Elvis Presley (sort of) crowns Justin Bieber “the 21st century King of Pop”; outrage ensues
Elvis: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; Justin: Courtesy SB ProjectsElvis Presley will forever be the King of Rock and Roll, but according to him — or at least his estate — Justin Bieber is the King of Pop, 21st century edition.
When Justin’s new album, Changes, debuted at number one recently, it made him, at age 25, the youngest artist ever to score seven number-one albums. The previous record holder was Elvis, which is why his estate tweeted its congratulations Tuesday to Justin on the chart achievement.
“Yesterday, music history was made. What does the King of Rock n Roll have in common with the 21st century King of Pop?” the Elvis account wrote, re-tweeting Justin’s tweet about the chart stats. “Congratulations on setting a new record.”
Today, Justin responded, “Thank you King and to the entire Presley family.”
While it’s only polite that Justin expressed gratitude for the compliment, fans are now complaining that nobody should dub Justin — or anybody — the King of Pop, regardless of century, because Michael Jackson is the only one who deserves that title.
Some fans got pretty heated about the tweet, with one writing, “It looks maniac by the Presley Estate to post horrendous crap like this.”
Another one added, “You trying to strip a black man of his King of Pop achievement and give it to a white guy during black history month? The caucasity!”
Still another summed it up by writing, “MJ been making great music till 50. Stardom and influence like no other. Choreography and artistry on a whole diff level compared to JB. Nothing against JB but they totally dropped the bar when it came to this young white artist who barely had to prove himself the way MJ did.”
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