My votes:

C:
Kelly Clarkson
Prince

Pretty easy choices for me here.

D:
Christina Aguilera
Ed Sheeran

Aguilera v Adele is hardest matchup of the day. The 21 album is so good, better than any album Christina put out, but the 25 album is so meh and overrated. Meanwhile Christina never once made an A+ album, but she has so many high quality songs, and I'll take Fighter/Hurt over Deep/Someone Like You to give her the win. I do like Shakira a lot too, but Sheeran has been on a run here and cannot be denied quite yet. Also, his view numbers on youtube are eye-popping, completely dwarfing most of the others on the list. Maybe Magnus was right and he should have been a #1... Oh well, gotta go through Adele eventually right?

Group C: Kelly, Prince.
Group D: Aquilera, Shakira.

Madonna v. Kelly Clarkson is difficult. Madonna is clearly the definition of an iconic popstar and it's odd voting against her since she has the status to be in any final. And while she has released plenty of hits, I just feel like her vast catalog is very uneven with most albums only consisting of two or three songs I like. And I honestly don't like hardly anything post-Confessions on a Dance Floor.

Whereas Kelly has several good hits, her albums have always been good/great, and she's remained strong almost 20-years later. (Not to mention she's an excellent singer). I only place her second to Pink in terms of having everything going for her in modern years (2000-).

Group C

#1 Madonna

#3 Whitney Houston

Group D

#1 Adele

#3 Ed Sheeran

Group C
Madonna
Prince

Group D
Adele
Shakira

Kelly Clarkson
Prince

Adele
Ed Sheeran

Group C

#1 Madonna

#3 Whitney Houston

Group D

#4 Christina Aguilera

#4 Shakira

While I like Kelly, I don't think she's even close to beating Madonna. I prefer Whitney's music to Prince's. Adele had a great two years plus Skyfall and Hello. That doesn't top the career Aguilera has had. I love Shakira. Fun music, unique voice. I'm just not as much a fan of Sheeran.

C
Madonna
Whitney Houston

D
Christina Aguilera
Ed Sheeran

Group C
#4 Kelly Clarkson
#2 Prince
Group D
#1 Adele
Shakira

Group C: Madonna, Whitney Houston
Group D: Christina Aguilera, Ed Sheeran

There are hard choices in Group C and Group D so I'm going with artists whom I've heard most in 2019 and 2020.

A
Mariah Carey
Bieber

B
Katy Perry
Janet

Mariah Carey vs Carly Rae- lol what a joke matchup
Usher vs Justin Bieber- not a fan of either but Usher's highs are better than Bieber's like 2 good songs
Katy Perry vs Beyonce- closest mashup, but the Beyonce and Lemonade albums do nothing for me, while every Perry project has a song I like.

Jennifer Lopez vs Janet Jackson- don't know how on earth Janet Jackson was so popular when literally none of her songs have stood the test of time. J Lo is not a favorite for me but at least I like some by her
Kelly Clarkson vs Madonna- Kelly is clearly not as legendary as Madonna, but I gel far more with Kelly's style of pop rock anthems and ballads than Madonna's hooky dance music
Whitney Houston vs Prince- easy, I am no Prince fan, Whitney has many good classic songs
Adele vs Christina Aguilera- I really like Fighter, but this is no real competition lol.
Ed Sheeran vs Shakira- again lol, Shakira has like Hips Don't Lie and Whenever Wherever. Ed Sheeran has like a dozen hits I like in just 5 years.

Looks like day 2 was a lot more competitive than day 1. Anyone could win those two groups.

Time for part 3!

Group E:

#1 Michael Jackson v #4 Avril Lavigne

#2 Ariana Grande v #3 Enrique Iglesias

Group F:

#1 Rihanna v #4 Nelly Furtado

#2 Bruno Mars v #3 Kesha

And to help you decide...



And don't forget, if you have not voted for any of the previous matchups there is still plenty of time!!!

Group A and B - 2 days remaining

Mariah Carey v Carly Rae Jepsen
Justin Bieber v Usher
Beyonce v Katy Perry
Janet Jackson v Jennifer Lopez

Group C and D - 3 days remaining

Madonna v Kelly Clarkson
Prince v Whitney Houston
Adele v Christina Aguilera
Ed Sheeran v Shakira

My votes

E:
Michael Jackson
Ariana Grande

Mike and Avril both have one terrific album each and then a few hits scattered here and there. Very very close, but I got to give it to the King here.

F:
Nelly Furtado
Kesha

Just going by singles, Rihanna probably tops Nelly Furtado (and the other Nelly too.) Nelly wins this based on album strength though, with both Loose and Folklore still holding up amongst the best in pop.

Avril Lavigne - It feels wrong, but fuck it. I don’t listen to MJ albums and I like Avril’s first album and Goodbye Lullaby.
Enrique Iglesias - Why not? I’m not an Ariana guy and Enrique has a few solid ones

Nelly Furtado - I was into Nelly into multiple ways back in the day
Kesha - I like a few Bruno songs, but this one is easy, I am an actual Kesha fan

Group E:

#1 Michael Jackson

#3 Enrique Iglesias

Group F:

#1 Rihanna

#2 Bruno Mars

Based on just pop stardom, the higher seeds would win all of these. However, I spent a few hours listening to the hits to factor in my preference. MJ wins easily. Ariana has an awesome voice, but I don't like some of her musical choices. I really enjoy Enrique's style of music so he gets the nod from me in a close one.

Group F is awesome. I probably wouldn't turn off anything from these 4 on the radio. So, all else being equal, I have to go with the more prolific careers to break the ties. But I really like Nelly Furtado and Kesha.

E:
MJ
Ariana

F:
Rihanna
Kesha

Group E:

#4 Avril Lavigne

#2 Ariana Grande

Group F:

#1 Rihanna

#3 Kesha

Avril Lavigne vs Michael Jackson- I like a lot more of Avril's songs, Michael's best by far is Smooth Criminal. Nothing else by him really gets me going, though most of his songs are nice and catchy.

Ariana Grande vs Enrique Iglesias- I literally know one song by Iglesias, he was before my time. Ariana's probably my favorite artist still making hits

Rihanna vs Nelly Furtado- Again, I only know one Nelly song, she was before my time. Stay and Diamonds are two of my favorite songs ever.

Bruno Mars vs Kesha- Kesha is ok, but even her good Tik Tok remakes sound like Tik Tok remakes, and she hasn't been able to sustain any momentum post Praying. Bruno Mars is leagues ahead of her.

Why does everyone vote Kesha lol

because we have actual music taste.

#4 Avril Lavigne
#2 Ariana Grande

Group F:
#1 Rihanna
#3 Kesha

Super easy round for me

Group E: Avril Lavigne, Enrique Iglesias
Group F: Rihanna, Bruno Mars

I like MJ's songs but I've heard more of Avril of the two. Arianna vs Enrique was the most difficult matches for me today. I went with the one whom I've heard most. I love Furtado but Rihanna is on a different level. Bruno vs Kesha was no brainer for me.

I’m guessing it is mostly the Rainbow album. I doubt she would even be here without it. Wouldn’t be that surprised it she advanced to the final 8.

Group E: Avril (similar reason to voting for Kelly over Madonna, minus being an excellent singer), Ariana.
Group F: Rihanna, Kesha.