Days after Rolling Stone released its list of “200 Best Singers of All Time,” Chaka Khan found herself amid controversy for snide remarks she made about some artists on the list. But now the 69-year-old Chicago native has come out publicly to apologize.
Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Sam Cooke, Billie Holiday and Mariah Carey topped the list, but Khan didn’t seem to agree with the magazine’s editors, calling them “blind bitches.”
“They need hearing aids,” she remarked in a recent episode of the Originals podcast. “These must be the children of Helen Keller!”
The Tell Me Something Good singer then criticized all of the artists who were ranked above her, stating “that must be payola or some shit like that.”
After noting that Adele ranked 22nd on the list, she chided: “Okay, I quit.”
Since the interview was released, she decided to recant her statements and apologized, admitting that she “took the bait.”
“Recently, I was asked about a list of the ‘greatest singers of all time’ and instead of questioning the need for such a list, I was pitted against other artists and I took the bait,” the Through the Fire artist wrote in an Instagram post Sunday. “As artists, we are unfairly put into ‘boxes’, ‘categories’ or on ‘lists.’ Being an artist or musician is not a competition. It’s a gift, for which I am truly grateful.”
She continued: “It was not my intention to cause pain or upset anyone. To anyone that felt this way, I sincerely apologize. Empowering all artists is most important because we truly are the architects of change…and change begins with the heart.”
Khan is not the first to speak out against the prestigious publication’s list. Many Celine Dion fans launched a protest in disagreement of the singer being snubbed from the list.
“The audacity of not acknowledging [Dion] in your flawed Top 200 as one of the top vocalists of all time and not seeing her vocal prowess is sincerely an insult beyond measure, if not a criminal offense. Fix it,” one fan wrote.
“Celine Dion is a top 3 vocalist of all time. Rolling Stone needs to immediately exit the business of music journalism,” added another.
