1 / 22

The Moment Your Favorite Artist Became a Superstar - All stars aren’t born the same. Each artist takes his or her own path, but few make it to that rare place where you hear the cheers in abundance and everyone knows your name. Superstar is a term that gets thrown around pretty loosely these days, but we all recognize the true gods and goddesses of music. The game-changers, the outliers, the universally celebrated (or hated) talents that help shape pop culture. Click on as we examine the moment when some of today’s music elite entered that exclusive tier of fame.(Photos from left: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images, Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

2 / 22

Jay Z - The best of both worlds (streets and mainstream) finally converged for Jay Z on his third studio album Vol. 2…Hard Knock Life in 1998. Previously the Brooklyn MC had enjoyed critical acclaim for his seminal debut, Reasonable Doubt, and his stellar sophomore effort, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, but it was the pop appeal of Hard Knock Life that gave him the highest selling album of his career and introduced him to the upper echelon of stardom.(Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)

3 / 22

Kanye West - “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people.” Those are the infamous words that made Kanye West a household name. The producer/rapper’s criticism of President George Bush’s handling of Hurricane Katrina during a nationally televised benefit concert in 2005 was an awe-inspiring act of fearlessness. From that point on the masses became familiar (hate it or love it) with that very audacity and impulsiveness that Kanye delivers in his music and in the flesh. (Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

4 / 22

Rihanna - Sadly, the night Rihanna experienced the most humiliating moment in her life is the point where her career entered a whole new path. Following her much-publicized assault at the hands of her then-boyfriend Chris Brown in 2009, the Bajan- born singer transformed into the brash global icon we know today. Determined not to become a prisoner of the controversy, Rih faced the unrelenting media attention and criticism head-on as her music matured to a darker, sexier and more liberating place. Bad Gal Rih Rih was born, and if you don’t like it ph---k it!(Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

5 / 22

Chris Brown - At this point you’ve got to know that the careers of Chris Brown and Rihanna are entwined for life. Though that fateful night raised the nation’s awareness of the R&B singer, he didn’t necessarily realize his full potential of super stardom until he fought his way back from music purgatory. It took a combination of an iconic performance at the 2010 BET Awards and a mega-hit with 2011’s “Look At Me Now” for the singer to reach the top of the mountain. Now he’s hands-down the most polarizing figure in music. (Photo: FameFlynet)

6 / 22

Dr. Dre - Somewhere in between being a member of one of the most controversial rap groups of all-time and launching Aftermath Records, Dr. Dre became a superstar. But since we’re here to pinpoint a moment let's go back to 1992 when Dre released his seminal solo debut The Chronic. Arguably the most influential album of all-time the Compton-born producer was able to take all the angst from his gangsta rap N.W.A days and channel it into a new all-inclusive sound, G-funk, with pop sensibilities. (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella)

Photo By Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella

7 / 22

Eminem - Eminem enjoyed instant success on his multiplatinum-selling Aftermath Records debut, The Slim Shady LP, but there were still those who were on the fence about the talents of the Detroit MC. Not everyone bought into the sometimes gimmicky raps and saw Em’s rise as a consequence of his race and signing with Dr. Dre. By his sophomore album in 2000, those attitudes changed. The Marshall Matters LP marked Em’s arrival as a true superstar (a controversial one at that) and put him on a path to hip hop immortality.  (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

8 / 22

50 Cent - Few artists have made the rapid ascent from relative obscurity to super stardom in the way Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson did in 2003. Tracking the arrival of the Queens MC is as easy as remembering the first time you heard his ubiquitous hit "In Da Club" or the infamous tale of him surviving nine shots. The song was everywhere and the story was in every magazine from GQ to XXL. Signing to Eminen and Dr. Dre’s Shady/Aftermath immediately set the stage for Fif’s classic debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, which led to his reign as a hip hop king.(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella)

9 / 22

Lil Wayne - Lil Wayne was already a rap veteran by the time he turned 25. However, he didn’t become the cultural icon and superstar we know today until he released the Grammy Award-winning Tha Carter III in 2008. Weezy rightfully earned the self-appointed “best rapper alive” moniker with the LP that reached a million sales in its first week. At this point he was beloved by all as his hit-making ability drew in mainstream music lovers with pop smashes (“Lollipop”) and garnered the respect of hip hop heads that held on to regional biases with deft rhymes (“A Milli”). (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

10 / 22

Drake - Nothing was the same when Drake released his breakout mixtape So Far Gone in 2009. The YMCMB rapper became the most bankable hitmaker in the genre. His infectious luxe sound currently dominates radio whether he’s solo or lending his multiple talents to peers. All that said, the moment Drake earned his superstar stripes was when he released his sophomore album, Take Care, in 2011. Ironically, Drake spends much of the ingenious LP lamenting his struggles with fame, but for all his grief the project debuted at No. 1 in the U.S. and Canada. It spawned hits like “The Motto,” “Headlines” and “Take Care” and set the stage for his Club Paradise tour, which was the highest grossing hip hop tour of 2012. (Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for ESPN)

