Diva Devotee's Albums Of The Year 2015

The end of the year is here, so you know what that means! A chance to run down my top five albums of 2015! This year I'm going to keep it simple with just an image, a favourite song from each, and a few words to sum up each set. This has nothing to do with sales, chart performance or what anyone else thinks. I'm going on what I like and what I listened to most in 2015.

Definitely more so than last year, I feel this will be a difficult task! We had some good releases in 2015!

[Countdown] DD's Top 5 Albums of 2014

As we show our bare behinds to what was a pretty uneventful year in music, let me share with you all my Top 5 albums of the 2014.

Divas Rule YouTube's Most Peeped Music Videos of 2014

The top ten most viewed YouTube music videos of 2014 has been released by the internet giant. On the list there are a few surprises -namely Enrique Iglesias and Sia- but it'll come as no real shock that all the visuals were for pretty big chart hits.

The real good news though, 8 out of the 10 entries are female singers! Divas getting money!

[Forbes' Rich List 2014] Diva's Making Money!

This post is about something which is of no real concern to us plebs. Like really, what does it matter that these divas have gotten even more filthy rich over the period June 2013 to June 2014? Still, human nature is such that we are all as nosy as a Proboscis monkey/anteater cross, so let me just go right on ahead and post Forbes' tally of top earning female musicians.

For those wondering how they calculated the figures for said list, check out their site [here]. Even so, I'd take these figures with a pinch of these-don't-affect-my-life-in-any-way-so-who-really-cares. Though, if any of you lovely Divas are reading this, how bout buying me a diamond necklace. You clearly can afford it and I obviously deserve it....

Regarder la liste, peeps :

Ten Reasons To Pick Up "Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse"

Mariah Carey is predicted to enter the Billboard album chart with her lowest opening figures, ever! We all know music doesn't shift like it used to, but a prediction of 55-60K is shocking for a musical A-lister like Mazza.

[Countdown] Top Ten Girl Groups of ALL TIME

Billboard have used their book of chart magic to conjure up a list of the top ten girl groups of ALL TIME. Spooky, yet prestigious (for those who made it on to it)!

In reality, the American chart compilers used some kind of algorithm to formulate this list. They actually explained their methodology- take a read, below- on their website, but the way it trailed off into vague conjecture by the end, it may as well have been magiced up because I sure as hell don't know what they were talking about. You give it a try:

The top 10 all-time girl groups list is based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100. Artists are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over time, certain eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates over various periods.

Still, we all love a countdown/list -don't lie, you do- so let's stop wasting time and get to it! Also, regardless of this list, let me know of YOUR favorite girl group(s) in the comments. A video would also be appreciated, just so we can hear what it is you're talking about.

[Countdown] P!nk Has Highest Grossing Tour of Any Female In 2013

Taken from Billboard's run down of the 25 highest grossing tours of 2013, P!nk coming on top certainly wasn't what I was expecting after listening to the more rabid stanbases talking trash all year about their fav's ticket sales. The diva also had the highest position of any female (number 7) on Billboard's tally of the top 10 Year-End most popular songs across all genres with Just Give Me A Reason. Just two of the reasons, I suspect, the pop-rocker was deservedly named Billboard's Woman of the Year! Finally, girl be getting some recognition!

But it was a good year for Divas in general, with Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Beyonce all making the top ten highest grossing tours of the year- though it seemed some had to work harder, over more dates, to gross the amount they did. Interestingly, out of all the Divas, Taylor Swift was the only one who sold out all her dates, with Beyonce, conversely, failing to sell out 19 of the 59 shows.

Still, Divas be getting money!

[Discuss] Divas Dominate List Of Most Viewed Vevo Videos Of 2013

It looks like our Divas are winning when it comes to Vevo views this year! Taking seven out of the ten places available, the female of the species well and truly dominated 2013's countdown of most viewed videos on the hated video platform. (Note: as far as I am concerned, Britney Spears is what made Scream and Shout such a success, so I consider that song another victory for the Divas)

Who should really be smiling reading this list, though, is Ms. Miley Ray Cyrus, as she takes both the gold and sliver places with singles Wrecking Ball and We Can't stop. Even more impressive than this feat, is that Wrecking ball reached a hundred million views in less than a week after it first premièred. It's since gone on to rack up almost four hundred millions views since its release in September! Yowza!

