(September 5, 2025). The King of Pop will always be that — the King. But recently, media outlets — mostly those of the social variety — have challenged Michael Jackson’s rightful place on pop music’s throne by asserting that Beyoncé and, alternately, Taylor Swift have somehow surpassed his royal highness. And the debate will surely return this Sunday as Tay and Bey vie for Artist of the Year at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards. A win by either singer would place her in the lead with 31 statuettes — the most for any act, including MJ who is considered one of the greatest music video artists ever.
While the MJ faithful — do we even have a fan-group name? — have the benefit of a more complete historical perspective on our side than our Millenial and Gen-Z counterparts, we certainly have reasons to be jealous of the Swifties and Beyhive who dare claim their artist has eclipsed MJ.
The Social Media Advantage
While all three artists have commanded the most devoted fan bases — and their fair share of haters — during their respective heydays, Michael didn’t have the social media echo chamber that now allows Beyoncé’s and Taylor’s fans to instantly swarm, spin, and shield their faves from criticism. For MJ’s fans in the ‘80s and ‘90s, defending him meant buying magazines, writing letters to editors, and calling into radio stations — not firing off a viral tweet or orchestrating a TikTok trend. The digital battlefield that Swifties and the Beyhive dominate simply didn’t exist for Team MJ.
Weathering the Storm
Beyoncé and Taylor have proven remarkably resilient against negative publicity — using it as fuel for later projects and turning criticisms into talking points. Michael, on the other hand, seemed worn down by the constant media assault. His 1995 double album, HIStory, Past, Present and Future, Book 1, bore the scars of this war: the LP’s new material bristled with anger on tracks like “They Don’t Care About Us,” “This Time Around,” “Tabloid Junkie,” and “2 Bad.” The album’s ballads — “Childhood” and Jackson’s cover of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” —were heartbreaking windows into his sadness during his legal and personal battles. As the album’s closer, “Smile” evoked anything but and almost seemed like MJ was deep in defeat. No matter what projectiles they face, Tay and Bey will never go out like that, rest assured.
Relationship and Sexual Scrutiny
From the time Michael hit puberty, the tabloids and eventually the mainstream media became obsessed with who he was (or wasn’t) dating. Rumors about his sexuality, speculation about his relationships, and commentary on his appearance became a constant distraction from the music. Beyoncé’s marriage to Jay-Z — though rocky at one point — has been a steady public fixture, one that has worked to both artists’ advantages (both Bey and Jay capitalized off their relationship woes with Lemonadeand 4:44, respectively).
Taylor’s dating life — including now her engagement to Travis Kelce — though often discussed, has been strategically woven into her artistic narrative, giving her control over the story rather than letting it control her. The timing of her engagement announcement and the pending release of The Life of a Showgirl couldn’t have been more perfect for publicity.
The Sibling Spotlight Factor
While he was certainly a singular entity, Michael’s competition didn’t just come from outside — it sometimes emerged from inside the family. In the 1990s, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814, janet., and The Velvet Rope cemented her as one of the decade’s most influential pop and R&B stars. At her peak, she was a commercial and critical force in ways that occasionally eclipsed Michael’s headlines — which were increasingly about his personal life, not his music. Michael endured those comparisons and even bore the weight of familial pressures to remain with his brothers (1984’s Victory album and tour) at his post-Thriller peak, thus muting or delaying his own brilliance. By contrast, Beyoncé and Taylor are clear standouts in their families, with no relatives threatening to claim their pop crowns or holding them back.
Prolific Output vs. Perfectionism
Whether by choice or circumstance, Michael wasn’t as prolific as either artist — especially Taylor. Since 2019, Swift has released at least one album a year and recently announced yet another, The Life of a Showgirl, due in October. The longest gap between her studio albums has been three years (2014’s 1989 to Reputation in 2017). By contrast, Michael often went four, five, even eight years without a proper studio album, carefully crafting each project to his vision of perfection. While this sparse approach produced enduring classics, it left long stretches where fans had nothing new to rally behind.
Technology and the Charts Work in Their Favor
Let’s face it, the Billboard charts of today aren’t your grandfather’s charts. The rules today are simple: release an album to streaming platforms and all of its tracks are immediately eligible to chart on the Hot 100. In Michael’s heyday, the label had to painstakingly press commercially available copies of individual singles for them to chart. The unwritten rule was only one single could be released at a time, with several months passing before the next one hit stores. It was big news when “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” were released just five weeks apart, allowing them to climb the charts simultaneously and nearly replace one another at No. 1. Last year, Taylor’s The Tortured Poets Department produced more than 30 simultaneous Hot 100 entries, thanks to streaming. Similarly, all of Bey’s Cowboy Carter tracks also blitzed the chart during release week. As a result, MJ’s career numbers seem to pale by comparison.
Industry Love and Award Show Narratives
The music industry stopped rallying behind MJ after he hit 35 (and not just because of his legal woes). After the mid-1980s, Michael’s Grammy momentum slowed. Award show appearances became less about career celebration and more about his fashion choices, public behavior, or who was on his arm. Beyoncé and Taylor, in contrast, continue to collect major honors deep into their careers, with appearances that reinforce their dominance and expand their legacies rather than cast doubt on it. This Sunday’s MTV VMAs add an exclamation point to this narrative. If either Bey or Tay (who are currently tied with 30 Moon Man statues apiece) wins the one award they’re nominated for — Artist of the Year — it would place her in sole possession of the lead for having the most MTV awards, which is ironic considering MJ’s role in elevating the former music video channel to its iconic status.
What’s even more astonishing is that neither Taylor nor Beyoncé have released videos during the eligibility period for this year’s MTV VMAs (Taylor took home seven awards in 2024 for last year’s Tortured Poets Department, including Artist of the Year). That would have been like MJ getting an award in 1990, after not having released any new videos since 1988’s “Smooth Criminal.”
Gone Too Soon
Ultimately, we didn’t have Michael long enough. From the moment he burst onto the scene with the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” in 1969 until his sudden death in 2009, he thrilled us for four decades — yet it still felt like there was more music inside him. The toll of relentless pressure, pain, and addiction cut his career short. Beyoncé and Taylor show no such signs of slowing down well into their storied careers.
Because of that, the Beyhive and Swifties get to keep cheering for new chapters while MJ’s fans are left with memories, reissues, and what-ifs. But even with all the advantages Beyoncé and Taylor have, the crown remains where it belongs.
Long live the King!
DJRob
DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on Bluesky at @djrobblog.bsky.social, X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog, on Facebook or on Meta’s Threads.
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