For the past few months, Billboard has been counting down their list of the greatest pop acts of the 21st century. These acts have included boy bands, rappers, singer-songwriters, and straight-up divas. Now, after much anticipation, the magazine has officially revealed their #1 pop star of the 21st century: Beyoncé.

In the newly published, incredibly comprehensive article detailing why this distinction had to go to the Renaissance singer, Billboard's Andrew Unterberger writes:

"Few artists this period can match [Beyoncé] in any of the most critical basic categories of pop stardom – commercial success, performance abilities, critical acclaim and accolades, industry influence, iconic cultural moments – and absolutely no one can equal her in all of them."

Billboard commenced their countdown back in August with the announcement of their pick for the 25th biggest pop star of the century. Since then, there has been much speculation over who would take the #1 spot. As they continued making these announcements, it became clear to many that the winner would ultimately come down to one of two artists: Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. Then, last week, with only two spots left to fill and those two megastars remaining unannounced, Billboard announced that their #2 slot would indeed go to Swift.

In addressing what many will see as a controversial decision to have Swift play second fiddle to Beyoncé, Billboard explains:

"If you go by the sheer numbers, Taylor would easily top this list — and she will undoubtedly reign on many of the chart-based quarter-century rankings we’ll publish in 2025 ... But when you’re talking about greatness, and when you’re talking about greatness for the 21st century specifically, no one has a longer or fuller track record than Beyoncé. It is insanely impressive that Taylor has even made it a discussion after missing the whole first quarter of the period, but only Beyoncé has spent the entirety of the last 25 years exemplifying greatness in every form imaginable."

Beyoncé has been a mainstay on the Billboard charts throughout the entirety of the 21st century, starting with the moment her girl group, Destiny's Child, topped the Hot 100 with "Say My Name". Since then, the multi-hyphenate has racked up 32 Grammy awards, thirteen #1 hit songs (both as a solo artist and with Destiny's Child), and eight #1 albums, including her most recent project, this year's Cowboy Carter.

"The longevity of Beyoncé remains continually awe-inspiring," Billboard writes, continuing:

"At a time when most of her pop peers – even the best ones – have either retired from music, faded from the limelight or simply contented themselves with recreating past glories, Beyoncé remains steadfastly committed to pushing forward. She does not chase trends or youth; even when collaborating with newer artists, she is able to meet them on common ground that does not result in either party being compromised or contorted. Instead, she chases greatness: fully realized artistic works that will add not only to her legacy, but to the culture and to the history of popular music."

Beyoncé has yet to comment on this honor.

Read Billboard's complete list of the 21st century's best pop stars below:

1. Beyonce
2. Taylor Swift
3. Rihanna
4. Drake
5. Lady Gaga
6. Britney Spears
7. Kanye West
8. Justin Bieber
9. Ariana Grande
10. Adele
11. Usher
12. Eminem
13. Nicki Minaj
14. Justin Timberlake
15. Miley Cyrus
16. Jay Z
17. Shakira
18. The Weeknd
19. BTS
20. Bruno Mars
21. Lil Wayne
22. One Direction
23. Bad Bunny
24. Ed Sheeran
25. Katy Perry