There’s nothing like some good ol’ before and after pictures of pop divas to remind you just how much quicker you age than celebrities.
It’s also a great way to remember decade-old hairstyles that should never come back, questionable fashion choices and several early-to-mid-life crises that you loved to witness.
Aside from some of the younger Disney stars who were still going through their confusing teens in 2007, basically, every pop diva in this list hasn’t changed, proving age is just a number in Hollywood. Either that or time machines are real.
Christina Aguilera
2007:From the end of 2006 to October 2008, pop diva Christina Aguilera was on her Back to Basics Tour which visited Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. The singer’s Back to Basics Tour was one of the ten highest-grossing tours of 2007, as well as the top-grossing solo female tour of that year. Aguilera was the nineteenth-richest woman in entertainment in January 2007 according to Forbes, with a net worth of $60 million. Christina took time off between 2007 and 2010 to have her son, Max, with now ex-husband Jordan Bratman.
2017: In 2017 Christina is on her sixth album, a judge on The Voice, and has welcomed a daughter named Summer with current fiancé Matthew Rutler, who she met on the set of her 2010 film Burlesque in which she starred alongside musical legend Cher. The pop diva also voiced the character Akiko Glitter in 2017’s The Emoji Movie and in May it was announced that she’d been cast in the sci-fi romance film Zoe.
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Rihanna
2007: It feels almost impossible to pick a time in Rihanna’s career when she wasn’t incredibly successful, groundbreaking or influential. Similar to her image, Rihanna was always reinventing herself in music, trying several different musical directions throughout her career. In 2007, Rihanna had already begun work on her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad which focused on more uptempo dance tracks. Released in May 2007, Good Girl Gone Bad charted at number two in Australia and in the US, the most well-received of her first three albums. The lead single, Umbrella, remained at number one in the UK for ten consecutive weeks. The songs Shut Up and Drive, Hate That I Love You and Don’t Stop the Music were also released as singles. In support of the album, Rihanna began the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour in September 2007 with 80 shows. Rihanna was nominated for several 2008 Grammy Awards for Good Girl Gone Bad, winning her first for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for Umbrella. After her successful year in 2007, former Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson even made national “Rihanna Day” official in their country in early 2008.
2017: Rihanna’s first release for 2017 was her feature in Future’s single Selfish. Summer 2017 was also the release of Rihanna and DJ Khaled’s Wild Thoughts, and Kendrick Lamar’s single, Loyalty. Rihanna also showed off her acting chops (what can’t she do?) when she played Marion Crane in the final season of Bates Motel. Rihanna also starred in the film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and will also be in the widely-anticipated Ocean’s 8 which will be released on June 8, 2018. And because having a day named after her isn’t enough, the street where Rihanna was raised was renamed “Rihanna Drive” on November 30, 2017, in St. Michael, Barbados.
ShutterstockSelena Gomez
2007: Gomez had a reoccurring role as a pop star on Hannah Montana long before she became one herself. While appearing on Miley Cyrus’ show in 2007, Gomez was trying to land her own Disney series. The singer filmed pilot episodes for two potential Disney Channel series (a spin-off of the Suite Life and a spin-off of Lizzie McGuire) before landing the lead of Alex Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place. The series was well-received and launched Gomez towards mainstream success. Gomez also began planting seeds in her music career; she recorded the theme song for Wizards of Waverly Place titled Everything is Not What It Seems, and also appeared in the Jonas Brothers’ music video for their hit single Burnin’ Up.
