Taylor Swift fans are going ballistic on social media after learning that Billboard ranked her the second greatest pop star of the 21st century.
After bestowing her the covetable title, the outlet recognized that the inevitable controversy that would ‘tear through the internet over her being just one small space below No. 1 is just another testament to her power.’
While defending their decision not to give Swift, 34, the top spot, which will presumably go to musical powerhouse Beyoncé, Billboard reminded readers that Swift got a ‘much later’ start in the millennium in both ‘the genre and music in general.’
Still, Swifties were, as expected, enraged by the editorial decision made by Billboard’s staff, who undertook the difficult task of ranking the top 25 greatest pop stars of the 21st century.
Underneath the announcement on Instagram, a number of Swift fans expressed their outrage as they referred to the list as a ‘joke’ and firmly insisted the Fortnight hitmaker had been ‘robbed.’
‘This is pathetic and should ACTUALLY be corrected,’ one commented. ‘Who approved this list? First of all, yalls bs lists are always unbelievably inaccurate.’
Taylor Swift fans are going ballistic on social media after learning that Billboard ranked her the second greatest pop stars of the 21st century; seen in 2022
Another wrote: ‘She deserved #1 don’t even lie she is the biggest artist of all time not just of the century.’
‘How according to Billboard was Taylor the 8th on thr “greatest artist of all time list” but she isn’t the greatest artist of this century???? Beyonce isn’t even top 10 AND It was before folklore, evermore, all the tvs, midnights, the eras tour, TTPD????’ a third asked.
A fourth referred to putting Swift as #2 as a ‘crime’ while dozens argued that Swift, who is the richest female musician, as the entire ‘music industry.’
Others attempted to remind Swifties of Beyoncé’s ‘cultural impact, sales, numbers, awards.’
‘Something the white privileged Swifties need to understand is that, being repetitive with your records and having them be streamed a lot, doesn’t make an artist great. When your work is repetitive and every record sounds the same, you can’t be #1 artist of the 21st century,’ one fired. ‘Specially if you’re competing with an artists who has done it all from R&B to country to Dance. Cmon.’
Another Beyoncé fan reminded Swifties that ‘this list is based of the last 24 years not just current.’
This did not stop Swifties from leaping to their favorite artist’s defense by sharing a number of her greatest a achievements from her 14 Grammy wins to having the highest-grossing concert tour in history.
‘Beyoncé has had major impact on the industry. She’s the reason so many artists is here doing their thing today. y’all either too young to know her actual impact or too delusional to see it and just wanna think of the sales,’ they stated.
While bestowing her the covetable title, the outlet recognized that the inevitable controversy that would ‘likely tear through the internet over her being just one small space below No. 1 is just another testament to her power’ (seen in 2024)
While defending their decision not to give Swift, 34, the top spot, which will presumably go to musical powerhouse Beyoncé, Billboard reminded readers that Swift got a ‘much later’ start in the millennium in both ‘the genre and music in general’
One X user pleaded with Swift and Beyoncé’s fandoms to stop pitting the superstars against each other as they reminded other social media users of their close friendship.
The fan shared an Instagram post, uploaded by Swift last year, in which the pop star gushed that she was ‘glad’ that she would ‘never know what’ life ‘would’ve been like without @beyonce’s influence.’
‘The way she’s taught me and every artist out here to break rules and defy industry norms. Her generosity of spirit. Her resilience and versatility. She’s been a guiding light throughout my career and the fact that she showed up tonight was like an actual fairytale,’ Swift gushed after Beyoncé attended the premiere of Swift’s Eras Tour concert film in Los Angeles.
Beyoncé and Taylor have shown public support for one another in the years following Kanye West’s infamous stage takeover at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2009, where he interrupted Taylor’s Video Of The Year acceptance speech to declare Beyoncé as the ‘true’ winner.
Swift has credited Beyoncé for having ‘paved the road that every female artist is walking down now,’ while Beyoncé praised Taylor in 2021 for ‘always being so supportive’ of her.
