Women's Month: Most powerful female figures in music history
In celebration of Women's Month, we are celebrating a few of the best female singers of all time.
"Music connects people and the brightest music stars leave a legacy that connects through the ages. These musical powerhouses have all made an immerse impact, not only in the music industry but also on millions of fans around the world," Kenzy Mohapi, Jacaranda FM's Music Compiler.
1. Celine Dion (5 Grammy Awards)
"I'm very comfortable in my own skin."
With her career unfolding like a fairytale from a very young age, Celine Dion made her own American dream come true thanks to the iconic theme song for a Walt Disney film, 'Beauty And The Beast', performed as a duet with Peabo Bryson.
The theme song was number one on charts worldwide, winning a Grammy Award and an Academy Award.
On July 19, 1996, Dion became the most famous singer on the planet when she performed for a TV audience of 3.5 billion viewers. She performed 'The Power Of The Dream' during the Opening Ceremonies of the Atlanta Olympic Games.
She also won an Oscar for the iconic theme song, 'My Heart Will Go On' for the award-winning film, 'Titanic'.
The theme song for 'Titanic' became the best-selling theme song in history, selling 30 million copies.
After over 35 years as a performing and recording artist, Celine Dion has become a legend of popular music, one of the most powerful and moving voices ever heard.
2. Whitney Houston (6 Grammy Awards)
“Learning to love yourself, is the greatest love of all.”
Whitney Houston has established a benchmark for superstardom that will quite simply never be eclipsed in the modern era.
Houston is well-known for her iconic hits such as, 'Saving All My Love For You,' 'How Will I Know,' 'Greatest Love Of All,' 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),' 'Didn’t We Almost Have It All,' 'So Emotional,' 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go', 'I Have Nothing,' 'I Have Nothing', and of course her greatest hit of all time, 'I Will Always Love You'.
Houston’s version of Dolly Parton’s 'I Will Always Love You' is the biggest-selling single of all time by a female artist (at 10x-platinum, Diamond, for physical and digital in the U.S. alone).
3. Tina Turner (8 Grammy Awards)
"My legacy is that I stayed on course... from the beginning to the end because I believed in something inside of me."
'The Queen Of Rock', Tina Turner, is one of the most iconic figures in music. Turner made her breakthrough in the 60s with her late husband Ike Turner, as part of the Ike And Tina Turner Revue. They were hailed as “one of the most formidable live acts in history”.
Turner made her name with iconic songs such as 'River Deep - Mountain High' and 'Proud Mary'.
After leaving her abusive husband and Turner made one of the greatest musical comebacks of all time with her 1984 solo album, 'Private Dancer'.
Songs like 'The Best' and 'What's Love Got To Do With It' became iconic rock anthems.
As both the first Black and the first female artist to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone, and with her high-energy performances and mighty vocals Tina Turner remains one of the most powerful figures in music history.
4. Adele (15 Grammy Awards)
"I don't make music for eyes, I make music for ears."
"I like myself more than ever. I feel so comfortable in my own skin. Obviously, I have insecurities, but they don't hold me back."
Adele, referred to as the 'Queen Of Hearts' is one of the world's greatest singers of all time.
Adele won her first two Grammy Awards in 2009 for 'Chasing Pavements'.
Her second studio album, '21', became the world's best-selling album of the 21st century with sales of over 31 million copies. Adele received six Grammy Awards for this album, including Album Of The Year, and the Brit Awards for Album Of The Year.
The major success of '21' earned Adele numerous mentions in the Guinness Book Of Records.
In 2012, Adele released 'Skyfall', a soundtrack single for the 'James Bond' film, which won the Oscar and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.
Her third studio album, '25', was released in 2015 and became the year's best-selling album and earned her five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, and four Brit Awards, including British Album of the Year. The lead single, 'Hello', became the first song in the US to sell over one million digital copies within a week of its release.
Her fourth studio album, '30', became the year's best-selling album worldwide including in the US and UK. '30' won the 2022 Brit Award for British Album of the Year.
Time magazine named her for the third time among the 100 most influential people in the world in the 'icons' category.
5. Aretha Franklin (18 Grammy Awards)
"We all require and want respect, man or woman, black or white. It's our basic human right."
'The Queen Of Soul', Aretha Franklin is one of the most-charting female singers in history.
In the mid-1960s, Franklin was already a well-respected R&B soul singer. But her 1967 recording of the Otis Redding song 'Respect,' from her hit album, 'I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You', went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and launched her to new heights of mainstream acclaim and popularity.
Her first Grammy wins came in 1967 for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording and Best Rhythm & Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female for 'Respect.'