2017: After recently revealing her struggle with Lupus, Selena Gomez underwent a kidney transplant at the end of 2017. She announced via Instagram in September that her absence was because she was in recovery and that her best friend and actress Francia Raisa had been her kidney donor. In early 2017, Gomez and Kygo collaborated on the single It Ain’t Me, which reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Gomez also serves as executive producer for the successful Netflix series Thirteen Reasons Why. Gomez also released the single Bad Liar on May 18, and the follow-up single Fetish was released on July 13 of 2017. Following her recovery from her kidney transplant surgery, Gomez and EDM producer Marshmello collaborated on the new track Wolves. Gomez’s love life took an interesting turn in 2017 too. She had started dating Canadian singer The Weeknd at the beginning of 2017, making their relationship official at the Met Gala, but they broke up shortly after Gomez’s kidney transplant. She’s now been seen hanging out with old flame and first love, Justin Bieber, doing couple’s activities like hot yoga together.
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Mariah Carey
2007: In 2017 Mariah Carey released her eleventh studio album, E=MC², dropping lead single Touch My Body two weeks before the album’s release. The lead single reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Carey’s eighteenth number one and making her the solo artist with the most number-one singles in United States history, surpassing Elvis Presley. Carey is second only to The Beatles, who have twenty number-one singles. E=MC² debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 463,000 copies sold, the biggest opening week sales of her career. Since 2007, Mariah has released four more albums, completed a Las Vegas residency, appeared in eight films, and gave birth to twins.
2017: Carey released the single I Don’t at the beginning of 2017. She also voiced the Mayor of Gotham City in the animated film The Lego Batman Movie. She even made a cameo appearance on the comedy film Girls Trip. In early 2017, Carey announced she would be launching her own record label, Butterfly MC Records and went on tour with Lionel Richie later that summer. Carey was featured in the official remix for French Montana’s single Unforgettable. Carey also developed an animated Christmas film, titled Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You, recording an original song titled Lil Snowman. So what’s next for the busy Hollywood star? Carey is set to co-executive produce a scripted drama about her rise to fame in New York City.
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Jennifer Lopez
2007: In September 2007, Lopez starred in the biographical film El Cantante (a box-office flop), which is based on the life of the late salsa singer Héctor Lavoe. In the film, Lavoe is portrayed by then-husband Marc Anthony while Lopez plays his on-screen wife Puchi. Lopez has stated she believes this was one of her most Oscar-worthy performances. Lopez and her then-husband Marc Anthony also co-headlined a North American tour in 2017. In October, Lopez released her sixth studio album Brave, her lowest-charting album worldwide. Lopez then gave birth to twins in February 2008, putting her career on hiatus.
2017: Lopez became an executive producer and judge on the new dance competition series World of Dance, which premiered on NBC on May 30, 2017. It was the most-watched premiere for a summer alternative series in nine years, gathering over 9.7 million viewers. According to Forbes, Lopez was the eleventh highest-paid female celebrity between June 2016 and June 2017, with earnings of about $38 million. Following her divorce from Marc Anthony, Lopez had an on-off relationship with her former backup dancer Casper Smart from 2011 to 2016. In 2017, the singer began dating former New York Yankees baseball player Alex Rodriguez and the couple looks happier than ever.
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Miley Cyrus
2007: In 2007, Cyrus released Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus which was a double-disc album; the first was sung by “Hannah Montana,” and the second was Miley’s debut album. Cyrus was also still dating singer Nick Jonas in 2007, claiming it was love at first sight. It was her relationship with one of the Jonas Brothers and her funny YouTube videos with fellow Disney stars Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato that really shot Cyrus towards fame. Cyrus then signed a four-album recording contract with Hollywood Records to distribute her non-Hannah Montana music. The album became her second to reach the top of the Billboard 200. She also collaborated with her father on the single Ready, Set, Don’t Go. From 2007 to 2008, Cyrus launched her successful Best of Both Worlds Tour and Ticketmaster officials said that there hadn’t been “a demand of this level or intensity since The Beatles or Elvis.”