11 / 22

Mary J. Blige - For most of us in the urban community Mary J. Blige was always in the upper stratum of stardom early in her career. We were on board with her debut, What’s the 411? and she left no question after her definitive sophomore album, My Life. Still, it took some time for music lovers on the mainstream side of things to join in. Though she made some ground with her fourth album, the self-titled Mary, thanks to grandiose collaborations with Elton John and Eric Clapton, it was her fifth solo release, No More Drama, that put the stamp on her star power. The 2001 album featured her biggest single to date, the Dr. Dre-produced “Family Affair,” which helped to garner the type of international success that she had never experienced previously. (Photo: C.Smith/ WENN.com)

12 / 22

Beyoncé - Truth be told, Destiny’s Child was kind of a big deal when Beyoncé went solo in 2003. Though Bey stood as the centerpiece to the biggest girl group in the history of music, she still had to prove herself independent of Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. No easy task, but the masses bought in quickly to the developing storyline of her budding relationship with hip hop king Jay Z. With fans eager to get the scoop on the new power couple the release of the "Crazy in Love" music video gave birth to the baddest chick in the game and the No. 1 love story in hip hop and R&B.   (Photo: Photopress / Splash News)

13 / 22

Nicki Minaj - Nicki Minaj was on shaky ground with her core rap fans as she became increasingly pop with her records, but she forced everyone to take a step back when she signed an $8 million contract to be a judge on American Idol. Not only did she manage to get under the skin of one the world's most loved divas, Mariah Carey, with the deal, but she also solidified her place as a viable commercial presence. She's since released a new lipstick with Mac and filmed her first major motion picture role.(Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)

14 / 22

Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey was an instant success, but after a decline in sales on her second album, Emotions, her label wanted her to go more pop. Music Box is what she came up with, led by "Dreamlover," her first song to sample something from the old school. The album also produced her single "Without You," which gave her first European chart-topper, taking No. 1 in the U.K., Germany and Sweden. And it eventually became one of the best-selling of all time with 32 million copies sold. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for BET)

15 / 22

Snoop Dogg - Snoop Dogg revealed he was a superstar early in his career. Though his ability to make songs was in part honed by his cousin Nate Dogg and his friend Warren G, it was when he got with Dr. Dre, then at Death Row, and made his first album, Doggystyle that the world took notice. It broke the record for highest-selling debut and fastest-moving album at the time when it opened at No. 1 on the charts with more than 800,000 sold. (Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

16 / 22

Justin Timberlake - It almost seemed like Justin Timberlake's career was going to end in boy band land when N'SYNC went on hiatus, and the former Mouseketeer ended his courtship with pop princess Britney Spears. But JT quickly shut down any questioning with the release of his solo debut, Justified. It was mostly produced by Pharrell, giving him an undeniable cred in urban music, as did the lead single "Like I Love You" featuring the Clipse and the Timbaland-produced follow up "Cry Me a River" featuring a Britney look-a-like in the video. (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS)

17 / 22

Usher - Usher helped to create a new genre, Crunk&B, when he released "Yeah!" as the lead single on his diamond-selling fourth album, Confessions, which became an instant hit, selling 1.1 million in its first week. The single, which also featured vocals from Ludacris and its producer, Lil Jon, had the longest run at the top of the charts than any other song in 2004, and it was only replaced by Usher's next single, "Burn." (Photo: Tyler Golden/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank)

18 / 22

Pharrell - Pharrell proved his place as a genius producer when he took Gwen Stefani, one of the most celebrated rocker chicks of the early 2000's, and helped transform her into a successful pop solo artist. The most polarizing of the songs they recorded together for her debut, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. was "Hollaback Girl," but it's also the one that gave her her first No. 1 on Billboard and a parody on Family Guy.(Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images for PURE Nightclub)

19 / 22

Diddy - Bad Boy founder Sean "Diddy" Combs was amid recording his debut album when his close friend and biggest signee, Notorious B.I.G. was brutally murdered. He decided to press on with the project, eventually naming it "No Way Out" and including material he recorded with Biggie as well as the album's most successful single, the hastily released, tear-jerking song, "I'll Be Missing You." The album went septuple platinum. (Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment)

20 / 22

J-Lo - The fly girl's self-titled sophomore album, J-Lo, hit shelves just days before her rom-com The Wedding Planner hit theaters. Both works showed a more sensual side of Lopez than her previous efforts, and the move made her the first entertainer to have a number-one album and number-one film in the same week.(Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

21 / 22

Alicia Keys - Alicia Keys had two major deals before she signed with Clive Davis' then newly formed J Records via which she finally released her debut, Songs in A Minor. Her unique blend of cornrows, piano chords and R&B soul had the world fallin' for her music, and she swept that year's Grammy Awards, tying Lauryn Hill's then record for most won by a female artist in one night with five of those golden gramophones.(photo: WENN.com)

22 / 22

Adele - Adele became a hit across the pond and stateside with the release of her debut, 19. But it was her next album, 21, that had her rolling in the deep. She said it was inspired by a break up with a boyfriend — to which many could relate. For that kind of honesty she won six Grammy's (tying Beyoncé's record for most won by a female artist in a single night), and a diamond certification.(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)