KEY ARTIST CASE STUDY

PAST

Aaliyah  is a key artist case study from the past.She represents young contemporary R&B artists in the 90s period/era.

She has been credited for helping redefine contemporary R&B and hip hop, earning her the nicknames "Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop" . She is listed by Billboard as the tenth most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years and the 27th most successful R&B artist in history. 

All of Aaliyah's studio albums present contemporary R&B. Her hit 1996 sophmore album "One in a Million" produced six singles and recieved general critical acclaim from music critcs who complimented it's depth and praised the album calling it "one of the most influential R&B albums of the 90s". The album was also ranked number 90 on Rolling Stone's 100 greatest albums of the 1990s. In addition to this it was also listed as one of 33 hip hop/R&B albums in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the '90s".

PRESENT

Usher   is a  key artist case study from the present . He too exemplifys  contemporary R&B in his music.

The RIAA (Recording industry Assosiation of America) ranks Usher as one of the best - selling artists in American music history . 

Usher's 2004 studio album, Confessions, was an instant commercial success. Confessions falls heavily in the R&B genre. The album also  recieved mostly positive reviews which earned Usher several awards , including a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album. By the end of the year 2009, The music prodigy was named number one HOT 100 artist of the 2000s decade. Billboard named Usher the second most successful artist of the 2000s decade, with his highly successful 2004 album Confessions being ranked as the top solo album of the 2000s decade.Billboard also willingly placed Usher at number six on their list of Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years.