Honorific nicknames in popular music


When describing popular music artists, honorific nicknames are used, most often in the media or by fans, to indicate the significance of an artist, and are often religious, familial, or most frequently royal and aristocratic titles, used metaphorically. Honorific nicknames were used in classical music in Europe even in the early 19th century, with figures such as Mozart being called "The father of modern piano music" and Bach "The father of modern music". They were also particularly prominent in African-American culture in the post-Civil War era, perhaps as a means of conferring status that had been negated by slavery, and as a result entered early jazz and blues music, including figures such as Duke Ellington and Count Basie.
In U.S. culture, despite its republican constitution and ideology, royalist honorific nicknames have been used to describe leading figures in various areas of activity, such as industry, commerce, sports, and the media; father or mother have been used for innovators, and royal titles such as king and queen for dominant figures in a field. In the 1930s and 1940s, as jazz and swing music were gaining popularity, it was the more commercially successful white artists Paul Whiteman and Benny Goodman who became known as "the King of Jazz" and "the King of Swing" respectively, despite there being more highly regarded contemporary African-American artists.
These patterns of naming were transferred to rock and roll when it emerged in the 1950s. There was a series of attempts to find—and a number of claimants to be—the "King of Rock 'n' Roll", a title that became most associated with Elvis Presley. This has been characterized as part of a process of the appropriation of credit for innovation of the then-new music by a white establishment. Different honorifics have been taken or given for other leading figures in the genre, such as "the Architect of Rock and Roll", by Little Richard from the 1990s; this term, like many, is also used for other important figures, in this case including pioneer electric guitarist Les Paul.
Similar honorific nicknames have been given in other genres, including Aretha Franklin, who was crowned the "Queen of Soul" on stage by disk jockey Pervis Spann in 1968. Michael Jackson and Madonna have been closely associated with the terms "King of Pop" and "Queen of Pop" since the 1980s. Some nicknames have been strongly promulgated and contested by various artists, and occasionally disowned or played down by their subjects. Some notable honorific nicknames are in general usage and commonly identified with particular individuals.

Individual titles

A

ArtistTitleCountry
AaliyahPrincess of R&BUnited States
AaliyahQueen of Urban PopUnited States
Metal QueenCanada
Abrar-ul-HaqKing of Pakistani PopPakistan
Voice of a GenerationUnited States
Queen of Arab PopLebanon
Queen of Turkish PopTurkey
King of Modern ReggaetonPuerto Rico
Queen of MandopopTaiwan
Queen of Peruvian PopPeru
Queen of J-popJapan
AuroraFairy of PopNorway
King of JazzUnited States
Maki AsakawaQueen of the UndergroundJapan
Noriko AwayaQueen of BluesJapan

B

ArtistTitleCountry
Erykah BaduQueen of Neo-SoulUnited States
Bad BunnyKing of Latin TrapPuerto Rico
Đorđe BalaševićPanonian SailorYugoslavia/Serbia
J BalvinPrince of ReggaetonColombia
Šaban BajramovićKing of Romani MusicYugoslavia/Serbia
Harry BelafonteKing of CalypsoUnited States
Mordechai Ben DavidKing of Jewish MusicUnited States
Chuck BerryKing of Rock and RollUnited States
Chuck BerryFather of Rock and RollUnited States
BeyoncéQueen Bey or Queen BUnited States
Justin BieberPrince of PopCanada
Justin BieberKing of Teen PopCanada
Věra BíláQueen of RomanyCzech Republic
Biz MarkieClown Prince of Hip HopUnited States
BjörkQueen of Experimental PopIceland
Mary J. BligeQueen of Hip Hop SoulUnited States
BoAQueen of K-popSouth Korea
David BowieChameleon of RockUnited Kingdom
BrandyThe Vocal BibleUnited States
Julio BritoThe melodic painter of CubaCuba
Arthur BrownThe God of HellfireUnited Kingdom
Chris BrownKing of R&BUnited States
Chuck BrownGodfather of Go-GoUnited States
Dennis BrownCrown Prince of ReggaeJamaica
James BrownGodfather of SoulUnited States
Solomon BurkeKing of Rock 'n' SoulUnited States
Michael BubléKing of ChristmasCanada

C

ArtistTitleCountry
Montserrat CaballéLa Superba Spain
Clarence WijewardenaFather of Sinhala PopSri Lanka
Maria CallasLa Divina Italy/Greece
Laura CanalesQueen of TejanoUnited States
Mariah CareySongbird SupremeUnited States
Mariah CareyQueen of ChristmasUnited States
Doja CatQueen of Pop-RapUnited States
CecaSerbian MotherSerbia
CherGoddess of PopUnited States
Clifton ChenierKing of ZydecoUnited States
Jacky CheungGod of SongsHong Kong
Jay ChouKing of MandopopTaiwan
George ClintonGodfather of FunkUnited States
George ClintonKing of FunkUnited States
Keyshia ColePrincess of Hip Hop SoulUnited States
Alice CooperGodfather of Shock RockUnited States
Pilita CorralesAsia's Queen of SongsPhilippines
Celia CruzQueen of SalsaCuba
Miley CyrusTeen QueenUnited States

D

ArtistTitleCountry
Daddy YankeeKing of ReggaetonPuerto Rico
Amr DiabFather of Mediterranean Music and El-HadabaEgypt
Celine DionQueen of Power BalladsCanada
Celine DionQueen of Adult ContemporaryCanada
Diomedes DíazKing of VallenatoColombia
Fats DominoKing of Rock and RollUnited States
Don OmarKing of ReggaetonPuerto Rico
Morris DorleyGodfather of Liberian MusicLiberia
DoroMetal QueenGermany
Thomas A. DorseyFather of Gospel MusicUnited States
Rocío DúrcalQueen of RancheraSpain
Dino DvornikKing of FunkYugoslavia/Croatia
Bob DylanCrown Prince of FolkUnited States
Bob DylanKing of FolkUnited States

E

ArtistTitleCountry
Queen of Hip HopUnited States
Queen of RapUnited States
EminemKing of Hip-HopUnited States
EminemKing of RapUnited States
EnyaQueen of New AgeIreland
Queen of Latin PopCuba/United States
Elvy SukaesihQueen of DangdutIndonesia

F

ArtistTitleCountry
Helene FischerQueen of Schlager Germany
Ella FitzgeraldFirst Lady of SongUnited States
Ella FitzgeraldQueen of JazzUnited States
Renata FloresQueen of Quechua PopPeru
Renata FloresQueen of Quechua RapPeru
Zucchero FornaciariFather of Italian BluesItaly
Stephen FosterFather of American MusicUnited States
Aretha FranklinQueen of SoulUnited States
Alan FreedKing of Rock and RollUnited States