So were these videos deserving of their placing on the tally? Or did controversy, rather than musical talent, play a prominent role in their charting? Let me know in the comments. Also feel free to link to your favourite video of the year.

Check out the full list, as well as the videos featured, below!

Five Things I Want To See From Beyonce During Her 2013 Super Bowl Performance

The night is upon us!! Beyonce is going to be tearing up the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans tonight, with her Super Bowl, half-time extravaganza. So why the early post? Well, I wanted to let you guys know what I'm hoping we'll see from the entertainer on this momentous day!

But this is a blog, with the ability for people to comment turned on (yes, I can switch it off!), so I obviously want to hear about your expectations, too! So drop a comment, after you've read my top-five things I want to see from Beyonce's 2013 half-time show, below! We can compare them with the actuality tomorrow, after the show!

So let's get started:

[Countdown] Top Five Diva Albums Of 2012

2012 was a surprising year. Although we had releases from the big names- like Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Rihanna and Alicia keys- it wasn't from these seasoned Divas that the quality material came. And let's be real, some of their albums were downright disappointing.

This was the year of the newcomer. They burst periodically onto the scene throughout the year, bringing with them fresh and exciting new music that simultaneously put the old guard to shame while offering hope to a sagging, hit-chasing industry.

Check out my top five albums of this year, and don't forget to let me know what albums floated your boat in 2012 in the comments.

Top Ten Biggest Selling Diva Singles (Ever) Of The UK

The OfficialCharts.com have released their list of the top ten biggest selling female singles of the United Kingdom. Having compiled the official UK Charts for just under 60 years, no one else is better placed to give us a reliable run down, figures included, of the impressive accolade.

Take a look at the list below:

Madonna:Top Twenty Biggest Selling Singles

With Madonna's latest, and might I add awful, single Give Me All Your luvin' [review] sliding down the charts faster than a Christina Aguilera vocal run, can we just all agree to pretend it never existed? Failing that, lets remember better days, and a Madonna that didn't pander to fads, and countdown her top ten biggest selling UK Singles.

Beyonce performs "Countdown" Live on Jimmy Fallon

I had assumed Beyonce had given up on latest album 4 after releasing pretty much half the album and not gaining any traction with the wider music world or its charts. Yes, it was better received by critics than any of her other albums- I liked it- and yes it was a record supposedly "for the fans" but don't be fooled, Beyonce is all about the numbers. Perhaps that's why, like a dog with a bone, Beyonce won't let this album go.

Top Five Criminally Ignored Diva Albums of 2010:

This list has been a long time coming- yes I'm aware its practically 2012- but it's only now that I've found the time to finish this post. So FINALLY I present to you a list of my 5 most unappreciated Diva albums of 2010!

Honourable mention: 

Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas II You: Mariah Carey just scraped into the list with the December release of her second Christmas album Merry II Christmas. This album heralded, for me, the true return of "The Voice", the same voice that the Emancipation album promised but only kind of delivered.

Glorious voice, a return of the vibrato, stunning live instrumentation, the birth of new Christmas classics in the form of When Christmas Comes and Christmas Time is in the Air, and to top it all off a duet with Mariah's opera singing mother, Patricia Carey meant that this album deserved an honourable mention on the list! Please God, let the next Mariah Carey secular album use this one as a reference point vocally.

Countdown: Top 5 Contemporary Contraltos

Note: "Alto" should read "Contralto"

The operatic contralto range usually spans from an F3 to a G5 but amazingly our lovely pop Divas can do better than that, with many of them demonstrating the ability to reach at least 4 notes below the lowest requirement.

Apart from the ability to reach an F3, contralto voices have other characteristics usually associated with them- though they are not always present- such as a smoky timbre, a lower access point to the chest register and a heavier weight to the voice. So celebrate this rare vocal type, below is a list of my 5 favourite contralto range capable Divas.

Note: Of course, in reality, comparing a pop singer to an opera singer is like comparing an apple to an orange so any opera aficionados don't bite my head off please...I need it for living.