Originally posted by Chimier

The answer is no. A strong no, a loud no, a resonant no, a damn sure near-eternal NO.

Let's start off with the fact that Whitney Houston is by far the most influential female vocalist of the past three decades, followed by Mariah. Beyonce does not come close.

Success goes without saying.

Anyone who thinks Beyonce has surpassed Whitney or Mariah in cultural impact:
a) doesn't know what cultural impact is
b) needs to go and do research
c) is just talking for the sake of talking
d) all of the above.

Mariah Carey defined an entire decade of music. A decade. Then had perhaps the greatest comeback in recent history and ended the decade topping everyone...AGAIN. This is a woman whose vocal style has been imitated for the best part of almost three decades. This is a woman who has conquered not just her own home continent, but another on the other side of the world. This is a woman who is the top hitmaker out of all her peers.

Whitney Houston: there simply hasn't been and never will be again. This was a black female singer who outdid her white and male peers on the charts without any effort. This was a woman who shattered barriers for the female singer, the black singer, the pop singer and the R&B singer. This was a woman who set the standard for singing in the modern era and still holds it. Beyonce has not done any of these things, thus she cannot have surpassed Whitney in cultural significance.

The significance of Whitney Houston lies in the fact that she symbolizes the Civil Rights dream: everything coming together. She combined the old with the new and forged a new path and reached unsurpassed heights. Unsurpassed. She conquered music, Hollywood AND television. Another thing Beyonce has not done. She might be the closest in her generation to Whitney in terms of status, but even she doesn't come close.

In terms of media presence, Beyonce benefits from formats that Whitney and Mariah did not have, so you can't even really compare them in that either, especially seeing as how Whitney and Mariah were two the top-selling female artists of their time EFFORTLESSLY. Their entire star power came from their music success and popularity, and out of all the big divas of the 90s, only Whitney was able to successfully translate that success into other entertainment formats. No one else has done it since.

You all like to get very excited when your favorite artists are being showered with praise, and that's absolutely fine, but 99% of the time, you also like to rewrite history with a very myopic and shallow outlook. You make grand statements w/o any kind of receipts or substance to back them up, thinking your "stan talk" is enough. Try coming with facts. If you can post on ATRL, you can go on Google and research.

Originally posted by PrettyHurts

Originally posted by Icarus

Yes honestly. Beyonce has lasted much longer than they did. She's still the biggest pop star in the world after all this time. Were they doing this after two decades?

Originally posted by Cream

None of them have memorable albums so yes

Originally posted by Chimier

The answer is no. A strong no, a loud no, a resonant no, a damn sure near-eternal NO.

Let's start off with the fact that Whitney Houston is by far the most influential female vocalist of the past three decades, followed by Mariah. Beyonce does not come close.

Success goes without saying.

Anyone who thinks Beyonce has surpassed Whitney or Mariah in cultural significance or impact:
a) doesn't know what cultural impact is
b) needs to go and do research
c) is just talking for the sake of talking
d) all of the above.

Mariah Carey defined an entire decade of music. A decade. Then had perhaps the greatest comeback in recent history and ended the decade topping everyone...AGAIN. This is a woman whose vocal style has been imitated for the best part of almost three decades. This is a woman who has conquered not just her own home continent, but another on the other side of the world. This is a woman who is the top hitmaker out of all her peers.

Whitney Houston: there simply hasn't been and never will be again. This was a black female singer who outdid her white and male peers on the charts without any effort. This was a woman who shattered barriers for the female singer, the black singer, the pop singer and the R&B singer. This was a woman who set the standard for singing in the modern era and still holds it. Beyonce has not done any of these things, thus she cannot have surpassed Whitney in cultural significance.

The significance of Whitney Houston lies in the fact that she symbolizes the Civil Rights dream: everything coming together. She combined the old with the new and forged a new path and reached unsurpassed heights. Unsurpassed. She conquered music, Hollywood AND television. Another thing Beyonce has not done. She might be the closest in her generation to Whitney in terms of status, but even she doesn't come close.

In terms of media presence, Beyonce benefits from formats that Whitney and Mariah did not have, so you can't even really compare them in that either, especially seeing as how Whitney and Mariah were two the top-selling female artists of their time EFFORTLESSLY. Their entire star power came from their music success and popularity, and out of all the big divas of the 90s, only Whitney was able to successfully translate that success into other entertainment formats. No one else has done it since.

