was thinking about this...record sales aside, but just icon, divadom, fame, influence, press, sheer fame and status...if you had to look at the mega female pop stars of the 80s / 90s / 00s, i don't think Britney, RiRi, or Beyonce (nor Gaga) have yet gone to the level of the big four female divas from the generation just before in terms of body of work and overall legacy / influence. yes I know rihanna has 9 million number one songs but her albums dont sell. Gaga and Beyonce have incredible careers but i still don't see them being up there with Mariah or Whitney or Jan or M at their peaks.

is it just because I'm 30 and not 20?

anyway, of the big 4, wouldn't you agree madge and nippy made it the furthest in terms of movies, music, superstardom, and longevity? I look to you came out in 2009 and went straight to number one. Madonna is still selling out stadiums. Just sayin...

yes internationally.

domestically (i.e. In the states) that's up for discussion.

I feel all four of them were equally stunning as far as the lasting impact goes. Domestically and internationally, they definitely sweeped. Individually, though, they were in different lanes. This is a very debatable topic. But overall, no one will ever do what they did...

All four accomplished in their own ways. I'll leave it at that. But I fear those who wake up and see this will go into a 500-page tirade about who was better, probably bring a male superstar or two into the mix and then all kill each other in a steel cage via a WWE match.

No I'm not staying for popcorn...

I think Whitney and Madonna are more iconic. Although bought Janet and mariah sold a lot of records, internationally they were never on the level of Madonna and Whitney for so many years.

Madonna and Whitney started earlier and lasted longer and made a bigger impact.

Don't know about the US, I think Janet was always very popular there.

Yes you're right.

And Beyonce, Britney, & Gaga are names we'll never forget either. I'm still on the fence about Ms. Fenty. With all her accomplishments I still think she's vulnerable. Lets see how the next 5 years go.

jeidee said:

The big 4 are all iconic in their own way.

[Edited 6/25/12 9:50am]

Oh dear...

Why do people even make these threads... i mean really? You know it is just going ot turn into a stan war. it has happened everytme someone brings up these gals in the same thread since i started on the org in 09

People never learn

Doesn't matter. People like Chaka Khan and Patti Labelle are considered iconic even though their record sales are only a very small fraction of Madonna, Mimi, Nippy and Janet's. I believe longevity tells the real story. Next year, Chaka will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the release of her first album. After all this time, there's still quite a bit of demand for her. And she never tried to be a jack of all trades like some other singers have attempted to do.

Of the four ladies you mentioned, all of them have had longevity and all were musical trend-setters. Who knows if Nippy would have been able to maintain if she had of been successful at conquering her demons. Maybe she would have. We'll never know. "I Look To You" debuted at #1 because it was being totted as her big comeback album and her first album of new material in 8 years! But, the numbers were not impressive for a Nippy album.

To sit here an try and figure out who has held the greatest status is rather subjective.

[Edited 6/25/12 11:38am]

They are all iconic and successful imo. Madonna is the most referenced in pop culture though.

Also, I'm surprised to hear from others here that they think Mariah only takes a back seat to Whitney internationally. I always thought Mariah had a reach in the international audience. The international students at my school are big fans of Mariah.

these four women are the epitome of females in pop

madonna leads the pack obviously.she is the Queen no doubt

followed bye in my opinion Janet,although Whitney sold more you see Janets influence in more of todays pop stars(male and female) than Whitney

Whitney is the "voice"more female singers try to imitate her and are influenced bye her voice more than any of these 4

Mariah is the total package the look,the voice,the sales ,and the chart dominance(most number 1's out of all these women)

they are all on the same level in my eyes though madonna and janet are more similar and whitney and mariah more similar

mancabdriver said:

yes internationally.

domestically (i.e. In the states) that's up for discussion.

Indeed.

In fact, the argument could be made that in terms of influence Janet was just as if not more influential than Madge.

jeidee said:

minus "and whitney", unless being a crackedy mess is an accomplishment.

Why are you pressed tho?

