Instantly palatable, radio-friendly, and delicately set atop the line dividing radio accessibility and dance floor buoyancy, pop soul brushed a wide stroke across the soul / R&B canvas. Pop soul essentially assumed as its blueprint Berry Gordy, Jr.'s original crowd-pleasing demographic at Motown and updated it for the future. In the 1960s, pop soul's top sellers were the 5th Dimension and Motown itself, while the crossover success of pop soul in the '70s and '80s made superstars of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the O'Jays, and most of all, Michael Jackson.

Notable Artists: The 5th Dimension; Stevie Wonder; Michael Jackson; Gladys Knight