The twenty-first century perhaps created the most pop icons, who are all equally talented and impacted the pop culture in their own ways. One recurring theme in the music industry today is the feminist movement through songs, where Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande are both well known for.

Both artists established their places in pop music, but people love a little competition. Swift and Grande are both award-winning artists and have their own branding, fashion and style. But which artist will likely be the next Queen of Pop?

Vocal Range

Grande’s four-octave vocal range falls short by one octave in comparison with Mariah Carey’s five-octave vocal range, but four is already impressive. A radio broadcaster labeled Grande as the Young Mariah since Grande can hit notes like Carey. As for Swift, the “22” singer’s vocal range is three out of eight octaves, just like Adele, Katy Perry, Celine Dion and Kelly Clarkson.

Songwriter

Swift received the Pop Songwriter of the Year award at the 64th BMI Awards in 2016, proof that she is a great songwriter for her age. Swift can easily draw inspiration from everyday life, but most of her creative outputs were based on her breakups with her lovers.

Huge hits like “Dear John,” “Forever & Always,” “Love Story” and “Mine” were all written by Swift alone. Many applauded her ability to relate to teenage girls and tell stories through her songs, which resulted in instant hits, making her one of the highest-paid celebrities under 30.

Grande excels in songwriter too and has written songs like “Everytime,” “Sweetener,” “God Is A Woman,” “No Tears Left To Cry,” “Breathin” and her latest hit, “Thank U, Next.” “Thank U, Next” debuted at top one on Billboard and is Grande's fourth number one song on Billboard.

Her “Thank U, Next” album was created in roughly two weeks, during the time Grande was mourning for the death of ex-boyfriend Mac Miller. Grande, however, collaborates with other artists like Pharrell. But whether she writes a song or co-writes it with others, she makes sure to put a personal touch to it, and all her songs are always reflective of her personality.

Personal Branding

Grande, a product of Broadway musical “13,” started her music career in 2010 as Cat Valentine in “Victorious” and continued in 2013 in “Sam & Cat,” both from Nickelodeon. From sitcom star, Grande made a name for herself as a pop music sensation with the album “Yours Truly” released in 2013.

She presents herself as a sweet girl with her signature high ponytail and heavy eyeliner. Over the years, she has incorporated sexiness and extravagance in her brand through her music videos, such as “7 rings,” which shocked fans.

On the other hand, Swift pursued her musical career in country music when she was 14. Swift made a name of her own at the age of 16 in the country music scene. “Love Story” and “You Belong To Me” appealed to both country and mainstream pop fans, which helped solidify her fanbase.

Swift first appeared as a sweet girl next door with curly blonde hair. She then became the “popular girl” with her famous Squad Team, ready to fight back.

“Reputation,” Swift’s latest album, is her comeback revenge from a year’s absence, off the public eyes. The explosive return is packaged with an infamous snake icon, an icon used by Kim Kardashian to label Swift during a West-Swift feud.

Swift was reborn from a good country girl to a bad one, complete with a black and bling ensemble, and a bold and a bit sexy one too. Her song and narratives evolved into IDGF themes in EDM tune.

Awards

Currently, Swift has received 324 awards from 577 nominations and holds the record for artist with most Billboard Music Awards. Grande, on the other hand, has 75 wins, including Best Pop Vocal Album from the recently held Grammys, and has 242 nominations. The “7 Rings” singer is the second artist who has achieved the record of having three songs placed first, second and third on Billboard Hot 100 and the first solo artist to do so. The record was first accomplished by The Beatles in 1964.

Net Worth

As of 2018, Swift’s net worth is $320 million, and she is tagged as one of the highest-paid celebrities in the world, according to Forbes. Grande’s net worth as of 2018 is $50 million.

Survey

Playbuzz, an online publishing platform with formats such as polls, created a poll “Who would you pick between Swift and Grande?” Out of the 3,206 votes, 57% picked Swift and the remaining 43% went to Grande.

Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Ed Sheeran
Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Ed Sheeran pose with the models on the runway at the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show at Earls Court on December 2, 2014, in London, England. Karwai Tang/WireImage

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