Kenneth Cappello/Eric LaggTwo rising stars — who’ve smashed chart records without even being old enough to drink — top Billboard’s annual “21 Under 21” list: Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X.
Seventeen-year-old Billie and 20-year old Nas rank at #1 and #2, respectively, on Billboard‘s list, which ranks musicians under 21 by their album and track sales, streams, social media impressions, radio and TV audience size, reputation and industry impact in the past 12 months.
Billie tops the chart thanks in part to her acclaimed #1 album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?, which Billboard says “helped define popular music this year.” Billie also hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her smash “bad guy,” and she’ll appear on Saturday Night Live on September 28. But as she tells the publication, “It’s so not a competition.”
As for Lil Nas X, he set the all-time record for the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 #1 single in history, thanks to his unlikely team-up with Billy Ray Cyrus on “Old Town Road.” The 19-week chart topper has also earned the duo a Country Music Association nod for Musical Event of the Year. He also won two MTV VMAs, and has teased that he plans to release 25 remixes of his current single, “Panini.”
The rest of Billboard’s list includes young stars of pop, country, R&B, alt-pop, K-pop and Latin music. Among them: Juice WRLD, Lil Pump, Daya, Grace VanderWaal, Willow Smith, Sabrina Carpenter, Noah Cyrus, Lil Tecca and boy bands Why Don’t We and PRETTY MUCH.
Here’s the full list:
1. Billie Eilish, 17
2. Lil Nas X, 20
3. Juice WRLD, 20
4. Lil Pump, 19
5. Chloe X Halle, 21, 19
6. Lil Tecca, 17
7. Mason Ramsey, 12
8. Bhad Bhabie, 16
9. Christian Nodal, 20
10. Daya, 20
11. Why Don’t We, 18-21
12. Noah Cyrus, 19
13. NCT Dream, 17-19
14. Sabrina Carpenter, 20
15. King Princess, 20
16. PRETTYMUCH, 19-22
17. Grace VanderWaal, 15
18. Willow Smith, 18
19. Manuel Turizo, 19
20. Snail Mail, 20
21. Paloma Mami, 19
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