The ‘90s had some pretty hot singers. Some of them – like Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce – have managed to get better with age – both professionally and physically. Others, however, haven’t been as fortunate. For these stars, the ‘90s were the best of times. They looked great and their careers were on fire. Some of them have experienced varying levels of success since their heyday; however, they haven’t been able to maintain it the way they did back then. Who knows, maybe they don’t want to. Being in the public eye must be exhausting. We don’t blame these singers for taking a step back and enjoying other things in life. Here are 8 singers who were hotter in the ‘90s!
8. Shania Twain
Shania Twain was the hottest thing in country music during the ‘90s. She was incredibly talented and successful and, on top of that, ridiculously gorgeous. She had a body most women would kill for and she had no problems showing it off. Before her, no women in the country music industry were wearing crop tops – most of them probably couldn’t even if they wanted to! Twain is just one of those few women who have been blessed genetically.
After releasing Up! back in 2002, we haven’t see a whole lot from this country singing beauty. She took a step back from music and went to live in Switzerland with her husband at the time Robert John “Mutt” Lange and started a family. It wasn’t until he had left her for one of her friends that she slowly started to make a bit of a comeback. She had a two-year residency in Las Vegas; however, she has still yet to release another studio album.
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7. Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera was one of the biggest pop stars to come out of the late ‘90s. When she released her self-titled debut album, she looked like a totally different woman. She was bright eyed and petite with one of the prettiest faces that we’ve ever seen on a young pop star. She was also incredibly talented with her powerful voice. Britney Spears didn’t have those kinds of pipes.
Aguilera has undergone a number of different transformations since she first shot to fame. She went from being all sweet and innocent to rocking a pair of chaps with a bikini to looking classy to being downright sloppy. She still has that ridiculously powerful voice but, over the years, her career has gone from red hot to almost ice cold. Her last album Bionic failed to meet the success of her previous albums and, on “The Voice,” she is best known for her constant bickering with Adam Levine.
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6. Britney Spears
The late ‘90s belonged to Britney Spears. She was at the top of her game then. She worked ridiculously hard, had a body to die for and was more successful than any other pop star. She was so influential that she basically created fashion trends. The reason that crop tops even became a thing was because of her.
Spears managed to hold onto her hotness for a while in the early 2000s; however, after a couple of kids and a well-publicized meltdown, she has never quite been able to get back to her old self. Her career hasn’t quite been what it used to be either. Her most recent album, Britney Jean, has been her lowest charting and lowest selling album to date. Right now, she has a residency at Planet Hollywood, which has generated a lot of income for her; however, these sorts of gigs are usually reserved for older celebrities who are past their prime.
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5. Faith Hill
Faith Hill broke onto the country scene in the ‘90s. She was a tall, slim blond and extraordinarily pretty. That wasn’t all – she was also extraordinarily talented. Once she was discovered, it didn’t take her long to become one of country music’s leading ladies. In addition, she has also made her mark in the pop world. Her album Breathe debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart.
The ‘90s were Hill’s glory days. Since then, she has continued to perform and release music; however, she did disappear for a few years. After returning, her music career didn’t quite bounce back to what it was. For the last few years, she has seemed more interested in maintaining what is left of her youth. She has been spotted at an assortment of events looking more frozen than her friend Nicole Kidman. She just can’t seem to accept the fact that she is aging.
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4. Madonna
Madonna shot to fame in the ‘80s; however, during the ‘90s, she really made her mark. She was constantly pushing the envelope with her sexual videos and books. She wanted to prove that a woman can be both sexual and intelligent and we think that she succeeded. She had loads of sex appeal and she was easily the savviest businesswoman in Hollywood.
During the 2000s, Madonna still experienced a great deal of success; however, she seemed to have some difficulty letting go of the fact that she was no longer in her prime. Her figure seemed to suddenly change. She went from being slim and toned to being ridiculously muscular. She has the sort of arms that would make the average man a wee bit nervous. Also, her face looks more and more tweaked with each passing year. She doesn’t seem to want to let go of her youth even though it is already long gone.
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3. Toni Braxton
During the ‘90s, there was a good year where Toni Braxton was just on fire. Who can forget her video for the song “You’re Makin’ Me High” – most of it showed her dancing around in a tight white long-sleeved one-piece bodysuit or hanging out with her friends in a little mini skirt, rating men on their level on attractiveness.
Braxton’s success was really short-lived. She quickly went from winning Grammy Awards to filing for bankruptcy. She made a short-lived comeback in 2000 with her hit singles “He Wasn’t Man Enough for Me” and “Just Be a Man About It,” but she proved that she didn’t have any real staying power. In 2012, she claimed that she was retiring; however, a year later, she released another album, Love, Marriage and Divorce, which won Best R&B Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards. In spite of this small victory, her career is still a far cry from what it was back in the 90s.
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2. Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson is considered the most successful recording artist of the ‘90s. She was one of the highest paid singers thanks to the two record-breaking multi-million dollar contracts with Virgin Records and she was also a sex symbol. She never had a voice like Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston, but she had crisp athletic dance techniques like no other artist of her time. She has been so influential in the pop world that performers like Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears have copied her moves.
The “All For You” singer continued to dominate the pop world in the 2000s; however, her controversial Super Bowl performance with Justin Timberlake greatly compromised her once unstoppable career. After that, she took a step back from the music industry. She is no longer in the public eye like she used to be and, as a result, she has become more known in recent years for her yoyo dieting than her music.
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1. Mariah Carey
Mariah Care’s heyday was in the ‘90s. With her five octave vocal range, curly hair and fit physique, it was practically impossible for other singers in the industry to really compete with her. Whitney Houston, at one point, was her only real competition; however, Carey had way more sex appeal.
As soon as the 2000s hit, things really began to fall apart for the superstar singer. In 2001, she suffered a physical and mental breakdown after leaving Columbia Records for Virgin Records; her film debut “Glitter” was a critical and commercial disappointment; and Virgin bought out her contract when her greatest hits album and the album for “Glitter” had lackluster sales. She did make a comeback in 2005; however, things seem to be falling apart for the powerful songstress once again. She is currently in the midst of a midlife crisis. Nick Cannon is divorcing her and she is struggling with the fact that she isn’t as young and hot as she used to be.