Céline Dion, Judy Garland, Cher and more snubbed from Rolling Stone’s ‘Greatest Singers’ list
Celine Dion was snubbed by Rolling Stone’s Greatest Singers list (Simone Joyner/Getty Images)
Rolling Stone released its “200 Greatest Singers of All Time” list and music fans have thoughts on those who made the cut and those who were snubbed.
The list “encompasses 100 years of pop music as an ongoing global conversation”, Rolling Stone claimed, and yet omits a number of pop icons.
The largest snub was the complete erasure of Céline Dion, who is often known as part of the ‘vocal trinity’ alongside Mariah Carey (ranked at number four) and Whitney Houston (ranked second).
The singer, who recently revealed that she has an incurable neurological disorder and “can’t sing the way she used to”, is one of the best-selling artists of all time.
Dion has won 240 awards, including six AMAs, seven Billboard Music Awards and five Grammys including both Record and Album of the Year.
Other notable absences from the Rolling Stone list included several gay icons like vocal juggernaut Judy Garland – the first woman to win Album of the Year at the Grammys – though thankfully Barbara Streisand placed at 147.
Miley Cyrus, who has been praised as one of the most versatile performers of her generation, was also absent. She recently brought in 2023 with godmother Dolly Parton, who sits at 27.
Rolling Stone urged readers to “keep in mind that this is the Greatest Singers list, not the Greatest Voices List”. And yet, iconic singers Cher and Britney Spears were also snubbed.
For many, things started to go wrong when Kelly Clarkson – yes, America’s “forever idol” Kelly Clarkson – was ranked just 194 on the list by the publication.
Fans have pointed out that Clarkson’s ranking is nearly 100 places below Taylor Swift (102), despite many agreeing that Clarkson is the more proficient singer.
Some took issue with Swift being ranked higher than Alicia Keys (185), Jazmine Sullivan (182) and Carrie Underwood (158). Christina Aguilera was also placed at only 141 on the list.
The Rolling Stone list does get some things right: Ariana Grande (43), Adele (22), Prince (16) and Beyoncé all made the cut, with the Renaissance artist breaking into the top ten at number eight.
Some have pointed out that Michael Jackson (83) placing below former pop star, current makeup saleswoman Rihanna (68) also did not seem exactly correct.
Arethra Franklin was ranked the greatest of all time, with Whitney Houston and Sam Cooke rounding out the top three. Al Green, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Billie Holiday join Beyoncé to make up the top ten.
Twitter users had some thoughts – serious and unserious – over the top spot, including calls to recognise to Wendy Williams’s rendition of “Native New Yorker” as Lips from The Masked Singer.