Whitney shits all over these heffas.

Next..

Terrib3Towel said:

jeidee said:

minus "and whitney", unless being a crackedy mess is an accomplishment.

Why are you pressed tho?

Whitney shits all over these heffas.

Next..

Aside from vocals, how exactly?

Terrib3Towel said:

jeidee said:

minus "and whitney", unless being a crackedy mess is an accomplishment.

Why are you pressed tho?

Whitney shits all over these heffas.

Next..

No why are you so pressed?, you say the same ignorant shit about other artists.

silverchild said:

I feel all four of them were equally stunning as far as the lasting impact goes. Domestically and internationally, they definitely sweeped. Individually, though, they were in different lanes. This is a very debatable topic. But overall, no one will ever do what they did...

Timmy84 said:

All four accomplished in their own ways. I'll leave it at that. But I fear those who wake up and see this will go into a 500-page tirade about who was better, probably bring a male superstar or two into the mix and then all kill each other in a steel cage via a WWE match.

No I'm not staying for popcorn...

This is the Org after all.

aardvark15 said:

Terrib3Towel said:

Why are you pressed tho?

Whitney shits all over these heffas.

Next..

Aside from vocals, how exactly?

Beauty, influence, respect, musical catalogue, versatility, film success, etc.

Need I go on?

I do agree with what silverchild said but if I had to rank them....

I would rank them:

Voice:

Whitney

Mariah

Janet

Madonna

Songwriting:

Janet

Madonna

Mariah

Whitney

Performance:

Madonna

Janet

Whitney

Mariah

Dancing:

Janet

Madonna

Whitney

Mariah

Success:

Madonna

Whitney

Mariah

Janet

Influence:

Janet

Madonna

Mariah

Whitney (While I do feel most people who aspire to sing listen to Whitney, they often sound more like Mariah then anyone else)

Overrall Package:

Mariah

Janet

Madonna

Whitney

Basically:

Madonna- Weak voice (aside from Ray Of Light era), amazing performer, great songwriter

Whitney- Heavenly voice and that's about it. Her performances are good but they focus and rely on the voice

Janet- Good voice (she does well with the range she has), amazing performer, great songwriter

Mariah- Great voice, okay performer, great songwriter

Yes. Because they continued to be interesting in their own ways, good or bad.

Janet and Mariah have just kind of been floating around and existing for so long with no reason to really be interested that now they never will be interesting.

Terrib3Towel said:

aardvark15 said:

Aside from vocals, how exactly?

Beauty,

Have you seen pics of Janet?

influence,

See my previous post

respect,

Madonna's been critically acclaimed for years. If you mean your respect well then definetly

musical catalogue,

She released 7 albums and the final 2 of them were full of filler

versatility,

She wasn't versatile her producers were

film success

True

Need I go on?

Very much so

aardvark15 said:

Terrib3Towel said:

Beauty,

Have you seen pics of Janet?

influence,

See my previous post

respect,

Madonna's been critically acclaimed for years. If you mean your respect well then definetly

musical catalogue,

She released 7 albums and the final 2 of them were full of filler

versatility,

She wasn't versatile her producers were

film success

True

Need I go on?

Very much so

We clearly disagree, but I don't feel like going back and forth.

Terrib3Towel said:

aardvark15 said:

We clearly disagree, but I don't feel like going back and forth.

Trying to esape the truth huh?

aardvark15 said:

Terrib3Towel said:

We clearly disagree, but I don't feel like going back and forth.

Trying to esape the truth huh?

Bye.

Madonna and her lame ass dance-pop music, Janet and her thin ass voice and mediocre dancing ability, and Mariah got outsang by Whitney when her voice was barely half of how good is used to be.

But keep on trying tho. Whitney is THE pop diva, the REAL queen of pop. Why don't you go and listen to Gimme all your Luvin or watch Madonna fuck a black jesus? Or how about go to the bargin bin and pic up Janet's last 3 albums or Mariah's last train wreck?