Is Beyonce the greatest Pop star of the 21st century? The good people at Billboard sure seem to think so.
In the wake of the multiple records broken by her seventh studio album ‘Renaissance’ and its lead single ‘Break My Soul’ (both sitting at #1 on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 respectively this week), some of the Music Bible’s staff weighed the impact of the LP critically and commercially.
Collectively, they not only assessed the 16-song set is one of her best deliveries to date but argued its addition to her already stellar discography served as proof she is the best Pop offering to come out of the millennium yet.
More inside.
Writers Stephen Daw, Kyle Denis, Jason Lipshutz, Taylor Mims, and Andrew Unterberger took to Billboard.com to hold a digital “round table” of sorts to discuss ‘Renaissance.’
When not analyzing which of the album’s tunes should serve as the official follow-up to ‘Break My Soul,’ the quintet examined the project’s cultural impact and how well it stacks up against its precedessors in Bey’s discography.
All-in-all, their appraisal led them to one conclusion: she’s the greatest. Once the moderator quizzed the fivesome on if she “is the greatest pop star of the 21st century,” their responses were almost unanimous.
“Stephen Daw: Is it rude to say “duh?” I’m not even sure who else would fit that moniker other than Beyoncé…
Kyle Denis: Yes.
Jason Lipshutz: Yes. No. Maybe? I have no idea! I can’t give a simple answer to this question because I feel like my answer changes every few months… and if that’s a cop-out, then so be it. All I’ll say is that Beyoncé’s greatness is undeniable.
Taylor Mims: Absolutely not a simple question, but yes.
Andrew Unterberger: Yes.”
Click here to read the staff’s full review of the impact of ‘Renaissance.’
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The crowning came the same week it was reported Beyonce saw her name printed atop a whopping 23 Billboard charts concurrently.
A historic achievement, the feat reportedly marks the first time any artist has ever reigned atop as many Billboard hit lists simultaneously.
Look below to see the full list of tallies the Queen Bey ruled over this week thanks to ‘Renaissance’ or ‘Break My Soul.’
- Billboard 200 – ‘Renaissance’
- Billboard Hot 100 – ‘Break My Soul’
- Artist 100 – Beyonce
- Top Album Sales – ‘Renaissance’
- Top Current Album Sales – ‘Renaissance’
- Vinyl Albums – ‘Renaissance’
- Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – ‘Break My Soul’
- R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay – ‘Break My Soul’
- Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – ‘Renaissance’
- Hot R&B Songs – ‘Break My Soul’
- Top R&B Album – ‘Renaissance’
- Hot 100 Producers – Beyonce
- R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriters – Beyonce
- R&B/Hip-Hop Producers – Beyonce
- R&B Songwriters – Beyonce
- R&B Producers – Beyonce
- Dance/Electronic Songwriters – Beyonce
- Dance/Electronic Producers – Beyonce
- Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – ‘Break My Soul’
- Dance/Mix Show Airplay – ‘Break My Soul’
- Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs – ‘Break My Soul’
- Dance/Electronic Digital Sales Songs – ‘Break My Soul’
- Billboard Canadian Albums