Billboard has explained why the music publication chose Beyoncé as the greatest pop star of the 21st century star over Taylor Swift after sparking a massive controversy with Swifties.

In November, Billboard ranked Taylor number two, which hinted that the Formation singer would take the top spot – and on Tuesday, the trade pub made it official.

Billboard explained, ‘While Taylor Swift is the century’s biggest pop star by the numbers, Beyoncé tops our staff-chosen editorial list based on her full 25 years of influence, impact, evolution.’

Writer Andrew Unterberger went on to say that the Love Story singer ‘really challenged Beyoncé for the top spot on these rankings’ and even has ‘a clear statistical lead on Bey in many key categories.’

However, Taylor, 34, ‘hasn’t been around for long enough to be able to match the expansiveness of her quarter-century of dominance.’

‘If you go by the sheer numbers, Taylor would easily top this list,’ Andrew wrote, adding that ‘even with her late start, she has more No. 1 albums and as many No. 1 singles this century as Beyoncé.’

Andrew summed it up by saying, ‘When you’re talking about greatness for the 21st century specifically, no one has a longer or fuller track record than Beyoncé,’

Despite the in-depth explanation, Taylor’s fans were still upset that the Shake It Off hitmaker didn’t clinch the top spot.

After the fan account Pop Crave announced the news, Swifties rushed to her defense on X (previously Twitter).

‘Taylor had more impact in the last five years than Beyoncé in her whole career,’ one supporter enthused.

‘In other words, because Taylor was 15, Beyoncé had the advantage.. what type of publication is this,’ a fuming fan raged.

However, Beyoncé’s fans – known as the Beyhive – were just as dedicated.

‘No one has been able to have the type of staying power Beyoncé has been able to have over the past three decades. And for that alone, she’s the biggest artist alive,’ one commenter pointed out.

‘Beyoncé is Billboard’s #1 pop star of the 21st century for good reason. Over 25 years, she’s broken records, dominated charts, sparked debates, uplifted communities, and influenced generations. More than a pop star, she’s a cultural force!’ a super fan exclaimed.

Some were equal fans of both pop stars, with one person tweeting, ‘I think we all agree that these women are both extremely and truly talented and we love them both.’

When news first broke, Swifties were furious, calling the list a ‘joke,’ while claiming the Fortnight songstress was ‘robbed.’

Taylor’s super fans previously said the music magazine’s lists were ‘always unbelievably inaccurate’ and called her placing a ‘crime.’

Despite Swifties and the Beyhive feuding, Beyoncé and Taylor often publicly support each other, especially in the years following Kanye West’s infamous stage takeover at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2009.

Kanye famously interrupted Taylor’s Video Of The Year acceptance speech for You Belong With Me to declare Beyoncé the ‘true’ winner for Single Ladies, publicly pitting the two pop stars against each other.

The Gold Digger rapper said, ‘Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you. I’mma let you finish. But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!’

Beyoncé made sure to shut down Kanye’s sentiments and the two pop megastars are still friends.

In 2023, Swift attended Beyoncé’s Renaissance premiere in London, and they’ve shown support for each other on social media over the years.