December 20th, 2011 | 5:45 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Erykah Badu, Estelle, Marsha Ambrosius And Questlove Bring VH1 DIVAS Back To Life

Last night on VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul, Erykah Badu, Marsha Ambrosius and Estelle, along with Questlove, performed an upbeat rendition of “Back To Life.” The performance, sponsored by Samsung, saw the lovely ladies clad in gold — Estelle was all out in a gold jumpsuit, Erykah with a gold shawl and Marsha with some sparkling bling. With some refined synchronized dance moves (backed up by nimble male dancers), and their killer voices, the three women had the crowd out of their seats and dancing for the entirety of the joyful performance.

After you watch this Soul II Soul classic, be sure to check out the full Samsung performance playlist.

[Photos: Getty Images]

December 20th, 2011 | 10:00 am by VH1

Experience All Of The Highlights Of VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul In Photo Gallery Form

Want to relive all of the highlights of VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul? There sure were plenty of ‘em!
It was incredibly difficult choosing between the hundreds of pictures that we took of this year’s extravaganza, but we managed to narrow down the list to our 30 favorite pictures and conveniently grouped them together for you in this special VH1 DIVAS Photo Gallery. In it, you’ll find incredible photos of DIVAS like Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige and many more. There’s also a few great shots of the legendary Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah, both of whom are starring in the upcoming film Joyful Noise, which will be coming to a multiplex near you on January 13.

VH1 DIVAS Flipbook [VH1.com]

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]

December 19th, 2011 | 11:50 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul Web Exclusive: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, “He Said I Can”

Tonight’s television premiere of VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul closed with Chaka Khan and Mary J. Blige‘s stanktastic performance of “Ain’t Nobody.” However, those of us who were lucky enough to be in the building last night know that the last performance of the night was NOT Chaka and Mary J, but rather current VH1 You Oughta Know artist Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings performing “He Said I Can.” You’d be hard-pressed to make an argument that there’s another group out there that’s making soul music these days that’s as vibrant as the music that SJDK is turning out. If you like this track — and, honestly, we don’t see any scenario in which you wouldn’t — do yourself a favor and check out Soul Time!, the group’s latest LP.

This web exclusive clip is brought to you by Wendy’s.

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December 19th, 2011 | 11:15 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

“Ain’t Nobody” We’d Rather See Close Out VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul Than Mary J. And Chaka Khan

PHEW! We’re just now catching our breath after the enthralling conclusion to tonight’s premiere of VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul, which saw the funky disco pop legend Chaka Khan and the Queen of Hip Hop Soul Mary J. Blige fuse their powers together, Voltron style, for an unbelievable rendition of Chaka’s 1983 smash “Ain’t Nobody.” The song hit #1 on the R&B charts back when Ronald Reagan was still in the White House, but it’s most memorably known for being the soundtrack to one of the finest montages of early eighties cinema in Breakin. Or, should we say, “formerly most memorable,” because Mary J and Chaka’s duet tonight instantly became THE defining version of the song the second the song wrapped.

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December 19th, 2011 | 10:40 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul: Erykah Badu, Estelle And Mavis Staples Take Us There (And Then Some)

TYRONE! There have been many highlightable moments during tonight’s broadcast of VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul, but we can’t help but feel like Mavis Staples, Erykah Badu and Chaka Khan‘s triple threat take on The Staples Singers’ classic “I’ll Take You There.” It was clear from the outset that these three were vibing off each other and connecting on a deep level, and by the time Mavis started laying down some serious STANK and shouting out “I’m Every Woman” and “Call Tyrone,” we knew this was gonna be a moment we wouldn’t soon forget.

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December 19th, 2011 | 10:10 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul: Florence Welch’s Haunting, Otherworldly Take On Amy Winehouse’s “Back To Black”

Florence Welch, lead chanteuse of Florence + The Machine, is certainly one of the MVPs of VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul. She performed three songs tonight: “Shake It Out” (the new single off the band’s Ceremonials), “Back To Black” (as part of the evening’s Amy Winehouse tribute), and “Walking On Broken Glass” (which you can watch below).

Here, we put a spotlight on Florence’s haunting cover of the title track of album that turned Amy Winehouse into an international superstar back in 2007. She cut quite a figure with her floor length black dress, which was incredibly appropriate considering the circumstances. The music world lost an immense talent this year with Amy’s tragic passing, but thanks to powerful performances like Florence Welch’s tonight, Winehouse’s musical legacy is cemented in stone.

Follow along for Florence’s jubilant take on Annie Lennox‘s “Walking On Broken Glass.”

