Mariah Carey tried. Carole King bravely, futilely engaged. Shania Twain and Gloria Estefan appeared to be crawling into themselves, wishing they could disappear. Celine Dion came close. (Really, she did.) But no one could compete with the queen, the crowned deity of divas, Aretha Franklin. Appearing alongside the five legends, it was Franklin who commanded the stage during VH1’s inaugural Divas Live telecast in 1998. As she turned New York’s Beacon Theatre into her own church, we were her compelled parishioners. To this day, we’re all still devout followers of the gospel she delivered that night: Thou shalt have no divas before me. That night, Franklin delivered one of the greatest pop-culture moments we’ve had, a display of vocal domination that was the stuff of history when it happened, and the stuff of memes still, 20 years later. Performing “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” amid that historic assembly of divas, she out-sang every contemporary on stage, with the confidence and attitude of a woman who knew this was the time to announce herself the one true diva: past, present, or future. Franklin died Thursday morning at her home in Detroit from pancreatic cancer. She was 76. There are many reasons that Aretha Franklin is the legend of legends, a groundbreaking singer with the fortitude to transcend race and genre, using that tremulous voice as the bulldozer to break down every barrier set up in her way. But sometimes it requires a moment as mainstream and as big as that Divas Live performance to cement it. That was the moment she ensured that she would then and forever be the Greatest Diva of All Time. There’s a proud regality with which she even walks out for that finale, the queen arriving to address her kingdom, as if her ensuing decree would have global repercussions. (Queen Franklin rules over anyone with ears.) She starts out by singing a vamped introduction: “Would you forgive me, if I didn’t sing this song tonight? I don’t think so.” The presumption. The correctness. Everyone on stage with her is respectively singing their faces off. They are working hard, and they sound like it in the best, most exhilarating way—a vocal fireworks show the likes of which had never been produced. But then it’s time to riff. King tries to engage her in a duel of runs. Franklin literally turns away. At one point, it’s clearly Dion’s turn to sing, and Franklin just sings over her. There’s a moment when Franklin growls and sort of shimmies down to the floor while snarling. Fuck me. When everyone is supposed to be closing out the show in unison, she takes control of the proceedings and instead introduces her backup singers, completely co-opting it as the Aretha Show. She starts scatting, darting across the stage and forcing the five other women to retreat to the back of the stage, where they, semi-startled, start shimmy-dancing and performatively bowing down to the Queen of Soul. When she brings things to a take-me-to-church finale, only Carey is equipped with enough gospel training to trade her on riffs of “Jesus!” Dion goofily tries to join in, while the other three women retreat farther and farther to the back of the stage. Gloria Estefan straight-up puts down her mic. The stories of Franklin snubbing or feuding with fellow divas are notorious and widespread. But they don’t hold a candle to watching her share the stage with five of her most talented contemporaries, and decimating them all systematically in successive vocal-technical knockouts. She sauntered onto that stage that night like a prizefighter entering the ring, and the performance she pulled off was as thrillingly athletic as watching Ali or Frazier in their prime. That, when it comes to Aretha’s longevity, it’s hard to argue at which era of her career she was at her true prime, let alone on that night, makes the triumph all the more impressive. The New York Times even headlined Jon Pareles’ review of the special in 1998, “There Are Divas, and There Are Divas,” the paper of record putting on record Franklin’s place in the music pantheon after that night. Carole King spoke about that night in a televised interview years later, and it’s hilarious to see how she navigates discussing Franklin’s takeover of the number as the right of the ultimate diva, while still acknowledging its rudeness. “That’s Aretha’s song, and Aretha rightly was the star of that song,” King says. “But here we are on a stage full of divas, and Aretha, as she will tend to do, God bless her, is sort of taking over. And the part where Celine was supposed to sing, here’s Aretha still singing…” Dion never backs down when Franklin steps on her part of the song. In fact, in response she delivers one of the most impressive vocal runs I’ve heard in a live performance, reasserting herself into the number. Franklin interrupts her and goes even higher. “I love Celine’s attitude, because she’s got spunk,” King says. “She’s got fight . She just got up there, and when Aretha sang the lick that Celine was supposed to do, Celine just got right up under there and answered her. I just respect her so much for the classy way she handled that situation.” Aretha Franklin, the only vocalist