2017: Miley has recreated herself multiple times since 2007, each transformation more shocking than the one before. To date, the singer has released five albums and established herself beyond her Disney/Hannah Montana roots. In 2017 she released the album Younger Now, which was a return to her country roots. She currently appears as a judge on The Voice and has even said following Younger Now’s release that she’ll be taking a break from making music to focus on her role in the successful TV series. She’s also appeared in nine films since 2007 and is engaged to actor Liam Hemsworth (for the second time) since meeting him on the set of her first movie, The Last Song back in 2010. Her successful single Malibu from her latest album Younger Now is an ode to their life together.
ShutterstockKelly Clarkson
2007: Clarkson released her third studio album, My December, in June of 2007. My December debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart and went on to sell over 2.5 million copies worldwide. It featured only one major hit single, Never Again. Clarkson partnered with NASCAR during their 2007 season, appearing in televised advertisements, performing at pre-race concerts and promoting NASCAR Day. At the Academy of Country Music Awards in May of 2007, Clarkson sang a country version of Because of You. It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.
2017: Kelly Clarkson, who left the limelight for a while and some feared maybe for good, had a great year in 2017. In September, Clarkson released her new lead single Love So Soft along with the song Move You and released her album Meaning of Life a month later. Clarkson also opened the 45th American Music Awards with singer P! nk performing Everybody Hurts to honour first responders. Clarkson also performed Miss Independent and Love So Soft, the latter being nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the Grammys. She now holds the record for the most nominations in that category with four. Clarkson also did voice work for the first time for the animated film, The Star and had a guest voice role in the Netflix animated series Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh.
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P! nk
2007: P! nk collaborated with several artists in 2006 and 2007, opening for Justin Timberlake for the North American portion of his FutureSex/LoveShow Tour and co-wrote Outside of You, which Hilary Duff recorded for her 2007 album Dignity. P! nk also recorded the song Sing with Annie Lennox and twenty-two other female acts for Lennox’s fourth solo studio album, which served as an anthem for HIV/AIDS. Shortly after a rocky year with husband and freestyle motocross competitor Carey Hart, the couple separated in early 2008.
2017: Since her split from her husband Carey Hart, the couple got back together and had two children together. In June 2017, P! nk confirmed she was making her next studio album and the lead single What About Us from her seventh studio album, Beautiful Trauma, was released in August. Having quite the successful year, P! nk also received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the MTV Video Music Awards in August. Her speech, which she dedicated to her daughter and encouraged females to be driven and unique, was praised by viewers. She also performed a medley of some of her hits, including her new single What About Us before accepting the award. What About Us reached number one on the Adult Pop Songs chart. P! nk also collaborated with Eminem (who she’s admitted she’s a huge fan of) on the song Need Me for his ninth studio album Revival, released in December.
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Celine Dion
2007: In May of 2007 Celine Dion released the French-language album D’elles (“About Them” in English), which debuted at the top of the Canadian album charts. Later that same year, Dion released the English album Taking Chances, her first English studio album since 2003’s One Heart. The Canadian singer launched her year-long worldwide Taking Chances Tour in early 2008, performing 132 dates in stadiums and arenas across five continents. Dion was nominated for six Juno Awards in 2008, including Artist of the Year, Pop Album of the Year (for Taking Chances), Francophone Album of the Year (for D’elles) and Album of the Year (for both Taking Chances and D’elles).
2017: Dion had taken up residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas since March 2011. With an estimated 70 performances per year, this made Dion the “most profitable music act in Las Vegas” since Elvis Presley. In August of 2014, Celine Dion announced all planned shows through March 2015 would be cancelled due to her husband and manager Rene Angelil’s battle with throat cancer. Dion resumed residency in August 2015 but in January 2016 Dion cancelled the rest of the January performances due to her husband’s death, followed by her brother’s death two days later also from cancer. Dion resumed the residency in February to a sold-out crowd and rave reviews. The singer wasn’t afraid to show her sorrow openly when she returned to the stage and several videos of her emotional performances went viral. Dion’s popularity has sky-rocketed in recent years, and the strength the singer has shown during her residency has made her even more beloved by fans. Dion recently recorded How Does a Moment Last Forever for the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack, released in March 2017.
