Key Takeaways
- At the 2026 Billboard Women in Music red carpet, Coco Jones, Kehlani, and Keke Palmer each shared their Mount Rushmore of women in music.
- Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Brandy, and Mariah Carey were among the most frequently mentioned names across interviews.
- Palmer paused on her fourth pick before jokingly being encouraged to name herself.
Who are your favorite musicians’ favorite musicians? That was the question of the hour at Billboard’s 2026 Women In Music red carpet, where stars like Coco Jones, Keke Palmer, Kehlani, and plenty more revealed their Mount Rushmore of the greatest women in music of all time. Side note: Some of their answers might surprise you.
Starting with the hostess with the mostess, Palmer shared her top four: “It’s going to be Whitney Houston, Brandy, Mariah Carey, and then that final person… Who is that final person going to be?” After taking a brief moment to think, Billboard’s Lyndsey Havens suggested she pick herself.
“I won’t do myself. That’s so cheating,” the One of Them Days star, who wore a custom MONSE dress, responded. She went on to say, “Beyoncé! Beyoncé, but it’s so hard because my girl [Rihanna] too. It’s like, ‘Why would y’all put me up against the wall like that?’ I think it has to be generation-based.” Take a look here, then scroll to see how Kehlani and Jones answered.
Kehlani names Brandy, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, and Mariah Carey in her Mount Rushmore
As for Kehlani, she replied, “Brandy, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige… I feel like I’m forgetting somebody I really love, and I’m going to be pissed about it. Oh my God. I’m going to be pissed.” After thinking it over, the “Nights Like This” hitmaker landed on Carey.
“Wow, duh! That’s my Mount Rushmore, for sure,” Kehlani added. Notably, she collaborated with Brandy on a remix of “Folded,” plus “I Need You” from her most recent LP. The Oakland native also worked with Carey on last year’s “Sugar Sweet.”
Coco Jones chooses Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Jazmine Sullivan, and Brandy for her Mount Rushmore
When it was Jones’ turn, journalist Drew Afualo wrapped up their red carpet interview with a “fun question,” aka the Mount Rushmore topic. The “ICU” singer jokingly responded, “This isn’t fun, though. This is like a scary, very stressful question. It’s never fun.”
Nonetheless, she shared her four picks. “I’m going to say Beyoncé. I’m going to say Whitney Houston. I’m going to say Jazmine Sullivan. I’m going to say Brandy,” Jones said, before humorously adding, “OK, don’t come for me because they do that to me and I’m just here.” As Afualo later pointed out, these are their personal Mount Rushmores, not necessarily anyone’s official ranking of the greatest artists ever. Scroll down to see the clip.