Report Card: Celine, Mariah, Whitney, Madonna

[Céline's Blues]

By Charles Romaine | 5/01/2008 I must admit... I am not a fan of today's pop music. It's become all about the beat, and making a hot music video. My Rosetta Stone for screaming divas is the time period between 1990-1996. The '80s gave birth to Madonna and Whitney. The two women who followed in the '90s each made music history in one way or another, garnering loyal and often rabid fans, who continue to worship at their thrones. Mariah Carey and an already established international sensation named Celine Dion each debuted in the United States in 1990, and each has managed to stay in the game.

 

But along the way, something happened in divadom... it became almost assumed that at somepoint, the higher they rose, the harder they'd fall. Take a look at what pitfalls some of our favorite divas have endured over the years.�

 

Madonna: The energizer bunny of the music business, she has proven that she can take a licking and keep on ticking.

 

Interestingly, the early '90s proved to be the most difficult time in Madonna's storied career. After antagonizing the religious establishment in '89 with the music video for "Like A Prayer", being banned from MTV in 1990 with her video for "Justify My Love", simulating her oral sex techniques in her '91 tour documentary Truth or Dare and creating an adults only book, Sex, which highlighted her sexual fantasies, the media had reached its limit.

 

While her tours continued to sell out and her music was still in heavy rotation on the radio, she was pilloried in the press. Painted to be The Whore of Babylon, she was in danger of alienating the public, and the truth was, the focus on sex was distracting us from what Madonna did better than anyone… create�fantastic pop music.

 

She experimented with a more R&B feel with her '94 album Bedtime Stories and in 1996 finally fulfilled her promise as an actor with her Golden Globe winning portrayal of Eva Peron in Evita.

 

She's been up, and she's been down, and there isn't any advice I'd dare to give Madonna. She has proven herself more adept than anyone since Cher at working hard and keeping herself relevant despite the ever changing tastes in popular culture, and her latest release Hard Candy is sure to be another classic.�

 

All time favorite�Madonna Jam: "Deeper and Deeper", from her '92 album Erotica. I still have to get up and dance whenever I hear it.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODyp-oUCqCk&hl=en Whitney Houston:�What can I�say that hasn't already been said about this woman? She created a legacy so immense, so quickly, that perhaps it was inevitable that her fall would be equally as cataclysmic.

 

For me, she will always be the best singer America ever produced. The statistics alone are astounding. By 1990, Whitney had the best selling debut album by a solo artist in history, she was the first female artist in history to enter the charts at number one for her second album Whitney and had made history as the only artist to have seven consecutive�number one�singles. What is most astonishing is most singers would be lucky to have one those achievements in their entire careers; for Whitney, the best was yet to come.

 

In 1992, film and music came together in a way the industry hadn't seen since Barbra Streisand's heyday in the '70s. With The Bodyguard, Whitney broke barriers and records all over the world. The film presented an interracial love story�and didn't feel the need to mention or make an issue of it. Houston's commercial appeal was such that audiences accepted the plot without question and with this barrier broken, she paved the way for other actresses like Halle Berry to take Hollywood by storm.

 

With The Bodyguard came the single with which Whitney will probably always be identified. "I Will Always Love You" topped the charts for a then record setting 14 weeks. The single has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and is the biggest selling single by a solo artist in history. The soundtrack is the best selling soundtrack in history.

 

 

 

Perhaps it is true that when you've reached the top, there is nowhere to go but down. The rest of�her story is well known.

 

My hope for Whitney Houston now is that whether she ever sings another note, or has another hit album,�she continues to find her health and happiness. I prefer to remember her singing her face off. Thank God for YouTube! It has given a generation of kids who have grown up without the impact of Whitney's arrival on the music scene an idea of what it was like to see this woman in her prime.

 

All Time Favorite Whitney Performance: From her Bodyguard Tour. Despite the fact that she is singing to "him", it proves that at her best she could sing Aretha's music just as well as The Queen herself and that is something none of the other women on this list could ever claim.

 

Mariah Carey: Ladies and Gentlemen: Whatever your opinion is of Mariah Carey, the woman is a riot! Out of all the divas, she's probably the one the gays would most�like to knock one back with.�Her humor and her wit never fail to crack me up in her interviews.

 

She debuted in 1990 with "Vision of Love" and it has been hit after hit ever since. Mariah recently made history with her 18th number one hit, making her second only to Elvis with the most�number one�singles in history.

 

The mid '90s highpoint with her Music Box album, which is also the biggest selling album of her career. I ain't gonna lie: I went out and bought the karaoke tracks and tried to sing�"Without You"�in Mariah's key. Imagine a pubescent 13-year-old boy trying to hit those notes and you'll get the very sad idea.�

 

Everyone points to Glitter as her low point. I didn't think it was that bad. Cheesy yes, but then again I love cheese. Ironically, Mariah's�low point came as she was celebrating hr big comeback album, The Emancipation of Mimi, with her performance of "We Belong Together"/"Fly Like A Bird" at the Grammy Awards. I will never understand how a woman in the business for almost 20 years now has never learned to perform live. She looks like she is having a seizure at certain moments and her hand is ALL over the place.

 

She, more than anyone else, is responsible for what my friends and I like to call the "Mariah Hand", and you see it every week on American Idol. These young girls think that by swinging your palms in front of your face and over your weave it somehow helps hit the notes.

 

 

 

Singers, please.. JUST STAND THERE AND SING!

