Billboard defends choosing Beyonce over Taylor Swift as greatest pop star of 21st century

Billboard has come out to defend why it picked Beyonce over Taylor Swift as the biggest pop star of the century, amid mass backlash from Swifties.

- Lim Ruey Yan

The American music magazine, which has been counting down its list since August, named Swift, 34, the second-greatest pop star of her generation on Nov 26, causing an uproar among her fan base.

On Dec 3, it confirmed that Beyonce, 43, topped its list of the 25 Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century.

Barbadian singer Rihanna (third), Canadian rapper Drake (fourth) and American singer Lady Gaga (fifth) made up the rest of the top five. Beyonce's rapper-husband Jay-Z was ranked No. 16 on the list.

Mr Andrew Unterberger, a deputy editor on the digital side of Billboard, wrote in an editorial on Dec 3: "While Taylor Swift is the century's biggest pop star by the numbers, Beyonce tops our staff-chosen editorial list based on her full 25 years of influence, impact and evolution."

He said Beyonce topped the Billboard Hot 100 on March 18, 2000, for the first time this century as a member of the girl group Destiny's Child with the song Say My Name.