Smooth Icons 2021: Michael Jackson is voted the greatest artist of all time
30 August 2021, 19:00 | Updated: 31 August 2021, 09:58
After thousands of votes, we have crowned the winner of Smooth Icons 2021!
Michael Jackson was voted by Smooth Radio listeners and SmoothRadio.com readers as the best artist of all time in the third annual Smooth Icons countdown, retaining his crown from 2020.
Over 57,000 votes were cast in the poll, which saw Michael beat 2019's winner George Michael.
The highest group was Queen at three, followed by ABBA - who are expected to release brand new music this week - at four and the highest female solo artist Whitney Houston at five.
Speaking exclusively to Smooth Radio, Michael's brother Tito Jackson said of the King of Pop's win: "I'd like to say thank you to the fans for selecting Michael as the Smooth Icons artist that they like most.
"Michael has always been just totally genuine talent. He was just a nice guy, he loved my kids, and we really miss him deeply. He means a lot to the family."
Smooth Icons aired on Smooth Radio on Monday (August 30), after an online vote asked listeners to vote for their favourite artists of all time.
The full top 10:
- Michael Jackson
- George Michael
- Queen
- ABBA
- Whitney Houston
- Bee Gees
- Elton John
- Elvis Presley
- The Beatles
- Prince
> See the full chart as it happened
If you missed the countdown, you can listen again on Global Player for seven days after broadcast. Head here to stream online.
You can also hear the full top 100 in a special playlist via Global Player. Listen now on the app, or online here.
