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 of 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 a 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 Alternative R&B, which basically R&B meets Genre Mashup.
Contemporary R&B artists:
- 3LW
- Aaliyah
- Paula Abdul
- 1988 - Forever Your Girl
- Adele
- 2011 - 21
- Al B. Sure!
- Christina Aguilera
- Jhené Aiko
- Akon
- Lily Allen
- Aloe Blacc
- Amerie
- India.Arie
- Ashanti
- B5
- Babyface
- Backstreet Boys
- Bell Biv DeVoe
- Justin Bieber
- Big Time Rush
- Blackbear
- David Bowie (briefly dived into this style in 1992-1993, mixing it with jazz fusion, lounge-pop, and his usual brand of art rock)
- 1993 - Black Tie White Noise
- Bobby Brown
- Chris Brown
- Kane Brown (country-pop with R&B influences)
- Boyz II Men
- 1991 - Cooleyhighharmony
- 1994 - II
- Mary J. Blige
- Brandy
- Toni Braxton
- BTS
- Alexandra Burke
- Kandi Burruss
- Tevin Campbell
- Alessia Cara
- Mariah Carey
- 1995 - Daydream
- 1997 - Butterfly
- 2005 - The Emancipation of Mimi
- Cheryl
- Chloe x Halle
- Ciara
- Cee Lo Green (albeit with Hip-Hop and pop leanings)
- D'Angelo
- 1995 - Brown Sugar
- 2000 - Voodoo
- 2014 - Black Messiah
- Miles Davis (while largely rooted in jazz, his final years saw him experiment with other genres, including R&B)
- 1992 - Doo-Bop
- Day26
- Kat De Luna
- Dean
- Ester Dean
- DeBarge
- Jason Derulo
- Des'ree
- Destiny's Child
- 1999 - The Writing's on the Wall
- 2001 - Survivor
- Beyoncé
- 2003 - Dangerously in Love
- "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"
- 2013 - Beyoncé
- 2016 - Lemonade
- 2022 - Renaissance
- Kelly Rowland
- Michelle Williams
- Ryan Destiny
- Doja Cat (plays the Genre Roulette between Hip-Hop, Pop, and R&B)
- Drake
- En Vogue
- Estelle
- Faith Evans
- Fergie
- Rebecca Ferguson
- Fifth Harmony
- Jamie Foxx
- Nelly Furtado
- Tyrese Gibson
- Giulietta
- Kat Graham
- Ariana Grande (90's R&B-style Pop, would eventually shift completely towards Contemporary R&B in the late 2010s)
- Guy
- H.E.R.
- HAIM (Genre Mashup/Genre Roulette of Alternative Rock and 90’s-style R&B)
- Lauryn Hill
- Marques Houston
- Whitney Houston
- Jennifer Hudson
- Sam Hunt (combined with country-pop)
- Janet Jackson
- 1986 - Control
- 1989 - Rhythm Nation 1814
- 1993 - janet.
- 1997 - The Velvet Rope
- 2001 - All For You
- Michael Jackson (though some would argue he is more Pop, his music is rooted in R&B)
- 1979 - Off the Wall
- 1982 - Thriller
- 1991 - Dangerous
- 1995 - HI Story Past Present And Future Book I
- 2001 - Invincible
- Trevor Jackson
- Luke James
- Jessie J
- Jodeci
- Joji
- 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
- Klymaxx
- John Legend
- Leona Lewis
- Little Mix
- Lizzo
- Cher Lloyd
- Jennifer Lopez
- Pixie Lott
- Demi Lovato
- Madonna (At times, particularly the albums Bedtime Stories and Hard Candy)
- Bruno Mars
- China Anne McClain
- Mark Morrison
- Miguel
- Milli Vanilli
- Mindless Behavior
- Mis-Teeq
- Nicki Minaj
- Janelle Monáe
- Victoria Monét
- Monica
- Mýa
- New Edition
- New Kids on the Block
- Ne-Yo
- *NSYNC
- Audrey Nuna
- 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)
- 2009 - Rated R
- 2011 - "We Found Love"
- R. Kelly
- Sade (although they're more Genre Mashup, their core sound is quiet storm R&B)
- Jill Scott
- Guy Sebastian
- 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
- Taylor Girlz
- Gloria Tesch
- Trey Songz
- SZA
- SWV
- T-Pain
- Robin Thicke
- Justin Timberlake
- 2013 - "Mirrors"
- Tinashe
- TLC
- 1994 - CrazySexyCool
- Tony Toni Tone
- Meghan Trainor
- Usher
- 2004 - Confessions
- Luther Vandross
- Countess Vaughn
- Dionne Warwick
- Jody Watley
- The Weeknd
- Mack Wilds
- Pharrell Williams (with occasional forays into Alternative Hip Hop)
- Vanessa Williams
- Amy Winehouse
- Xscape (Group)
- ZAYN (Former member of pop rock boy band One Direction. Went solo with a much more mature sound.)