"They're Playing Games, Mariah": Reliving Diva’s Live with Kwame Ocran

In 1998, VH1 gathered Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, and Carole King on one stage to raise money for music education — and accidentally created one of the most revealing documents of its era. I'm joined by music scholar Kwame Ocran to relive Divas Live in full: the Tommy Mottola sabotage plot hiding in plain sight, why Celine Dion dedicated My Heart Will Go On to the actual Titanic victims mid-concert, what happened when Aretha Franklin heard the air conditioning turn on, and who in that lineup was truly a diva versus who just crimped their hair and hoped for the best. We also get into the neoliberal defunding of arts education, the gendered double standard baked into the word "diva" itself, and why we are not going to be saying Jennifer Lopez's name on this episode. (We said it once. That's the limit.) Pop culture, meet context.Want to hear the full episode? Plus get access to resources, deep dives, and behind-the-scenes context on this episode's topics? Patreon members get access to my exclusive newsletter with extended research, additional links, and insights that didn't make it into the show. You can get the weekly newsletter when you join for free. Paid members get a monthly bonus episode and a weekly newsletter of things I'm loving in pop culture. Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] with Kwame:Website: https://music.sas.upenn.edu/people/kwame-ocran Links: https://linktr.ee/KwameOcran Love the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.