YourHonesty

American Life will get the last laugh someday, just like Erotica did.

I love Beyonce but she'll probably never be one of my top streamed artists because I like listening to her albums in full, uninterrupted. All her recent music is best experienced that way. Nobody has time for that though, most of my streaming happens in transit, in the background at work, etc. And it usually consists of standalone songs from artists I like way less and would never pay a dime to see live. Most of her fans would probably agree with this and I think she positions her music this way intentionally.

Performing my debut single, a cute 3 week #1

Wonder if it happened before or after this: https://people.com/music/madonna-calls-out-tory-lanez-for-alleged-illegal-use-of-her-song-into-the-groove/

she adopted four kids. Big shift in her life's focus

Fame is the least interesting thing about the Beatles' legacy but it's going to be the most interesting thing about Taylor's

Weak compared to who? If there are any other artists who consistently innovated for twenty years and then maintained a rigorous pop star release schedule well into their fifties and sixties, please point me in their direction

Gaga gets some cute metacritic scores thanks to poptimism but none of her music is held in the same esteem as Beyoncé's, especially post 2013 And nobody in music spheres gives a **** about her acting career

It's because Monsters watched Beyonce run off with the career they all thought Gaga would have. If you asked someone in 2010, who would have more artistic credibility, industry acclaim, and undeniable relevance across the next 15 years, most people would've said Gaga. And yet… They were all certain that Gaga was Madonna's heir apparent, and Beyonce stole that from them.

Completely agree. And it's delusional anytime someone suggests another female artist is akin to Madonna just because they've sold a lot. Madonna's in a league of her own when it comes to industry taste making, influence, and impact.

Taylor grossed $2B on one tour. There's obvious some nuance to the numbers given the change in formats.

He was 100% a punching bag but his music was still revered. Plus that era's stars had all grown up watching him, so he was getting referenced all the time. Rihanna sampled him in 2007, Kanye cited him throughout 2008, and Gaga was set to open for him just as she was approaching her peak in 2009. His music never stopped being cool. This song, a tribute to him, had a lot of indie cred at the time:

I witnessed both peaks and Taylor's was definitely bigger, but it's a weird comparison. Eminem had only been famous for three years at his peak, so he wasn't the institutional figure Taylor was by 2023-2025. He had a handful of songs that were everywhere, but Taylor had fans who had grown up with her 10+ albums and were literally raising their children on her music. They were on two totally different levels.

Nobody will ever know Beyoncé's process, so answering this question by giving her some random label that implies she's never once come up with lyrics or a melody by herself is crazy.

She's not apolitical. Her image was boundary-pushing and progressive for a country artist in her heyday, and she stood ten toes down on BLM. + what everyone else said. She's both incredibly talented and incredibly kind.