Celine Dion vs. Aretha Franklin & Mariah Carey | What Happened at Divas Live 1998? | A Video Essay

"Dueling Divas" is a short op-ed/video essay that juxtaposes Mariah Carey's viewpoint of, "Divas Live '98" against that of the viewers and Gospel tradition to conclude whether Celine Dion was right or wrong in challenging Aretha.

Episode Credits
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Director: Milik Kashad
Executive Producer: Milik Kashad
Editor: Milik Kashad
Motion Graphics: Milik Kashad
Voiceover: Milik Kashad
Script: Milik Kashad

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[BlackMusicArchive]

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[uncoolartist]

The fact that "Celine got back in line" after the "moment" shows a lot on how much she understood the assignment ✨

[soulfulvoices]

I agree 100% Aretha and Celine did great together. They both are very versatile singers. It was a match !!

[QuatMan]

Celine even LOWERED herself and KNEELED to give deference to Miss Aretha. Celine understood the assignment and Mariah did not😂

[Xara_K]

Celine would never ever EVER disrespect her predecessors. She's always had respect for her elders

[JumareEbdalin]

And then who was invited to sing at Aretha’s tribute? It was Céline, yes. ✨

[TremellluvYah]

Celine did her thing. And she was studying what was going on and quickly understood the assignment.

[houstonmarron]

Celine hasn’t replied Mariah till this day - PURE CLASS✨

[CPenner]

Perfect analysis!! Straight facts!!

I’ve always said that Aretha’s initial reaction said everything. And thank god this happened otherwise it would’ve been boring and anticlimactic especially for gospel. Like you mentioned Whitney and other r&b soul gospel would always pop off together, just look at Whitney and cece winans for example. They would’ve done the same. Céline is confident. It’s what we all wanted and needed haha

[TheGawdessDravidienne]

I've always felt that this was a perfect showcase of the way Aretha, Celine and Mariah operate as live performers and how that represents their brands and legacy as well. Aretha was always a virtuoso, making the live performances an opportunity for reinterpretations and developments on the template of the record. But she also always had a tendency to try and outdo people which stems from a place of knowing how good you are but also a little insecurity. Her relationship with artists like Patti Labelle and Dione Warwick reflect that. But she never shies away from dynamic live performances.

Mariah performs best by herself in a live setting, unless she's performing with her own backing singers. Of all the duets she has sung, every performance shows how Mariah typically takes a submissive style of performance where she usually sticks to tried and tested vocal stylings. And if she had to perform with someone of equal stature or talent she invariably takes a more reserved approach, and often does not rise to the level of the other performer as evidenced by her live performances with Patti Labelle, Whitney Houston and Boys To Men. She's best by herself.

Celine has made a career out of live duets. She's supremely confident in her talents and technique as a singer and has duetted most prolifically throughout the career, and the number of ensemble performances are also astounding especially when you notice that almost every single time her voice stands out by the sheer quality of it, be it in the Divas concert version of You've Gotta Friend, her performance at the Michael Jackson family thingy, Aren't They All Our Children After All etc or her many many duets. She's extremely comfortable sharing the stage with others.


On this night this was on full display. Aretha was holding court, Celine was having the time of her life sharing the stage with TWO of her idols, while Mariah was playing it extremely safe and not understanding Aretha's expectations. Aretha probably went into the night thinking she and Mariah would demonstrate the gospel vocal fireworks, but Mariah constantly underperformed. Her voice was starting its steady decline at this point, and she already had trouble keeping pace with other exceptional singers. There were insecurities that stemmed from it which is why SHE is the one who never got over it. Aretha recognised that Céline was the only one who could probably understand the assignment as Celine has always been a huge Aretha fan but also not shy about showing off that gorgeous instrument. While she may not have grown up in the gospel style of singing, she did study great singers and has always been most comfortable performing live on stage and trying crazy things with her voice, and on top of that this was her peak in a way. So that's how Aretha ended up in a gospel sing-off with the whitest person in pop music and yet ended up creating magic.

We can also add another layer here. That night, Carole King was Céline's personal guest. During Natural Woman, she was supposed to open the song but Aretha sang over her and took the part, and kept on singing over the others. It wouldn't surprise me if Céline was a wee bit irritated by that because she spent the rest of the night going toe-to-toe with Aretha, lick to lick. Céline is spicy like that.

[chinosjay]

lesson of this story: just because you couldn't, doesn't mean others shouldn't..

[AnonymousXtinaSinger]

Huge lamb here and I can definitely say Mariahs insecurities were peaking! Everyone expected her to be the "dueling diva" that night, even Aretha. Which Im sure is why Aretha only wanted a duet with her. But Mariah's voice was not in good shape. Instead of admitting that, she plays it off as she was showing respect. Aretha was the Queen, so regardless of who stepped up, no one will be able to over shadow the Queen. Celine and Aretha did exactly what you would see in a black church

[divatalk]

Mariah keeps bringing this up, I'm not sure why. My only suspicion is, Mariah wasn't in a comfortable vocal place to risk it that night and is still disappointed

[smw]

Thanks for this video! Celine Dion’s been a vocal titan since the early 1980s. It makes perfect sense - and was no surprise at all - that she accepted Aretha’s invitation and created such an iconic moment. ❤️

Mariah’s comments over the years stem from her insecurity about this night. Celine is so kind and never shades anybody.

[bakbakhemu]

All I'm gonna say is this. Aretha enjoyed singing with Celine that night so much that she personally requested Celine to sing at any tribute made to her. Which was confirmed by her estate that Aretha picked her before her death. Mariah was no where to be named. Just saying.

[royalpanther]

I'm an obsessed Mariah fan and I will be biased for her forever except for this one... I can't defend her justification about this sing off. I could understand if she just admitted her voice that night was not at its best condition. However, she shaded Celine who was simply answering Aretha's request. She really doesn't have to say negative about her. She was showing insecurity. 🤦😪 It was very off...
I was like "My Queen, Mariah, Noooo!!! Shut your mouth". 🙁😩

[Musicblue]

This confirms what I've been saying, Mariah's ego was hurt that night cause she didn't step up to the plate and she never got over it. BUT Celine understood the assignment and that's why I love Celine for it. She wasn't scared to go toe to toe with Aretha she proved that during the Natural Woman performance which is why I believe Aretha also gravitated toward her once she seen Mariah was holding up the wall lol

[milonanni]

One of the most exhilarating vocal exchanges in live music history!

[jotaylor-omiv]

Celine didn't do anything wrong. She basically did what Mariah was supposed to do, but didn't when the chance came. Celine looked over at the two and took notice. Mariah had two opportunities and missed one, then barely did it the second try. Then she looked to Celine to come and sing together and of course Celine came and made the duet iconic. Celine pretty much understood the assignment. 🤷‍♂💖

[clarkd]

Aretha also shouted “good child of mine” & “I’m loving this” to Celine after she answered her call. Also Aretha personally invited Celine to sing at her memorial concert in 2019, not Mariah! It says EVERYTHING. The fact that she brought this up over and over again shading and dragging Celine out of her insecurities in the 20 plus years since it happened also says EVERYTHING.