Going into the world of international pop music, who is the best artist? What's the message that they are trying to convey? Are their songs catchy? What's the background of the artist?

Pop is, by definition, the most popular music genre, as it is universal as it is catchy, fun, and relatable. The term first originated in the 1950s in the United Kingdom and the United States.

With a diverse list of artists also specializing in R&B, rock, and contemporary, pop music is well-known because of these crowd-pleasing artists.

The artists below are famous for their pop music that has earned many awards on the Billboard music charts and achieved many other honors. Of course, this isn't a full list of all pop music artists. There are many others, but for now, this article displays some of the best-known artists. Please be aware that this list is perhaps a bit biased, as it includes some of my favourite artists whose genre is pop, but who are also currently trending.

ONE DIRECTION

They were BIG back from 2010 and 2015. They beat The Beatles, their "boy band ancestors", for their 4.8 million total sold for its three albums. One Direction is Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Niall Horan. Directioners (the band's fandom) are DEVASTATED about the 5-year hiatus, wondering when they are getting back together, with Zayn or not. With a total of 242 awards and 366 nominations for their five albums, One Direction was first formed in 2010 on the British reality show The X Factor. With the members originating from the United Kingdom and Ireland, they specialize in POP, teen pop, and pop rock, but also have their own documentary called This Is Us, which you can watch on Netflix. Their popular songs are "What Makes You Beautiful" (their debut song), "Story Of My Life," and "Best Song Ever." One Direction beats BTS in Best Boy Band of the decade.

ALBUMS: Up All Night (2010), Take Me Home (2012), Midnight Memories (2013), Four (2014), and Made In The A.M.(2015).

ARIANA GRANDE

Ranking number 4 in my personal best pop artist ranking, Ariana Grande-Butera is known for her four-octave vocal range, praised by many. She rose to fame with her role of Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television series Sam & Cat and Victorious. Her music is influenced by pop and R&B, and she's collaborated with various artists including Jessie J and Nicki Minaj in "Bang Bang," and also The Weeknd with "Love Me Harder." She has 51 awards and nominations to her name, dating back to her debut album Yours Truly. With her collaboration song with Mac Miller "The Way", she reached the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart in the United States for the first time, ranking at number nine. I do recommend her Christmas covers and songs.

ALBUMS (studio) : Positions (2020), thank u next (2019), Sweetener (2018), Dangerous Woman (2016), My Everything (2014), Yours Truly (2014)

HARRY STYLES

Ranking number one on every single list I have, Harold Edward Styles first rose to fame in 2010 with One Direction, with his band members Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Zayn Malik. Harry Styles' first debuted song "Sign Of The Times" came out two years after the band's hiatus. With his debut album, Harry Styles, and his latest album, Fine Line, Harry Styles won or was nominated for 16 awards along with winning two Oscar awards. The famous Harry Styles is not only a musician, but also an actor. He starred in Christopher Nolan's 2017 film, Dunkirk, and this year was cast in Olivia Wilde's Don't Worry Darling, starring Florence Pugh and Chris Pine. His song from Fine Line "Watermelon Sugar" is still on the US Billboard Hot 100, and has been there for a long time. His most recent music video, "Golden," reached 57 million views in less than a week, along with his other videos from both albums: "Sign Of The Times," "Kiwi," "Lights Up," "Adore You," "Falling," "Watermelon Sugar," and "Golden."

ALBUMS: Harry Styles (2017), Fine Line (2019)

BILLIE EILISH

As one of the currently trending artists right now, Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell first gained the media's attention when she uploaded her single "Ocean Eyes" in 2015. Her brother, Finneas O'Connell, produces her music, writes some songs, and collaborates with her during live shows. Billie Eilish's debut EP, Don't Smile At Me, reached the top 15 in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia. Her song "Bad Guy" was the her first number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Billie Eilish not only dominated the charts for individual songs, but also, her WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? album became one of 2019's best-sellers. She won 31 awards along with 51 nominations but also, as an 18-year-old, she was the second person in history to win all four major Grammys in a year. Along with her short film, NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY, some of her other hit singles are "Everything I wanted," "my future," and "Therefore I Am."

ALBUMS: WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? (2019), Don't Smile At Me (2017)

BTS

These K-POP superstars go by the names of J-Hope, V, RM, Suga, Jung Kook, Jin, and Jimin, and are members of currently the world's biggest boy band, dating back to 2010, when the band first formed and then debuted in 2013 by Big Hit Entertainment. With their 51 awards and 12 nominations, here's what they've won: first K-POP group to perform at the Grammys, first K-POP group to achieve number one on the Billboard Hot 100, first K-POP band to be nominated for the Grammys. They've beaten The Beatles on multiple records. Their most popular international singles are "Boy With Luv" feat. Halsey and "Dynamite," their first all-English song.

REAL NAMES: J Hope (Jung Hosoek), Jimin (Park Jimin), V (Kim Tae Hung), RM (Kim Nam Joon), Suga (Min Yoon Gi), Jung Kook, (Jeon Jung Kook), Jin (Kim Seok Jin)

ALBUMS: BE (2020), Map Of The Soul 7 (2020), Map Of The Soul Persona (2019), Love Yourself 結 'Answer' (2018), Love Yourself 轉 'Tear' (2018), Love Yourself 承 'Her' (2018), Wings (2016), The most beautiful moment in life: Young Forever (2016), The most beautiful moment in life: pt.2 (2015), The most beautiful moment in life: pt.1 (2015), Dark & Wild (2014), Skool Luv Affair (2014), O!RUL8,2? (2013), 2 Cool 4 Skool (2013).

So now you know a bit more about these artists, their albums, their awards and their hits. Who do YOU think is the best pop artist of the 21st century? Please chime in on the comments.

Information in this article comes from OneDirection.Fandom.com, UltimateClassicRock.com, Wikipedia, Insider.com, ibighit.com, and planetradio.co.uk. Extra help with BTS references from Kaelia P, g8!