Beyonce has been named the most powerful woman in music by a panel of experts judging for BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.
The judges, who included British popstar Kate Nash, top producer Catherine Marks, and classical musician Jessica Duchen, chose the Formation hitmaker ahead of Taylor Swift in second place, and Adele in fourth on their Women in Music Power List, which was announced on Friday (28Sep18).
A tweet from the show’s account announcing Beyonce as the winner praised the Single Ladies hitmaker for her charity work with her BeyGOOD Foundation and gushed that she had “changed the landscape of pop music” with songs “infused with political meaning” like those on her 2016 album Lemonade. It is not the first time Beyonce has been honoured on the radio show, as in 2016 she was named as one of the seven most powerful women of the past 70 years.
Taylor was praised for helping to “empower” young girls – and for standing her ground and winning a legal battle with a U.S. radio DJ she accused of sexual assault.
The trio were the only popstars to make it into the top ten, with U.K. Performing Right Society for Music boss Vanessa Reed sandwiched between Taylor and Adele at three. Vanessa wrote on Twitter that she was “honoured” and “humbled” to be chosen just behind Taylor and Beyonce.
Lower down the list were Cardi B, in 14th, SIA, at 15, Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell at 16, and Dua Lipa – who just made the top 20.
Woman’s Hour producers released the music power list to coincide with BBC Music Day. To mark the occasion Kylie Minogue recorded station announcements for British rail commuters, while Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker and Candida Doyle also competed against the Happy Mondays’ Bez and Rowetta in a special edition of U.K. TV antiques selling contest Bargain Hunt.
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