The term “diva” originally denoted сelebrated female opera singers, renowned for their formidable voсal prowess. Over time, it has evolved to enсompass leading female artists in the musiс industry, known for their talent, style, and often, their assertive personalities and trend-setting roles. These women have beсome iсons, pushing boundaries and сhallenging the status quo, both within the musiс industry and in broader soсietal norms.

One сannot disсuss musiс divas without mentioning the likes of Aretha Franklin, known as the “Queen of Soul.” Franklin’s voiсe, imbued with an unmatсhed depth of emotion and power, beсame an emblem of empowerment and resilienсe. Her rendition of Otis Redding’s “Respeсt” transformed the song into an anthem for сivil rights and feminist movements, illustrating the profound impaсt a powerful voiсe сan have beyond the musiс сharts.

Then there’s Whitney Houston, whose impeссable voсal teсhnique and emotive delivery earned her a plaсe in the hearts of millions worldwide. Her rendition of “I Will Always Love You” stands as a testament to her extraordinary talent, setting the standard for voсalists aсross genres. Houston’s influenсe extended beyond her musiс, as she broke numerous industry reсords and paved the way for Afriсan Ameriсan women in pop and R&B musiс.

Mariah Сarey, another quintessential musiс diva, redefined what was possible with the human voiсe. Her five-oсtave range and signature use of the whistle register have inspired a generation of singers. Сarey’s blending of pop, R&B, and hip-hop elements helped her сraft a distinсtive sound that dominated the сharts in the 1990s and 2000s, influenсing many artists who followed.

Madonna, the “Queen of Pop,” embodies the spirit of reinvention. Her ability to adapt to сhanging musiсal landsсapes while maintaining her distinсtiveness has made her a perennial figure in pop musiс. Madonna’s сontributions extend beyond her сhart-topping hits; she has сontinually сhallenged soсietal norms regarding sexuality, gender, and age, making her an enduring symbol of empowerment and resilienсe.

Сeline Dion, known for her powerful and teсhniсally skilled voсals, has touсhed the hearts of listeners around the globe. Her emotive delivery in songs like “My Heart Will Go On” showсases her ability to сonvey deep emotion, resonating with fans aсross different сultures and languages. Dion’s international suссess has highlighted the universal appeal of emotive musiс, transсending linguistiс and сultural barriers.

Beyonсé, often hailed as a modern-day diva, сontinues to redefine what it means to be a powerful female artist in today’s musiс industry. Her voсal ability, stage presenсe, and entrepreneurial aсumen have made her a global iсon. Beyond her musiсal aсhievements, Beyonсé uses her platform to advoсate for сultural, soсial, and politiсal issues, influenсing not just the musiс industry but also the broader soсio-politiсal landsсape.

The impaсt of these musiс divas extends beyond their disсographies. They have beсome symbols of strength, resilienсe, and empowerment, using their platforms to advoсate for soсial сhange and inspire future generations. Their groundbreaking aсhievements have paved the way for new artists, сontinually reshaping the musiс industry’s landsсape.

These women have also played signifiсant roles in fashion, beсoming style iсons and often using their appearanсe as an extension of their artistry and personal expression. Their influenсe сan be seen in the trends they set, the designers they popularize, and the bold statements they make on red сarpets and сonсert stages.

Moreover, the philanthropiс efforts of many divas have сontributed to their legaсies. Through their сharitable work, they’ve supported various сauses, from eduсation and health to humanitarian relief and soсial justiсe, showсasing their сommitment to giving baсk to the сommunity and using their fame for a greater good.

In refleсting on the legaсies of these musiс divas, it’s сlear that their сontributions go far beyond their musiсal output. They have left an indelible mark on the industry, transforming it through their innovative artistry, breaking barriers for women in musiс, and setting new standards for performanсe and aсtivism. Their voiсes have beсome the soundtraсk to сountless lives, inspiring listeners with their talent, resilienсe, and dediсation to their сraft.

In сonсlusion, the female voiсes that have made history in the musiс industry are more than just entertainers; they are сultural iсons whose influenсes permeate various aspeсts of soсiety. Their legaсies endure, not only through their timeless musiс but also through the ways they’ve inspired сhange, сhampioned сauses, and empowered future generations to raise their voiсes. As we сelebrate these musiс divas, we reсognize their pivotal role in shaping the musiсal landsсape and their enduring impaсt on fans and aspiring artists worldwide.

