Richard D. Russell » Whitney Houston http://rdrussell.com Mon, 05 Dec 2016 01:42:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.38 What’s a diva? http://rdrussell.com/whats-a-diva http://rdrussell.com/whats-a-diva#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:36:29 +0000 http://rdrussell.wordpress.com/?p=222 You hear the word diva bounced around all the time. We know what we mean by it, but what’s a good working definition? I rather like this one, that Jon […]

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]]> You hear the word diva bounced around all the time. We know what we mean by it, but what’s a good working definition? I rather like this one, that Jon Pareles wrote in the New Times on 31 Aug 2009. Although this blog is not one for singers, I think with a little effort you can see how this applies to composition:

Without adversity, a diva is just a singer. It’s the back story, the tale of struggle and tenacity, that draws audiences to read more than musicianship into her performances. The singer touches on something personal so the listener can feel like a witness, a confidant, a judge, a voyeur, or perhaps all at once.

Interestingly, this was a review of a new Whitney Houston album.

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