What 20 iconic pop stars looked like in their 20s

At 20, Madonna left the Midwest for New York. She had a few modeling and dance gigs under her belt but had dreams of becoming a musician.

She released her first album, "Madonna," in 1983 when she was 24. By the following year, the album was certified platinum, paving the way for a successful career to follow.

She has since released over a dozen albums and chart-topping singles such as "Like A Virgin," "Like A Prayer," "Vogue," and more.

In her 20s and beyond, Madonna also starred in films like "Desperately Seeking Susan" (1985), "Dick Tracy" (1990), "A League of Their Own" (1992), and "Evita" (1996).

Now in her 60s, she's still a culturally relevant pop star, known by many as the Queen of Pop.

Prince signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records at 19 and released albums every year from 1978 until 1982.

He released his sixth album, "Purple Rain," in 1984 alongside the band The Revolution. The album was the soundtrack to a film of the same name and helped boost Prince's success even further.

Prince disbanded The Revolution in 1986 and released "Sign o' The Times," an album lauded by many as one of the greatest of his career.

Prince died in 2016 from an opiod overdose.

Beyoncé began her career in the 1990s as a member of the R&B group Destiny's Child.

Together, the group released iconic hits like "Say My Name," "Bills, Bills, Bills," "Survivor," "Bootylicious," and "Jumpin', Jumpin.'"

During the group's hiatus, Beyoncé released her first solo album, "Dangerously in Love," at 21 in 2003. This album included hit songs like "Crazy in Love," "Naughty Girl," and "Baby Boy."

She has since become one of the most successful singers of all time, releasing iconic songs like "Irreplaceable," "Halo," "Single Ladies," "Love on Top," "Drunk in Love," and "Break My Soul."

Beyoncé has also ventured into acting, most notably starring in the 2006 film "Dreamgirls."

She released her seventh studio album, "Renaissance," in July 2022. In 2023, she broke the record for most Grammy wins by any artist and set off on her wildly successful Renaissance World Tour.

David Bowie started his professional music career in the 1960s, releasing several singles, including "Space Oddity." In 1972, Bowie debuted his alter ego Ziggy Stardust at age 25.

He also played a lead role in the musical fantasy film "Labyrinth" (1986) and appeared in a number of other movies.

Bowie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, and continued to act and sing into the 21st century.

He died in 2016 at 69, two days after the release of his final album.

Mariah Carey started her career as a backup singer for Brenda K. Starr.

Carey signed her own record deal with Columbia Records in her early 20s.

Her first four singles each topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and her iconic song "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is played annually during the holiday season.

In addition to her successful music career, she has appeared in movies, served as a judge on "American Idol," and published a memoir.

In her 20s, Cyndi Lauper was starting her foray into music as part of the band Blue Angel.

Lauper was 30 when she released her first solo album, "She's So Unusual," in 1983, which quickly became a worldwide success.

In addition to hits like "Time After Time" and "She Bop," her debut album included Lauper's iconic version of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."

Over her career of 40 years, she has released 11 studio albums and acted in countless other projects. She also composed the score for the Broadway musical "Kinky Boots," earning her a Tony Award in 2013.

Most recently, she appeared in the Prime Video series "The Horror of Dolores Roach" and released a song to accompany the show.

Shortly after moving to Los Angeles at 16, Cher met entertainer and songwriter Salvatore "Sonny" Bono. The two were married in 1964 and sang together as Sonny and Cher.

Throughout her 20s, Cher found success both alongside her husband and on her own. After the pair's divorce was finalized in 1975, Cher continued to pursue a successful solo music and acting career.

One of her most recent albums, "Dancing Queen," came out in 2018, the same year she appeared in "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!"

She is the only female artist to earn a No. 1 single on a Billboard chart in seven consecutive decades and is widely referred to as the Goddess of Pop.

Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, in 1958. As a child, he was a member of The Jackson Five, collaborating on hits like "I Want You Back" and "ABC."

Although Jackson began his solo career in 1971, he found widespread success after releasing his first solo album, "Off the Wall," in 1979.

In his 20s, he released countless hits, including "Beat It," "Thriller," "Billie Jean," and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)."

Jackson was the subject of many controversies throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, and has had allegations of sexual abuse against him.

He died in 2009 at age 50.

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson was born in Santa Barbara, California, in 1984.

She was 16 when she released her first record, a Christian album, in 2001. A few years later, she adopted her stage name, Katy Perry, and began releasing more secular music.

Her career took off at 23 when she released the 2008 album, "One of the Boys," which featured hits like "I Kissed a Girl," "Hot N Cold," and "Waking Up in Vegas."

She has since released four additional albums, including wildly successful singles like "California Gurls," "Teenage Dream," "Firework," "Last Friday Night," and "E.T."

She has been a judge on "American Idol" since 2018.

Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock in 1939. As a teenager in 1956, she began singing with Ike Turner's band, the Kings of Rhythm.

The two got married and soon renamed the band the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, releasing songs like "River Deep — Mountain High" and "Proud Mary." The group disbanded in 1976, and the two divorced shortly after.

Tina Turner made her comeback in the 80s, releasing an album that included her hit song, "What's Love Got to Do with It."

In 2019, a jukebox musical about her life premiered on Broadway.

Tina Turner died in 2023 at the age of 83.