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December 19th, 2011 | 9:10 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul: Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson And Kelly Clarkson Kick Off The Show In Style

We told you so! Earlier today, we gave you a sneak peak at the cold open of VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul and told you it was the hottness. Well, now that you’ve all seen the whole clip —the show is on RIGHT NOW, people!— you seem to agree. We just checked Twitter a few seconds ago and we saw that Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige and Kelly Clarkson‘s performance of “You Keep Me Hanging On,” “Spotlight,” “Real Love,” and “Since U Been Gone” was dominating five of the Top 10 trending topics.

By popular demand, here’s the video of this historic moment that you can watch over and over and over again. Remember, if you’re gonna tweet about the show tonight, be sure to use the hashtag #VH1DIVAS.

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December 19th, 2011 | 6:15 pm by Kat George (@kat_george)

Everyone’s Talking About DIVAS: Read Last Night’s Reviews Ahead Of Tonight’s Show

Look, we know we’ve got DIVAS fever, and we know we’ve been gushing relentlessly about VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul (airing tonight on VH1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT), but that’s because it’s all just so good. Obviously, we can see where we might be a little bit biased, and why you might not entirely believe our unabashedly praising the show, but you don’t need to take our word for it. It turns out everyone is talking about DIVAS, so here’s what some of the most prolific industry people and news mediums had to say about DIVAS (hint: there’s a lot of love in the quotes below!)…

“In a section dedicated to Chicago, Mavis Staples, Chaka Khan and Erykah Badu turned in an ecstatic version of Staples’ “I’ll Take You There” that played out like a master class in vocal control, Staples doling out rich, low notes until the song’s closing moments, where she slyly quoted both Badu’s “Tyrone” and Khan’s “I’m Every Woman.” During a segment centered on the music of Chicago, Badu and Khan performed “Ain’t Nobody” as a series of escalating peaks, each vocalist goading the other with a series of increasingly stunning melismatic runs before ending the song in a sustained, emotional embrace.” [Rolling Stone]

“This VH1 Divas show is 1 of da best shows I’ve seen all year after only 2 performances!!!” [Common, via Twitter]

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December 19th, 2011 | 5:45 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

EXCLUSIVE: The Unflappable Ledisi On Performing “Sweet Love” On VH1 DIVAS: “What You Saw Was My Rehearsal And Performance All Together”

One of the most memorable moments from last night’s taping of VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul ended up being one that had never even been rehearsed before the cameras started rolling. When you watch Ledisi and Marsha Ambrosius duet on “Sweet Love” tonight at 9 p.m. ET on VH1, you’re gonna think that the two singers had been practicing together for weeks. However, the truth of the matter is that the whole number came together just over an hour before showtime. Say what?

“I was headed to go to the red carpet and the producers and the music director and my manager all came rushing to my room,” Ledisi explained to us on a phone call earlier this afternoon. “I was asked ‘Can you sing ‘Sweet Love’?” and I was like, ‘Stop playin! [laughs] Anita Baker’s singing that’. But then they told me ‘No, this is serious.’ And I was like “Oh my God, yeah sure, sure, if you need me, I’ll do it.’ I didn’t ask what happened because I didn’t want to be in the middle of that — you know, I’m just new, I just want to sing my little two songs and get off stage. But then all of a sudden here’s a third song, so I just wanted to pay proper respect to Miss Anita Baker and not do too much and you know, share in the moment, so it was a lot of fun. I really was honored to be asked, they could have asked someone else but they asked me and Marsha sand the first verse and I was so appreciative of the whole experience, it was like a dream. Like, is this real? Like I left there — ‘Did that just really happen’?”

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December 19th, 2011 | 4:30 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Jill Scott, Questlove And Adam Blackstone Explain Why Philly Is The City With The Most Soul (Hint: It’s The “Dirty Water”)

We spent most of this weekend hanging around New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom, checking out the rehearsals for VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul (which, if you haven’t heard yet, is airing TONIGHT on VH1 at 9 p.m. ET). We were lucky enough to grab some time with some of this year’s featured performers as they prepared for the show, and one of the questions we were most curious about was what gave the cities that they hail from so much soul.

First up, we asked Philly natives Jill Scott, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Adam Blackstone their thoughts on why the City of Brotherly Love (the latter two of whom served as the Musical Directors of the show) was the most soulful city in the world. Jill Scott reckoned it has something to do with “dirty water” of the Schuylkill River, while Questlove and Adam explained that the city’s proximity to New York City forced the musical community to diversify their sound to establish their own unique identity.

You can see Jill’s response above, while we’ve got video of @questlove and @bassicblack below.

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