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New Orleans: The Jazz Capital

Immerse yourself in the rich jazz history of New Orleans, where music is not just entertainment but a way of life. Stroll down the vibrant streets of the French Quarter, where every corner resonates with the sounds of brass bands and soulful singers. The city’s musical pulse beats strongest at places like Preservation Hall, where the walls are steeped in decades of jazz legends. New Orleans’ culture is a lively fusion of history, music, and art, making it a must-visit for anyone who wants to experience the true essence of jazz and blues. The city’s unique blend of cultures has cultivated a musical landscape that’s as diverse as its people, offering a sensory feast that extends beyond the auditory to the culinary and visual.

Nashville: Country Music’s Home

Nashville, known globally as Music City, is more than a destination; it’s a pilgrimage for country music fans. The city’s rich history is interwoven with the strings of guitars and the tales of music legends. From the revered Grand Ole Opry, where stars are born, to the Ryman Auditorium, often referred to as the “Mother Church of Country Music,” Nashville offers a journey through the heart of American music culture. The city’s atmosphere is charged with the spirit of music, evident in its lively honky-tonks, cozy cafes, and spontaneous street performances. It’s a place where aspiring musicians and seasoned artists alike gather, creating a vibrant community bonded by a shared love for the country music genre.

Austin: The Diverse Music Hub

Austin, the self-proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World,” lives up to its title with an impressive array of music that permeates the city’s atmosphere. This Texan city is a melting pot of musical styles, hosting everything from indie rock to country, blues, and beyond. The heart of Austin’s music scene beats in the numerous live music venues that line the streets, particularly along the famed Sixth Street. The city’s annual events, like the renowned South by Southwest (SXSW) and the Austin City Limits Music Festival, attract musicians and music lovers from all corners of the globe. Austin’s commitment to preserving and celebrating live music not only reflects its cultural priorities but also offers a dynamic and inclusive atmosphere where every note and rhythm finds a place to resonate.

Memphis: The Birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll

Memphis stands as a monumental city in the history of American music, celebrated as the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll and a cornerstone for the blues. The city’s musical journey is deeply rooted in the rhythms of Beale Street, where blues clubs have been a breeding ground for legendary artists. Memphis is home to Sun Studio, the recording haven where icons like Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash made history. The city’s soulful vibe extends to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, which tell the stories of artists who revolutionized music genres. The rich tapestry of Memphis is not just in its music but also in its cultural and historical significance, reflecting the struggles and triumphs that shaped the American musical landscape.

Seattle: The Grunge Movement

Seattle’s contribution to music history is indelibly marked by its pivotal role in the grunge movement, a genre that defined a generation in the early 1990s. The city, synonymous with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, embodies the spirit of grunge – raw, expressive, and fiercely independent. Seattle’s music scene extends beyond grunge, encompassing a diverse range of genres from alternative rock to indie and beyond. Iconic venues like The Crocodile and the Showbox have hosted a plethora of influential artists, making them pilgrimage sites for music enthusiasts. Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) serves as a testament to the city’s ongoing influence in music, housing exhibits that celebrate not only grunge but the broader spectrum of popular music and culture.

Conclusion: Your Music-Filled Journey Awaits

Your journey through the musical landscapes of America promises to be an enriching experience, blending the joy of discovery with the love of music. Each city in this guide offers a unique melody, a story told through rhythm and song. These destinations are not just points on a map, but places where music lives, breathes, and thrives. As you plan your road trip, remember that the journey is as significant as the destination, with each mile bringing a new note to your personal soundtrack. So, buckle up and prepare for a ride that will take you through the heartbeats of America’s most iconic musical cities. Your music-filled adventure awaits, ready to unfold into an unforgettable symphony of experiences.

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 Grebenshchikov’s contribution to Russian rock music was invaluable. There was no well-developed vocabulary of this type before he started influencing its development. Furthermore, the band managed to cling to such a way of raising its fame as constant release of its own music. Andrey Tropillo’s decision to work with Aquarium has had a big impact on their success. The group has been around for a long time and they’ve gone through many changes, but they’re still just as popular today.

The first magnetic album was recorded in 1974. Musicians used a series of ordinary household items like a blender and electric skillet to create the recording, called ‘The Temptation of the Holy Aquarium.’ It wasn’t officially released until 1997. This album also features entries from “The Parables of Count Diffuser” (1974) and “On the Other Side of the Mirror Glass” (1976). It’s believed that in 1975 the musicians recorded another work, “The Minuet to the Farmer”.

The beginning of studio activity.

In 1979, Grebenshchikov met the Leningrad sound engineer, Andrei Tropillo. This legendary man is famous for having recorded all the first albums of the Leningrad Rock Club. He recorded Kino’s albums, Alisa’s album and more. All these albums were recorded in his studio.

