What is /mu/'s favourite diva?

>>127127623 (OP)
Olivia

>>127127634
This

>>127127623 (OP)
>lust provoking feet
>irrelevant time-wasting question

Would (you) have dropped Anita Baker, /mu/?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lljdJvFQGrA

>>127127765
She has a very unique tone and technique that wasn't like anything they had at the time, so it's not completely far fetched they didn't want to pursue that relationship even if in hindsight it's a huge fumble.

>>127127889
and she’s a bitch in person, one of my buddies is obsessed and has seen her live 9 times
>>127127623 (OP)
Shirley Brown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq0GuoOx-ks

Better voice than Aretha IMO

>>127128060
>and she’s a bitch in person, one of my buddies is obsessed and has seen her live 9 times
qrd?

>>127128069
"Anita Baker is the most stuck bitch I ever met." - Rick James

Giving You the Best That I Got [Elektra, 1988]
Where five years ago Baker was a soul singer who honored the traditional soul audience's lounge leanings, now she's an arena-lounge singer manufacturing generalized intimacy for 26-to-45s. Rid of funky minor-label producer-songwriter Patrick Moten, she composed two tracks for Rapture and worked on a third. Here she's down to two collaborations as the credits edge toward El Lay--if Britten-Lyle and the Perris have anted up, can Carole Bayer Sager and Toto be far behind? She's not a total loss yet--despite the universal lyrics and inflated choruses, three tracks make something of her established standards. But unless she suffers reverses I wouldn't wish on Frank Sinatra, she'll never risk an interesting album again. C+

>>127128271
>now she's an arena-lounge singer manufacturing generalized intimacy for 26-to-45s
IDK about him but I interpreted the stuff as background music you play at Macy's while looking at pillow covers.

>>127128271
The Songstress [Beverly Glen, 1983]
In a time when the only black people with the guts to go for the soul are Mississippi recidivists and moldy oldies, this L.A. sophisticate has the audacity to pretend she can make pop music out of the shit. The violin and woodwind touches hark back to when soul had something to sell out with, the jazzy guitar comps look forward to when it'll storm the big rooms, the funky bottom bespeaks commitment, the hooky songwriting bespeaks smarts, and the voice sings. B+

Rapture [Elektra, 1986]
Having listened far more than natural inclination dictated, I've become actively annoyed with this vocal watershed. From its strong lounge-jazz beat to its conscious avoidance of distracting lyrical detail, it's all husky, burnished mood, the fulfillment of the quiet-storm format black radio devised to lure staider customers away from white-bread temptations like soft rock and easy listening. God knows it's more soulful, and sexier, too, but that's all it is--a reification of the human voice as vehicle of an expression purer than expression ever ought to be. B-

Gaga

>>127128060
Listened to it, that's a pretty good cover. Although I'm not sure I'd say it's better than Aretha's yet, maybe after more listening.

>>127128414
I don’t think so either but I wanted people to listen to it >:)

>>127128455
Big mistake friendo, you're lucky you found me nobody clicks music links and listens to them usually.

>>127128271
Did I mention he has a major hateboner for Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughan, Roberta Flack, and Della Reese?

>>127127623 (OP)
Sure not Beyonce at any rate.

>>127128534
Could he have something against melaninated folx?

>>127128534
tl;dr any black singer who is not R&B enough gets on his bad side

>>127128618
Wasn't American radio heavily segregated (and still sort of is) ? Seems a bit counterintuitive to slam them when they try to have some air time outside of "black" radios or branch out. It's not like this is safe pandering either because those artists also get backlash from their own community, most notably Whitney Houston got a lot of flak from them for her big pop debut away from her R&B and Gospel roots. There's also this statement "the fulfillment of the quiet-storm format black radio devised to lure staider customers away from white-bread temptations like soft rock and easy listening" that make it seem like there's no winning here. But I am not familiar with this dude outside of when someone posts one of his reviews.