 

OK,�enough of my rant. And Mimi... I still love you! Dinner?�

 

Best Mariah Vocal Ever:�Her "Merry Christmas" album. I'd love to see Mariah work on her live performances and really get a compelling stage presence.�But here, she's in rare form. Truly�unstoppable!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMXtH01BTNE&hl=en

Celine Dion: Probably the hardest working diva in show business, Celine Dion has managed to get to the top the old fashioned way:�A ridiculous voice and an unparalleled work ethic.

By the end of the '80s she was already an established star in her native Canada and in France. But Celine wanted more; the only problem was she didn't speak English. So she went to school and learned, and in 1990, she made her English language debut with Unison and scored her first hit single "Where Does My Heart Beat Now", which happens to be my personal favorite Celine vocal ever.

She continued her rise to divadom with her '93 album The Colour of My Love. I remember the girls I used to hang out with in 8th grade gagging when I played them "The Power of Love" for the first time. Never underestimate the impact of a power ballad!

Each album throughout the '90s brought Celine greater and greater success and she has become, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, the world's Best Selling Female Artist with over 200 million albums sold.

It's hard to criticize a woman who works as hard as Celine. And her personal life is pretty tame in comparison to the other three women profiled here. If anything perhaps Celine plays it too safe.

However, strictly focusing on her music, Celine's�low moment would have to be these hilarious Youtube clips from the 80's before Celine was huge here in America. God bless her sense of humor, but I don't ever need to see Celine Dion impersonating

, Michael Jackson and a Cat from the musical Cats… maybe it's a European thing, but I just don't understand it!

Live Performance High: Performing with the Bee Gees, Celine proves why she's one of the greats!

 

http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=fDQlp7hWimI

 

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Edited May 2, 2008 at 11:33 AM by Céline's Blues

[dj4celine]

Amazing article

 

Thanks Sebaba

[CellyDee87]

Well, I read that thinking she mightn't come out so well, but I thought that wasn't too bad, her unparalleled work ethic and her title of the world's biggest selling female artist! I've certainly read worse about our girl. Well Done Celine and thank you Celine's Blues for sharing

[Black Kitten]

very interesting article. thank God, in the voice department, celine is the obvious winner.

[Krys]

nice article fanks Seb

[destin139]

very interesting article. thank God, in the voice department, celine is the obvious winner.

 

have to agree!!

didnt think the article would be so nice about her so am pleasantly suprised!!

 

"I will never understand how a woman in the business for almost 20 years now has never learned to perform live. She looks like she is having a seizure at certain moments and her hand is ALL over the place."

 

this makes me crack up completely - its so true though!!!!

[celinefanonline]

actually it's pretty good one!!

[ThisTime]

Thanks

I enjoyed it!

[Nikosn17]

Although I think Mariah's performance at the Grammys 2006 was one of the best moments of her career I think it's a nice article.

[bfhb]

Very fair article ...... unbiased nice to see for a change!

[kathyc25]

Nice article thanks...I had to laugh at the 'Mariah hands' cause that`s so true!

[amelie]

isn't the "a ridiculous voice" part an insult? or i misunderstood it? what did he mean?

[pat200]

he meant ridiculously good voice, so it is a compliment

[anna]

finally someone recognises how hard Celine works

[I Surrender]

Thanks. Very nice

[sgcpc]

haha, very nice article, i just totally ignored MC's part, haha, never a huge fan of her!

[Jour053103]

Thanks for sharing..... At least they taking into account that Celine rose to fame the old fashion hard way!!!! WAY TO GO CELINE!!!

[amelie]

he meant ridiculously good voice, so it is a compliment

 

i suspected so but... couldn't he say so thx for clearing it out

[Terre]

Thanks for the article!

[rathnakumar]

Awesome article!

[Loup_garou]

Thanx Seba for sharing this.....great read....and as someone mentioned before ...unbiased for a change

[HellRaiSeR]

great article , but I think that would be Madonna who has the most ridiculous voice ... If he thinks Celine's voice is ridiculous ( and ridiculous in a bad way ) , then he needs a slap in the face

[aicee]

Great! but what's with thew word "old fashioned". I don't think Celine is old fahioned. I mean look how she wore dresses these days. Totally sexy.

[Your_Su_Phu]

celine to me has always been old fashioned. but in a good way. she's recently been trying to become more modern but it doesn't exactly fit. everything about her to me has always been a bit old fashioned. then i read that "my story my dream" bio and it seems that she both admits and embraces that she is a bit old fashioned. not just musically but her overall taste Edited May 2, 2008 at 10:14 PM by Your_Su_Phu

[CellyDee87]

celine to me has always been old fashioned. but in a good way. she's recently been trying to become more modern but it doesn't exactly fit. everything about her to me has always been a bit old fashioned. then i read that "my story my dream" bio and it seems that she both admits and embraces that she is a bit old fashioned. not just musically but her overall taste

 

I would just say traditional rather than old-fashioned, but that's what I love about her whole image; that she hasn't turned "trashy" like some others

[Javier_Natalio]

oooohh positive articles are always welcomed! thanks!

[stew]

oooohh positive articles are always welcomed! thanks!

 

Exactly...I Love this

[Jacqui]

Thanks for posting, and I agree, about her being traditional. If having some class means being "old fashioned" that's not such a bad thing!

[junglesgal]

"Ridiculous voice"? This person is crazy.

[xo1hrt4celineox]

nice read, refreshingly true for a change! thanks seb