “Creep,” was also released in the 90s. They definitely take their time between albums, generally waiting about three to four years before releasing their next work, and they somehow manage to keep putting out record after record. Just when you think surely the next one will be a total dud and cause them to finally leave the music industry, they pull out another fantastic album.

5 Jay Z

Generally, rappers have a bit of a shorter career than artists in other genres. Sure, there are a few icons out there who last for decades, but there are only a handful of rappers who manage to stick around for that long - and Jay Z is one of them. Of course, becoming one of the music industry's biggest power couples when he got together with Beyoncé didn't hurt his visibility. Jay Z didn't have a rapid rise to fame - he started out by selling c.d.s out of his car, and eventually his talent got him noticed. Soon, he was releasing hits like “Big Pimpin'” and “Can I Get A… ”, and cemented his status as a rap legend. In the mid 2000s, he had his first retirement, where he said he was hanging up his hat - but that certainly didn't last long. He got back in the studio and released albums throughout the 2000s, but no one expected him to still be such a huge force in the entertainment industry today.

4 Madonna

Madonna still tears up the pop charts today, and the woman is 57 years old - just let that sink in for a moment. She's been in the industry for over 35 years and shows no signs of slowing down. A lot of her most iconic songs and moments were in the 1990s, such as her Blonde Ambition tour, the release of “Like A Virgin,” The Immaculate Collection album, and more. In the 2000s, while she was still releasing music, she faded a bit from the public eye. Did she let that get her down and slink away into retirement? Well, after 20 years in the industry, she certainly could have - but that's not what Madonna does. Instead, she performed at the Super Bowl, released her thirteenth studio album, embarked on a critically acclaimed tour… I mean, the fact that she's still doing high-intensity pop performances at nearly 60 years old is incredible in and of itself. She's a legend for a reason.

3 Eminem

There's no doubt that Eminem was a unique voice in the rap scene when his debut album, Infinite, was released, and audiences around the world took notice - especially when his alter ego, Slim Shady, came out to play. However, in the mid 2000s, after releasing a string of hits and stirring up the music industry, Eminem took a bit of a break - like, a four year break. Many assumed he had officially hung up his hat and decided to retire from the rap game, but he returned with Relapse, Recovery, and then The Marshall Mathers LP 2. While he hasn't released an actual album in a few years, he's still very much a part of the music industry - he's been lending his talents behind the scenes on movies as well as contributing great singles to flicks like Southpaw and most recently is featured on the soundtrack of the highly anticipated film Suicide Squad.

2 Red Hot Chili Peppers

RHCP formed all the way back in 1983, when friends Anthony Kiedis and Flea joined forced with two other musicians, and catapulted to fame in the 1990s with hit albums like Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Californication. They went through line-up changes and issues with some of the members' personal demons over the years, taking a hiatus in the mid 2000s, but they're definitely not down for the count. The group announced in 2014 that they were returning to the studio to work on another album, a project that's taken awhile to complete due to various reasons. However, they're finally heading towards the finish line - one of the songs from the album, “Dark Necessities,” was made available for purchase in May, and the music video (directed by actress Olivia Wilde) was released in June. When the album, The Getaway, was finally released, RHCP managed to outsell Drake in its opening week - significantly. That's quite an accomplishment for a veteran band.

1 Green Day

When Green Day first stepped into the public eye, they were a bunch of young punk rockers who managed to achieve success when no one thought they would. Their major label debut, Dookie, became a massive success, and they followed that album up with the successful Insomniac and Nimrod. In the 2000s, though, it seemed like the band was losing steam a little bit - while they continued to record music, they were definitely on the decline. Then, in 2004, they shot back to stardom with the popular American Idiot. They focused on projects related to the successful album and punk rock opera for awhile, but they're not retiring anytime soon - in 2015 they were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and are currently working on their twelfth studio album. The producer working with the group on the album has revealed that, in his opinion, it's going to be filled with solid, quality songs that fans will love - so Green Day fans should stay tuned.