Teens in The Top 10
How have our youngest Pop stars shaped hit music through the years? You might be surprised.
Our society seems to have a standing vendetta against whoever occupies the 13- to 19-year-old demographic.
When my fellow Gen Xers were teenagers, we were assaulted with news stories lamenting our sex, drug use and drinking and condescending Public Service Messages urging us to shape up.
Nowadays, Gen Z teenagers hear how they’re not having sex, not drinking, and not engaging in dangerous behavior. You’d think society would be ecstatic. We finally curbed dangerous behavior in our youth!
Nope. They’re calling it a “failure to launch.”
While lamenting whatever teens are doing or not doing is apparently ageless, the presence of teenage artists in popular music is not. Some years have been much better for teen artists than others, while two periods have been teenage wastelands.
We’re currently in one of them.
When Have Teenage Artists Had Hits?
I calculated the age of every solo artist at the time each of their Top 10 hits reached its peak chart position. For groups, I averaged the age of the key members. For example, John, Paul, George and Ringo were collectively 22 years old when “I Want To Hold Your Hand” reached #1 in February 1964. For many groups, I’ve included only the most prominent member(s). Yes, that’s admittedly subjective.
First, let’s establish a baseline: The average age of an artist with a Top 10 hit on the billboard Hot 100 is 28.4 years old.
1960 and 2015 are the years with the lowest average Top 10 artist age.
1981 and 2025 are the years with the oldest average Top 10 artists.
Now the teenagers: Looking at the number of songs that reach the Top 10 each year (regardless of how long those songs stayed in the Top 10),
1959 is peak teenager. 25% of all Top 10 songs that year were by 13- to 19-year-olds.
In 2008, the second highest year, 17% of the songs reaching the Top 10 were by teens.
The era between Disco and New Wave was a teenage wasteland. From 1980 through 1984, no teenage artists reached the Hot 100’s Top 10. We’re currently in the second longest teenage artist drought: No teen has had a Top 10 hit since Gayle’s "abcdefu" reached #3 in March 2022.
Below are the percentage of teenagers with Top 10 hits by year, but instead of songs, this graph examines weeks spent in the Top 10 by year. Comparing this graph to the songs graphs above tells you when teenage artists’ hits were outperforming their grown up colleagues.
Most years there’s hardly any difference, but two years do stand out:
In 1997, at the beginning of the Boy Band boom, teen artists had 13% of the songs in the Top 10, but 18% of the weeks in the Top 10. The artists punching above their weight include Usher, Aaliyah, Robyn, Monica, and the only one with a last name, LeAnn Rimes.
In contrast, teens had 17% of the songs in the Top 10 in 2008 as noted above, but only 10% of the weeks in the Top 10 in 2008. Those under performing teens included Chris Brown, Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, and the earliest Top 10s by Taylor Swift.
The Biggest Teenage Artists of Each Decade
Who are the most successful teenage artists through the years? You might be surprised.
Perhaps you expect bubblegum Pop artists, with forgettable songs appealing only to middle school girls. That’s not the bulk of teenage artists. Furthermore, many of those Pop stars whose posters once adorned teens’ walls were themselves way too old for their fans.
You also might assume teen artists to be the cutting edge voice of a new generation, innovators pointing the way Pop’s future hits. Arguably, there are a few such artists herein—Stevie Wonder and Billie Eilish for example. They’re rare. From Elvis to the Beatles and Dylan, from Nirvana to Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. and from Kendrick Lamar to Chappell Roan, most innovators for a new generation are actually adults from the previous generation.
Generally, teen artists are remarkably normal.
The 1960s
No decade had more Top 10 hits from teenagers than the 1960s. You might expect early 60s teen idols such as Bobby Rydell, Brian Hyland or Paul Anka to have the most week sin the Top 10, or one of the early 60s girly girl artists like Mary Wells or Little Eva.
Perhaps you’d guess Cher, who did have a solo hit with "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" in 1966 when she was still 19. (Her Sonny & Cher hits don’t count, since Sonny was—uhm—older.)
You might even think of the Beach Boys, whose average age was barely under 20 when “Surfin’ U.S.A.” peaked in ’63.
None of these artists even make the Top five.
