Quote:
Introducing the Queen of Pop
We crunched the numbers to determine who takes the crown
RollingStone
By Chris Molanphy
June 29, 2011 3:00 PM ET
The last half-decade of popular music has been an era of female dominance: Britney. Gaga. Beyoncé. Katy. Rihanna. But who, we wondered, is the undisputed Queen of Pop?
Here is the first Rolling Stone Queen of Pop Index. We ranked 16 solo female artists, looking at album and digital song sales, Hot 100 rankings, radio airplay, YouTube views, social media, concert grosses, industry awards and critics' ratings. In alphabetical order, they are: Adele, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus, Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, P!nk, Rihanna, Robyn, Shakira, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.
In selecting a time period to cover, we decided to focus on the very recent past: 2009 to mid-2011. (And thus artists like Fergie and Gwen Stefani were not considered, because they haven't released solo albums during that time period.)
You can probably guess who wound up on top if you've wandered past a newsstand or watched an awards show anytime in the last three years. But the breakdown is enlightening – even our lowest-ranked contender overall came within a false eyelash of topping one of the lists.
MASTER RANKING
Time for the moment of truth. Let's bake together all of these data points into one master list.
Surprised? Not likely. Lady Gaga as Queen of Pop makes a lot of intuitive sense.
No matter how we cut the numbers, Gaga was bound to crush the competition. Even if we'd stuck to data from 2010 and 2011, her massive album and singles sales swamp her competitors' – although that period might have given a boost to later career-starters like Ke$ha and Nicki Minaj. It might also have given an even bigger lift to Rihanna and especially Katy Perry, who were both on fire in 2010.
Conversely, if we'd widened our scope to five years instead of three, Taylor Swift could well have threatened for the top slot. And Beyoncé – with her string of 2007 and 2008 hits – would have made a much stronger run for Gaga's money.
Don't judge Beyoncé too harshly for her modest fifth-place ranking. Her I Am…Sasha Fierce album was already aging when 2009 started, and she's been between album cycles ever since. (We're confident that when we revisit this survey in a few months, her just-released 4 will propel her higher on the chart.) Named by Billboard as "Artist of the Decade" in 2010, Beyoncé has had so many hits since the turn of the millennium, she'd be anyone's first choice for Queen of Pop. Besides, an artist who kicked off the Obama Pop Era by singing to the Obamas at the 2009 inaugural ball has reached a whole other echelon of pop success.
Still: Our goal here was to crown the current tiara-wearer. And the hard-working, culture-dominating Gaga more than earned the title. Maybe a year from now, after 4 has spun off a year of radio, digital and video hits, Lady G and Honey B will be more evenly matched, tugging on either end of the Queen of Pop scepter like the demigods they are.
1. Gaga
2. Taylor
3. Rihanna
4. Britney
5. Beyonce
6. Katy
7. P!nk
8. Miley
9. Ke$ha
10. Shakira
11. Carrie
12. Nicki
13. Kelly
14. Adele
15. Christina
16. Robyn
In my estimation, Gaga has to be disqualified due to penis having.
Which makes Taylor the Queen of Pop.
Here's the entire article:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/introducing-the-queen-of-pop-20110629?page=1The top 2 would make a pretty nice threesome combo. Love me some Gaga!
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
