VH1 hosted the first annualVH1 Divas concert in 1998.VH1 Divas Live was created to support the channel'sSave the Music Foundation and subsequent concerts in the series have also benefited that foundation. TheVH1 Divas concerts were a follow-up to the channel's annualVH1 Honors benefit concert that ran from 1994 to 1997, airing annually from 1998 to 2004.[1] After a five-year hiatus, the series returned in 2009 with a younger-skewed revamp. In 2010 the concert saluted the troops and in 2011 it celebrated soul music, doubling the previous year's ratings. After adance music-focused 2012 edition aired live from theShrine Auditorium inLos Angeles on December 16, 2012, the show took another hiatus before being revived on December 5, 2016, at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York with a holiday theme and achieved its highest ratings in over a decade.[2]
| VH1 Divas Live | ||||
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | October 6, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | April 14, 1998 | |||
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| VH1 Divas Live chronology | ||||
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VH1 Divas Live: An Honors Concert For The VH1 Save The Music Foundation aired live on April 14, 1998.
The first "VH1 Divas" show, atNew York City'sBeacon Theatre, featured international music starsAretha Franklin,Celine Dion,Gloria Estefan,Mariah Carey andShania Twain. In a guest appearance, singer-songwriterCarole King led the performers through versions of her songs "You've Got a Friend" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman."
The show was produced byGrammys producerKen Ehrlich, directed by Michael Simon and written by producer/writerMartin Lewis.
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S.Billboard 200[3] | 21 |
| Canadian Albums Chart[3] | 12 |
| FrenchSyndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique[3] | 7 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[4] | 39 |
| NetherlandsMegaCharts[3] | 7 |
| NorwegianVG-lista[3] | 9 |
| New ZealandRecorded Music NZ[3] | 10 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina (CAPIF)[5] | Gold | 30,000^ |
| Australia (ARIA)[6] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| Belgium (BRMA)[7] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Canada (Music Canada)[8] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| France (SNEP)[9] | Gold | 100,000* |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[10] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[11] | Gold | 25,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[12] | Gold | 500,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[13] DVD | Platinum | 100,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
(in order of appearance)[14][15]
Aretha's band was used for her duet with Mariah Carey ("Chain of Fools") and the finale ("A Natural Woman" and "Testimony").
| VH1 Divas Live/99 | ||||
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | November 1999 | |||
| Recorded | April 13, 1999 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 73:00 | |||
| Label | VH1 | |||
| VH1 Divas Live chronology | ||||
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VH1 Divas Live/99: An Honors Concert For The VH1 Save The Music Foundation aired live on April 13, 1999.
| Chart (2000) | Provider | Peak position | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | ARIA | 11 | Gold[16] |
| Austrian Albums Chart | Media Control | 43 | |
| French Albums Chart | SNEP/IFOP | 42 | |
| Dutch Albums Chart | IFPI | 41 | |
| German Top 100 Albums | Media Control | 60 | |
| Swiss Top 100 Albums | Media Control | 14 | |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | Billboard | 90 | Gold (CD) / Gold (DVD) |
VH1 Divas 2000: A Tribute to Diana Ross – An Honors Concert for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation was the first of three concerts in the series not aired live. It was recorded on April 9, 2000 at New York'sMadison Square Garden and first aired on April 11, 2000.Diana Ross requested the concert be recorded as time constraints for the airing of commercials would not allow enough time for her to change costumes. The well-received show took a mammoth 6 hours to record. This special also marked the re-introduction ofLynda Laurence andScherrie Payne asSupremes, who were touring withDiana Ross. Laurence and Payne wereSupremes during the 1970s.
The concert was never released on CD or DVD. Two of the songs were released as b-sides of singles from Mariah Carey and Destiny's Child.
The event occurred on April 10, 2001, and was released on CD/DVD in 2017 by MVD Visual.
| VH1 Divas Las Vegas | ||||
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | October 22, 2002 | |||
| Recorded | May 23, 2002 | |||
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| Label | VH1 | |||
| VH1 Divas Live chronology | ||||
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VH1 Divas Las Vegas: An Honors Concert For The VH1 Save The Music Foundation aired live from theMGM Grand Las Vegas on May 23, 2002. For the first time,Divas Live broadcast from a city other than New York. This time around, Las Vegas played host city to the fifth Divas concert.
After being invited by Whitney Houston in 1999, an appearance that gave her big publicity worldwide, Mary J. Blige asked her friend to join her on Divas three years later to perform together her song "Rainy Dayz".
A CD/DVD of the concert was released later that year, but not all the performances or performers (most notably those of co-headlinerMary J. Blige) were included, due to various record label issues.
VH1 Divas Duets: An Honors Concert For The VH1 Save The Music Foundation aired live from theMGM Grand Las Vegas on May 22, 2003.
Chaka Khan, Beyoncé, Lisa Marie Presley, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, Jewel, Ashanti, Sharon Osbourne, Aisha Tyler, Stevie Wonder, Pat Benatar, Shania Twain, Bobby Brown and the Isley Brothers joined host Queen Latifah when "VH1 Divas Duets: A Benefit Concert for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation" aired live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Thursday, May 22 at 9:00pm (ET/PT). Tarralyn Ramsey was the winner of VH!'s reality competitionBorn to Diva and performed on stage with the Divas as well.
The concert was never released on CD or DVD.
VH1 Divas: An Honors Concert For The VH1 Save The Music Foundation aired live from theMGM Grand Las Vegas on April 18, 2004.
