Beyonce, like many artists, goes beyond just her music. That's just her medium of expression. When you look at a celebrity, yes, you look at their music, but also what that music says about them.

She put out Crazy in Love, which I think was on her debut album, and Single Ladies, two of the biggest songs of the 2000s. Both were catchy, even if you didn't like them. The music video for Single Ladies was one of the most talked about videos of that time period too. This is just my opinion here, but it was one of the last big music videos before music videos became irrelevant.

Not a huge fan of her music myself, so I'll give you that. But she's a cultural icon. She's been consistently regarded as one of the sexiest women in the world for pretty much as long as she's been around. She's provocative and erotic enough to appeal to adults, but not so much that she alienates kids (although her most recent work has really pushed that).

And again, maybe this is just me, but feminism has had a real revival in the mainstream in the last few years. Obviously it's always been around, but it's become trendy again just recently. Beyonce is one of few female artists who have not only been relevant for over a decade, but who focused on feminism for that time period, even before its resurgence.

You don't have to be a fan. I wouldn't particularly consider myself one. But seriously, you can't understand why she's such a respected and influential figure? She's been musically relevant since she was a teenager. She's gorgeous. She stands up for a positive cause while keeping an edge that makes her easy to relate to for a broad audience. Those are literally the three basic ingredients to be a successful pop star, and she does them all better than almost anyone out there.