Rolling Stone’s ‘200 Greatest Singers of All Time’ list has angered fans after it did not mention Céline Dion. Aretha Franklin claimed the top spot, followed by Whitney Houston, Sam Cooke, Billie Holiday and Mariah Carey. But the Canadian singer best known for her tear jerking vocals in ‘My Heart Will Go On’ was nowhere to be found.
Fans began expressing their outrage online immediately after Rolling Stone released the article. Cher, Janet Jackson, Madonna and Judy Garland are some other singers that should have been on the list, according to popular opinion. Soon, Rolling Stone found themselves in the midst of mockery and criticism, with Twitter and Instagram users making memes about the situation.
Respectfully, not including Celine Dion, arguably the best vocal technician of all time, in this list is borderline treasonous https://t.co/cy72FEpdyr
— Jamie Lambert (@JamieCollabro) January 2, 2023
After the gays find the house of the RS writer who didn’t include Celine Dion on their list pic.twitter.com/sEnReFNeJP
— Liam Gareau (@liamgareau) January 1, 2023
Many argued that it is not a matter of personal taste, but rather of Céline Dion’s sheer talent. Her vocal ability certainly makes her among the greatest singers of all time. Some users believe it far surpasses that of Taylor Swift, Rosalia and Sza, all of whom made the list. They may be excellent performers, but do not deserve a higher rank than Céline on a list of the greatest ‘singers’.
Look… you can argue Celine Dion's music is not your cup of tea and that's fair.
You can argue Celine's songs are now irrelevant in today's Billie Eilish generation and that's also fair.
But to say that Celine Dion is not among all-time greatest singers is unbelievable. https://t.co/wvmLYvE059
— Rama's Screen (@RamasScreen) January 2, 2023
Instead of appeasing the Twitter community or diffusing the situation, Rolling Stone doubled down on their stance, for better or worse. They tweeted, “Before you start scrolling (and commenting), keep in mind that this is the Greatest Singers list, not the Greatest Voices List. Talent is impressive; genius is transcendent.” The tweet dug an even deeper hole for the magazine, as fans pushed back stronger in response.
Then why are all the captions that accompany each singer about their VOCALS?
For Taylor Swift you said she was chosen because “her voice has evolved” pic.twitter.com/fEGfjUGdzD
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) January 2, 2023
One user even pulled up receipts from years ago when Rolling Stone misquoted a Guinness World Record and tweeted false information about it.
Lollll sure need a correction again? pic.twitter.com/W0zq2xPvrX
— Jermaine | Concept Creator (@CConceptCreator) January 2, 2023
Enraged fans are now questioning Rolling Stone’s credibility as a music publication. It’s a tough world out there today for the journalists putting out fires at their office. Many critics would agree that an oversight this massive warrants this kind of backlash. Should publications be open to such criticism from their readers, and make changes in their content, should the argument be fit? If Rolling Stone does it, it will certainly set a precedent.
