Celine Dion Fans Riot After She Isn’t Included in 200 Greatest Singers of All Time List

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How did one of the most influential and best-selling artists of all time get overlooked by Rolling Stone? Celine Dion didn’t make it on the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time list and her fans are infuriated.

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Rolling Stone Published a 200 Greatest Singers of All Time List on January 1st

Rolling Stone is by far one of the most respected sources of music news and opinions. So, when the magazine published its Greatest Singers list on January 1, 2023, many were scouring the names to find their favorite artists. The last time Rolling Stone published such a list was in 2008, and it only named 100 people.

“When Rolling Stone first published its list of the 100 Greatest Singers in 2008, we used an elaborate voting process that included input from well-known musicians. The results skewed toward classic rock and singers from the Sixties and Seventies,” the magazine wrote.

It makes sense that classic rock was the focal point of the 2008 list. It often takes a couple decades for legendary talent to be truly appreciated. And, as music evolves, taste evolves.

“This new list was compiled our staff and key contributors, and it encompasses 100 years of pop music as an ongoing global conversation…” Rolling Stone continued. “In all cases, what mattered most to us was originality, influence, the depth of an artist’s catalog, and the breadth of their musical legacy.”

Originality, influence, depth, and breadth were the four most important criteria.

A 2008 Greatest Singers of All Time List Named 100 People

“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 list was pretty all-encompassing. It included artists from the 60s, like Joan Baez, Miriam Makeba, Nina Simone, and Solomon Burke. 70s artists included Bob Seger, Karen Carpenter, Marvin Gaye, and Iggy Pop. 80s artists included Tina Turner, Sade,

The list didn’t ignore legends like Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith, who ruled the jazz and blues rules, respectively, for much of the first half of the 20th century. And then there were people like David Bowie and Frank Sinatra, who can’t quite be pinned down to one decade alone. Celia Cruz, Elvis Presley, Prince, Bob Dylan, Freddie Mercury, Patsy Cline, John Lennon, Little Richard, Al Green, Otis Redding filled slots 18-9. Next was Beyoncé, which no one can really complain about.

The 90s decade was represented by a variety of genres, including country, grunge/alternative rock, and R&B. In fact, anyone who kept scrolling down the page towards the #1 slot was probably sure they’d see Celine Dion. Mariah Carey sat prettily at #5. Billie Holiday sat righteously at #4 (after 100 years, she’s undoubtedly still one of the best), Sam Cooke was #3.

Next were Whitney Houston at #2 and Aretha Franklin at #3. Surely, at this point, Celine Dion fans feverishly re-inspected the lists, only to start comparing the stragglers. That is exactly what they did.

Celine Dion Omitted From Rolling Stone’s List Despite Being One of the Best-Selling Singers of All Time

“Celine Dion was not included on Rolling Stone’s list of the greatest singers of all time. Taylor Swift was.”

“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.”

“The one who made this list clearly hates Celine Dion. Wtf why would Celine not included here?”

“Celine Dion trending after Rolling Stone disrespected this voice? Her legendary vocals will outlast your silly magazine.”

Celine’s Fans Feel She Was Disrespected

“Celine Dion not being included on rolling stone’s 200 greatest singers of all time is my villain origin story.”

“Celine Dion not being featured on this list is CRIMINAL.”

“This is how you know Rolling Stone has no merit. On their ‘200 Greatest Singers of All Time’ list, they put Kurt Cobain above #MichaelJackson. Even as a die-hard #Nirvana fan, there is no way Cobain is better than Michael. Plus, Celine Dion didn’t even make the list?!?”

Others Noted that Cher and Judy Garland Were Not on the List.

Some people noted that Barbara Streisand and Ella Fitzgerald were omitted, while others continued to compare the ordering of the singers.

Celine Dion’s fans have a pretty good point here. On one hand, if you analyze the list from a point of “originality, influence, depth, and breadth,” remembering that Rolling Stone said this was “greatest singers” and not “greatest voices,” it makes sense why many of these people made the cut. They put on a good show, they sparked cultural movements and revolutions, they weren’t all just purely good vocalists.

Rolling Stone’s Criteria for Greatest Singers Doesn’t Add Up or Seem Consistent — Not Just Because of Celine Dion

But those criteria seem to be split when looking at many of the singers. For instance, Kurt Cobain and Ozzy Osborne’s voices certainly don’t have much breadth or depth — so they must have been included because of their influences in Rock and Roll. But then singers like Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday were known for their voices, not the movements they sparked.

And if fame and inspiration were considered in Rolling Stone’s Greatest 200 criteria, why wouldn’t they include someone who is loved internationally as an all-time favorite?

Moving on to Celine Dion’s peers — the other Queens and Divas who she’s often compared to, both in terms of fame and influence, we see Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston in the top 10. These three women have been similarly adored and emulated over numerous decades as pop favorites. Why was Celine omitted?

Celine Dion Is One of the World’s Most Successful Female Singers — of All Time

Considering Celine Dion’s remarkable record, it’s hard to put together. For instance, while not everyone likes her voice, it’s undeniably powerful. She also is multilingual — she’s recorded in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, and Latin.

Celine is also the best-selling Canadian artist of all-time, the best-selling French-language artist of all time, a 5-time Grammy Award winner, has sold the 2nd most albums among women of all time, and is one of highest-paid singers of all time.

Making it all hit harder is probably the fact that Celine Dion has recently opened up about some serious health issues that are debilitating her. She canceled the last stretch of her 2022 tour due to health issues.

She recently revealed that she suffers from Stiff Person Syndrome. It’s a rare neurological disease that causes muscle spasms, stiffness, and pain, as well as sensitivity to noise — none of which would be easy to deal with as a singer.

And then Celine canceled her 2023 world tour, because of her health issues, making fans everywhere sad.

It’s hard to pin down why Celine wasn’t on the list. I’m not even a Celine Dion fan, but I don’t understand it, either.

I think the problem is that Rolling Stone set itself up for failure in making such a narrow list. 200 may seem like a big number, but when we’re looking back at 100 years of music, it’s not enough. Sure, they doubled their numbers from 2008. But what they really needed to do was make a list of the Greatest 500 singers of all time.

Read More: Celine Dion Met Husband René Angélil When She Was Only 12-Years-Old

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