Fans have expressed their outrage over Celine Dion being left off of Rolling Stone’s list of “greatest singers”.
On New Year’s Day, editors at the music magazine published an article titled “200 greatest singers of all time”, with Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Sam Cooke, Billie Holiday, and Mariah Carey rounding out the top five.
However, many fans were quick to point out that Celine had been snubbed, as were Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, and Jennifer Hudson.
“Respectfully, not including Celine Dion, arguably the best vocal technician of all time, in this list is borderline treasonous,” one follower tweeted, while Yvette Nicole Brown argued, “They got THE @MichaelJackson way down at EIGHTY-SIX?! and no @CelineDion at ALL?! Shoot, the way MJ sang #WithAChildsHeart when he was a CHILD makes him top three at the least and if Celine Dion isn’t in the Top Ten at the LEAST what are we really doing?! Damn @RollingStone.”
Another user posted, “Celine Dion doesn’t need no damn Rolling Stone to tell her she’s one of the best vocalists in the world, she makes her own lists.”
Representatives for Rolling Stone have not yet commented on the backlash.
Yet, the authors of the list appeared to anticipate some debate.
“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. Sure, many of the people here were born with massive pipes, perfect pitch, and boundless range. Others have rougher, stranger, or more delicate instruments,” they explained in the article.
A spokesperson for Celine hasn’t weighed in on the list.
In December, the Canadian superstar announced that she would be postponing a series of concerts as she had been diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome, a neurological disorder affecting her muscles.