base talk Taylor is undoubtedly bigger than Beyoncé. Do you agree?

[Shimenawa]

Taylor is bigger than everyone. She's up here with Madonna, MJ and the Beatles

[305]

I mean obviously, she’s bigger than anyone 

[swissman]

38 minutes ago, Alexz said:

What is Beyoncé's impact and cultural zeitgeist?

Is this a serious question?
 

Okay let's start in the 1990s... Destiny's Child has been credited for helping to popularize the rap/sung style that almost immediately impacted culture through the influence of other artists. As just one example, if you listen to J.Lo's debut single If You Had My Love (1999), then her sophomore album lead single Love Don't Cost a Thing (2000), you can hear the immediate change in cadence and vocal performance style following in the footsteps of songs like No, No, No, No Pt. II (1998) and Bills, Bills, Bills (1999). To this day, artists like Drake, Rihanna, Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj and a myriad other artists are indebted to the popularization of this blend of rap and pop/R&B singing.

 

Beyoncé made Bootylicious to celebrate her curves in a time when curves were NOT celebrated and created a theme song for the era going into the 2000s away from 1990s "heroin chic". Alongside J.Lo (who perhaps was more known for a big booty at the time), she was an icon for this style of beauty, and again, even today the appreciation for bigger booties is still going strong. Prior the whole "does my butt look big?" was a common trope. Now, people want it to look big. The song was so impactful, in fact, that the word was put into the dictionary.

 

Going into her solo career, so many of her lyrics have been engrained into popular lexicon such as "to the left", "I woke up like this", "who run the world?" and even recently "look around everybody on mute". As mentioned, "bootylicious" was put into the dictionary, but that was not the last time she did such a thing. After using the slang term "bama" in Formation in 2016, that word was officially added to the dictionary. Language being one of the most important, traceable and centred aspects of culture, the fact that she has put two words in the English dictionaries shows just how culturally important her/her work can be.

 

Her surprise visual album set a standard in the industry for album releases in the digital era. It was the first of its kind and has been imitated in some form by hundreds of artists across generations and genres. The surprise drop has gone down in history, not even for its immediate success but for the cultural moment that the release provided.

Her creativity in the 2010s has also impacted culture, with many other artists clearly upping their game and in some cases taking direct inspiration from Beyoncé in trying their hand at the exact same things (think: Kacey Musgraves' star-crossed visual album, like Lemonade, also about divorce).

She has performed at the Super Bowl four times, and the Super Bowl being peak American cultural entertainment, that means something.

 

Beyoncé has been one of the few popstars of her generation or the next to incorporate social issues into the core of her work (since 2013). Every project she has released since 2016 as released in some way to Blackness, be it Lemonade's Black feminism, Everything in Love's political musings on civil rights and Blackness, to The Gift's celebration of some African genres and Black is King's celebration of African visual arts, to Homecoming's uplifting of the HBCU style at Coachella, to RENAISSANCE's celebration of Black queer dance music. Each step of the way, hit or miss, she has impacted culture and reached those who needed reaching, and firmly aligned with the ideas of Black pride that would be so socially important throughout this time as well.

 

Beyoncé seems to be the first popstars of our generation to be studied academically and in doing so has helped pave the way for others to be rightfully studied as well, blurring the lines between the idea of "pop fluff" and high art.

By name, she is cited in movies and television shows, talk shows, radio shows, etc. very frequently. This naturally happens to every celebrity but with Beyoncé the use of her name (when not just making reference to her work or life or personhood) is often expressed through use of superlatives: "She's the Beyoncé of baking"; "I'm the Beyoncé of this competition" or just plainly "I'm the Beyoncé" are commonly used likening her to a sort of excellence. If you insert any other name, more often than not it won't work, and more often still, the usage is not common.

Beyoncé remains the ONLY artist in Billboard history to spend ten weeks at #1 both as a solo artist and in a group. I'm not going to list any more stats than this though, but it  does show how during both phases of her career, she has reached heights few others have, scoring #1s lasting for over three months, an entire quarter of a year. In total only 44 songs have achieved this.

Then there are smaller, more niche influences. Pregnancy announcements are no longer than same since she did so with the twins. Her use of graphic design as compliment to her Halloween costumes in 2018 has since sparked a trend of people recreating popular imagery to a tee, not just the costume. Her exclusivity and hands-off approach has been mimicked by many artists now who no longer feel the need to over promote, and good or bad, we are in an era where promotion is at an all-time low.