You all like to get very excited when your favorite artists are being showered with praise, and that's absolutely fine, but 99% of the time, you also like to rewrite history with a very myopic and shallow outlook. You make grand statements w/o any kind of receipts or substance to back them up, thinking your "stan talk" is enough. Try coming with facts. If you can post on ATRL, you can go on Google and research.

Originally posted by TeemoR

Madonna > Whitney >> Beyonce > Lady Gaga > Mariah > rest

Originally posted by Mr. Wonder

Well to be fair, Beyonce wasn't doing this after two decades.

"Whitney Houston" lasted from 1985 - 2012. That's ~27 years.
"Mariah Carey" lasted from 1990 to current. That's 26 years and counting.
Beyonce lasted from 2003 to 2016. That's 13 years.

Originally posted by Chimier

The answer is no. A strong no, a loud no, a resonant no, a damn sure near-eternal NO.

Let's start off with the fact that Whitney Houston is by far the most influential female vocalist of the past three decades, followed by Mariah. Beyonce does not come close.

Success goes without saying.

Anyone who thinks Beyonce has surpassed Whitney or Mariah in cultural significance or impact:
a) doesn't know what cultural impact is
b) needs to go and do research
c) is just talking for the sake of talking
d) all of the above.

Mariah Carey defined an entire decade of music. A decade. Then had perhaps the greatest comeback in recent history and ended the decade topping everyone...AGAIN. This is a woman whose vocal style has been imitated for the best part of almost three decades. This is a woman who has conquered not just her own home continent, but another on the other side of the world. This is a woman who is the top hitmaker out of all her peers.

Whitney Houston: there simply hasn't been and never will be again. This was a black female singer who outdid her white and male peers on the charts without any effort. This was a woman who shattered barriers for the female singer, the black singer, the pop singer and the R&B singer. This was a woman who set the standard for singing in the modern era and still holds it. Beyonce has not done any of these things, thus she cannot have surpassed Whitney in cultural significance.

The significance of Whitney Houston lies in the fact that she symbolizes the Civil Rights dream: everything coming together. She combined the old with the new and forged a new path and reached unsurpassed heights. Unsurpassed. She conquered music, Hollywood AND television. Another thing Beyonce has not done. She might be the closest in her generation to Whitney in terms of status, but even she doesn't come close.

In terms of media presence, Beyonce benefits from formats that Whitney and Mariah did not have, so you can't even really compare them in that either, especially seeing as how Whitney and Mariah were two the top-selling female artists of their time EFFORTLESSLY. Their entire star power came from their music success and popularity, and out of all the big divas of the 90s, only Whitney was able to successfully translate that success into other entertainment formats. No one else has done it since.

In terms of acclaim, again, you cannot compare. Retrospect has changed a lot of the narrative that was delivered about Whitney and Mariah. In their heyday, a specific type of critic dismissed their work as lacking substance and soul, and while acknowledging their vocal prowess, also dismissed their singing has having no substance and soul. Fast-forward a few decades later, and it's become quite a different story, especially in light of how music has changed so much (and for the worse, according to a lot of people).

You all like to get very excited when your favorite artists are being showered with praise, and that's absolutely fine, but 99% of the time, you also like to rewrite history with a very myopic and shallow outlook. You make grand statements w/o any kind of receipts or substance to back them up, thinking your "stan talk" is enough. Try coming with facts. If you can post on ATRL, you can go on Google and research.

P.S. Cultural impact does not equate to 200 articles written about your fav's latest album. Cultural impact refers to the effects of an artist's work on the culture, usually being reflected in the artist's influence and/or referenced in other media formats.

Originally posted by Mr. Wonder

Well to be fair, Beyonce wasn't doing this after two decades.

"Whitney Houston" lasted from 1985 - 2012. That's ~27 years.
"Mariah Carey" lasted from 1990 to current. That's 26 years and counting.
Beyonce lasted from 2003 to 2016. That's 13 years.



Between Whitney, Mariah, and Beyonce, only one of them has an album on Rolling Stone's GOAT album list. Guess which one it is.....

Originally posted by Icarus

Yes honestly. Beyonce has lasted much longer than they did. She's still the biggest pop star in the world after all this time. Were they doing this after two decades?