#3 - Stevie Wonder
He spent 34 weeks in the Top 10 from "Fingertips - Part 2" in 1963 where he was just 13 through "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" in 1969 when he was 19. In between, Stevie scored massive hits with "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" (1966). "I Was Made to Love Her" (1967), "For Once in My Life" (1968), and "My Cherie Amour" (1969) while still a teenager. At
#2 - Herman’s Hermits
Front man Peter Noone was 17 when “"Can't You Hear My Heartbeat" reached #2 in 1965. The group had 11 Top 10 hits in total though 1967, collectively spending 48 weeks in the Top 10, including the #1s "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" The streak ended with "There's a Kind of Hush" before Noone turned 20.
#1 - Brenda Lee
From 1960 through 1963, she continued her late 50s streak with another 12 Top 10 hits spending 69 weeks in the Top 10—all while she was 15 to 18 years old. Her biggest was the #1 smash “I’m Sorry,” which spend a then lengthy 11 weeks in the Top 10.
Little Miss Dynamite as they called her would make Adult Pop and Country hits after her teen years which didn’t reach the Hot 100’s Top 10. However, her most rewound chart record is for "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". When it reached #1 during the 2023 Holiday season, Brenda Lee became the oldest artist ever to top the Hot 100 at age 78—for a song she recorded when she was barely a teenager at 13.
The 1970s
Children of the late 70s recall when Shaun Cassidy, Andy Gibb and Leif Garrett were teen idols—but even their fans know the teens who truly dominated the 70s:
#1 - The Jackson 5
Michael wasn’t even a teenager yet when "I Want You Back" hit #1 in 1970. The average group age was just 14. They’d score eight Top 10 hits through 1974’s “Dancing Machine," totaling over 61 weeks in the Top 10. As a solo artist, Michael spent another 24 weeks in the Top 10 before turning 20. (He was 21 when he returned to the Top 10 with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" in 1979) Even Jermaine had a Top 10 hit as a teenager with “Daddy’s Home.”
#2 - Donny Osmond
The Osmonds scored their first Top 10 smash in 1971 with “"One Bad Apple" when they averaged only 15 years old. As a group, they had 5 songs reach the Top 10 that cumulatively spent 25 weeks there. But Donny Osmond as a solo artist spent 27 weeks in the Top 10 with his own five hits, including "Sweet and Innocent" when he was only 13. Sister Marie Osmond was only 14 when she reached the Top 10 with “Paper Roses.”. Finally, Donnie and Marie dueting scored two Top 10 hits when both were teenagers.
Michael Jackson would grown into an icon. Donny Osmond, on the other hand, had to hide his identity when releasing his 1989 comeback “Sacred Emotion,” with New York’s 95.5 WPLJ (r.i.p.) playing it as a “mystery artist.”
The 1980s
After teenagers disappeared for the first half the decade, several teen acts returned for Reagon’s second term. You already know the four teen artists who will dominate the 80s, but do you know which spent the most weeks in the Top 10?
#4 - New Edition
They were the first artist to break the teen drought in 1984 with “Cool It Now.” Along with “"If It Isn't Love,” they spent 10 weeks in the Top 10.
#3 - Tiffany
She spent 18 weeks in the Top 10 with her four hits, including her #1 hits "I Think We're Alone Now" and "Could've Been.”
#2 - New Kids on the Block
With five Top 10 hits in 1989, they spent 24 weeks in the Top 10 with songs like "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" and "Hangin' Tough." (At this point, most of my high school classmates gave up on Top 40 Pop and listened to the new Classic Rock station in town.)
#1 - Debbie Gibson
She also had five Top 10s, but hers spent 30 weeks there, from “"Only in My Dreams" and “Shake Your Love” in 1987 to "Lost in Your Eyes" in 1989.
The 1990s
The Backstreet Boys were, on average, 21 when they first reached the Top 10. The Spice Girls and N’Sync were 22. And while Britney and Christina did score Top 10s as teens, they’re not even in the decade’s Top 5. The Top 3 are big enough to not need last names:
#3 – Brandy
Her five Top 10 hits during the 1990s spent 45 weeks in the Top 10, including her 1998 #1 “"Have You Ever?"
#2 – Usher
He had three Top 10 hits during his 19th year on earth, including his debut “"You Make Me Wanna...", which alone spent 23 weeks in the Top 10. Those three songs spent just over a year in the Top 10.
#1 – Monica
At age 14, her first hit reached the Top 10, “"Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)." At age 17, she had her first #1 with "The First Night." Her six Top 10s spent 64 weeks there.
The youngest teenager to reach the Top 10 in the 1990s was LeAnn Rimes. She only had one hit, but “How Do I Live” spent 32 weeks in the Top 10. That was a record and wouldn’t be surpassed until the streaming era in the late 2010s. Born in 1982, LeAnn Rimes was the first Millennial with a Top 10 hit.
