With voting on the
Sweet Sixteen match-ups complete, the first #1 seed has been eliminated. After an impressively dominant run, top overall contender "...Baby One More Time" finally succumbed to Michael Jackson's classic
#4 "Billie Jean", which
Blender once called the Greatest Song Since You Were Born. The three other division leaders are still in pursuit of the title, though.
#1 "Crazy in Love" and
#1 "Like a Prayer" were both challenged by their competition—#5 "Dancing Queen" and #4 "Lose Yourself," respectively—before emerging victorious, while
#1 "Hey Ya!" ran rampant over #5 "Umbrella." These four hits will be joined in the regional finals by
#2 "I Will Always Love You" (which defeated #6 "We Belong Together" in a Whitney/Mariah smackdown) and three dark-horse low seeds:
#11 "Vogue",
#14 "No Scrubs" and
#15 "Viva La Vida".
Results: Sweet Sixteen(4) "Billie Jean" Michael Jackson def. (1) "...Baby One More Time" Britney Spears [16-8]
(14) "No Scrubs" TLC def. (7) "I Want You Back" The Jackson 5 [16-8]
(1) "Crazy in Love" Beyoncé ft. Jay-Z def. (5) "Dancing Queen" ABBA [13-11]
(15) "Viva La Vida" Coldplay def. (14) "Hips Don't Lie" Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean [13-11]
(1) "Like a Prayer" Madonna def. (4) "Lose Yourself" Eminem [14-10]
(11) "Vogue" Madonna def. (10) "Yesterday" The Beatles [12*-12]
(1) "Hey Ya!" Outkast def. (5) "Umbrella" Rihanna ft. Jay-Z [16-8]
(2) "I Will Always Love You" Whitney Houston def. (6) "We Belong Together" Mariah Carey [14-10]
With that, we now move on to the
Elite Eight of ATRL March Madness. Forum favorites Britney Spears, Mariah Carey and Rihanna were all eliminated last round, leaving only Beyoncé and Madonna to represent for the site's
biggest stan bases. Are the pop divas going down? Meanwhile, three
legendary acts (Michael Jackson, Madonna and Whitney Houston) remain in contention. Will one of them take home the crown? Check out the updated draw below (or find a larger version
here):
ATRL.
