Angry Celine Dion fans gathered outside the offices of Rolling Stone to protest the singer’s exclusion from its recent list of The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. The list also excluded some popular names like Jennifer Hudson and Cher.
The Top 200 Of The 20s
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The Red Heads Are Coming!
The protest appeared to be organised by a group of Dion fans known as the ‘Red Heads’. They marched upon the Manhattan offices holding signs that read “Save Celine”, “We Want A Recount”, and “Celine Is No Longer By Herself”. The group’s founder, Line Basbous, said many of the protesters traveled for hours to express themselves ‘in the name of Celine’.
According to Vulture, one protester said they hope Rolling Stone would ‘admit that they made a mistake’.
The angry crowds blasted “That’s the Way It Is” from a portable speaker, chanting ‘Justice for Celine’. This is what Rolling Stone had to say in response to their action.
Around 15 dedicated Celine Dion fans traveled over six hours from Montreal to New York City to protest outside of Rolling Stone’s office building after the publication excluded the singer from their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. https://t.co/k7AyBZbmqX pic.twitter.com/UfwdJWZX7a
— Variety (@Variety) January 6, 2023
The Canadian superstar has 11 Number 1 hits to her name, and has spent 87 weeks at the top of the charts. She is also considered the best-selling Canadian recording artist of all time! But despite her many accolades (and five Grammy’s) she was unable to make the cut for the Rolling Stone list.
While newer artists like SZA and Taylor Swift featured on the list.
The Top 200 list sees Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey in the top five.
Originality, Influence, Depth and Legacy…
In the other corner, Rolling Stone defended its decision. It said that it based the list on ‘originality, influence, depth of an artist’s catalog and the breadth of their musical legacy’.
Many music fans would agree on Aretha Franklin taking the number one spot – followed by Whitney Houston, Sam Cook, Billie Holiday and Mariah Carey. Prominent R&B artists seemed to have dominated the top spots of the list. Those ranked between 11 and 20 were far more varied with the addition of pop and rock stars.
Little Richard and John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and Frank Sinatra are included in these spots.
Back in 2008 – journalists used a complicated voting process to select the names for 100 Greatest Singers List. Along with input from famous musicians. This, however, saw the List lean more towards classic rock artists, and singers from the 1960s to 1970s.
This new version was compiled by Rolling Stone staff and contributors. Their inputs tended towards the last 100 years of popular music. The publication also asked readers to ‘keep in mind that this is the Greatest Singers list, not the Greatest Voices List.’
What about Celine?
54-year-old Celine Dion left fans in tears last year, after she revealed that she had an incurable neurological condition. This forced her to postpone her European tour.
zahraa@smile904.fm
SOURCES – VULTURE, ROLLING STONE, VARIETY
