Divas Essentials

Editors' Notes Divas coexist in pop music’s most rarefied spheres, but their world-changing vocals can take command of any genre—our list includes soul belters, pop princesses, jazz stylists, and rock goddesses. Without Aretha Franklin’s full-scale reinventions of gospel and R&B tracks, Mariah Carey’s octave-leaping runs, Barbra Streisand’s Broadway-born brilliance, or Tina Turner’s dazzling moxie, pop music’s brightness would be dimmed: the excitement levels would be lower, the drama would be nonexistent, and those chest-beating moments of high-note glory would be absent. Divas operate on a larger-than-life level, but that grandeur explodes everything around them, giving heft and heart to wistful ballads and roof-raising dance numbers alike. Cast aside your idea of the diva as demanding, and embrace these big-voiced women who conquered music by being their truest selves on record and in public, captivating and delighting audiences around the globe.