Rolling Stone US Snubs Celine Dion... And Every Australian Singer Ever

Rolling Stone US have kicked off the new year releasing their latest listicle-- the 200 Best Singers Of All Time. Now we know that these lists are all about getting people talking and this list is set to do a lot of that with a huge omission in Celine Dion. True, she's a very polarising figures in music, but whatever you think of My Heart Will Go On, it's pretty hard to argue that poor Celine hasn't just been forgotten. 

In a list that has Ariana Grande at #43 and includes Brandy and Christina Aguilera (all great singers.... but....) we're going to go out on a limb and say they just forgot. In fact this is SUCH an oversight, one has to wonder whether she was left out on purpose to create global outrage so they can "fix" their error and go on USA Today for a mea culpa and drive even more traffic to the list. And perhaps we've fallen for it, but more people talking about music can't be a bad thing, right?

One thing that WON'T be fixed though is the lack of vision on countries outside the US. There's an admirable interest placed on recognising South American, Latin American and African artists that no doubt would have been excluded in previous decade lists, but the UK, Europe and Australia are left scratching our heads. When Amy Winehouse only hits at #83 and Elton John limps in at #100 (behind Usher), it's pretty obvious this is an American list compiled by Americans for Americans. The tally of Australian singers at 0 is the issue we particularly take from the list. 

Australia has some of the greatest singers to emerge and while we understand that some may NOT have had the cultural resonance in the US to place them on Rolling Stone writers' radars, there's a few that we think if this list were truly global, should absolutely be included. 

TINA ARENA

Perhaps the greatest female vocalist Australia has ever produced, Tina has had resonance far beyond Australian shores, becoming a national treasure in France and having hits around Europe. Chains was even a top 40 hit in the US. There are plenty of singers in the Rolling Stone list that have had less success, but are clearly in there based on vocal quality alone. All Rolling Stone needs to do is listen to Chains and she'll be in there next time

JOHN FARNHAM

He's THE VOICE? Don't you understand it? Sure, Farnesy never cracked the states in the same way as say Savage Garden, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone in the world that's heard this song and not put him in any GOAT list. Sure, if you were an American stumbling across Every Time You Cry with Human Nature, you might think he's got a nice voice and move on, but You're The Voice alone puts Farnesy in any global list. And we're not just being parochial. This song was top 10 in the UK, top 100 in the US and #1 across Europe. If you've got any question in you mind, go and look at the rest of his catalogue. Burn For You? Help? Come on Rolling Stone.... If Burna Boy can make the list, then John Farnham deserves a spot. 

GURRUMUL

Time for Rolling Stone to break out of the American bubble. Gurrumul's voice is so incredible that he overcame the hurdles of blindness and being on a remote Island off the coast of the Northern Territory to break on the world stage as an independent artist. If that's not the power of a voice, we don't know what is. Selling over a million albums including massive UK and European success, Gurrumul's voice has travelled and continues to travel even after his passing. Performing with Sting, Gary Barlow and with Elton John and Bjork among your fans, Gurrumul's voice was absolutely unique and would only need to be heard for 30 seconds to be included in any future list. 

BON SCOTT 

You could add Brian Johnson here too, but we don't want to get into the Bon Vs Brian war, so let's just say that on any list that includes Glenn Danzig and Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Scott should definitely be on the list. From Long Way To The Top to Highway To Hell, he was not only amazing in his own right, but his style was influential on so many hard rock acts to come this does seem like an oversight. 

DELTA GOODREM

Ok, so if we're going to argue that Celine deserves a spot, we probably need to go into bat for our own Delta. Just as polarising as Celine, even the most hardened indie snob has to admit that Goodrem has a set of pipes on her that undeniably put her on the list of all time greatest singers. She's also had success on both sides of the Atlantic and is continuing to push forward in the US. 

JIMMY BARNES

So Jimmy Barnes' career has largely been in Australia, so we'll give Rolling Stone a leave pass for missing him, but in terms of GOAT vocalists in Australia, we can't possibly do a list and leave him out. Whether it's fronting our best ever pub rock band Cold Chisel or his illustrious solo career, nobody can belt out a song like Jimmy Barnes. Whether it's belting out in a stadium or having a sing-a-long with his family on YouTube, Barnes has been looked up to by Australia for decades and continues to deliver. 

ARCHIE ROACH

If feeling emotion and pain in a voice reaching through the speakers and grabbing you by the heart is a critieria, then Archie Roach deserves to be in the mix to represent Australia in any list of greatest vocalists. Roach not only sang for himself, but for an entire nation, laying down a history that was being ignored and putting human emotion to that story. Perhaps not as culturally resonant in America, we can give them a pass for missing it, but nothing can match the cultural impact of a voice like Archie's which will continue to be measured for centuries. 

MICHAEL HUTCHENCE

The INXS singer was so good he couldn't be replaced. Inxs were one of the biggest acts in the world and Michael not only know how to sing, he knew how to strut. Come on America, there's no excuse on this one. Never Tear Us Apart shows off his vocal abilities perfectly in a ballad context, but Hutchence had the charisma and versatility to make any song he touched his own. We don't want to pick on Ariana Grande, but surely even she would 

Of course Rolling Stone US could have fixed this easily with a call to their good people here in Australia. Every one of these artists were in the Rolling Stone Australia greatest Australian Artists list. Come on Jean! You've got peeps here now. Just give them a buzz and they'll fix it for you. As for Celine.... well that's your mess to clean up.