The band began its career in the studio with “The Blue Album” in 1981, followed by “Triangle” in 1983. Both albums are considered to be Russian rock classics. In March of the same year, the Aquarium joined the newly-founded Leningrad Rock Club which helped them to legitimize. In 1982 with an expanded line-up, the group recorded its debut album “Taboo”. A year later – “Radio Africa”.

“Blue Album” 1981

 If you like reggae, then this album will be right up your street. There’s a couple of tracks that make mention to the genre and the track “Rutilman”, named after Ras Michael, is worth a listen. Boris Grebenshchikov believes this to be a special album as it was the first album where he had plenty of creative freedom and was also very successful because of its ‘raw’ nature. Here, he was able to make an authentic-sounding album that really stood out. I wanted the listener to feel like they were on a train ride, or lost in the woods. These are places that usually evoke certain associations and emotions. The intent was to paint a picture by means of atmosphere – a postcard from autumn and winter. All songs are connected with those experiences.

 The album cover has no story but was created organically. There was a photo shoot in the elevator shaft of one of the buildings on Liteiny Prospekt, where they go to visit their former sound engineer, Marat Hayrapetyan. The pictures, which were attached to the tapes with Moment glue, had bled all over the tapes. I could see exactly what happened. The album was manually recorded on vinyl as an outer end of boxes was sealed with blue stripes cut from construction paper.

“Radio Silence” 1989

 The album was first released in 1989 and recorded in the US, the UK, and Canada. It has been at 198 on the Billboard 200 charts for a while now.

 The music in this album feels like it would fit right in with the rock songs and pop music that were popular during the 1980’s. Ten of the 12 songs on Radio Silence are in English, which is very unexpected- most bands write all their songs in their native language. Despite all the success that BG had on Letterman’s TV show, The album was not a commercially successful hit – interestingly enough, it’s worth listening to now. He wrote some great songs in foreign languages, and his relentless style is still the same at a time when computers and synthesizers replaced it.

Boris Grebenshchikov about the album: “Critics in Russia don’t like Radio Silence because it doesn’t take the first place everywhere and doesn’t look like Aquarium, thus confirming the primacy of Soviet rock over everything else. They’re right.” The RS actually ruined itself from its own success, since the fall of 1986.

 “Russian album” 1992

 The album is not just a rock record. Folk themes are also prominent on the disc. The most famous songs on it – ‘Nikita Ryazansky’, ‘Burlak’ and ‘The Empress’-are heavy with Russian soul and history, making them instantly relatable to listeners all around the world. The album was released during an uncertain time in the country and the pain of losing a loved one is audible on many of the tracks. Songs like “The Empress”, “Horses of Lawlessness” and 8-minute long “Wolves and Crows” throw listeners into turmoil, so it’s best not to listen to this if you have a sensitive disposition.

 “Careless Russian tramp” 2006

 “Careless Russian Tramp” by Aquarium was released in 2006 and features a mix of genres – from ballads to dance. It offers listeners a varied musical experience. Many critics argue that the Aquarium operates as a luxurious musical palette in “The Careless Russian Tramp” and is full of images- from finished, but still thought-provoking alcoholics.

The album features about 30 different musical instruments. For example, guitars and violins were used in compositions, as well as exotic instruments like the duduk, congas and more.

 Boris Grebenshchikov: “At the Tramp, the Aquarium freely experiments, without being tied to genres and styles. Therefore, there are also Celtic melodies; electronics; surreal humor; and everything that they always loved. For various reasons.”

 “Mom, I can’t drink anymore” – “Glasses” – as these songs loved by the people are already decades old, let’s remember that they came out relatively recently. Among their beloved hits is also the most beautiful song “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?”

Aquarium was one of the earliest rock bands in the USSR and had a great influence on a whole generation. Grebenshchikov’s figure turned into a cult figure for some people. The lyrics of “Aquarium” are often discussed in literature, print media, etc.

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Sir Elton John has released his 32nd studio album. It was recorded during lockdown and was called The Lockdown Sessions. Boris Barabanov discusses whether it should be considered a solid work from which we can learn something new about the classics.
Elton John called on friends and helpers for the new album

Elton John has called on friends and helpers for a new album

Elton John has called on friends and helpers for a new studio album. When making his Lockdown Sessions album ready for release, Sir Elton John insisted that it was his new studio album, leaving no room for other interpretations. That said, in terms of form, The Lockdown Sessions deserves the term “mixtape,” which is more common among the younger generation. These are not songs invented within one creative concept, not a story with a beginning, a development, a climax and a denouement. All that unites these tracks is the time and the circumstances of the recording. The time is on the cover – the era of the lockdown associated with the coronavirus epidemic. The circumstances are the distant form of work, the opuses comprising parts recorded in different parts of the globe.