The show marks the first appearance of close friends andR&B andsoul legendsPatti LaBelle (who was told by producers she would be considered "top dog"[17]) andGladys Knight after they had turned down previous offers to appear. Gladys could never stay for the finale due to obligations with her one-woman show at the famedFlamingo Las Vegas.Kylie Minogue was originally confirmed as a headliner for the 1980s themed show, but withdrew shortly after.
Aside from the normal set of presenters, the concert also featured video testimonials fromChaka Khan,Carly Simon,Gloria Estefan,Mary J. Blige,Vanessa Williams,Alicia Keys,Pharrell Williams,Kathy Griffin (in what would prove to be the first of three consecutive appearances),Marg Helgenberger andUsher on the word "diva", their favorite divas, as well as the importance of music education in schools.
The concert was never released on CD or DVD.
VH1 Divas: An Honors Concert For The VH1 Save The Music Foundation aired live on September 17, 2009, at theBrooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Howard Gilman Opera House inBrooklyn, New York.Paula Abdul hosted and performed. This concert was never released on CD or DVD.
VH1 Divas Salute The Troops was the second of the three concerts in the series not aired live. It was recorded on Friday, December 3, 2010, atMarine Corps Air Station Miramar whileParamore was filmed earlier in the week at ArmyCamp Arifjan inKuwait. The special first aired on Sunday, December 5, 2010 and broadcast internationally by the Armed Forces Network.[18][19]
The concert also featured a telecast featuringFirst LadyMichelle Obama,Taylor Swift,Beyoncé (in her third appearance on the series),Fergie,P!nk,Ke$ha andCarrie Underwood delivering special messages to the troops. Certain select servicemen and women fromMiramar,Naval Base Coronado,Camp Pendleton, andCamp Arifjan[20] were also presented in video portraits, documenting their careers and journey in the US military.
This show was never released on CD or DVD.
and several servicemen and servicewomen
VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul was the third of three concerts in the series not aired live. It was taped on December 18, 2011, at theHammerstein Ballroom in New York City,[23] and aired the next evening on VH1, paying tribute to the places that helped create or contributed to soul music:Chicago,Detroit,London,Philadelphia andMemphis.[24]
Anita Baker, who was going to sing withJill Scott, had to drop out moments before the concert after disagreements with producers,[25] allowingMarsha Ambrosius andLedisi to step in and perform in their places during the Detroit medley.[26]Kelly Clarkson twisted her ankle on the way into the concert, though she still performed as planned.
The concert was never released on CD or DVD.
VH1 Divas 2012 aired live on December 16, 2012 from theShrine Auditorium inLos Angeles. The show was hosted by Adam Lambert and celebrated the dance-inducing music that is the vibrant soundtrack to every major blowout bash, unforgettable party and night out on the town. The show also paid tribute to the late music legends who died earlier that year:Whitney Houston andDonna Summer.
VH1 Divas Holiday: Unsilent Night was recorded on December 2, 2016, at the Kings Theater inBrooklyn, airing December 5, 2016.[27] The concert was a holiday-themed celebration of music and pop-culture's greatest divas. The lineup included 'the Queen of Christmas' Mariah Carey, who returned to the Divas stage after 16 years for her third appearance, and Mariah's godmother, the iconic Patti LaBelle. Teyana Taylor and Vanessa Williams made debut appearances on the VH1 Divas stage, while the legendary Chaka Khan returned for her fourth time.[28] The concert was the highest rated VH1 Divas broadcast in over a decade.
Saturday Night Live performersAna Gasteyer,Molly Shannon andCheri Oteri frequently spoofed Dion, Twain and Carey, most memorably in the opening moments ofDivas '99 where they portrayed the songstresses attempting to order a pizza before watching the concert. On February 10, 2001,Jennifer Lopez starred in anSNL skit where she battledMango onstage atVH1 Divas, withTracy Morgan as Franklin,Maya Rudolph asDiana Ross, and Gasteyer and Shannon both reprising their impressions of Dion and Twain respectively.
Many of the featured performers are satirized as characters on the popularwebparodyGot 2B Real.[29]
Onseason 3 ofRuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, the second challenge of the season was aDivas parody.Aja portrayedAmy Winehouse,BeBe Zahara Benet wasDiana Ross,BenDeLaCreme wasJulie Andrews,Chi Chi DeVayne wasPatti LaBelle,Kennedy Davenport played asJanet Jackson,Milk acted asCeline Dion,Shangela wasMariah Carey,Thorgy Thor impersonatedStevie Nicks andTrixie Mattel played asDolly Parton. Shangela and BenDeLaCreme won the challenge.
Other networks attempted to replicate the success of the Divas concerts with varying degrees of success. The year after the originalDivas,BET premieredGirls Nite Out, hosted byRachel andJoe Clair. The featured performers wereArista labelmatesDeborah Cox,Faith Evans,Andrea Martin,Monica, andShanice.[30]Lifetime hostedWomen Rock! Girls & Guitars annually from 2000 to 2004, eventually shortened to simplyWomen Rock! and raising awareness for their campaign "Our Lifetime Commitment: Stop Breast Cancer for Life."[31] Performers over the years includedAnastacia,Blondie,Kelly Clarkson,Destiny's Child,En Vogue,Melissa Etheridge,Cyndi Lauper, andLee Ann Womack.
In 2022,Meghan, Duchess of Sussex had Carey as a guest on the second episode of her podcastArchetypes, mentioning in her interview how influential the original concert was on her and her high school classmates.[32]