Taylor Swift Overtakes Her Age-Old Rival Ye to Dominate Billboard’s Most Sought-After Pop Star Title Alongside Beyoncé

Published 11/26/2024, 7:56 PM EST

via Imago

Ye aka Kanye West and Taylor Swift have given us one of the most iconic feuds in pop culture history. It all began back in 2009 and, even now, the bad blood between them shows no signs of going away. Over the years, they have never truly managed to mend their differences, even though there were moments when it looked like they might have. For the most part, Ye and Swift have kept their distance, but this month, the universe threw them back into the ring as they squared off for a spot on a coveted Billboard list.

Ye, however, could not keep up and Taylor Swift leaped ahead of the rapper, claiming one of the highest spots in the Billboard list.  

Once again, Taylor Swift outperformed Ye

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Billboard has recently shared its list of the greatest pop stars of the 21st century, which featured the artists who have had the most defined pop stardom for the last 25 years. Both Taylor Swift and Ye made it into the top 10. However, while Ye landed in seventh place, Swift grabbed second place, just behind Beyoncé. But the ‘Cruel Summer’ singer was not Ye's only rival to pass him on the list. Even Drake scored a better spot on the list. The 'God's Plan' artist came in fifth and left the 'Donda' rapper behind. 

Taylor Swift’s ranking on the Billboard list was only revealed recently, but Ye’s was announced last month. Billboard explained Ye’s position by acknowledging his incredible highs in music but also pointing to his lows- some so low that many artists would not have been able to recover from. But despite the explanation, many fans still felt that Ye deserved a higher spot on the list. Even other big-name artists, like The Weeknd, were not happy with how the list turned out.

Ye Fans’ Change of Heart for Taylor Swift as an Age-Old Confession Resurfaces

The Weeknd even called out Billboard for leaving off one of his closest collaborators and friends from the list. 

The Weeknd voiced his support for his pop star friend

The Weeknd also made it onto Billboard’s list as one of the greatest pop stars of the 21st century, coming in at the eighteenth spot. However, the ‘Popular’ artist was not upset about his ranking. Instead, he was more bothered by the fact that Billboard left Lana Del Rey off the list, even though she has made such a significant impact on pop music over the years.

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The Weeknd took to X to voice his frustration, asking, “where is Lana on that billboard’s greatest pop star list?”. Nonetheless, while Billboard has its own set of metrics for creating the list, the title of the greatest pop star of the 21st century will always be subjective. Every fan has their own opinion, and not everyone is going to agree with the rankings as the ultimate measure of truth.

Did You Know Ye’s Infamous VMA Attack at Taylor Swift Was Actually a Planned 'SNL' Script?

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What do you think about Billboard’s list and Taylor Swift surging past Ye? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Hriddhi Maitra

1917 articles

Hriddhi Maitra is a Hollywood News reporter at Netflix Junkie. An enthusiastic movie buff, Hriddhi found her true calling when she worked as a Cinema Content Writer at My Cinema Story while analyzing movies objectively, and offering constructive feedback. Coming from a background where she worked in different niches like finance, food, travel, medicines, automobile, and entertainment, we can safely say she is a jack of all trades.

Edited By: Itti Mahajan

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