Taylor Swift named Artist of the 21st Century by Billboard as fans intensely debate rankings

Although the country-turned-pop icon only made her Billboard chart debut in 2006, since then Swift has managed to score 14 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 album chart in the first quarter of the century, as well as 12 No. 1 hits on the Hot 100.

Among other successes, she also made history on 5th November 2022, becoming the first artist to claim the top 10 positions on the Hot 100 simultaneously, and, on 4th May 2024, she stretched her dominance to the top 14 spots.

The singer also topped Billboard’s year-end Top Artists charts in 2009, 2015, 2023 and 2024, becoming the first artist with four annual titles (dating to the category’s formation in 1981).

Alongside Swift, industry titans such as Drake, Rihanna, Post Malone, Eminem, The Weeknd and Beyoncé were listed on the Top Artists of the 21st Century chart.

The results yielded mixed reactions on social media, with some fans debating the rankings and expressing confusion over the fact that Beyoncé had only claimed the seventh spot on the list, particularly when the singer was named the greatest pop star of the 21st century by Billboard last month.

"Certainly a list we all don't agree with! According to Billboard, Taylor Swift emerges the top artist of the 21st century with Beyonce only appearing on number 7. Rihanna made number 3.

"What happened to Eminem? Where is Burna Boy? Big Wiz? The list is quite incomplete!" one fan wrote.

However, other fans were quick to point out that Swift has been crowned the century’s biggest pop icon by numbers only, whereas Beyoncé's title last month celebrated her influence, impact and evolution in the first quarter of the century.

One fan explained: "Billboard is about tangible success which is why Taylor is factually the biggest artist of the 21 century.

"That other list was opinions based on vibes and you can’t pay someone to put you at #1 when success is what’s measured. Thats [sic] why Bey is at #7. She’s not as successful."

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