Feb 19 2009
Favorite Females Runners-Up: Nos. 13-11
Before getting to the final three ladies in the runners-up spots, let me mention that two of my choices made it through to the final 12 of American Idol this week- those being Alexis Grace and Michael Sarver.
Like Simon Cowell, I’m not as enthusiastic about Danny Nokey as the other three judges- he’s capable, but is it possible sentiment is playing a factor? Nokey’s wife passed away just weeks before the auditions, and he performed the Hallmark-ready “Hero” Tuesday night. So, who knows…
Back to the runners-up to JR’s Top 10 Favorite Female Musical Acts. At a later date, I may give props to ladies outside my top 25, but in the meantime, let’s resume…
13. Kylie Minogue: Emerging as one of the ultimate Madonna wanna-be’s of the late 1980’s (without the provocation and desire to rule the world), Australian-born Minogue has one of the peppiest, fun catalogs of any female of the last 20-plus years. It’s true, many of her early hits have a sameness to them (thanks to composing and production duties by Stock Aitken and Waterman, the Max Martin of its day), but Minogue’s bubbly personality sold them to the masses. Standouts among the lot include “I Should Be So Lucky,” “Shocked,” “Better the Devil You Know,” and “What Kind of Fool.” In the early 1990’s, she abandoned cookie-cutter pop and attempted to mature musically, though she denied that she was trying to enter the indie world (claiming we’d never see her pick up a guitar and rock out). After a couple of disappointing projects, Minogue hit the dancefloor as a new century began, and scored one of the decade’s biggest hits with 2001’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” At that point, even the USA (where prior success was limited to her 1987 cover of “The Loco-Motion”) embraced Kylie- “Can’t Get You…” peaked inside the top 10, and the Fever album sold more than 1 million units. Though Minogue does not hold anything remotely close to Princess of Pop status in the USA (as she arguably does in the United Kingdom), she does have a U.S. following, especially among the gay community. Never known to push boundaries, Minogue is reliable for her light, carefree work, and in that regard, few do it better.
12. Shania Twain: The Queen of Exclamation Points in Music, Shania Twain scored two monstrous albums in the 1990’s- The Woman in Me and Come On Over, the latter which remains one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, at 20 million copies and counting. Twain brought assertiveness and girl power (pre-Spice Girls)- and a sexiness- to country music like no other (oh, that navel!), and at times comes across like captain of the cheerleader squad. Light, frothy anthems like “Any Man of Mine,” “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You),” “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” showcase her straight-forward, no-bull approach, while ballads like “You’re Still the One,” “From This Moment On” and “Forever and For Always” present her romantic side. After achieving such huge commercial success, Twain catered to both the country and pop audiences equally, even releasing an “International Version” of Come on Over (featuring poppier-sounding arrangements) and packaging 2002’s Up! with two discs directed at both audiences (outside the USA, pop and world music discs comprised the album). Now separated from Robert John “Mutt” Lange, we await Shania’s next musical statement, which, in all likelihood, will include at least a couple ! songs.
11. Diana Ross (The Supremes): If any female personifies the term “diva,” it’s Ms. Ross. While probably not the strongest vocalist of the trio, she fronted The Supremes and not only helped define the Motown Sound, but led the group to unprecedented girl-group relevance and success. Oftentimes people thought of the trio as Diana Ross and Her Backup Singers- which, essentially, is what it was (the group later officially became Diana Ross and the Supremes). Going solo at the start of the 1970’s, Ross scored major hits such as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Touch Me in the Morning” and “Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To?)”; in addition, she scored a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her stirring peformance as Billie Holliday in 1972’s Lady Sings The Blues. She kicked off the 1980’s by collaborating with Chic masterminds Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, which resulted in “Upside Down” and “I’m Coming Out,” the latter which became a gay anthem. Thereafter, she duetted with ex-Commodore Lionel Richie on one of the decade’s biggest- and most scorned- hits, the sappy “Endless Love.” Ross’ performance elegance and class influenced many a female singer, right down to our modern-day take on Ms. Ross, Beyonce Knowles. Like Ross, Beyonce fronted a mega-successful girl group (Destiny’s Child) and became a major solo superstar; she also starred in the film adaptation of Dreamgirls, which was based loosely on Ross and The Supremes. As much as some may try, however, there’s only one Diana Ross- and ”The Boss” would be the first to make sure you remember that.
