After Adele: is the diva leaving the building once and for all?

Can you imagine how many slow songs with a piano by a woman singer have been the #1 in the UK charts from 2010 to now? Only one - Adele's Easy on Me - and that was a long time ago. Before, you couldn't go anywhere without hearing powerful singers and their big, hard-to-sing songs. But now, the pop diva - with amazing vocals and a big personality - is not as common as before.

With her large hair, extravagant gowns, and powerful vocals, Adele is a true superstar. This summer, she revealed that she will be taking a significant hiatus from making music after her last performance in Las Vegas on November 23rd. During a recent show in Munich, she informed the crowd that they won't be seeing her for a very long time after these upcoming 10 shows.

Even though female artists like Charli xcx, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan are dominating the music scene, they do not quite reach the legendary status of icons such as Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Cher, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Adele. Beyoncé may be an exception, but according to Dr. Kirsty Fairclough, co-editor of Diva: Feminism and Fierceness from Pop to Hip-Hop, new divas are in danger of becoming irrelevant in today's culture. Right now, there is a shortage of true divas in the music industry.

According to DJ Louie XIV, who hosts the Pop Pantheon podcast, one factor contributing to the decrease is changing attitudes towards female vocal styles. He mentioned that in the last decade or so, there has been a significant decrease in the importance people place on powerful vocals. Despite there being many talented female vocalists like FKA twigs, Jazmine Sullivan, and Billie Eilish, their voices are not always the main focus, unlike the divas of the past. Even Ariana Grande, known for her impressive vocal range similar to Mariah Carey, has toned down her vocals and now focuses more on rhythmic singing.

Over the years, TV talent competitions like The X Factor and American Idol have pushed the narrative that ordinary people we see every day could possess incredible talent. Singers like Alexandra Burke, Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis, and Susan Boyle were discovered through these shows, showing that impressive vocal abilities are not just limited to famous divas. Fairclough noted that they helped break the idea that great singing skills were something only seen in celebrities.

With the emergence of social media, these programs also popularized the idea that a pop star should be easy to approach and easy to relate to, leading to a major shift in what audiences value in popular music. According to Louie XIV, this shift emphasizes authenticity over technical skill in stars, in contrast to the iconic pop divas of the 1990s like Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston. The traditional image of the untouchable, glamorous diva with a powerful voice is seen as outdated in comparison.

Therefore, many of the top female pop stars today have found success by creating a balance between personal, self-reflective songs and a playful yet relatable image. On the other hand, male singers who focus on ballads are still doing well. For example, Teddy Swims' song "Lose Control" stayed in the UK Top 10 for almost five months last year, and Ed Sheeran's collection of ballads continues to attract huge crowds at his stadium concerts.

Changing and coming up with new ideas are challenges that women in the music business often face. Taylor Swift, in her 2020 film Miss Americana, pointed out that female musicians have to constantly reinvent themselves much more than their male counterparts in order to stay relevant in the industry. This holds true even for well-known divas.

"Fairclough mentioned that divas must constantly find new ways to present themselves due to the sexism and male-dominated culture in the music business. It's a common belief that when a woman sticks to a certain style, she is considered uninteresting. Some criticize Adele for being repetitive in her song choices, arguing that she has become mundane."

Nick Huggett, a music executive known for signing Adele, believes that the music industry is more focused on catering to young audiences on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. He does not think that there is much interest in investing time and resources into developing new divas. Huggett believes that the industry is more inclined to follow trends on social media rather than taking risks and nurturing new talent.

However, pop music has a long history of surprising returns and new ideas that prove that underestimating the divas is a mistake. Carey moved away from her signature style of slow emotional songs and embraced a mix of pop and hip-hop in the late 90s. Cher introduced the use of Auto-Tune to a wider audience with her breakthrough hit "Believe" in 1998. Beyoncé continues to keep fans on their toes with her diverse range of music styles on her albums.

"Pop music is always changing," Louie XIV stated. "You may think something is over, but it has a way of coming back." To discover new talented female singers, he suggested, "We need to combine the vocal styles of past divas with deeply personal and unique songwriting." Like Lady Gaga teaming up with Bruno Mars to create a powerful duet like Die With a Smile.

Las Vegas shows, autobiographies from Streisand and an upcoming extensive book from Cher show that there is still a strong interest in these iconic figures. Fairclough also noted the excitement surrounding Dion's return to the stage at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. "[Dion] showed us all, with that performance, the essence of a true diva. I believe she has reignited interest in divas in many ways."

While Dion may not reach the same level of success as before, her comeback on the global stage was a powerful representation of the famous diva Isabella Andreini's mantra: the fire will always rise. Just like Andreini, Dion's reign as a diva may continue to shine brightly in the future.