R&B Divas

When Aretha Franklin belts out "I Say a Little Prayer" like she were under oath in the court of love, she's not just singing a song — she's letting the world know that she has special talents, powers of presence that go beyond mere vocal prowess to transform her into a true force of nature. That's how it is with all our R&B divas, from Whitney Houston — keeping it real with 1999's "It's Not Right But It's Okay" — and Mary J. Blige, whose potent pipes and survivor's grit put over tunes like "Just Fine" like nobody else could, to next-gen superwomen Beyoncé, Estelle, and Jennifer Hudson. Dionne and Nina are joined by Fergie and Ashanti in Next Steps.

Dionne Warwick and her crushed-heart classic "Walk On By", the supreme throwback soul of Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings ("100 Days, 100 Nights"), Nina Simone overhauled by Groovefinder on "Ain't Got No – I Got Life" . . . not quite your everyday shooting stars and one-hit wonders. That's because R&B divas loom larger than life, standing head and shoulders above the crowd, as eternal as Diana Ross feeling what we all feel at some point in our lives ("Love Hangover"), as "Fergalicious" as Fergie, and as fierce as Ashanti and the hip-hop of "Only U". J-Lo's on the dancefloor and Duffy's on her knees, in Deep Cuts.

So, you wanna talk deep? Just cast an eye over our Deep Cuts divas — the sultry disco whisper of Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby", and the supreme self-assurance of Jennifer Lopez when she's requesting — no demanding — that the DJ plays that song just because it turns her on. The old-school funk of Chaka Khan and "Ain't Nobody" and the quiet sophistication of Heather Headley on "Simply Redeemed" . . . our R&B divas do their own thing their own way — from Toni Braxton and her burnt-sugar ode to independence "Breathe Again" to Duffy's plea for release, "Mercy" — and that's what makes them divas.

It takes more than just a voice to make a diva, more than just the kind of heart-stopping sound that thrills a listener to the very core. It takes presence, the bone-deep knowledge that, like Alicia Keys sings, there's "No One" — and we mean no one — who's gonna take a song and make it her very own like she does. It's all about that special gift that keeps us enthralled: Aretha (hail to the Queen!) had it back in 1967, while 21st-century phenom Keyshia Cole reveals her own diva credentials on the smooth and stylin' "I Should Have Cheated". These ladies have got it, and now so do you, with R&B Divas, our long-playing Essentials playlist bursting with non-stop divaliciousness — from Anita Baker to Amy Winehouse, from Chaka Khan to Corinne Bailey Rae.