Billboard’s Greatest Pop Star of 2003: Beyoncé
(In 2018, the Billboard staff released a list project of its choices for the Greatest Pop Star of every year, going back to 1981. Read our entry below on why Beyoncé was our Greatest Pop Star of 2003 — with our ’03 Honorable Mention runner-ups, Rookie of the Year and Comeback of the Year pop stars at the bottom — and find the rest of our picks for every year up to present day here.)
“You ready?” Beyoncé Knowles asks to kick off the lead single from her first solo offering, Dangerously in Love. What fools we were to shrug it off as a throwaway line, when it really was a declaration of independence, the opening statement in the most successful solo transition since Michael Jackson a quarter-century earlier.
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By 2003, we knew Beyoncé as one-fourth — and then one-third — of Destiny’s Child, but hints at a solo run were clear from the start. To her credit, she played her cards carefully, acutely aware that members of other star ‘90s R&B groups underperformed commercially after striking out on their own. Her moves started with a subtle push of DC’s sonic boundaries with each successive LP, expanding her role as a writer and producer, while shepherding the group from girls-next-door R&B to the force behind generational anthems like “Independent Women Part I,” and “Survivor.” Bey then strengthened her crossover appeal in 2002, starring on the small screen (BET’s Carmen: A Hip-Hopera) and big screen (Austin Powers in Goldmember), and pushing her musical development as a guest on then-boyfriend Jay-Z’s “’03 Bonnie and Clyde” — a move that upgraded her urban clout in a demographic that had yet to fully embrace her.
And then she was ready. “Crazy in Love” was the ultimate coming-out party, anchored on a bed of commanding Chi-Lites horns, bold 808s and an addictive “oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-no-no” refrain. That throwback-modern sonic combo, plus Bey’s confident vocal and a well-integrated verse from Jay, was a winning play: “Crazy” shot to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in eight weeks and stayed there for just as many. “Baby Boy” soon followed, and logged another nine weeks atop the chart, while its dancehall- and Arabian-inspired sound revealed the diva-in-training’s willingness to draw inspiration from non-American cultures. A well-timed guest spot from dancehall star Sean Paul, then on his own crossover hot streak, only furthered the song’s appeal.
Next on the takeover checklist was MTV. Bey quickly became a staple thanks to the “Crazy” and “Baby” visuals, and her live performances only doubled down on her artistry’s central premise: a one-woman version of CrazySexyCool, whose technical prowess matches her visual perfection. Who else could master the trickiest runs and most rigorous dance routines so well that they almost look too easy — but command a swag and style that fits in on city streets, a nightclub stage or a presidential inauguration without the blink of an eye? Sets at that June’s BET Awards and August’s MTV Video Music Awards weren’t just her coming-out moments, but a challenge to the many young R&B contemporary stars of the day: Beyoncé wasn’t playing to be queen of just this era; she had her sights on history.
While most would revel in that debut success, Beyoncé was already onto her next project, co-starring in The Fighting Temptations with Cuba Gooding, Jr, released that October. Her contributions to the film soundtrack included another feminist statement — “Fighting Temptation,” with Missy Elliott, Free and MC Lyte — but likely due to the overperformance of “Baby Boy” at the same time, it never garnered proper promotion. When you cancel a single because your previous one is doing too well, then you’re riding on the crest of a pop culture tidal wave.
For those who placed a losing bet that Beyonce’s solo career would falter in its infancy, don’t feel bad. The New York Times infamously declared, “She’s no Ashanti.” Even her own record label, Columbia, didn’t believe in her, as Knowles later recalled. “They told me I didn’t have one hit song on my album,” she told a sold-out crowd in 2011. And then, with a sly smile, she dropped the mic: “I guess they were kinda right. I had five.”
Honorable Mentions: OutKast (Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, “Hey Ya!,” “The Way You Move”), Sean Paul (“Like Glue,” “Get Busy,” Beyoncé’s “Baby Boy”), Justin Timberlake (“Cry Me a River,” “Rock Your Body,” “Senorita”)
Rookie of the Year: 50 Cent
For a man who was shot nine times, 50 Cent didn’t conquer the world with ruthless, bitter verses. Instead, he became almost everyone’s loveable gangsta: Someone who could whoop your ass in a flash, but also show his LL Cool J-like romantic side with lines like “I love you like a fat kid loves cake,” on the summer smash “21 Questions.” That song went to No. 1 on the Hot 100, as did lead single “In Da Club.” By October, every suburban middle school kid in American was swearing they were a “P.I.M.P.” 50 Cent’s 2003 was stellar by any metric, including triumphs with the year’s best-selling album (Get Rich or Die Tryin’), top Hot 100 song (“In Da Club”), and five Grammy nominations – but the most telling victory came when Interscope granted him his own label, G-Unit Records, a near-empire of 50’s own in less than a year’s time.
Comeback of the Year: Johnny Cash
The idea of Johnny Cash capping his storied career with a cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” may have sounded, as NIN’s Trent Reznor feared, “a bit gimmicky.” But despite a generational and sonic chasm, the country legend’s version, released in March 2003, transformed the song into a haunting portrait of a man all too aware he’s living out his last days. The video thrust the emotional pull into overdrive, alternating between archival footage from Cash’s youth and his current, frail form — its bittersweet feeling mounting with shots of his wife June Carter, who died on May 15 that year, just four months before Cash himself succumbed to illness. “Hurt” would win single of the year honors at the Country Music Association Awards, and a Grammy for best short form music video, as the music industry bestowed the all-time veteran a fitting final salute.
(Read on to our Greatest Pop Star of 2004 here, or head back to the full list here.)
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