It wasn't really a mystery ... when you take Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Drake and Lady Gaga out of the equation ... it was pretty clear Billboard would name Beyoncé the Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century ... and that's exactly what it just did.
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00:00I'm not sure how much weight you want to put in this title,
00:03considering we're only a quarter of the way into the century.
00:05But yes, Beyonce has been named the number one pop star,
00:11the greatest pop star of the 21st century.
00:13And we are 25 years in.
00:16I mean, that's all right.
00:18Not bad.
00:19I mean, there are a lot of big stars.
00:21There are.
00:21There are big stars.
00:22I just feel like, why did you need to?
00:24I get it.
00:25You do it at the quarter century mark.
00:26I'm definitely not going to be around for the finale,
00:30when they do it again in 25 years.
00:32So it's interesting, because we told you before,
00:35Taylor Swift number two.
00:37And there is a big debate over this, among some.
00:40Yes.
00:41Obviously, Taylor's army of fans feel slighted.
00:47Meanwhile, the beehive says, no duh.
00:49Of course, she's the biggest.
00:50Now, Billboard's explanation for this
00:53does acknowledge that Taylor Swift is the bigger
00:58artist as far as sales.
01:00But they still said Beyonce had overall more impact.
01:05It is insanely impressive that Taylor has even
01:08made it a discussion after missing
01:11the whole first quarter of the period.
01:13This was in the Billboard announcement.
01:15They said, but only Beyonce has spent
01:18the entirety of the last 25 years
01:20exemplifying greatness in every form imaginable.
01:23It's a weird sentence.
01:24It's like, in other words, she missed the first eight years.
01:27OK, well, it's like, they're trying
01:28to rationalize it, because they know
01:30that Taylor's fans are going to hit it.
01:32Don't rationalize it.
01:33Just say it.
01:34It's like, the Beatles hit in 1964,
01:37but they eclipsed everybody quickly,
01:40even if they had started long before them.
01:43So that's not a measure to me.
01:46That's not a measure to me.
01:47Right.
01:48Cultural impact, it's not just that she came around first,
01:50because it's that she's endured just as big after Taylor, too.
01:54Taylor might have sold more records.
01:55But this is also a thing for Taylor Swift fans.
01:57Taylor might have sold more.
01:58But depending on how you want to do the criteria,
02:00if you're factoring numbers in solely,
02:02if we're going by most charted songs, most top 10 hits,
02:04most number one hits, Taylor is still second to Drake.
02:07So yeah, there's all kinds of ways to look at it.
02:10But Billboard's thing is for having
02:12incredible cultural impact and relevance and innovation
02:15and iconic hits for the entirety of this century,
02:18yeah, it's Beyonce.
02:19Eric, tick off the hits.
02:20Because when you did that in the morning meeting today,
02:22it really shocked me.
02:23I mean, I knew she had a lot of hits.
02:25But when you hear it, when you hear it,
02:27not just that number of hits, but the level of hits.
02:31But iconic, that's the thing, it's memorable hits.
02:32So Taylor's first album came out at the end of 2006.
02:35Going back to 2000 with Beyonce, and you
02:37have to include Destiny's Child, which I think is fair,
02:40you've got Say My Name, Crazy in Love, Irreplaceable,
02:44so many iconic songs, Survivor, Independent Women.
02:49Beyonce was already an icon by the time
02:51Taylor's first album came out.
02:52And she has stayed an icon ever since.
02:54Because then you've got Single Ladies, and Cuff It,
02:56and this year, Texas Hold'em.
02:58Beyonce's always relevant and at the center of the conversation.
03:01And that's why she got the title.
03:02Now, I think it's fair.
03:04So we actually got out one of the most accomplished song
03:07writers in the industry, Diane Warren.
03:10And we asked her, did Billboard get it right?
03:13This is admittedly probably a tough spot.
03:17Oh, it's a totally tough spot.
03:19To push Diane in?
03:19Well, because Diane has produced and written
03:23for both of them.
03:23Right.
03:24But hey, this is what we do.
03:27Here's what she said.
03:27Billboard just listed her as the greatest pop star.
03:30A lot of people were saying it should have been Taylor Swift.
03:32What do you think?
03:33I don't know.
03:33Everybody's awesome.
03:34I've done songs for both of them, so I'm good.
03:39You said you've worked with both of them, so you're good?
03:42And they're both great.
03:43So you don't think there should be any competition?
03:46I don't know.
03:47Why is there competition?
03:48Everybody's great in their own way.
03:51Well, Diane, come on.
03:52I mean, Diane has to say that.
03:53Diane has to say that.
03:55She has to be offensive.
03:56Diane Switzerland Warren there giving us her opinion on it.
03:58Right.
03:58Now, Tina Knowles, on the other hand, has a dog in the fight.
04:03And you want to rephrase that?
04:05She has a daughter in the fight?
04:07A daughter in the fight.
04:08And she went full bore on this.
04:12What do you think about Beyoncé being
04:13the greatest pop star of all time?
04:16That's nice.
04:17Very nice.
04:18Very nice.
04:19Do you guys ever get used to those titles?
04:23I love that.
04:24I love that.
04:26Yeah.
04:28We get so many of them, of course we're going to get them.
04:31That's fantastic.
04:33That's the honest answer.
04:35I'm from North Florida, and I think that both Beyoncé
04:38and Taylor are incredible artists.
04:40I do think, however, that Billboard
04:42highlighting a name in Beyoncé as the greatest
04:45pop star of the 21st century really
04:47highlights her unmatched and unparalleled influence
04:50and versatility.
04:52I do agree with Diane Warren, though.
04:53There's no competition.
04:55Both of these women are legends in their own right.
04:57Well, let me ask you a question.
04:58There is a competition.
04:59Let me ask you a question.
05:00Do you think they feel competition?
05:02I think that a little competition is always healthy.
05:05No, you just changed your opinion.
05:07You literally just changed your opinion.
05:10For us, there is competition, of course, in the industry.
05:15But they're both legends.
05:16It's just that the versatility, when
05:17you look at, as you all were mentioning,
05:19Beyoncé has been in this industry
05:22for a bit longer, eight years more than Taylor Swift.
05:24And the fact that she's been able to stay relevant
05:27and her name is still constantly trending,
05:30it does show that she is absolutely the greatest
05:33pop star, in my opinion.
05:34OK.
05:35Interesting.
05:36If there wasn't any competition,
05:38we wouldn't have these stupid award shows.