Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean and Miguel Among The 100 Most Influential People In The World According To Time Magazine

This week, Time magazine has released its list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and it is always interesting to see that some musicians made the list, but on second thought, you may say… really?

Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean and Miguel are among these 100 most influential people in the world! Jay-Z received the accolade from New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg who wrote that the rapper has ‘proved that the American dream is alive and well’, whereas The Great Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann wrote that Beyoncé and Jay-Z 'are the royal couple of culture' and that she is the ‘reigning national voice’. Right, the national voice which lip-synchs at a presidential inauguration! As if Jay-Z and Beyoncé were in need of some ego booster in the first place…

But how is any of these five entertainers can be among the most influential persons in the world? What are their areas of influence beside rap music, R&B or fashion? Is someone’s influence proportional to his or her money-making potential? I guess, because I don’t see big ideas coming from these people. I can't see how they can be in the same list than Hannah Gay, Katherine Luzuriaga and Deborah Persaud, who found breakthrough treatments against the HIV virus, Elon Musk, founder of clean energy motor company Tesla, or even Perry Chen, the CEO of Kickstarter? These are real advancements for humanity!

I am afraid we are paying too much attention to the wrong people, and confusing influence with ‘most famous', 'most popular’ or ‘richest’, but what else is new?

By the way, Christina Aguilera made the list too, but nobody is talking about her.