Hair idols: Pop stars who've made big hits with hair styles

When it comes to music these stars have topped the charts, but they've also made some big hits with their hair too.
Here are examples in which style, hair or otherwise, captured the public's attention as equally as the artist's musical ability.

Michael Jackson

The youngest member of the all-afro-hairstyled Jackson 5, Jackson's hair changed to a jheri curl in the 1980s - a popular style at the time, now ridiculed for its "wet" appearance. At 25 years old, Jackson filmed a commercial for Pepsi Cola when a special effects disaster caused his jheri curl to catch fire. Jackson suffered from second degree burns and his hairstyles and facial apperance have changed multiple times since the accident. Today he is virtually unrecognizeable from the launch of his career and wears a lace-front wig. His evolving look and behavior continue to captivate people. The video above is from Jackson's biopic--it features the fire scene in question. It's not supposed to be funny--but the acting is!

Hanson
Best known for the 1997 hit song "MMMBop," the trio of singing and instrument playing brothers known as Hanson were a big hit among teenage girls. With their youthful appearance and long locks, the all boy group's ambiguous gender became the butt of jokes.
 

David Cassidy
Best known for his role in the television series "The Partridge Family" and hit song "I Think I Love You," Cassidy's wavy "shag" hair cut made it to posters that adorned teenyboppers' walls during the early 1970s.

Billy Ray Cyrus
In the 1990s, Billy Ray Cyrus became country music's newest pinup boy, and the crossover appeal of his hit song "Achy Breaky Heart" caused an infectious line dancing craze. Cyrus's short-on-the-sides, long-in-the-back haircut, also known as a "mullet," defined his style.


Madonna
As the ultimate style chameleon, Madonna has altered her image since she exploded onto the 1980s music scene. She continues to be a trendsetter, having gone from short hair to long, blond to black for more than 20 years.
 

Cher
With a career spanning more than 40 years, singer and actress Cher has captivated the world with her unique style. Beginning in the mid 1960s, Cher popularized long, straight hair - fans were ironing their mane to achieve her look. Over the years she has changed her hair color, length and texture through the use of human hair wigs and extensions. On the matter of her ever-changing hair, she has said "I love wigs, and always have. They are so low maintenance. It just makes it easier to change my image."
 

Victoria Beckham
Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham of the pop group Spice Girls has been a hairstyle trendsetter across the Atlantic long before moving to L.A. Only a few years ago, after a year-long experiement with long highlighted hair, Beckham experienced bald spots from the prolonged use of hair extensions. When photographs exploded on the pages of newspapers ridiculing her baldness, she removed the extensions and modernized a chic 1960s bob cut. She now dons a Mia Farrow inspired crop.
 

Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley is one of the most iconic trendsetters of our time, defining music and style. Popularizing the pompadour in the 1950s, Presley's trademark slicked back hair, with the top of the hair forward and curling over itself was a staple of the time, imitated by fans and other notable celebrities. Although his hair is naturally brown, he dyed his hair jet black and continued to set style standards until his death.
 

Vanilla Ice
In 1990 Vanilla Ice became a rap music success with his hit song "Ice Ice Baby." Ice earned mainstream success mostly due to his over-the-top appearance: His off-center, gravity defying brown hair, accented with razored-lines on the side, set a trend that many teens followed.

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