Member Since: 3/15/2013
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Diana Ross THE FEMME FATALE
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Back in 1976, Billboard magazine hailed Diana Ross as the “Female Entertainer of the Century”. At first glance, this judgment seems premature, preceding, as it did, the rise of Madonna and all the gender assertive show-women she inspired. When you consider today’s leaders of female pop, global superstar singers like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Pink, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, only Beyoncé seems to obviously carry the DNA of Ross, a former girl group member who struck out on her own for a solo career of considerable sass and style. Look a little closer, however, and you will see something of Diana Ross in almost every female star who followed in her wake, through the quintessential combination of emotional vulnerability and an almost ruthless hunger for success.
And yet, there were mutterings in the ranks back when Motown boss Berry Gordy selected her as a teenager to lead the Supremes. The legend remains that Mary Wilson was the more distinctive and accomplished singer. But Ross had something more: presence, desire, sex appeal, she was someone you could not take your eyes off. And once she grabbed our attention with those fantastic Motown hits, she held it, for decade after decade, shining like someone who truly believed the spotlight belonged to her.
Ross is, without argument, one of the most iconic and definitive stars of 20th century popular music. Always immaculately self-styled, Ross is like pop’s version of a femme fatale, glamorous, mysterious, and ultimately unknowable. She may never have been one of those towering vocalists (...) But she was still the perfect front for some of the greatest pop music ever made.
(...) while, in the natural career arc of pop, the hits became fewer and further between over succeeding decades, Ross has never made a record that seemed framed by a desperation to revive former glories. She still preserves an aura of class and mystery.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/m...me-fatale.html
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