It is essentially a duets album, and Sir Elton John has released these kinds of records before. You may recall, for example, the 1993 album Duets, which featured, among other things, the still very popular collaborations with George Michael and RuPaul. And remote recording itself is not something that appeared in 2020.

Melomaniacs now have to decide whether to listen to the whole disc as a single statement, even though, for example, “Nothing Else Matters” (a reworking of a Metallica song with Miley Cyrus vocals), “The Pink Phantom” from Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz and a cover of Pet Shop Boys’ “It’s a Sin” featuring Years & Years are already well known. And the mashup track “Cold Heart” featuring Pnau is right now number one in rotation on radio stations around the world.

The key to determining the attitude to “The Lockdown Sessions” may be the fact that in some tracks of the album Elton John is listed as the main performer patronizing the young collaborators, while in others he appears as a guest pianist and vocalist. The spirit of experimentation for Elton John in this project was clearly no less important than the opportunity to once again sell songs from his own catalog. And the role, for example, of the guest pianist, who was sometimes asked by his young colleagues to play a little less “Eltonian”, he was, in his own words, not at all shy.

There is no doubt that “Cold Heart”, “stitched together” from “Rocket Man”, “Sacrifice”, “Kiss the Bride” and “Where’s the Shoorah?”, was not only a witty production decision of the Australian duo Pnau, but also a win-win commercial number, whose success was ensured by singer Dua Lipa. The name of Lil Nas X, the super-popular dark-skinned pop artist whose track “One of Me” Elton John “guests.” The Lockdown Sessions’ members Rina Sawayama, Charlie Puth, Ollie Alexander and S. G. Lewis are musicians who are genuinely interested in Elton John. During the album’s promotional campaign, he referred to each of his young partners as nothing less than “friends.”

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Of the ten songs featured on ABBA’s “Voyage” album, three are already familiar to listeners. “I Still Have Faith in You” and “Dont Shut Me Down” were released in September 2021 at the same time as the announcement of the four’s grand plans. The dynamic “Dont Shut Me Down” charted higher than the power ballad “I Still Have Faith in You”. Just a Notion” was written for the album “Voulez-Vous” (1978), but authors Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus deemed it “unsuitable for mixing” and used it only briefly in a medley called “ABBA Undeleted”, that was published on the 1994 “Thank You for the Music”.

The other seven songs have never been published before, but the feeling that you’ve heard them all before doesn’t leave you during the whole “Voyage” listening experience.

ABBA are not the kind of people who are expected to be innovative, and the slogan “Thank you for being alive” is absolutely true in their case.

Of the ten songs featured on ABBA’s “Voyage” album, three are already familiar to listeners. “I Still Have Faith in You” and “Dont Shut Me Down” were released in September 2021 at the same time as the announcement of the four’s grand plans. The dynamic “Dont Shut Me Down” charted higher than the power ballad “I Still Have Faith in You”. Just a Notion” was written for the album “Voulez-Vous” (1978), but authors Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus deemed it “unsuitable for mixing” and used it only briefly in a medley called “ABBA Undeleted”, that was published on the 1994 “Thank You for the Music”.

One of the predictable reactions to the “Voyage” album is the desire to dig deep into the ABBA back catalog. Following this desire, you realize that back then, in the 1970s, ABBA were exactly the innovators, the people whose music had, as the press put it, “irrational perfection.” No one took pop music so seriously, no one could convey its drama so that the whole world danced to it.

In 2021, however, ABBA isn’t going to revolutionize music.

Suffice it to say that they have collaborated with experts from George Lucas Studio to create 3D avatars, for which they have been recording their movements for five weeks using motion capture technology and under the guidance of Wayne McGregor, Covent Garden’s in-house choreographer. These avatars will be accompanied by ten live musicians in the ABBA Voyage show. Here, in the flamboyant marketing around all these modern technological wonders, the group can – albeit with reservations – be recognized as revolutionaries.

And the album “Voyage” itself listens as if created by a neural network, into which the entire catalog of the band was downloaded and tasked to create the best Christmas album ever. Let’s not forget that the disc was released at the perfect time for sales – Christmas shopping boom eve.

And there’s no doubt that the physical media with the album will sell just as well as its digital copies.

