Beyoncé Ranked No. 1 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century by Billboard

“Since late August, we’ve been rolling out our picks for the artists who have most defined pop stardom for the last 25 years,” Billboard said. While noting the leading pick, the music and entertainment magazine said, “The reasons why Beyoncé captured the top spot on our list were beyond numerous — ranging from her 25 years of timeless albums and singles, to her incalculable industry impact and influence on other artists, to her peerless raw talents as a singer and performer.

“But perhaps the most important of all was her singular ability to create moments: indelible pieces of pop culture history that she has generated over the course of her quarter century of superstardom, which are first and foremost all quintessentially Beyoncé.”

She was previously named Billboard’s greatest pop star of the year in 2003 and 2014.

Beyoncé beat out other major stars such as Taylor Swift, who was named second greatest, Rihanna (No. 3), Drake (No. 4), Lady Gaga (No. 5) and Britney Spears (No. 6). The superstar’s husband Jay-Z was ranked No. 16 on the list.

Beyoncé, who is already the most-decorated Grammy artist in history with a total of 32 wins, recently became the most Grammy-nominated artist of all time after receiving 11 nods at this year’s award show for her acclaimed album, “Cowboy Carter.” She now has a total of 99 nominations throughout her career. Previously, she was tied with her husband with 88.

Beyoncé was first launched into international stardom in the late ’90s as a member of Destiny’s Child, one of the world’s best-selling girl groups. In 2003, she released her first solo album, “Dangerously in Love” during the group’s hiatus. The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 200 albums chart — as did seven other albums — and she continued to make her mark in music and culture thereafter.

She has become one of the best-selling musicians of all time and racked up a list of accolades along the way. In the 2000s and 2010s she was deemed artist of the decade by many outlets and recognized as Recording Industry Association of America’s top certified artist of the decade in the 2010s. And her star power has reached many realms from music, culture, fashion and beyond.

This year, Beyoncé announced her eighth studio album during a surprise Super Bowl commercial in February when she released singles “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em.” The songs instantly took the internet by storm, as did the album once it was released.