Adele and Mary J. Blige have been named as two of the “most influential” people on the latest TIME100 list.
The music superstars were both included within the “icons” subcategory for 2022, with the group rounded out by the likes of Keanu Reeves, Jon Batiste, Issa Rae, and Rafael Nadal.
Praising British singer Adele’s inclusion in the list, James Corden described her as “raw, honest, and elegant”.
“In a time when people are trying to sell every facet of their being, on every device that surrounds us, here is someone who wants only to make extraordinary music and put it out into the world. To comfort us, to lift us up, and to laugh with us,” the TV host commented. “I love Adele. The world needs her. We’ve all got to protect her as best we can.”
As for Family Affair hitmaker Mary, rapper Nas lauded her as a pioneer in the music industry because she was a “hip-hop artist who also sang”.
“The industry needed someone like that. The streets wanted that. Pop culture wanted that. And she was the one for it because she wasn’t made up. She was the girl around the way with the big earrings. She was like a spokesperson for a particular type of girl coming out of New York and coming out of the streets,” he added of the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul.
Other stars included on the TIME 100 list this year include Zendaya, Miranda Lambert, Simu Liu, Andrew Garfield, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zoe Kravitz, Mila Kunis, Pete Davidson, Jazmine Sullivan, Amanda Seyfried, and Channing Tatum.
The honorees are to be celebrated at the TIME100 Gala in June.
