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Post by when the pawn... on Jun 29, 2011 23:10:51 GMT -5
www.rollingstone.com/music/news/introducing-the-queen-of-pop-20110629The 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$ha, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, P!nk, Rihanna, Robyn, Shakira, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. In selecting a time period to cover, we decided to focus on the very recent past: 2009 to mid-2011. (And thus artists like Fergie and Gwen Stefani were not considered, because they haven't released solo albums during that time period.) You can probably guess who wound up on top if you've wandered past a newsstand or watched an awards show anytime in the last three years. But the breakdown is enlightening – even our lowest-ranked contender overall came within a false eyelash of topping one of the lists. They rank 16 women based on album sales, digital sales, airplay, awards, social media, touring, critical acclaim, etc to find the ultimate queen of pop.
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Post by when the pawn... on Jun 29, 2011 23:28:02 GMT -5
16 Robyn - 29 15 Christina Aguilera - 125 14 Adele - 205 13 Kelly Clarkson - 259 12 Nicki Minaj - 321 11 Carrie Underwood - 377 10 Shakira - 418 9 Ke$ha - 529 8 Miley Cyrus - 549 7 Pink - 607 6 Katy Perry - 640 5 Beyonce - 668 4 Britney Spears - 674 3 Rihanna - 833 2 Taylor Swift - 882 1 Lady Gaga - 1235
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.
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God
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Post by God on Jun 29, 2011 23:58:59 GMT -5
I don't know why they even bothered with Robyn, much less a 16th place.
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Post by Peaches. [Ch, r. is] on Jun 30, 2011 0:02:55 GMT -5
The stats are interesting. I think they could've named the article something better though. Considering it's pretty obvious who the biggest artist in pop are without looking at the stats. Nicki a big popstar? No. Miley? Carrie? Shakira? Robyn? LOL Kelly, Pink, Christina & Adele def don't belong there either.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2011 0:15:42 GMT -5
Why are the following even given the time of day on this chart:
-Christina - flop -Robyn - not enough relevance in the US to be ranked in the Top 16 -Miley - crack addict and no current music within the past year or so that was actually impactful -Carrie - Country star, hardly fares to pure Pop radio like the other women -Nicki - too new -Kelly - not enough happened in 2010 & 2011.
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♫.Fan
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Post by ♫.Fan on Jun 30, 2011 0:25:31 GMT -5
The only 1 that actually gets called the queen of pop, and can hold the title's Christina.
Here's to the legend that's X, for inspiring almost all of these girls, and 1 of her albums basically outselling 90% of them. <3
If they do an overall list Xtina would be #1.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2011 0:38:50 GMT -5
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Post by Peaches. [Ch, r. is] on Jun 30, 2011 0:42:13 GMT -5
The only 1 that actually gets called the queen of pop, and can hold the title's Christina. Here's to the legend that's X, for inspiring almost all of these girls, and 1 of her albums basically outselling 90% of them. <3 If they do an overall list Xtina would be #1. Fastest drop from #1 EVER.
Only LEGENDtina :'( :'( :'(
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2011 0:46:47 GMT -5
The only 1 that actually gets called the queen of pop, and can hold the title's Christina. Here's to the legend that's X, for inspiring almost all of these girls, and 1 of her albums basically outselling 90% of them. <3 If they do an overall list Xtina would be #1. Putting this in the Pulse Quotes thread right now.
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Verisimilitude
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Post by Verisimilitude on Jun 30, 2011 0:51:59 GMT -5
The only 1 that actually gets called the queen of pop, and can hold the title's Christina. Here's to the legend that's X, for inspiring almost all of these girls, and 1 of her albums basically outselling 90% of them. <3 If they do an overall list Xtina would be #1. Wrong, the real #1 is actually Rebecca Black.
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dbhmr
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Post by dbhmr on Jun 30, 2011 0:52:34 GMT -5
The only 1 that actually gets called the queen of pop, and can hold the title's Christina. Here's to the legend that's X, for inspiring almost all of these girls, and 1 of her albums basically outselling 90% of them. <3 If they do an overall list Xtina would be #1. o.
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Wolfy
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Post by Wolfy on Jun 30, 2011 1:17:42 GMT -5
From these stats, its clear that people like Shakira, yet radio refuses to play her music in the US. Shakira was #3 on the youtube chart, #3 on the social networking chart and #3 on the album reviews chart. Its clear radio plays who they want and not who the people want. Her position on those internet/social networking charts is even stronger considering how little US radio plays her music. The top 3 online females on those charts are Gaga, Rihanna & Shakira. Interesting considering how much exposure Gaga & Rihanna get. Shakira beat Beyonce, Britney & Katy on youtube, twitter & facebook. In early June, Shakira was the most popular person on the internet:
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Post by Peaches. [Ch, r. is] on Jun 30, 2011 1:19:53 GMT -5
From these stats, its clear that people like Shakira, yet radio refuses to play her music in the US. Shakira was #3 on youtube, #3 on the social networking chart and #3 on the album reviews chart. Its clear radio plays who they want and not who the people want. Her position on those internet/social networking charts is even stronger considering how little US radio plays her music. In early June, Shakira was the most popular person on the internet: o.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2011 1:32:25 GMT -5
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Post by neverduplicated on Jun 30, 2011 1:42:37 GMT -5
I'm not sure how accurate those YouTube counts are. They say Katy has 264 million views, but hasn't "Firework" alone garnered over 200 million views? Also how is someone like Robyn even being considered as a possibility as the current queen of pop? Interesting idea, but I think this would be much better if they had broadened their scope to a larger time frame.
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worldwide
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Post by worldwide on Jun 30, 2011 5:04:31 GMT -5
Taylor Swift #2? She's only star in USA.
