Celine Dion fans are furious that she was snubbed on Rolling Stone’s “200 Greatest Singers of All Time” list.
Rolling Stone’s official Twitter account preemptively responded to the potential backlash, explaining in a tweet that the greatest singers are not the same thing as the greatest voices. The outlet posted, “talent is impressive; genius is transcendent.”
But that disclaimer wasn’t enough to assuage fans of the Canadian songstress.
“Rolling Stone needs to immediately exit the business of music journalism,” one person fumed in reply.
“The fact that Céline Dion isn’t anywhere in the top 200 is a crime against humanity,” another person agreed.
“Respectfully, not including Celine Dion, arguably the best vocal technician of all time, in this list is borderline treasonous,” a third person said of the rankings.
The top five greatest singers according to Rolling Stone are Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Sam Cooke, Billie Holiday, and Mariah Carey. Other names on the list include Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Michael Jackson, Adele, and Lady Gaga.
Boasting more than 200 million albums sold worldwide, Dion is one of the best-selling solo artists of all time. Seven of her albums have sold at least 10 million copies worldwide. The “Because You Loved Me” composer also won five Grammy Awards and many other accolades. She’s known for her vocal range and distinctive power behind her voice.
Dion was recognized by the Los Angeles Times as the decade’s top-earning artist in 2009, with combined album sales and concert revenue exceeding $747 million. And while she was snubbed by Rolling Stone, Dion inevitably popped up on other “best of” lists over the years.
The 54-year-old singer recently revealed that she’d been diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome (SPS), a progressive neurological disease that leaves its victims as “human statues” who cannot walk or talk, as The Daily Wire previously reported. Her diagnosis led to multiple concert cancellations.
“I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time and it’s been really difficult for me to face my challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through,” she said while updating fans on her condition.
Dion went on to explain how having spasms has made singing more challenging.
“While we’re still learning about this rare condition, we now know this is what’s been causing all of the spasms I’ve been having,” she continued. “Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to.”