Bad Bunny Named the New ‘King of Pop’
In a special issue of Forbes, the rising musical artist Bad Bunny is selected as the cover for El Rey del Pop, translating to “King of Pop,” sparking controversy.
Throughout the years, celebrities and artists have been given honorary titles based on their contributions to the entertainment industry. For example, Beyoncé as “Queen Bey” and Michael Bublé as “King of Christmas.”
In the latest edition of Forbes, the magazine featured Bad Bunny, referring to him as “The King of Pop”.
Forbes crowns Bad Bunny as ‘The King of Pop.’ pic.twitter.com/Y5V550INWu
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 28, 2023
The title, famously associated with Michael Jackson, has fans speculating that MJ is officially being dethroned from his title. This caused fans to vocally express their discontent to the media.
However, over the past year, Bad Bunny’s career has continued to be on the rise. According to Forbes, his honorific title comes because “everything he creates becomes a worldwide hit.” The 29-year-old artist’s YouTube channel “has garnered over 32 billion views” passing other pop artists including Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, and Taylor Swift.
In the course of his career thus far, Bad Bunny has won three Grammys and 11 Latin Grammys. The artist has also won the Billboard Music Awards for Latin Music Artist of the Year, MTV awards, Premio Juventud, and iHeart Radio awards.
Despite the controversy, fans of the artist consider the Puerto Rican star a “source of pride” for the Latino community. In April, Bad Bunny made history as the first Latin artist to headline Coachella, singing exclusively in Spanish.
Ugh was stuck in drafts
— Coachella (@coachella) January 10, 2023
Register now for access to passes at https://t.co/qujCsdlTip. Presale begins Friday, 1/13 at 11am PT. Very limited Weekend 1 passes remain. For your best chance at passes, look to Weekend 2. pic.twitter.com/5zMQ4dJZHq
Bad Bunny earned about $88 million in 2022 from his world tours, billions of streams, and various sponsorship deals with top-tier brands, including Adidas and Corona. As a result, he was also named one of the highest-paid artists in the world.
“The only true newcomer to this year’s list: Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, who sold $400 million worth of tickets to his two tours—the first in the spring in the U.S., the second in the fall across the States plus Latin America—according to concert tracker Pollstar,” Forbes stated.
Check out the full list of the top-earning celebrities, musicians, and creators below.
Top 10 highest-paid entertainers, according to Forbes:
- Genesis: $230 million
- Sting: $210 million
- Tyler Perry: $175 million
- Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park): $160 million
- James L. Brooks and Matt Groening (The Simpsons): $105 million
- Brad Pitt: $100 million
- Rolling Stones: $98 million
- James Cameron: $95 million
- Taylor Swift: $92 million
- Bad Bunny: $88 million
