You may or may not be aware that Billboard are currently counting down the 25 figures who they consider the ‘Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century’ - you know, what with us almost being 25 years into the century (keep up). Well, one of those pop stars – The Weeknd (who sits at Number 18) - has become a bit perturbed by the absence of another, namely Lana Del Rey.
The countdown has now reached the Top 3. But in a tweet he sent the other night The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, asked the simple question: "Where is Lana on that billboard's greatest pop star list?"
where is Lana on that billboard’s greatest pop star list ?November 19, 2024
Well, definitely not in the Top Two is the answer. Billboard compiled a list of artists that just missed the Top 25 and Del Rey was in there, alongside the likes of Christina Aguilera, Chris Brown and Billie Eilish.
They explained why she didn’t make the cut: “Formidable as the Cult of Lana has become over the past decade-plus, it is still mostly a cult – her actual top 40 presence has been more minimal than you’d think, with her only two Hot 100 top 10 appearances coming via an uncharacteristic EDM remix and a chill sesh alongside the world’s biggest artist.”
Lana and The Weeknd have worked together before, of course. They teamed up on the single Lust For Life, the title track from Del Rey’s 2017 album.
What’s more interesting about the list is how utterly dominated it is by solo artists. There are just two groups in there – One Direction at 22 and BTS at 19. There is nothing even remotely resembling rock music and just three UK artists are represented: in addition to 1D, Adele sits at Number 10 and Ed Sheeran at 24. The list is dominated by North American artists – all but six of the 25 are from the US and Canada.
Billboard are set to reveal who’s topped the list in the coming weeks. Have a look at what they’ve up with so far and through a process of elimination you can probably work out who’ll fill positions One and Two...