>>127127623 (OP)
Mariah is known to be a diva
She's my dominatrix
This is how I feel about her
https://youtu.be/wYDTUlRJuR8?si=ATZLddnTfPrZWY9R

>>127128689
>But I am not familiar with this dude outside of when someone posts one of his reviews.
It's just as I said. He hates any black singer that isn't R&B enough, goes too far into lounge, torch songs, etc.

>>127127623 (OP)
I know nothing about Anita Baker as a person so I wouldn't know why she would qualify as a diva, but her music is great and pretty underrated.
>>127128271
wtf I hate Anita Baker now

>>127128778
Tbh diva originally means good female vocalist not temperamental bitch

>>127127623 (OP)
>>127128405
>Gaga
Gaga for modern era, but for me Roberta Flack is the GOAT

>>127128271
>>127128394
OK boomer

>>127128882
damn, she was 32 when she put out her first lp a real late bloomer there

Uh, Toni Braxton?

>>127128903
Late bloomer indeed. One of the oldest famous singers to put out a debut. It's brilliant though

>>127128913
>YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME
>YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING
>I SWEAR THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS
>MATTERS TO ME

but then she plumbs the depths of the human experience to create pure poetry on the chorus:
>OOOH BABY BABY BABY BABY BAAAYBAAAAY

>>127128930
That’s Babyface’s fault

>>127128930
Unfortunately she had Diane Warren writing her hits...

>>127128903
She was old enough that she could have been recording since back in the 50s.

>>127128940
>BABY BABY BABE BABE FAAAYAYYYCE
it actually makes sense desu

Secrets [LaFace, 1996]
Front-loaded with five pieces of sexy rocket fuel, including a miraculous Diane Warren ballad you'll want to hear again--the miracle being that it's by Diane Warren and you want to hear it again. Soon the air whooshes out except for the Waiting To Exhale hit and "Love Me Some Him" with its overdubbed yes, but by then her pop presence is established. The apprentice diva of the debut was modest, composed, virtually anonymous. I'll take the right It Girl anytime--especially one who insists on getting her props. A-

>>127127623 (OP)
c'mon there's only one answer

>>127128992
>boomer has an opinion
OK

>>127128999
Unfortunately she ended up ruining an entire generation of pop vocals with her overkill and even worse triggered an anti-belter backlash that led to ASMR singing bullshit.

We love Chaka here.

Funky Divas [EastWest, 1992]
three years after the audition, they still don't cohere enough to let the songs quit ("My Lovin' [You're Never Gonna Get It]," "Giving Him Something He Can Feel," "Free Your Mind") ***

>>127129018
based

>>127129016
>derpa derpa duupy ddpeee something
tell us you have no idea what you're talking about without telling us you have no idea what you're talking about. Whitney was GOAT.

>>127129016
Thinking about her over singing Higher Love

>>127129070
>over singing
see
>>127129064

>>127129070
Great cover although it doesn't top the original, Kygo shat all over it with his EDM remix or whatever the fuck this was.

>>127129082
speaking of shitty covers, how about what Flo Rida did with Brenda Russell's piano in the dark?

Brenda Russell doesn't really count as diva in this thread, she's more of a two-hit wonder but still. It was a great song and she was a great singer. Her voice was comfy.

>>127129091
The one that pitch changes and puts "I cry a little" on loop ? I think that was another. Brenda Russell had a lot of success writing songs and also for The Color Purple musical (black women's Avengers-tier cult classic), speaking of covers I do think her think she has the better version of Get Here compared to Oleta Adams, I think her delivery is better.

>>127129112
>>127129091
it's a sample of a sample

>>127129112
Oleta Adams though, she's pretty brilliant too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvgXF_8-gds

>>127129016
Ariana Grande tried it on album one but they told her "no _don't_ summon Whitney's ghost. don't."

>>127128999
if nothing else she well outdid Auntie, who as it turns out was a total blank sheet of paper without Burt Bacharach.