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Alicia Keys
2007: Keys made her film debut in 2007 with Smokin’ Aces, and received praise from her co-stars who said the singer was a natural. Keys then co-starred alongside Scarlett Johansson for her second film, The Nanny Diaries, of which she also received recognition for her performance. Keys released her third studio album in 2007, As I Am, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and became her fourth consecutive number one album, tying her with Britney Spears for the most consecutive number-one debuts on the Billboard 200 by a female artist. Keys received five nominations for As I Am at the 2008 American Music Award and went home with two. The album’s lead single, No One, peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks.
2017: In 2007, Keys gave birth to two sons and in May 2016 the singer began a makeup-free campaign, going with a fresh face to the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. Keys has also appeared as a guest judge on the successful TV series The Voice, winning the competition during her second season with artist Chris Blue. In January 2017 she released the track That’s What’s Up and in May of 2017, Alicia announced that she was working on her seventh studio album. In October 2017, NBC announced that Keys would be returning for the 14th season of The Voice.
ShutterstockGwen Stefani
2007: Stefani’s second studio album, The Sweet Escape, was released at the end of 2006. Wind It Up, the album’s lead single, was moderately successful, while the title track, The Sweet Escape, reached the top 10 in over 15 nations. To promote The Sweet Escape, Stefani was a mentor on American Idol and performed the song with Akon. The song earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Stefani promoted the album with a worldwide tour, The Sweet Escape Tour, in 2007. During this time, Stefani was still with guitarist and lead singer Gavin Rossdale whom she’d met while on tour with the Goo Goo Dolls, both opening for Rossdale’s band Bush. They married in 2002 and had three sons; Kingston James McGregor Rossdale born on May 26, 2006, Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale born on August 21, 2008, and Apollo Bowie Flynn Rossdale born on February 28, 2014.
2017: In July 2017, Stefani announced that she was working in the studio and planned to release new music; the album, titled You Make It Feel Like Christmas, was released on October 6, 2017. The album’s title featured guest vocals from current beau Blake Shelton. Stefani filed for divorce from Rossdale back in the summer of 2015 and by November 2015, Stefani and country music artist Blake Shelton, her The Voice co-star, were dating. In order to promote the record, Stefani hosted a Christmas television special on NBC called Gwen Stefani’s You Make It Feel Like Christmas.
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Adele
2007: The year 2007 marked Adele’s big break in the music industry. The singer made her television debut in June 2007, performing Daydreamer on the BBC’s Later. By October 2007, Adele’s hit song Hometown Glory was released. By 2008, she was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics’ Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008. Her album 19, which she named after her age in which she wrote and composed several of the tracks, entered the British charts at number one.
2017: Adele embarked on her tour, Adele Live 2016, in 2016. The tour was so successful Adele broke Taylor Swift’s five-show record for most consecutive sold-out shows at the Staples Center. That same year the singer received awards for British Female Solo Artist, British Album of the Year for 25, British Single of the Year for Hello, and British Global Success at the 2016 Brit Awards in London. The Grammys were no different, with Adele winning all five of her nominations, including Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album for 25, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for Hello. In early 2017, tabloids also started speculating that Adele was married and during her acceptance speech at the Grammys, Adele confirmed her marriage to charity entrepreneur Simon Konecki who she’d been dating since 2011 and shared a child. Her world tour also continued into 2017, and her first two shows in New Zealand sold out in a record-breaking 23 minutes. Adele also sold a record-breaking 600,000 tickets for her eight-date Australian tour, setting stadium records throughout the country, and her Sydney show was seen by 95,000 people, the biggest single concert in Australian history. Adele wasn’t finished though and broke her own record the following night with over 100,000 fans in attendance. In 2017, Adele was ranked the 19th richest musician overall in the UK and Ireland in the Sunday Times Rich List.
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