The Billboard ranking that enraged Swifties on social media for placing Taylor Swift at #2

Who is the greatest pop star of the 21st century? A tough question to answer due to its subjectivity, but one which music and entertainment magazine Billboard attempted to tackle all the same. Needless to say, not everybody was impressed with their ranking, not least fans of Taylor Swift.

The Eras Tour star was ranked ahead of Katy Perry, One Direction, Bruno Mars, Shakira, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Drake and Rihanna…yet that wasn’t enough for many Swifties, enraged someone had pipped their idol to top spot.

Billboard’s Swift assessment

“She is the only person to ever win album of the year at the Grammys four times,” says Billboard of Swift. “She has the second-most Billboard Hot 100 entries of all time (only Drake has more) and ties with Jay-Z for second-most No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 (bested only by The Beatles).

“She is one of the most impressive touring artists of the past quarter-century, a status that has culminated with her global Eras Tour becoming the highest-grossing trek of all time in 2023, just halfway through its run, as it repeatedly set stadium attendance records and boosted local economies in its confetti-and-friendship-bracelet-strewn wake.

“She’s a billionaire, the only female artist to become one predominantly through music alone. She is the most famous woman in the world.”

Who is Billboard’s choice as Greatest Pop Star of the 21st century?

But all that didn’t stop Beyoncé from being Billboard’s top choice as Greatest Pop Star of the 21st century, as revealed on Instagram. “She has proven to be a performer and creator whose commitment to innovation, evolution and all-around excellence has made her the bar against which all other pop stars this century have long been measured.”

Cue a barrage of comments fans of other artists, with Swift backers seemingly those most upset.

Swifites’s disbelief at Beyoncé Billboard ranking

“This is crazy! And hilarious. And subjective. Taylor is #1," wrote media personality Perez Hilton, among the most high-profile commenters.

“Taylor is clearly number 1. Beyoncé does not have the impact Taylor has today,” claimed another, apparently not understanding the point of the exercise.

The list goes on:

- “Beyonce is just samples of old songs and just a superstar in the US, Taylor is global.”

- “Taylor beats Beyoncé on every numerical metric. The numbers speak for themselves.”

- “Number #1 was clearly Taylor’s, she is above EVERYONE. This is completely wrong and there is no need to say in so many words what they did for her to be #2, right? Just analyze some recent events and you will understand what happened.”

- “As talented as Beyoncé is, Taylor outdid her on every level. she deserves the number one spot.”

- “THIS IS A JOKE RIGHT? Taylor is THE MUSIC INDUSTRY! Lit No artist has ever filled the top 10 spots on the top 100 and Taylor has done it twice!!!!!!!”

You get the point…

The case for Beyoncé

Of course, social media being social media, there were also plenty of voices biting back, the majority citing Beyoncé’s overall ‘impact’ and ‘influence’ on the music industry (to avoid listing another stream of comments).

Who’s right and who’s wrong? Well, there’s simply no way to answer to that objectively. Swift will, at least, surely get another chance to claim top spot when the ranking is inevitably updated as the midpoint of the century approaches in 2050.

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