 

But perhaps most importantly it's been her work that has impacted culture through its consistent use of feminism since the 1990s. From Independent Women to Run the World to ***Flawless, it's been a mainstay topic even after the trendy era of "girl power" was through.Including a definition of the word "feminist" in 2013 and using the word itself proudly emblazoned behind her at the 2014 VMAs has helped majorly change the perception of the world socially and culturally. Whereas prior it was considered almost a bad word, something you would try to explain or shy away from while still expressing core ideas of feminism as many popstars did prior to 2013/2014, NOW feminism is broadly and proudly displayed by men and women alike.

I'm sure I'm missing a lot, but here is answer.

 

 

Edited November 8, 2023 by swissman

[Alexz]

Just now, swissman said:

Is this a serious question?
 

Okay let's start in the 1990s... Destiny's Child has been credited for helping to popularize the rap/sung style that almost immediately impacted culture through the influence of other artists. If you listen to J.Lo's debut single If You Had My Love (1999), then her sophomore album lead single Love Don't Cost a Thing (2000), you can hear the immediate change in cadence and vocal performance style following in the footsteps of songs like No, No, No, No Pt. II (1998) and Bills, Bills, Bills (1999). To this day, artists like Drake, Rihanna, Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj and a myriad other artists are indebted to the popularization of this blend of rap and pop/R&B singing.

 

Beyoncé made Bootylicious to celebrate her curves in a time when curves were NOT celebrated and created a theme song for the era going into the 2000s away from 1990s heroin chic. Alongside J.Lo (who perhaps was more known for a big booty at the time), she was an icon for this style of beauty, and again, even today the appreciation for bigger booties is still going strong. Prior the whole "does my butt look big?" was a common trope. Now, people want it to look big. The song was so impactful, in fact, that the word was put into the dictionary.

 

Going into her solo career, so many of her lyrics have been engrained into popular lexicon such as "to the left", "I woke up like this", "who run the world?" and even recently "look around everybody on mute". As mentioned, Bootylicious was put into the dictionary, but that was not the last time she did such a thing. After using the slang term "bama" in Formation in 2016, that word was officially added to the dictionary. Language being one of the most important, traceable and centred aspects of culture, the fact that she has put two words in the English dictionaries shows just how culturally important her/her work can be.

 

Her surprise visual album set a standard in the industry for album releases in the digital era. It was the first of its kind and has been imitated in some form by hundreds of artists across generations and genres. The surprise drop has gone down in history, not even for its immediate success but for the cultural moment that the release provided.

Her creativity in the 2010s has also impacted culture, with many other artists clearly upping their game and in some cases taking direct inspiration from Beyoncé in trying their hand at the exact same things (think: Kacey Musgraves' star-crossed visual album, like Lemonade, also about divorce).

She has performed at the Super Bowl four times, and the Super Bowl being peak American cultural entertainment, that means something.

 

Beyoncé has been one of the few popstars of her generation or the next to incorporate social issues into the core of her work since 2016. Every project she has released as released in some way to Blackness, be it Lemonade's Black feminism, Everything in Love's political musings on civil rights and Blackness, to The Gift's celebration of some African genres and Black is King's celebration of African visual arts, to Homecoming's uplifting of the HBCU style at Coachella, to RENAISSANCE's celebration of Black queer dance music. Each step of the way, hit or miss, she has impacted culture and reached those who needed reaching, and firmly aligned with the ideas of Black pride that would be so socially important throughout this time as well.

 

Beyoncé was one of the first popstars of our generation to be studied academically and in doing so has helped pave the way for others to be rightfully studied as well, blurring the lines between the idea of "pop fluff" and high art.

By name, she is cited in movies and television shows, talk shows, radio shows, etc. very frequently. This naturally happens to every celebrity but with Beyoncé the use of her name (when not just making reference to her work or life or personhood) is often expressed through use of superlatives: "She's the Beyoncé of baking"; "I'm the Beyoncé of this competition" or just plainly "I'm the Beyoncé" are commonly used likening her to a sort of excellence. If you insert any other name, more often than not it won't work, and more often still, the usage is not common.

Beyoncé remains the ONLY artist in Billboard history to spend ten weeks at #1 both as a solo artist and in a group. I'm not going to list any more stats than this though. While this is a stat more than a receipt of cultural impact, it does show that during both phases of her career, she has reached heights few others have, scoring #1s lasting for over three months, an entire quarter of a year. In total only 44 songs have achieved this.

Then there are smaller, more niche influences. Pregnancy announcements are no longer than same since she did so with the twins. Her use of graphic design as compliment to her Halloween costumes in 2018 has since sparked a trend of people recreating popular imagery to a tee, not just the costume. Her exclusivity and hands-off approach has been mimicked by many artists now who no longer feel the need to over promote, and good or bad, we are in an era where promotion is at an all-time low.

