Can You Fill Out This Pop Queen March Madness Bracket Without Gay Gasping?

    What did we just do?

    by Sam Stryker, Stephen LaConte, Ben Haist

    If you've spent any time online in the past few days, you've probably seen some pretend March Madness brackets floating around — they're not just for basketball anymore!

    Jolley Rancher @smjxmj

    Let's discuss

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    So, as three internet gays with very bad opinions, we set about on creating the most fantastic (but also controversial) bracket yet. To paraphrase RuPaul, we gays get to choose our own March Madness.

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    Ladies and gays of the internet, we present to you: THE ULTIMATE POP QUEEN BRACKET.

    Ben Haist / BuzzFeed

    We chose 31 iconic living pop queens for our bracket, and YOU get to choose a 32nd for a write-in spot to square off against Adele in the first round.

    Also, here a vertical one to share on your Instagram Story!

    Ben Haist / BuzzFeed

    Making it was truly one of the hardest things we've ever done. Some true legends were left off the list, but only 31 queens could make the cut.

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    Sam: I will never forgive Stephen and Ben for making me take Stevie Nicks, Marina + The Diamonds, and Dolly Parton off the bracket. Homophobia AT ITS FINEST!!!

    Stephen And I STILL can't get over the fact that Sam tried to take Selena Gomez off the list.

    Sam: I said what I said.

    Ben: BRING BACK MY GIRLS.

    And it doesn't get any easier from there. There are some insanely difficult choices you will have to make in the first round ALONE.

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    Like how about legends Madonna and Cher squaring off?

    Carlos Alvarez / Getty Images, Ethan Miller / Getty Images

    Or Sia escaping the basement to duke it out with Beyoncé?

    Kevin Winter / Getty Images, Christopher Polk / Getty Images

    And how about the LEGENDARY Miss Britney Spears squaring off against Instagram star Selena Gomez in the opening round?

    Scott Gries / Scott Gries/ImageDirect, Kevin Winter / Getty Images

    For the record, here are our brackets.

    Sam:

    Ben Haist / BuzzFeed

    Why Sam made his picks: Ultimately I decided to pick from the heart (yes, Kylie Minogue just DID upset Rihanna) rather than the head (I can't believe I picked Ariana Grande over Beyoncé but when I'm elected the first openly gay president, my first order of business will be making "Into You" the national anthem). Is my bracket for everyone? NOPE. But it's called March MADNESS for a reason.

    Stephen:

    Ben Haist / BuzzFeed

    Why Stephen made his picks: Okay, let me start by saying I KNOW some of you are gonna give me shit for ranking Taylor Swift so high — but what can I say? I stan, and I stan without fear. Beyoncé took my #1 spot, because Beyoncé, but filling this out was a lot harder than I thought. Rihanna is one of my all-time favs and I wish she’d made it to my top four. Also my write-in was Lily Allen, because America has slept on her for far too long. #BuySheezusOniTunes!!!

    Ben:

    Ben Haist / BuzzFeed

    Why Ben made his picks: It was always going to be Bey, no question. Honestly, I was offended when Sam railroaded us to exclude dead icons from the bracket (WE LOVE YOU SELENA), so I broke rank and wrote in Whitney knowing she’d probably end up as my #2. Outside of that, my bracket pretty much mirrors the queens’ respective representation in my workout playlist. In MY house, we stan Carly Rae and Nicki, which meant I had to make some alienating decisions — no Britney, Katy, Taylor. I feel like Ariana would have made it to my Final Four if she hadn’t been placed in the same quadrant as my *queen*, but choices had to be made.

    So, who did YOU pick?! Add your brackets in the comments below!