Alecia Beth Moore, better known by the stage name Pink, was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, in 1979.

She started performing in Philadephia at 14 and was a member of two R&B groups before pursuing a solo career. Pink was 20 when she released her first album, "Can't Take Me Home," in 2000.

She has had countless other hits throughout the years, including "Don't Let Me Get Me," "So What," "Sober," "Just Give Me a Reason," and "What About Us."

She released her ninth album, "Trustfall," in February 2023.

Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1963. She sang in church and worked as a backup singer but was soon signed to her first record deal.

At 21, in 1985, she released her first album, "Whitney Houston," which featured singles like "Saving All My Love for You," "How Will I Know," and "The Greatest Love of All."

Her second album, "Whitney," was the first by a woman to debut the Billboard charts at No. 1.

Her final album, "I Look to You," came out in 2009. Houston died in 2012 at the age of 48.

Before becoming a pop superstar, Jennifer Lopez (also known as J. Lo) entered the entertainment world as a dancer and actor.

In the early 1990s, Lopez was a dancer on the sketch comedy show "In Living Color," and appeared in Janet Jackson's music video for "That's The Way Love Goes."

In 1997, she starred as Selena Quintanilla-Pérez in the biopic "Selena."

Lopez officially launched her music career at 29 with the release of her first album, "On the 6," which included hits like "Let's Get Loud" and "Waiting for Tonight."

She has continued acting, singing, and dancing throughout the past two decades.

Shakira signed her first record deal at only 13. However, it wasn't until her third and fourth albums that she rose to international prominence.

At 24, in 2001, Shakira released her first English-language album, "Laundry Service," which included hits like "Whenever, Wherever."

Since then, she has been nominated for six Grammy Awards and has won three.

She has continued releasing music in both English and Spanish throughout the 21st century and performed as part of the Super Bowl halftime show in 2020.

At 11, Britney Spears started as a Mouseketeer on "The Mickey Mouse Club."

She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her first two albums over the next three years.

Her first single, "...Baby One More Time," which was released when she was only 17, sold over 20 million copies worldwide and broke sales records.

Her subsequent albums, "Britney" and "In the Zone," included hits like "I'm a Slave 4 U," "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman," "Everytime," and "Toxic."

In 2008, she was placed under a conservatorship but continued to release music and perform. The arrangement was officially terminated in 2021.

She released a memoir in October 2023 examining her past relationships and the conservatorship.

Like Spears, Christina Aguilera's foray into entertainment began with her appearance on "The Mickey Mouse Club."

In 1998, Aguilera sang "Reflection" for the Disney movie "Mulan," and the following year, she released her debut album, "Christina Aguilera." This album included songs like "Genie in a Bottle" and "What a Girl Wants."

Throughout the past two decades, she's been featured on chart-topping singles like Pitbull's "Feel This Moment" and Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger." She has won five Grammy Awards to date.

From 2011 to 2016, she was a coach on the hit reality singing competition "The Voice." She is set to begin her second Las Vegas residency in 2024.

Like Spears and Aguilera, Justin Timberlake was also a main cast member on the "Mickey Mouse Club."

He was later part of the boyband *NSYNC, which formed in 1995 and stayed together until the early 2000s.

In 2002, Timberlake began his solo career at 21. His first album, "Justified," featured iconic songs like "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body."

Timberlake has also had a successful acting career, most notably starring in "The Social Network" (2010), "In Time" (2011), and "Friends with Benefits" (2011).

He is still releasing music and acting, and most recently starred in the third film in the "Trolls" franchise.

Kelly Clarkson became a household name at 20 after winning the first season of "American Idol" in 2002.

Her debut single, "A Moment Like This," spent two weeks at No 1. on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Over 14 years, Clarkson earned eight top-five albums, featuring countless hits like "Behind These Hazel Eyes," "Since U Been Gone," "My Life Would Suck Without You," and "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)."

She has also won three Grammy Awards and earned 17 nominations.

Clarkson was a coach on "The Voice" for nine seasons and now has her own talk show, "The Kelly Clarkson Show."

She most recently dropped her 10th studio album, "Chemistry," in June 2023.

Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in 1947. In 1970, he released his first hit single, "Your Song," at age 23.

John gained critical acclaim for his 1973 album, "Goodbye Yellowbrick Road," which included hits like "Bennie and the Jets," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Candle in the Wind," and "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting."

He has also been involved in countless musical films and theatrical productions, composing music for "The Lion King," "Aida," and "Billy Elliot the Musical." He was also the subject of the 2019 biopic "Rocketman."

Most recently, John worked with Dua Lipa on "Cold Heart" and Britney Spears on "Hold Me Closer."

At 21, Barbra Streisand landed her first record deal, released her debut album, and starred as Fanny Brice in the Broadway musical "Funny Girl."

Her debut album "The Barbra Streisand Album" won two Grammy Awards, including album of the year (other than classical) and best female vocal performance.

Streisand later reprised her role as Fanny Brice in the 1968 film version of "Funny Girl." She's also starred in movies like "Hello Dolly" (1969), "A Star Is Born" (1976), and "Yentl" (1983).

Streisand has topped the Billboard 200 chart with 11 albums, holding the record as the woman with the most No. 1 albums until Taylor Swift surpassed her earlier this year.

She is one of few performers to achieve EGOT status, meaning she's won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.