Beyoncé Tops BBC's Power List of Influential Women in Music

It’s no mystery that many American music lovers consider Beyoncé to be a queen of the art form; Queen Bey they call her. Now the East Hampton singer-songwriter has been crowned the most powerful woman in music by the country who knows royalty better than anyone—England.

On September 28, BBC hosted the Music Day event to celebrate the incredible power the art possesses. To commemorate the special day, BBC Radio 4 released the Power List 2018, a list of the industries’ top 40 most influential, innovative and successful women, during its Woman’s Hour show.

So why did Beyoncé take the top spot?

According to the BBC judges panel, they hope that the Power List 2018 will encourage better representation for women in the music industry, and they chose Beyoncé because she “regularly reinvents her sound and is an empowering voice for black communities and marginalized groups globally.” They add, “Feminism, activism, being a humanitarian, talking about being a mother…a great performer. She deserves to be number one.”

BBC TV and radio presenter and chairman of the judges panel Tina Daheley adds that Beyoncé is “absolutely in charge of her own destiny, and she’s using that platform in a way that makes a difference.” An example of this is Beyoncé’s fundraising initiative BeyGOOD, which donates scholarships and education across student groups and women’s welfare groups. “She puts her money where her mouth is,” Daheley tells Billboard. On Monday, People reported that while the Carters’ highly grossing On the Run Tour II was in Phoenix last week, they made an Arizona teen’s dream come true.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z surprised Mikayla Lowry, a member of the Boys and Girls Club for 11 years, with a $100,000 scholarship from the Shawn Carter Foundation and the BeyGOOD Initiative. Lowry was unaware she was nominated until DJ Khaled announced her name. According to People, this is largest scholarship a member of the local Boys and Girls club has ever earned.

Number two on the BBC’s Power List 2018 list is Taylor Swift, with other top performers following: Adele at number three, Cardi B at 14, Sia at 15 and Dua Lipa at 20. See the full list at bbc.co.uk/programmes.