Taylor Swift fans up in arms after Billboard names her 2nd Greatest Pop Star of the 21st century

Who is the greatest pop star of the 21st century?

As 2024 comes to a close, music publication Billboard is reflecting on the last quarter-century of pop music by revealing its pick of the 25 greatest pop stars of the last 25 years. And as acts such as Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Drake, BTS and more were unveiled, fans were speculating on who will come out on top, with most landing on either Taylor Swift or Beyonce.

Billboard, which has been counting down its list since August, seemingly just gave the public its answer. On Nov 26, it named superstar Swift the second-greatest pop star of her generation. While the No. 1 has yet to be revealed, it is widely expected to be Beyonce, who has yet to make an appearance on the list.

In explaining why Swift is one of the greatest, the publication said: “She’s a billionaire, the only female artiste to become one predominantly through music alone. She is the most famous woman in the world.”

Billboard added that Swift “took pop stardom to places (it) hadn’t previously thought possible”.

So why is she just second-best? At least that is the question on the mind of Swifties.

Beneath Billboard’s Instagram post announcing Swift’s ranking, fans have been up in arms. Billboard has been bombarded with comments about how Swift deserves to be No. 1, with all of her accomplishments in music, and some have even accused Beyonce’s husband, rapper Jay-Z, of bribing Billboard.

Both Swift and Beyonce have not publicly responded to the furore.

This is not the first time Billboard’s countdown has been received badly, not just by fans, but also by stars.

When Bieber was announced in eighth place, his wife Hailey Bieber was seemingly upset he was not placed higher and called Billboard a “joke as per usual”.