The Best Pop Groups Of 2023
Updated October 2, 2023 3.8K votes 1.0K voters
Over 1.0K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Pop Groups Of 2023
Do pop groups even exist anymore? Of course, but they're not as easy to find as you might think. In a world full of popstars, rock bands, rappers, county singers, techno DJs, and eccentric indie artists, it's difficult to discover new pop music by actual groups beyond the Top 40 solo musicians with backup bands. That being said, we've got a fire roster of 2023's hottest pop bands, ranging from hybrid alternative pop rock supergroups Imagine Dragons and Bastille to Y2K-inspired boybands 5 Seconds of Summer and PRETTYMUCH. Whether your music taste leans more towards indie duo Beach House or the OG trendsetters ABBA and Tears for Fears, we want to know which trending pop groups currently conquer your car stereos!
Which of these musicians are you most excited to see live, and whose records are you listening to right now? Vote below for the best pop groups of 2023, and be sure to also check out this year's top new pop songs afterwards.
Most divisive: 5 Seconds of Summer
Ranked by
- 1512 votesImagine Dragons are an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Imagine Dragons' lineup consists of lead vocalist Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne "Wing" Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band gained exposure following the release of their debut studio album, Night Visions and first single "It's Time". The band's second studio album Smoke and Mirrors reached number one on the Billboard 200, Canadian Albums Chart, and UK Albums Chart. Night Visions peaked at number two on the weekly Billboard 200 and UK Albums Chart. According to Billboard, Imagine Dragons topped the year-end rock rankings for 2013; Billboard named them "The Breakthrough Band of 2013", and Rolling Stone named their single "Radioactive" "the biggest rock hit of the year". MTV called them "the year's biggest breakout band." Imagine Dragons won an American Music Award for Favorite Alternative Artist, a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance, five Billboard Music Awards, and a World Music Award.
- 2527 votesColdplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1996. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University College London and began playing music together from 1996 to 1998, first calling themselves Pectoralz and then Starfish. After releasing Safety EP independently in 1998, the band signed with Parlophone during the next year. Their debut album, Parachutes (2000), included the breakthrough hit "Yellow" and received a Brit Award for British Album of the Year, a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, as well as a Mercury Prize nomination. Their second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), won the same accolades while also spawning the singles "Clocks" and "The Scientist", with the former winning a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. The band's third album, X&Y (2005), was the best-selling of the year worldwide.
- 3847 votesBTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produces much of their own material. Originally a hip hop group, their musical style has evolved to incorporate a wide range of genres; their lyrics have often discussed mental health, the troubles of school-age youth and coming of age, loss, the journey towards self-love, and individualism. Their work also frequently references literature, philosophy and psychological concepts, and includes an alternate universe storyline.
- 4270 votesThe Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM-pop duo achieved a breakthrough with their 2014 song "#Selfie", which became a top-twenty single in several countries. They have won a Grammy award, two American Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards and nine iHeartRadio Music Awards. According to Forbes 2019 list of highest-paid celebrities, the Chainsmokers were the highest-paid DJs, dethroning Calvin Harris after six years. Their debut EP, Bouquet, was released in October 2015 and featured the single "Roses", which reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. "Don't Let Me Down", featuring American singer Daya, became their first top-five single on the Billboard chart and won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2017. Their single "Closer", featuring Halsey, became their first number-one single on the Billboard chart.
- 5263 votesABBA are a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's name is an acronym of the first letters of their first names. They became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1974 to 1982. ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 at The Dome in Brighton, UK, giving Sweden its first triumph in the contest. They are the most successful group to have taken part in the competition. During the band's active years, it was composed of two married couples: Fältskog and Ulvaeus, and Lyngstad and Andersson. With the increase of their popularity, their personal lives suffered which eventually resulted in the collapse of both marriages. The relationship changes were reflected in the group's music, with latter compositions featuring darker and more introspective lyrics. After ABBA disbanded in January 1983, Andersson and Ulvaeus achieved success writing music for the stage, while Lyngstad and Fältskog pursued solo careers with mixed success. ABBA's music declined in popularity until the purchase of ABBA's catalogue and record company Polar by Polygram in 1989 enabled the groundwork to be laid for an international re-issue of all their original material and a new Greatest Hits (ABBA Gold) collection in September 1992, which became a worldwide bestseller. Several films, notably Muriel's Wedding (1994) and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), further revived interest in the group and spawned several tribute bands. In 1999, ABBA's music was adapted into the successful musical Mamma Mia! that toured worldwide. A film of the same name, released in 2008, became the highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom that year. A sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, was released in 2018. On 27 April 2018, it was announced that the band had recorded two new songs after 35 years of being inactive, named "I Still Have Faith in You" and "Don’t Shut Me Down". On 18 September 2018, in an interview, Andersson said that they are still working on the songs, with possibly a third one written; they are set to be released in 2019.Estimates of ABBA's total record sales are over 380 million, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. ABBA are the first group from a non-English-speaking country to achieve consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. They have a joint record eight consecutive number-one albums in the UK. The group also enjoyed significant success in Latin America, and recorded a collection of their hit songs in Spanish. ABBA were honoured at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005, when their hit "Waterloo" was chosen as the best song in the competition's history. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2015, their song "Dancing Queen" was inducted into the Recording Academy's Grammy Hall of Fame.
- 6295 votes5 Seconds of Summer are an Australian pop rock band from Sydney, New South Wales, formed in late 2011. The group consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Luke Hemmings, lead guitarist Michael Clifford, bassist Calum Hood, and drummer Ashton Irwin. Originally beginning their career as YouTube celebrities, they rose to international fame while touring with English-Irish boy band One Direction on their Take Me Home Tour. Since 2014, 5 Seconds of Summer have sold more than 10 million albums, sold over 2 million concert tickets worldwide, and the band's songs streams surpass 7 billion, making them one of the most successful Australian musical acts in history. In the US, 5 Seconds of Summer became the first Australian act to achieve three number one albums on the Billboard 200 album chart. They also became the first band (not vocal group) to have their first three full-length albums debut at the top in the US.
