Modern R&B music.
Contemporary R&B was firmly established at the beginning of The '80s when Disco died out and took a little bit of Funk and Soul with it (outside the mainstream, at least). The producers of that era started to experiment with synthesized sounds, with a stronger emphasis on pop influences. Michael Jackson's highly influential Thriller is a perfect example his impact on R&B music for the later half of this decade. Janet Jackson brought producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis into the mainstream with her own influential Control album. Teddy Riley was also big name producer in this era, fusing hip-hop and R&B, creating New Jack Swing. Tina Turner made a huge comeback and many other R&B artists got their start during this time
By and large, however, the 1990s is considered to be the boom period. Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson continued to dominate, but we already had other popular artists riding the R&B wave, which has now absorbed Hip-Hop within its diverse sound. Boy Bands and Girl Groups reigned supreme, not to say that solo singers didn't make their impact. This was also the decade the Grammy enacted the Best R&B album.
By the late 1990s and the Turn of the Millennium, Contemporary R&B's popularity cooled a little, but the rise of Neo Soul boosted by Lauryn Hill's groundbreaking The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill took place, not to mention more fusions with other genres such as Electronic Music, Rock, and Dance, and "crunk & B"/"snap & B" was also briefly a phenomenon in the mid-2000s courtesy of hits like Cherish's "Do It to It", Houston's "I Like That", and Baby Bash's "Cyclone". In the first years of The New '10s, Pop and R&B were almost inseparable as genres as artists like Beyoncé and Chris Brown can easily be played in Pop playlists and the growing influence of dance music is shaping the genre. As of 2012 this seems to be changing with the rise of artists like Frank Ocean and The Weeknd, and the newly formed variant called PBR&B, which basically R&B meets Genre Mashup.
Contemporary R&B artists:
- 3LW
- Aaliyah
- Paula Abdul
- Adele
- Al B. Sure!
- Christina Aguilera
- Akon
- Lily Allen
- Aloe Blacc
- Amerie
- India.Arie
- Ashanti
- B5
- Babyface
- Backstreet Boys
- Justin Bieber
- Big Time Rush
- blackbear
- Bobby Brown
- Kane Brown (country-pop with R&B influences)
- Boyz II Men
- Mary J. Blige
- Brandy
- Toni Braxton
- Chris Brown
- BTS
- Alexandra Burke
- Alessia Cara
- Mariah Carey
- Cheryl
- Chloe x Halle
- Ciara
- Cee Lo Green (albeit with Hip-Hop and pop leanings)
- D'Angelo
- Brown Sugar (1995)
- Voodoo (2000)
- Black Messiah (2014)
- Miles Davis (while largely rooted in jazz, his final years saw him experiment with other genres, including R&B)
- Doo-Bop (1992)
- Day 26
- Kat DeLuna
- Dean
- Ester Dean
- DeBarge
- Jason Derulo
- Destiny's Child
- Survivor (2001)
- Beyoncé
- Dangerously in Love (2003)
- Beyoncé (2013)
- Lemonade (2016)
- Kelly Rowland
- Michelle Williams
- Doja Cat (plays the Genre Roulette between Hip-Hop, Pop, and R&B)
- Drake
- En Vogue
- Estelle
- Faith Evans
- Fergie
- Rebecca Ferguson
- Fifth Harmony
- Nelly Furtado
- Tyrese Gibson
- Giulietta
- Kat Graham
- Ariana Grande (Pop, but very heavily inspired by 90's-style R&B)
- Guy
- HAIM (Genre Mashup/Genre Roulette of Alternative Rock and 90s-style R&B)
- Lauryn Hill
- Whitney Houston
- Jennifer Hudson
- Sam Hunt (combined with country-pop)
- Janet Jackson
- Control (1986)
- Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989)
- janet. (1993)
- The Velvet Rope (1997)
- All For You (2001)
- Michael Jackson (though some would debate he is more Pop, the music is rooted in R&B)
- Off the Wall (1979)
- Thriller (1982)
- Dangerous (1991)
- HI Story Past Present And Future Book I (1995)
- Invincible (2001)
- Jessie J
- Jodeci
- Nick Jonas (originally a member of the Disney Channel-sponsored pop rock Boy Band The Jonas Brothers. Went solo with a mature sound far removed from his original band)
- Kehlani
- Alicia Keys
- Khalid
- John Legend
- Leona Lewis
- Little Mix
- Lizzo
- Jennifer Lopez
- Pixie Lott
- Demi Lovato
- Milli Vanilli
- Mis Teeq
- Nicki Minaj
- Janelle Monáe
- Victoria Monét
- Monica
- Mýa
- New Edition
- New Kids on the Block
- Ne-Yo
- *NSYNC
- Frank Ocean
- Keke Palmer
- Charlie Puth
- Raghav
- Bebe Rexha
- Lionel Richie (some would say he is more pop than R&B)
- Rihanna (Though slightly edging more towards pop, and often plays the Genre Roulette.)
- Rated R (2009)
- R. Kelly
- Sade (although they're more Genre Mashup, their core sound is quiet storm R&B)
- Jill Scott
- Sam Smith
- Willow Smith
- Sugababes
- Pussycat Dolls
- Jussie Smollett
- Jessica Simpson
- Solange
- 2016 - A Seat At The Table
- Gwen Stefani
- Stooshe
- Raven-Symoné
- Ray J
- Seal
- Diggy Simmons
- Trey Songz
- SZA
- Robin Thicke
- Meghan Trainor
- Tinashe
- T-Pain
- TLC
- 1994 - CrazySexyCool
- Tony Toni Tone
- Usher
- 2004 - Confessions
- Luther Vandross
- Countess Vaughn
- Jody Watley
- The Weeknd
- Mack Wilds
- Pharrell Williams (with occasional forays into Alternative Hip Hop)
- Vanessa Williams
- Amy Winehouse
- ZAYN (Former member of pop rock boy band One Direction. Went solo with a much more mature sound.)