Still, Swifties were, as expected, enraged by the editorial decision made by Billboard’s staff, who undertook the difficult task of ranking the top 25 greatest pop stars of the 21st century
Underneath the announcement on Instagram, a number of Swift fans expressed their outrage as they referred to the list as a ‘joke’ and firmly insisted the Fortnight hitmaker had been ‘robbed’
‘This is pathetic and should ACTUALLY be corrected,’ one commented. ‘Who approved this list? First of all, yalls bs lists are always unbelievably inaccurate’
Another wrote: ‘She deserved #1 don’t even lie she is the biggest artist of all time not just of the century’
Their bond was born unexpectedly through a typical Kanye tantrum after he stormed the 2009 MTV VMAs shouting for Bey to win Best Female Video.
Taylor, who was 20 at the time, and Beyoncé were both nominated for Best Female Video for ‘You Belong With Me’ and ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)’.
But after Taylor was announced as the winner, Kanye jumped on stage and took the singing star’s mic while giving her acceptance speech.
He said: ‘Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you. I’mma let you finish. But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!’
‘How according to Billboard was Taylor the 8th on thr “greatest artist of all time list” but she isn’t the greatest artist of this century???? Beyonce isn’t even top 10 AND It was before folklore, evermore, all the tvs, midnights, the eras tour, TTPD????’ a third asked
A fourth referred to putting Swift as #2 as a ‘crime’ while dozens argued that Swift, who is the richest female musician, as the entire ‘music industry’
Others attempted to remind Swifties of Beyoncé’s ‘cultural impact, sales, numbers, awards’
‘Something the white privileged Swifties need to understand is that, being repetitive with your records and having them be streamed a lot, doesn’t make an artist great. When your work is repetitive and every record sounds the same, you can’t be #1 artist of the 21st century,’ one fired. ‘Specially if you’re competing with an artists who has done it all from R&B to country to Dance. Cmon’
Another Beyoncé fan reminded Swifties that ‘this list is based of the last 24 years not just current’
This did not stop Swifties from leaping to their favorite artist’s defense by sharing a number of her greatest a achievements from her 14 Grammy wins to having the highest-grossing concert tour in history
One X user pleaded with Swift and Beyoncé’s fandoms to stop pitting the superstars against each other as they reminded other social media users of their close friendship
Some even speculated that Beyoncé’s husband’s ‘wallet got a bit tinier’ as if to outrageously imply he paid off the outlet
His rude comments were met with gasps from the audience, who rightly booed the rapper, and a mortifying look from Beyoncé.
When she was later awarded her own award, she did the noble thing and called Swifty back up to finish her speech.
In 2023, Swift attended Beyoncé’s Renaissance premiere in London.
At the time, a source close to Taylor told DailyMail.com: ‘Taylor and Beyoncé have been chatting a lot since Beyoncé surprised her at her Eras film premiere.
Swift has credited Beyoncé for having ‘paved the road that every female artist is walking down now,’ while Beyoncé praised Taylor in 2021 for ‘always being so supportive’ of her
Their bond was born unexpectedly through a typical Kanye tantrum after he stormed the 2009 MTV VMAs shouting for Bey to win Best Female Video; seen in 2009
‘They would seem like unlikely friends, but the two of them truly get each other. In a world of copycats and wannabes, both are at the top of their game.
‘Beyoncé cemented such a special place in Taylor’s heart in 2009 when she shut Kanye down. They both know now that karma took care of Kanye exactly as they believed it would.
‘At the time, Taylor was not the powerhouse she is today. It was just so showing of who Beyoncé really is and ever since that moment the two of them have celebrated each other’s successes. Their music is very different. Their fans are very different, and their lives are so different.
‘But one thing that they can both relate to is that they are a master of their craft. There is nothing that Taylor would not do for Beyoncé, and she will go to bat form this woman until the day she dies.’