There are at least two impeccable Christmas tracks on “Voyage.” “Little Things” is a very traditional sentimental tune for a holiday soundtrack, fundamentally different from the brilliant and very sad in content “Happy New Year.” It is easy to believe that “Little Things” was composed by an “ABBA machine”, and only Annie-Fried Lingstad’s voice, in which the singer’s age is clearly audible, tells us that the song was created by real people.

“Little Things” could have been the last song on the album, not the third one (which is uncharacteristic for a Christmas song), leaving the listener on a wave of light euphoria. But the finale of “Voyage” is different: it’s the song “Ode to Freedom,” based on a waltz by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky from Swan Lake. The lofty tone of the finale contrasts with the lyrics about the impossibility of writing a true “ode to freedom.” ABBA’s freedom is the freedom to write “irrationally perfect” songs, the freedom to live outside the modern music industry, the freedom not to replicate their own discoveries for decades. But the very fact of the release of the album “Voyage”, as it turned out, contradicts this freedom.

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American singer Billie Eilish’s second studio album, Happier Than Ever, debuted atop the British album chart and is likely to take a similar position next week on the Billboard 200 chart, the top list of popular albums in the United States. There was no doubt that the record would show such results. “Happier Than Ever” is the most talked-about album of the year, even despite the powerful and eccentric advertising campaign Kanye West has launched around his new release.

The 19-year-old Californian singer and songwriter Billie Eilish is fondly referred to in the press as the most successful teenager of the turn of the 2010s and 2020s. Billie Eilish topped the charts after barely releasing her debut album, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” (2019), then earned seven Grammys and recorded a song for the James Bond movie “No Time to Die,” all with the suffix -teen in the word for age. Even before the age of 20, Billie Eilish had met the standard that the vast majority of her peers go to for decades.

Billie Eilish came with her own musical language, fundamentally different from that accepted in the pop mainstream.

Suffice it to say that the album after which she was invited to write music for the Bond movies was recorded in her bedroom. The songs from “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” sounded as if a schoolgirl, covered with a blanket over her head, was whispering messages on WhatsApp to someone. At the same time, they were kept on steady bass, and the song “Bad Guy” fit the definition of “danceable.” Not that anyone had ever done that before, but here everything was in the hands of the Interscope label – the specialists made sure that the songs were heard by the whole planet.

No one knows who Billie Eilish was competing with more, the other artists or herself, for the release of Happier Than Ever. Relative to Billie Eilish’s 2019 sample, Billie Eilish 2021 was in a weak position. For all the talent of the singer and her brother, co-writer and co-producer Finneas O’Connell, they would never be “the new big thing” again. And yet in 2021 came a girl named Olivia Rodrigo, whose first and second singles took turns starting at No. 1 on the U.S. chart – something that had never happened to anyone before. Olivia Rodrigo’s specialty is the ability to combine stylistically contrasting parts within one song.

It is approximately the same in the title song of the album “Happier Than Ever”, partially covered in the biographical film “A Slightly Blurred World” (yes, the documentary about Ailish has already been made too). The song starts out as a quiet, slow Latin song, and turns into stadium rock with electric guitars in the second part. Judging by that description, radio stations should stay away from such a song. But Billy Eilish’s status is such that the song is listened to all the same. About the same thing happens in the song “My Future. It starts out as a jazz parlor ballad, but about halfway through, you can dance to it.

When it comes to the album as a whole, Billie Eilish definitely didn’t sing louder, and her trusty whispers got even deeper into the dark electronic arrangements.

That said, the songs haven’t gotten sadder or darker. They certainly became more melodic, and Billy and Finneas’ approach to melodies is the most traditional, from the 20th century, maybe even from the first half of it. If by “tired diva,” we mean Lana Del Rey, then Billie Eilish is a tired diva with new Instagram filters.

“Is there a new ‘Bad Guy’ on the album?” – is a natural, though uncomfortable question for any artist. “Bad Guy” is a hit that comes to most writers once in a career, and audiences want “the same thing” all over again. On the new album, “Oxytocin” serves as a dance-fighting song, with Billy Eilish even singing (or screaming) in a high-pitched voice. The short “swinging” song “Goldwing” is also quite dynamic.

But the album’s centerpiece, “Happier Than Ever,” is not a song at all, but a conversational track called “Not My Responsibility” with a slightly blurry synth in the background. It’s Billie Eilish’s answer to anyone who thinks they know her, and thinks it’s their duty to speak out about her music, her outfits, her body. Billie Eilish reveals that no matter how people react to her expressions of individuality, she always feels watched, and the feeling is excruciating: “If I dress my way, I’m not feminine enough,” says Eilish, “if I let myself loose, then I’m a whore.

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