| Saturday 20 December 2003 |
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"Diva" label being examined as Carey visit Vegas
Few words in the English language have been redefined as radically over the past several years as the term "diva". In 1999 Webster's New World College Dictionary provided two meanings: "a leading woman singer, especially in a grand opera" or a "goddess". The 2003 version of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary also presents a pair of definitions. The first resembles its '99 counterpart: "a usually glamorous and successful female performer or personality, especially a popular female singer". But in place of "goddess", the second now reads "prima donna", a term associated with vanity and ostentation.
It's a sure sign that the diva tag has evolved from a term of respect in the opera world to a label with negative connotations in the popular-music era. Saturday night two women frequently associated with the diva designation hit Las Vegas for separate shows on the Strip. Country luminary Shania Twain plays the Mandalay Bay Events Center at 7:30 p.m., while pop superstar Mariah Carey holds court at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts at 8 p.m.
No one denies the vocal prowess of either singer. But veteran vocalist Lezlie Anders says that when it comes to attitude, the divas of yesteryear had a far different approach from their contemporary counterparts. "The term doesn't hold the respectful meaning it used to," said Anders, who has enjoyed a long career in the spotlight and still performs as a headliner. She and husband Buddy Greco - the legendary jazz singer, composer and pianist - reside in Las Vegas. "It has taken on a different connotation because it's being applied to a different category and class of performer," Anders said. "It's too bad that all the current divas are little snippy brats. They've changed the whole meaning of the word."
Large entourages, severe photography restrictions and bizarre dressing room requirements have become more and more commonplace in the world of the modern diva. Www.thesmokinggun.com, a popular website run by the staff at Court TV, collects concert riders - contracts between performers and venues - from some of music's most popular figures. Carey has been known to request lemon zinger honey tea, one box of bendy straws and 12 bath-size towels per night, and that only covers the vocalist's own extensive dressing-room needs. Her backing singers' requirements are addressed separately. Carey's rider (a written agreement between an entertainer and venue) also declares that "16-oz plastic bottles of Evian are the only acceptable bottles of water for the dressing rooms" and that Poland Springs Water - a somewhat obscure product bottled in Maine - must also be provided for use in tea service.
Twain's 1999 tour rider made provisions for a variety of fruit to be placed in her dressing room, including three mangoes and three papayas every night. Also required: 24 small bottles of spring water (at room temperature), orange cheese popcorn and two packages of Mori-Nu Silken Soft Tofu. Twain's security demands are also quite revelatory. Her rider states that "A K9 sweep of the immediate stage area may be requested two hours prior to performance in order to lessen concern for crank bomb threats." Additionally, it notes that "artist security dog may be with her at any time and we would want advance notice of other dogs on site."
Do such costly and rigid demands turn off fans of the divas? Not according to Daniel Green, managing editor of thesmokinggun.com. "The next letter that we get from someone saying that we're giving them a less-than-positive view of their hero will be the first one we received," Green said. "People live to see those ridiculous demands."
Anders said today's divas aren't able to connect as intimately with their audiences, partly because they perform before such large arena crowds. "These divas are singing in such large rooms, I wonder if they've lost the personal contact with their audiences," Anders said. "Singers used to make eye contact with their audiences, and the music was very personal. "The business used to be about performing. Now, the divas are recording artists first."
As the executive producer of VH1's annual "Divas" concert broadcast, Lee Rolontz has spent more time than most of her industry peers around music's top female vocalists. And while she concedes the term has taken on "both a good and bad connotation," she paints a fairly rosy picture of her experiences with Carey, Twain and their peers. "When you get a group of performers together, everybody's wants and needs are different," Rolontz said. "But a lot of times, they're more lenient than you'd think. There's tremendous professionalism, and everybody is extremely respectful of everybody else's talent."
Rolontz did get a first-hand account of some rather curious backstage behavior from one of the show's production assistants, but said she has yet to experience any major scenes herself. "One of the things that we tend to forget is that it's hard do what they do," Rolontz said. "You are depending on this muscle, and preserving that muscle takes a tremendous amount of discipline and work." But Anders points out that the top singers of past generations didn't concern themselves with the issues of today's batch of divas. "The true divas - Ella (Fitzgerald), Lena Horne, Peggy Lee - didn't demand that you not make eye contact when you were in the same room," Anders said. "And Ms. Peggy Lee didn't demand that all the green M&Ms be picked out of the bowl in her dressing room." (Las Vegas Sun)
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