Celine Dion fans launch protest following snub from viral “greatest singers of all time” list

7 January, 2023

Celine Dion

A group of dedicated Celine Dion fans have launched a protest outside the offices of Rolling Stone, after the singer was omitted from their recent list of the 200 greatest singers.

The viral list, which was shared earlier in the week, is topped by Aretha Franklin. The likes of Whitney Houston, Sam Cooke, Billie Holiday and Mariah Carey round out the Top Five. Dion isn’t featured at all, though, causing outrage on social media.

“The audacity of not acknowledging [Dion] in your flawed Top 200 as one of the top vocalists of all time and not seeing her vocal prowess is sincerely an insult beyond measure, if not a criminal offense. Fix it,” encouraged one fan. “Celine Dion is a top 3 vocalist of all time. Rolling Stone needs to immediately exit the business of music journalism,” added another, while a petition to have Dion added to the list currently has over 8,000 signatures.

A group of Celine Dion fans from The Redheads’ Facebook group even took the six-hour journey from Montreal to New York to protest Dion’s snub in-person, holding a demonstration outside Rolling Stone’s office.

In footage shared online, protestors can be seen holding banners that read “save Celine” and “How can you forget Celine?”, while one fan said she “hoped Rolling Stone can admit they made a mistake”.

“We are here to express ourselves,” one – who was holding a placard reading “Celine is not by herself anymooore” – told Rolling Stone. “Obviously you made a big mistake forgetting her name on the big list, so we wanted to make sure you understand that you missed the best singer in the world.”

Another protester apparently entered the building and asked to speak to Rolling Stone’s editor, in a bid to give him a DVD of Celine’s greatest moments.

“The list is completely illegitimate,” The Redheads founder Line Basbous told Variety. “We wanted to support her and make sure that Rolling Stone hears the voice of the fans.”

At the end of last year, Celine Dion revealed that she’s been living with a neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome, and that she isn’t well enough to resume her tour as planned next month.

A run of Dion’s shows, which were initially booked to run from February 24 to April 11, have been rescheduled to 2024. Shows booked to take place between May 31 and July 17, however, have been cancelled altogether.

Her concerts scheduled for August to October 2023 are not affected. See the list of new tour dates here.

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