>>127129255
Burt Bacharach was nothing without Hal David

>>127129226
I don't deny it, I just think while her version of the song is better on a technical skill it doesn't evoke the same feeling as Brenda Russel's.

>>127129255
Just like Diana Ross, she was only as good as the material and had no intrinsic sound of her own.

>>127129255
Who's Auntie?

>>127128913
Breathe Again, Another Sad Love Song, Un-break My Heart. Lemme know if I forgot anything.

>>127128916
>>127129008
Frankie Laine was 33 when he put out his first single.

>>127129329
AND I START TO CRY EACH TIME WE MEET
WALK ON BY
WALK ON BY

>>127129387
We don't badmouth Dionne on this board.

Some bluesmen started kind of late Muddy Waters didn't record anything until his 30s either.

c'mon now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9-7rcKxIc8

>>127129377
You Mean The World to Me, You're Makin' Me High, I Don't Want To, How Could an Angel Break My Heart and I Love Me Some Him

The Very Best of Dionne Warwick [Rhino, 2000]
Warwick aged terribly--rid of Burt Bacharach, she immediately immersed in the ritual emotion of divahood. But as his ingenue she was a model of self-possessed vulnerability. Though this chart-determined 16-song budget CD skips such lovely moments as "You'll Never Get to Heaven" and "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself," it still leaves her on the right side of 30, which for the purposes of this argument means 29. Dry with a sweetness like affordable champagne, she was girl-group's big sister, her natural sense of style based on close readings of Harper's Bazaar and sage advice from her Uncle Burt-who was in the business, who lost his touch when she wasn't there to dress anymore, and who didn't regain it when she came back her own woman. A

>>127129018
CHAKA KHAAAAAN

Lemonade was the absolute lowest form of Obama era award/critic b8 woke dreck.

>>127129440
Her cover of Prince's I Feel for You is really not good, I don't know why it had so much success. Also the mixing on her vocals is terrible, don't know what the producer was smoking.

>>127129520
>hurr durr I called it "woke"
opinion discarded

Lemonade was a good record. Not worthy of the hype but still a solid B+

>>127129528
that slapback dry studio voice sounded super cool.

see
>>127129064

>>127129440
>>127129018
badass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhT3vMTgCz8

>>127129555
I'm saying the mix on the song ruined her vocal performance. Cool Stevie harmonica though.

>>127129520

>>127129486
This album was made for the 70s equivalent of the audience Lemonade was targeting.

Touch Me In The Morning [Motown, 1973]
The good thing about covering Billie Holiday is that you get to sing Billie Holiday's songs. The other is that you get to sing like Billie Holiday. C

>>127129585
TIL Stevie played the harmonica on that.

Also Steve Ferrone on the drums (the dude who replaced Stan whats-his-name in Tom Petty's band)

>>127129016
I can't believe we're on /mu/ and we have takes like "overkill vocals" or "over the top vocals" to describe one of the most critically acclaimed vocalists of our time. Storytelling, range, control, delivery... it's not just about hitting a high note but that's the only thing people who don't appreciate the craft pick up on which is how we ended up with great technical singers sounding hollow for most of their careers (not gonna name that one girl still living off from a Christmas song).

>WE LOVE SO STROOONG
>AND SOOO UNSELFISHLYYYYY

>>127128144
The same rick james who later falsely-imprisoned and tortured a sex worker: yeah, I would hold precisely fucking zero regard for his opinion on women.

>>127130976
>falsely-imprisoned and tortured
>falsely
As opposed to??

>>127131029
Not imprisoning her at all?
Think. Just think.

...Brandy

>>127130168
>not gonna name that one girl still living off from a Christmas song
It can't be Brenda Lee because she wasn't really a belter.

>>127131029
False-imprisonment basically means holding someone against their will, retard.

>>127133171
Doesn't this imply that regular or true imprisonment means holding someone just as they always had hoped you would? I mean, the "against their" will part is already assumed in the word "imprisonment" itself. Why else would there be bars and locks?

