Billboard has slowly been releasing their Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century list, lending to a polarizing response from fans and artists alike.
The platform ranked Justin Bieber as the 8th greatest pop star, sitting below acts like Rihanna (3rd), Drake (4th), Lady Gaga (5th) and Britney Spears (6th). While the first and second placeholders have yet to be announced, Bieber currently ranks above Ariana Grande (9th) and Adele (10th).
While Bieber has kept quiet about the ranking, the wife and mother of their child Jack Blues Bieber, Hailey Bieber had something to say about the "lower" placement. Commenting on Billboard's Instagram post celebrating Bieber's honoring, she boldly said, "Billboard is a f—king joke as per usual," sealing it with a kiss emoji.
Fans ultimately sided with Hailey, also finding the placement to be a blatant act of disrespect. Many cited the pandemonium of "Bieber Fever" in the 2010s as a true mark of pop stardom.
justin’s hair flip alone has had more of an impact than most of these artists careers on this list— exactly hailey. 💅🏽
— ash (@jdrewbhrhodeb) November 21, 2024
every label was looking for “the next justin bieber”
pretending justin isn’t the best pop star to debut in the 21st century— is so unserious. https://t.co/OedPkKfrXq pic.twitter.com/PhfGRVo0S6
as much as you can hate justin u have to admit she’s right. justin shaped pop culture
— caden (@Iittlestory) November 21, 2024
People in the comments act like they were born in 2022
— nermo (@nermoeg) November 21, 2024
Anyway remind them Hailey of bieber fever pic.twitter.com/O5b3xUmJKd https://t.co/0dwM2ca7nB
Others, however, found Hailey's commentary distasteful, agreeing with Billboard's choice to place Bieber exactly where he is on the list. "She's such an attention seeker. Billboard was so generous to give him that #8 spot," commented one user. "They were so generous to put him at 8! He's a huge popstar but everyone above him definitely deserves to be above him," added another.
This isn't the first time Hailey has gone out of her way to disagree with Billboard. Back in 2017, she fired back at their Top 100 Songs of 2017, tweeting, "Bodak Yellow was the #1 song of the year." The platform had ranked Selena Gomez's "Bad Liar" as number one, the former long-term girlfriend of her now husband. Many speculated the commentary to be subtle shade to Gomez, as the two have a history of tension over social media.
Though Bieber is certainly out of the running for Billboard's number one and number two slots, fans are speculating Beyoncé and Taylor Swift will take both placements. There is debate between fanbases on who will take which, though Billboard's choice will be revealed in the coming weeks.
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