 

But perhaps most importantly it's been her work that has impacted culture through its consistent use of feminism since the 1990s. From Independent Women to Run the World to ***Flawless, it's been a mainstay topic even after the trendy era of "girl power" was through. Her use of the word "FEMINIST" behind her at the 2014 VMAs has helped majorly change the perception of the world socially and culturally. Whereas prior it was considered almost a bad word, something you would try to explain or shy away from while still expressing core ideas of feminism as many popstars did prior to 2013/2014, NOW feminism is broadly and proudly displayed by men and women alike.

I'm sure I'm missing a lot, but here is answer.

Mother of God.

[Steve Johnson]

Infinity times bigger. 

[Goaty]

4 minutes ago, Alexz said:

Mother of God.

Well - you asked  

[swissman]

4 minutes ago, Alexz said:

Mother of God.

You asked for it.

[DiamondHoe]

Yes, she is bigger. And what a crying shame that is 

[Goaty]

Anyway - this question is so boring now. Taylor doesn’t currently have a peer. Until she either declines significantly or another artist explodes onto the scene - there’s really not much to discuss 

[SeeingStars1515]

50 minutes ago, dawnettakins said:

Maybe on sales and pure numbers, but on impact and the cultural zeitgeist? Nah fam.

this...at least for music. I dont think TS will be known for specific cultural moments in music as everything she's released is rather easily digestible lol

[Maxxie]

Why is Taylor being compared to every other female?

 

Weird behaviour. We get it, she sells a lot. So does McDonald's.

[JonginBey]

Oh brother!

[Soda Pop Queen]

They're not peers who were raised together so what does it matter? 

 

Beyoncé is and will always be Beyoncé. Y'all are obsessed with trying this woman.

Edited November 8, 2023 by Soda Pop Queen

[Redporus]

The question should really be, is Taylor bigger than Rita Ora?

[TaggedGalaxy]

You can't disagree with a fact

[swissman]

Statistically, Taylor is obviously bigger.

 

That being said, "scope" of a career is a lot more than just statistics.

 

[jdanton2]

i agree Taylor is bigger but also with Kanye that Beyonce has better music.

[Chris]

@Lagerfeld needs to go outside and get some good fresh air.

 

Do you agree?

[ScorpiosGroove]

11 minutes ago, Alexz said:

Taylor doesn't decide cultural impact.

do critics ? cause according to them she’s one of the most impactful and acclaimed artists ever 

 

do other artists ? cause there’s barely any who don’t cite her as an inspiration, huge pop stars, random newcomers and small indie artists alike

 

do music legends ? cause they all adore and praise her, from Mj, To Prince, Madonna to Tina & Mariah

 

do sales & streams ? cause she’s one of the best selling & most streamed female artists ever, still getting consecutive #1 albums and songs 25 years into her career 

 

do awards ? cause she’s the most awarded artist 

 

do random people decide ? cause millions decide to pay a lot of money to attend her concerts 

 

does random stuff like her being referenced in about every series of the last 20 years, animals being scientifically named after her, skyscrapers being build in her likeness or entire countries like Japan having their own Beyoncé ? 

 

does her name becoming a verb & synonymous with greatness, her performances & outfits influencing countless of artists and industries, her song titles entering the dictionary, her tour influencing economies around the world, her albums, persona and career being studied in universities ? the ******* Louvre still doing special tours dedicated to a 5 year music video ? 

 

like damn what more does it take for you people to stop acting dense 

[Starshine]

Maybe. Beyoncé’s waist is very snatched, it’s the skinniest she’s been in a decade. The vegan diet is paying off. The ozempicification of Beybey. 

[RideOrDie]

16 minutes ago, Maxxie said:

Why is Taylor being compared to every other female?

 

Weird behaviour. We get it, she sells a lot. So does McDonald's.

and is the former singer on your avi supposed to be the pinnacle of artistic quality?

[PoisonedIvy]

19 minutes ago, Maxxie said:

Why is Taylor being compared to every other female?

 

Weird behaviour. We get it, she sells a lot. So does McDonald's.

Now if only McDonald’s could match that commercial success with some critical acclaim and awards. Then they’d be the Taylor Swift of the fast food industry.

[Archetype]

She's bigger than Beyonce + other MPGs combined.

[wastedpotential]

Give it up deelishis 

[Axelios]

By 2014, it was already very clear Taylor would have a bigger career than Beyonce. What happened after only widened the gap between them

Edited November 8, 2023 by Axelios