whose runs are alpine enough to be labeled a “situation.” HuffPost reporter Matthew Jacobs compiled a fascinating oral history of the Divas Live franchise this year, complete with the kind of juicy gossip you crave—and, sadly, expect—from an event labeled Divas Live and with a bill of personalities as fabulously outsize as the ones in this lineup. Producers Jacobs spoke to kept teasing, “I assume you’ve heard the Aretha story.” There’s a reason the term “diva” encompasses talent and reputation. Apparently, Franklin had warned producers to turn off the air conditioning when she performs, for the health of her vocals. When she arrived at the venue, she demanded silence, held her hand to a vent, realized the AC was running, and walked offstage, refusing to rehearse and threatening to pull out of the concert.<doc-sep>"For as long as I can remember, Aretha Franklin has been the absolute zenith, the guiding light, the master for any girl that aspired to sing or even just appreciated someone at the top of their game. I was blessed to have sung with her on more than one occasion and each time I felt that I was in the presence of musical royalty that would forever raise the bar and set the standard. Long live the Queen of Soul through her extraordinary & singular voice and her indelible music."<doc-sep>Fans and celebrities sent an outpouring of prayers and love to Aretha Franklin on Monday amidst reports that the Queen of Soul is gravely ill in Detroit. "Praying for the Queen of Soul," tweeted Mariah Carey, who appeared with the music legend in 1998 on the first "VH1 Divas" special. Chance the Rapper posted a weeping emoji and linked to video of Franklin's epic performance at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors ceremony, where she saluted inductee Carole King by singing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." By Monday morning, Franklin was among the top trending topics on Twitter. Missy Elliott, Ciara, Paula Abdul and Carnie Wilson were among the numerous celebrities who joined the chorus of love expressed toward Franklin. She has not performed live since a November appearance at a benefit for the Elton John AIDS Foundation in New York, where she played a nine-song set. "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda contributed to what he described as "the galaxy of prayers for Aretha today." "Please pray for this amazing national treasure," posted Democratic activist, author and strategist Donna Brazile of Franklin, whose many career high points have included performing at President Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration. For many of those responding to the news, it was an opportunity to share memories of some of Franklin's greatest moments. Detroit native Jemele Hill, a former "SportsCenter" host and current senior correspondent for The Undefeated website, linked on Twitter to a video of of Franklin singing "I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Loved You)" at the White House. Hill used a hashtag that sums up the feelings of Franklin's global following: "#GetWellQueen." Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds: 313-222-6427 or jhinds@freepress.com.<doc-sep>Aretha Franklin is said to be "seriously ill," according to a person close to the singer, and celebrities are taking to social media to send thoughts and prayers to the legendary performer.<doc-sep>
In 1998, VH1 launched one of its most memorable franchises: an annual special called Divas that features multiple generations of iconic vocalists singing their hits as well as each other’s on the same stage. Of course, you can’t debut a series called Divas without including Aretha Franklin, who was joined by Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan, Celine Dion, Shania Twain and Carole King at that year’s festivities. The concert was stacked with larger-than-life vocal moments from each singer, as the participants took the stage for both solo and duet moments. But the grand finale was a pinnacle moment in pop and soul history. All of the aforementioned women stood beside each other to sing one of Franklin’s most memorable hits, “(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman.” Franklin kicked off the performance as a smiling King, who co-wrote the song with Gerry Goffin, stood beside her. Each of the other divas took turns singing a few lines of the song: Dion, Twain, Estefan, Carey then King riffed and soared next to a singer that directly inspired each one of them. Even better than the vocal showdown that takes place in the last minute of the song is Franklin’s continuous presence even through each diva’s moment. She casts a strong shadow, adding vocal run responses to each line sung by the other women. Dion, who was first up to follow Franklin, handled the impromptu riff-off with grace, as King pointed out in an interview years later for an A&E special. “Here we are on a stage of divas and Aretha is, as she would tend to do God bless her, sort of taking over,” King comments. “When Aretha sang the line Celine was supposed to do, Celine just got right up under her and answered her.” When you’re onstage with the Queen, you better bring your A game.