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leoapp
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Post by leoapp on Jun 30, 2011 8:00:06 GMT -5
Xtina makes top 15 with even a massive flop album and singles Your fave could neva
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Rodze
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Post by Rodze on Jun 30, 2011 8:40:27 GMT -5
From these stats, its clear that people like Shakira, yet radio refuses to play her music in the US. Shakira was #3 on the youtube chart, #3 on the social networking chart and #3 on the album reviews chart. Its clear radio plays who they want and not who the people want. Her position on those internet/social networking charts is even stronger considering how little US radio plays her music. The top 3 online females on those charts are Gaga, Rihanna & Shakira. Interesting considering how much exposure Gaga & Rihanna get. Shakira beat Beyonce, Britney & Katy on youtube, twitter & facebook. All those numbers are worldwide and we all know Shakira is very popular worldwide. That doesn't mean people in the United States want to hear her. Conversely, it is very impressive how high Taylor Swift is, considering most of her listening base is probably in the US. If this data were analyzed just for that country, she could appear ahead of Gaga. Anyway, this 2009-2011 is as arbitrary as they come.
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Black Jesus
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Post by Black Jesus on Jun 30, 2011 8:54:04 GMT -5
Yay GaGa :) Really surprised to see Tswift at #2. I was expecting Rihanna or Katy Perry.
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HolidayGuy
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Post by HolidayGuy on Jun 30, 2011 9:09:16 GMT -5
Fan continues the great humor- loves it. :)
The lower rankings show just how weak the field is, outside of the top performers.
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Eqbk
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Post by Eqbk on Jun 30, 2011 9:17:23 GMT -5
even our lowest-ranked contender overall came within a false eyelash of topping one of the lists. I lol'd at this since Robyn was ranked last in almost everything and couldn't even break triple digits w/ her final score. Lol at it being close. I don't know why they even bothered with Robyn, much less a 16th place. Seriously. I can kind of see a justification for the majority of people picked to be on this list but Robyn isn't a mainstream artist in the US. The last time she had top ten hit here was in 1997. Kind of unfair to pit her against the others on this list. What was the point of her inclusion?
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HolidayGuy
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Post by HolidayGuy on Jun 30, 2011 9:21:16 GMT -5
^She gets decent acclaim and such, but her level of U.S. success these days is not very high.
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dbhmr
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Post by dbhmr on Jun 30, 2011 9:34:50 GMT -5
Xtina makes top 15 with even a massive flop album and singles Your fave could neva Well, the top 15 out of the 16 they chose. I believe they selected these 16 and then went through their system to rank them. I don't think they ranked 30 female pop stars and then showed us the top 16.
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rosemoor
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Post by rosemoor on Jun 30, 2011 9:37:16 GMT -5
where is Kylie Minogue? she's still pretty big outside US.
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ItGirl
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Post by ItGirl on Jun 30, 2011 9:44:54 GMT -5
This list just reinforces how irrelevant Xtina has been for the last few years. Hopefully the Voice and new material will get her back into the fold. In better news: Clicking "LIKE" or "FOLLOW" doesn't demand a whole lot from a fan. Buying a concert ticket, on the other hand, represents a much greater commitment. Here's a ranking of each performer's live grosses since 2009 – topped by a fairly surprising contender. The top four here makes sense: When it comes to live shows by pop divas, spectacle equals dollars. Lady Gaga's two-year Monster Ball Tour, recently chronicled in an HBO special, set the bar with elaborate sets, costumes and theatricality. But no one, not even Gaga, topped P!nk, who has gradually emerged as a powerhouse on the road. Her multiyear Funhouse jaunt took her around the world, including Australia, where she played for more than 660,000 fans, the biggest tour in the continent's history. And what were we just saying about athleticism? P!nk has restyled herself as an aerial acrobat, performing jaw-dropping spins while wrapped in ribbons from arena ceilings – a stunt she introduced to millions of TV viewers at the 2010 Grammys with a mesmerizing performance of her hit "Glitter in the Air." 1. Pink $150M Been on the charts non stop for 3 years and hasn't released a full album of new material in 2. Case Closed.
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Eqbk
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Post by Eqbk on Jun 30, 2011 9:44:55 GMT -5
Xtina makes top 15 with even a massive flop album and singles Your fave could neva If it weren't for the inclusion of Robyn, Christina would be in last place by a comfortable margin. And Robyn is someone whose had very little mainstream success in the US at all, made very little attempt to break into mainstream music, and doesn't have half the promotional power as Christina had during her era.
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Cerbius
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Post by Cerbius on Jun 30, 2011 9:55:50 GMT -5
Poor Christina, lol. I laughed when the total touring gross had her at $0. Here's to hoping she'll be higher on the list when they make a new one a few years later.
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Joe1240
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Post by Joe1240 on Jun 30, 2011 10:32:35 GMT -5
2 Taylor Swift - 882
Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Me. I Am l!nk!nfan815...
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Post by Me. I Am l!nk!nfan815... on Jun 30, 2011 10:37:45 GMT -5
The only 1 that actually gets called the queen of pop, and can hold the title's Christina. Here's to the legend that's X, for inspiring almost all of these girls, and 1 of her albums basically outselling 90% of them. <3 If they do an overall list Xtina would be #1. Have you lost your ever loving mind?!
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PDC1987
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Post by PDC1987 on Jun 30, 2011 12:01:15 GMT -5
The only 1 that actually gets called the queen of pop, and can hold the title's Christina. Here's to the legend that's X, for inspiring almost all of these girls, and 1 of her albums basically outselling 90% of them. <3 If they do an overall list Xtina would be #1. #trufax None of these other women inspire subway graffiti: Your fave could NEVER.
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