>>127128882
Never heard of her but I listened to some of her stuff and it's pretty good (didn't know she originally sang Killing Me Softly). It's a shame discussion about vocal performers on /mu/ is so poor you can't really have long lasting threads to discover new artists.

>>127127765
I wonder how was her service as a waitress and receptionist.

>>127133454
feel like making love is such a sweet song

>>127133454
>It's a shame discussion about vocal performers on /mu/ is so poor you can't really have long lasting threads to discover new artists
We tried but it just became a couple of schizos ranting that Teresa Brewer had an obnoxious voice.

>>127127623 (OP)
I feel shame as a grown man listening to her and Sade songs at times. They just sound so good and soothing.

Any other artists that capture that style that aren't mainstream?

>>127133761
>I feel shame as a grown man listening to her and Sade songs at times
listening to sade and Anita Baker is what grown ups do honey boo

black lady singers were forced onto us by the jewish record labels and white guilt did the rest. they all sound like apes in heat when they sing.

>>127133719
she was white so she doesn't count for the purposes of this thread

>>127133761
Zoomers don't listen to Sade or Anita Baker, the average listener for that is probably 40-50+ years old black men and women.
>>127133904
There's been a few white divas though.

>>127133980
>There's been a few white divas though

Yeah...we know about Celine and Faith and wish we didn't.

>>127134008
We love Céline here.

>>127133980
Black zoomettes do listen to Sade. That being said, I was recently listening again to some Luther Vandross and curiosity got the better of me as I decided to read the comments, and to my surprise there was a lot of young black people saying shit like "thank you Kendrick (Lamar) for making me discover this". It's crazy to me that the African American community completely lost touch with those artists and this type of music when they were so proud of it. I know people used to joke about Luther Vandross being something "white people listen to" in the early 2000s but this is just sad.

>>127134365
Luther Vandross really didn't have much of any pop culture presence after his chart hits died off.

>>127134365
That's weird I assumed Vandross was not really listened to by white people at all in comparison to someone like Lionel Richie.

You know it's all bad when black weddings still break out the old staples from the 70s, all the Al Green, Barry White etc tunes because there's no more recent guys that are on that level.

>>127133761
She's a bit popular but Come Home to Me by Miki Howard is my absolute favourite song from her and it's in the same quiet storm style:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xROGGSQIV-4
Same remark for Angela Winbush, she's relatively known but there's Your Smile:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiNq0lazQ2M
Sad that those two didn't have longer careers but that's a story all too common for great vocal artists that rose to fame in the late 70s/80s.
The whole "quiet storm" thing isn't really my cup of tea but look into that if you want more in that vein.
>>127134411
He was still charting in the top 10 in R&B charts easily all the way up to his death, remember he died 20 years ago. Dance With My Father is one of his most popular singles.

>>127134576
Usher, R Kelly tried but their stuff aged a lot worse and was suffering from the rot of hip-hop influence creeping in.

>>127134624
>remember he died 20 years ago

>>127130976
>a sex worker
Are prostitute and hooker bad words now?

>>127134484
Compared to Lionel Richie yes that's no match obviously.

>>127133980
>There's been a few white divas though
There weren't too many of those between the Beatles and the rise of Celine Dion.

I mean if you're talking circa 1954 Kay Starr yeah but white pop vocalists really did abandon that kind of singing in the 60s.

>>127133669
yeah and her cover of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow is top-shelf too

>>127133669
Mille Jackson covered Bad Company's FLML not Roberta's lol.

>>127134365
I mean it's like white zoomers listen to Boston or Journey either.

>>127135504
That's really not comparable.

>>127134657
Nah people still play Usher and R Kelly. Some of their songs aren't too hip-hop influenced.

>>127127623 (OP)
I don't know anything about her politics or sexuality or substance preferences or private parts. How unusual for a female musician. How unacceptable today. Beautiful voice, classy lady.

is Janet Jackson a diva?