The fury was fierce in response to Celine Dion not being on Rolling Stone’s list (Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for CDA Productions, Inc.)
In what may prove to be one of the most contentious starts to 2023, Rolling Stone’s list of its top 200 singers of all time has riled many a punter up due to its exclusion of one Celine Dion.
Yes, it seems the hearts of many a reader will not go on after the music mag charted its top crooners and somehow forgot the mighty Celine – the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time – on the weekend.
The list starts with spot 200 (naturally) which was taken by Rosalía, before moving on to Misfits’ Glenn Danzig and Billie Eilish in 198th.
Burna Boy came in ahead at 197 and Kelly Clarkson was in 194’s spot. We have BTS’ Jungkook in 191 and even Iggy Pop in 176 and Lana Del Rey one in front. No Celine.
Sir Elton John hit the halfway mark at 100, and Michael Jackson was marked down at 86. Still no Celine.
As the list hit its pointy peak, Adele was in 22nd spot, with Al Green leading us into the top 10; Beyonce came in at eight, Mariah Carey at five and Sam Cooke, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin brought it home in third, second and first respectively. And fans were livid, LIVID we tell you, there was still no Celine.
Queen Beyonce ranked high on the list (Picture: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
One fumed with some edits: ‘They better change the name of that list to “Ranking The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time After The Great Céline Dion”.’
Alongside a clip of Celine, 54, singing, another wrote: ‘You can’t have a greatest singers list without Céline Dion. She’s one of the greatest vocalists of our generation.’
Yes, the fury was fiercer than Celine’s 1998 Divas appearance.
Other fans took a different route, with one writing: ‘celine dion doesn’t need no damn rolling stone to tell her she’s one of the best vocalists in the world, she makes her own lists.’
However, amid intense criticism and outcry from fans of the singer, it seems someone has alerted Rolling Stone HQ, with the platform’s account later adding a caveat and explaining the list a little more.
A tweet read: ‘Before you start scrolling (and commenting), keep in mind that this is the Greatest Singers list, not the Greatest Voices List. Talent is impressive; genius is transcendent.’
It comes just weeks after Celine revealed her health battle with stiff-person syndrome and postponed her word tour.
Celine announced that she had been diagnosed with the syndrome on Instagram last month, as she revealed her disappointment at being forced to cancel and postpone some of her spring and summer 2023 tour dates.
Celine recently wished fans a happy holidays in her Christmas message
Stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is a rare autoimmune movement disorder that affects the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord).
A personal message from the singer was included in the caption, and read: ‘I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through…
‘It hurts me to tell you that I won’t be ready to restart my tour in Europe in February.’ – Céline.’
The Think Twice hitmaker also addressed the news in a video, explaining: ‘Recently I’ve been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called stiff-person syndrome which affects something like one in a million people.
‘While we’re still learning about this rare condition, we now know this is what’s been causing all of the spasms that 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 chords to sing the way I’m used to.
‘It hurts me to tell you today that this means I won’t be ready to restart my tour in Europe in February.’
The singer went on to reassure fans that she had ‘a great team of doctors’ and was being supported by her ‘precious children’, sons René-Charles, 21, and 12-year-old twins Nelson and Eddy.
Her husband, René Angélil, died aged 73 in 2016.
There is no cure for stiff-person syndrome, which is said to turn people into ‘human statues’ as the body becomes more rigid.
The Grammy-winning singer was due to perform across Europe in March and April, including a date at London’s O2 Arena, and was due to continue until September.
These will now take place in spring 2024.
This has not gone down well with her fans.