The 2000s
Yes, Christina and Britney had more hits before turning 20. Avril Lavigne had three Top 10s as a teen. Hannah Montana became Miley Cyrus and partied in the U.S.A. when she was still 16. And yes, Taylor Swift was 18 when she first reached the Top 10. They’re not in the Top 3:
#3 – Ciara
She was 18 when "Goodies" featuring Petey Pablo hit #1 in 2004. She then featured Missy Elliott on "1, 2 Step" that same year. In 2005, she featured Ludacris on "Oh". These three songs—all featuring other artists—totaled 45 weeks in the Top 10, making Ciara the only teen on this list that only scored Top 10 hits with collaborators. She’s in the news again for becoming a citizen of Benin under a new law.
#2 – Rihanna
She had six hits from 2005 to 2007 when she was 17 to 19 years old, including the #1s “"SOS" and "Umbrella." By the time "Don't Stop the Music" peaked in 2008, Rihanna was 20 and she would go on to have a dozen more Top 10s as of now. Her teenage output alone spent 49 weeks in the Top 10.
#1 – Chris Brown
In 2005, “Run It” featuring Juelz Santana reached #1 when Brown was just 16. He’d ultimately have nine Top 10s spending 73 weeks there before turning 20. Like Rihanna, Chris Brown is still making hits in his 30s.
The 2010s
One Direction averaged 19 years old when "What Makes You Beautiful" was in the Top 10, but they weren’t the biggest teen artist of the 2010s. Silentó got throngs of elementary school kids to watch him whip and nee nee at age 17, (and sadly also made the news recently,) but he wasn’t the youngest star of the decade. That would be Justin Bieber, who was only 15 when "Baby" featuring Ludacris reached the Top 10. None of these teen artists lead the 2010s:
#2 (tie) Shawn Mendes
His three Top 10 hits spent 31 weeks there, including his first and biggest hit "Stitches."
#2 (tie) Billie Eilish
She only had two hits as a teenager at the end of the decade. "Everything I Wanted" only spent a week in the Top 10. Her #1 hit "Bad Guy", however, spent 30 weeks in the Top 10 and has the honor of knocking Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” out of the #1 spot. As music critic Tom Breihan noted, no grown up could have accomplished that feat.
#1 – Lorde
Surprised? Between “Royals" and “Team,” Lorde enjoyed 37 weeks in the Top 10, more than any other teenage artist in the 2010s. Groundbreaking for turning club cliches on flexes on their head, “Royals” signaled a new youth spirit that either rejected aspirational culture or simply gave up on it. At 16, Lorde was too young to remember life before the Great Recession.
The 2020s
We’ve been in a teenage drought for three years.
Before it started, Billie Eilish reached the Top 10 briefly with three forgettable hits before she turned 20. (Her hits are big again, albeit not cutting edge.) Lil Mosey was 18 when he gave us his ode to Michigan’s favorite regional soda pop. Gayle was 17 when she used some pretty grown-up language on "abcdefu".
#1 - Olivia Rodrigo
There’s only one real teenage star of the 2020s; Her four Top 10s have spent 56 weeks there, including her #1 debut “Driver’s License” and “"Good 4 U,” which spent 24 weeks in the Top 10. She’s a leading example of the “Bedroom Pop” subgenre, a softer and more intimate style that appeals to Generation Z. Born in 2003, Rodrigo herself is a last wave Millennial (according to Straus & Howe’s Generations). She’s had two additional Top 10s since turning 20.
The Future for Teenage Artists
When our current teenage artist dry spell finally ends, that teenage artist will be our first Generation Z hitmaker. Those kids now criticized for failing to launch, waiting too long to have sex, not drinking, and living too cautiously in a world that’s seemed dangerous their whole lives will one day create music that reflects their experience.
It won’t be the extreme bluntness of Generation X’s Grunge and Classic Hip Hop, who grown ups criticized for growing up too fast. Quite the opposite. It will reflect an inward intimacy and subtle subversiveness that stems from being called too cautious.
Don’t look for the first Generation Z teens to create those songs, however. If history repeats itself, those babies born just before the Great Recession and who grew up playing Minecraft will—as teens—will perform middle-of-the-road Pop songs during the rest of the 2020s. Think Miley Cyrus or Herman’s Hermits—timely, but not innovative.
And yet, some grown up who insists he’s not that old will complain about it.
Data sources for this post:
The Billboard Hot 100: https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100
Wikipedia’s Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 singles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Billboard_Hot_100_top-ten_singles