THE MODERN DIVAS

Divas come and divas go but that's one diva that's being around for quite a while and Madonna's her name. After her, they came a few others but she managed to outlast them all.

MADONNA : THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION : Madonna is the most media savvy American pop star since Bob Dylan and the most consistently controversial since Elvis Presley. This was the  first ever Madonna Compilation CD and incredibly, this was given to me by an old classmate who couldn't get into her music. Since then, they have been many other compilation but this CD have secure a special place in my heart. From dance floor blazer 'Holiday', 'Lucky Star' to 'Borderline' and 'Like A Virgin' to her signature tune 'Material Girl', the songs never let up. And I haven't even started on 'Crazy For You', 'Into The Groove' and 'Papa Don't Preach'. Then there was the controversial 'Like A Prayer'. Yeah this is a 100 & 1 percent enjoyable CD. Remind us why she's still on top while all her contemporaries have fallen by the side. DOP : An exchange with a pal.

MADONNA : THE HOLIDAY COLLECTION : There are four songs here. 'Holiday', True Blue, Who's That Girl' and 'Causin' A Commotion'. I bought this specifically for 'True Blue' and 'Who's That Girl'. 'True Blue' was the track that I truly adored. DOP : 11th November 1995.







MADONNA : GREATEST HITS : VOLUME 2 : Thought she is still going great gun, Volume 2 unfortunately wasn't as strong a collection as Volume 1. I got this on a slight discount. The songs here just doesn't hold up against the songs on the first volume. For me the best track here is indisputably 'Take A Bow', one of the most beautiful ballad by Madonna. There's also 'Don't Cry For Me, Argentina' from the movie which she starred in 'Evita'. Good as her version is, this song still belongs to Julia Convington, the original singer of this song. The next song that I like is 'Beautiful Stranger'. A pity that her version of Don McLean's 'American Pie ' is not here. I quite like it. DOP : 7th August 2004.

CYNDI LAUPER : TWELVE DEADLY CYNS...AND THEN SOME : During the eighties, two divas emerged at almost the same time. Cyndi Lauper and the other one was of course Madonna. Cyndi Lauper projected a fun schoolgirl like images with her signature song 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun' and it was so infectious that everybody caught on. It's a kind of feminist anthem that I can still accept if my daughter sang it to my face but I'm not so sure I can handle it as well if she were to sing in my face Madonna's 'Papa Don't Preach'. There is another version of this song later on in the CD. Four of the songs here are from her million selling debut "She's So Unusual". 'Girls'...', All Through The Night', 'She Bop' and 'Time After Time'. She was never able to repeat the success of her debut album although she did have subsequence hits like 'True Color', 'I Drove All Night' and 'What's Going On'. One song that I discovered on this CD, 'Who Let In The Rain' was simply awesome. Overall, this was an enjoyable CD. DOP : 22nd Qctober 1994.

CYNDI LAUPER : MERRY CHRISTMAS...HAVE A NICE LIFE : This is yet another surprise Christmas CD. Out of the eleven songs, only three are traditional Christmas songs, the rest are all originals. Usually, too much original Christmas songs tends to be a drag but surprise of surprise, there are all quite enjoyable, proving she got what it takes to come up with an enjoyable album albeit a Christmas one. I got this on discount. I wouldn't take a risk with my hand earned cash on something not proven but this time at least my fear was unfounded. DOP : 16th October 2004.

KYLIE MINOGUE : KYLIE GREATEST HITS 87 - 97 : There's no denying it, Kylie Minogue have staying power. Kylie was already the hottest face on television due to her role as Charlene in the hit TV series "Neighbors". Her first hit was a cover of Little Eva's hit 'The Locomotion' and like they all used to say the rest is history. She followed that up with 'I Should Be So Lucky' 'Especially For You', her duet with Jason Donovan, 'Tears On My Pillow', etc. Classic pop they may be but I was never much of a fan of her. I got this double set on discount and it's good value for money. A nice CD to pop onto your player during a rainy day. 3rd April 2005.

JANET JACKSON : DESIGN OF A DECADE 1986 - 1996 : As the youngest sister of Michael Jackson and the baby of pop music's best known family, Janet Jackson could have spent her career in the shadow of her eight siblings, particularity Michael. Instead with the help of some savvy creative and professional advisers outside the family, she established herself as one of the premier pop funk diva of the late eighties and early nineties. For a brief period of her fame, she was even giving Michael a serious run for his money. I wasn't so much into her though but I favored the ballads more instead of the faster uptempo numbers. The tracks that I like includes 'What Have You Done For Me Lately', ' Miss You Much' and of course 'Let's Wait A While'. I like her publicity picture. It's so sexy and sensual. I once broke my own rule and lend this CD nonchalantly to a pretty friend who is also a somewhat beauty queen runner up. Hey, I am human too. After a while of non returning of my precious CD, I asked for it and she returned it to me in a crumby state. I was aghast and totally shocked at this indifferent to someone's property. When I reprimanded her about it, she sheepishly replied that she can't help it 'cos it was done by his younger brother. Does reinforced my suspicious that beautiful girls does live in a world of their own. Still, beauty or no beauty, I ain't never gonna lend my CD again. DOP :  Unknown.


ULTIMATE TONI BRAXTON : The other diva in line, Toni Braxton  hit me right in the eye when I first heard her tender 'Un-break My Heart', ' Breathe Again', the funky 'Another Sad Love Song' and 'You Mean The World To Me'. These songs wouldn't sound out of place if sung by Whitney Houston. As it is, it made Toni Braxton a star and a diva but she couldn't run the mile as the other competitors. DOP : 11th November 2011.