There are a lot of great female artists in the history of popular music. But what does it take to be called a Diva? Usually, it is a title reserved for the opera singers, but many female vocalists from the popular genres were labeled Divas throughout the history. Personally, I would disagree with many of the choices that were made so far on various occasions, for example, with Whitney Houston or Celine Dion. They are magnificent singers. However, I don’t really think they are “divine”. A Diva should mesmerize you; she should have the ability to leave you speechless. In my opinion, that cannot be achieved only with a God-given voice and a little bit of training. A goddess should be able to leave you breathless, and make you long for her. Both Whitney and Celine were too cold for me, too superficial. I always admired artists who could do something meaningful, something that could outlive their own time and leave a mark for eternity. A Diva, if I were asked, would have to be a complete package of talent, creativity, and a remarkable personality, someone with an attitude towards the world and charisma to change it. So who is the Ultimate Diva?
From all the women in music that I adore, I managed to narrow my choice to three of them: Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Joni Mitchell. They all share several common characteristics - every one of these three has perfect pitch, incredible phrasing and superb knowledge of music in general. They all had their unique voices, attitudes, and auras. Although different from each other in many ways, they all had to struggle to make a name for themselves in a predominantly male (and sexist) industry, especially Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. In that sense, Nina Simone would be the ultimate lioness, fighting against a racist society, against the corporate music business (that left her broke and expelled from her homeland) and on top of all, against her greedy husband who wanted the money, but couldn’t stand a successful woman by his side. On the other hand, Billie Holiday lived in an even worse time, when racism was open and legal, and the competition in the emerging jazz world back then was huge. Joni Mitchell didn’t have that many obstacles along the way to stardom (she was white and Canadian), although her struggle was of a different kind. She had to prove herself over and over again, so she could enter the esoteric circles of jazz, fighting to gain recognition as a serious composer among the “cool cats.” Her output, however, is much more versatile than those of Holiday and Simone. Joni Mitchell sings like an angel, improvises like a true jazz singer, and has composing skills of a classical master, moving from folk to rock to jazz, and back again. But she didn’t have Billie Holiday’s seductive charisma, and the unique ability to melt together sorrow with cynicism. When you watch Billie sing, you just want to look at her and the charming facial expressions, enticing smiles and body language in general. When it comes to dignity and resilience, Nina Simone would be the ultimate rebel. Her message got to the ears and hearts of millions of people, her fight for freedom was strong and bold, and she managed to start from zero and make a new fruitful career in Europe all over again (after she was practically banned from entering U.S.A. under threat of being imprisoned.) And all of that on top of her incredible vocal capabilities and style.
This could go on forever, finding the pros and contras while comparing these three she-giants. So who do I pick? I keep imagining what would happen if they could sit together and jam, sing, discuss life and music. What would they tell each other? What would they make together? What would their joined musical effort sound like? Those are rhetorical questions, of course, because it couldn't happen in this time-space continuum. Hence, a real comparison is impossible. I really can’t choose, so let’s make a Solomonic solution and propose a truce - my vote for the Ultimate Diva goes to Billie Simone Mitchell!
