Queens of Pop

Thanks in part to a voice that could compete with Dionne Warwick on the level of pop appeal -- and let's not forget Berry Gordy's loving adoration for her -- Diana Ross not only became the lead singer of the Supremes, she became the quintessential image of the band in the public eye. What might have been had she remained part of the Supremes' backing vocal section will never be known, but the end result of Ross' being placed center stage was a later ascent to uber-diva as a solo artist. Within a year of taking leave of the Supremes in 1969, Ross already had a No. 1 song; within two years, she'd starred in a movie (Lady Sings The Blues) and secured an Academy Award nomination. Not bad for an acting novice and singer on her own for the first time. Over the years, Diana Ross has continued to earn film roles, chart placements, and the undying respect and admiration of drag queens the world over.

Donna Summer had the talent and charisma to climb to the top of the Disco heap. Considering that Disco was a style which showcased a producer's sound and faceless studio skill, the fact that Summer became a household name says a great deal about the power of her personality. Her toothy, ponyish beauty had the sequencer-mad Giorgio Moroder behind it, and together they came up with the 1975 stunner "Love To Love You Baby." The song became more than a major Disco hit -- it helped give birth to the modern electronica movement. Summer's seemingly endless stream of supple hit singles dried up when Disco choked on its own dust in the early 1980s. However, she continued to have success, especially when "She Works Hard For the Money" became a mega-hit in 1983. Donna Summer passed away in 2011.

Even if the "genius" term for female pop stars has not used often - with Kate Bush, the genius is difficult to dismiss. She is a British musician with a visionary interaction of melody, rhythm, instrumentation and singing. With her music and lyrics she has created her own dreamlike universe of disturbing pictures and movements. With the title track of the album "Wuthering Heights" the 19-year-old landed the first British number-one hit written by a woman. Other classics like "Cloudbusting", "Running Up That Hill", "Babooshka", "Hounds of Love" or "Do not Give Up" (in duet with Peter Gabriel) followed. The range of her texts, which deal with unborn babies, rape, menstruation, masquerade, Aborigines, Wilhelm Reich, Peter Pan or the nuclear war, show again and again the solitary character of the artist. She created her own musical world, did not want to follow a trend or the specifications of a producer and thus changed the musical universe. The tender Queen of British Pop is the voice of the late 70's and early 80's. Kate Bush relies on content, makes herself the voice of a highly political period and to this day consistently denies the requirements of the media world to be a pop star.

Raised on a musical diet of Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, Lady Gaga brings a sense of theatrical fashion and attitude to her dance-inspired, electro-rock performances. Named after Queen's "Radio Gaga," the pop fashionista took the fast lane to success, starting at age four when she learned to play piano by ear. At 14, she began performing at open-mic nights in and around New York City's Lower East Side. After graduating from Convent of the Sacred Heart school (the elite private institution Paris Hilton attended), Gaga earned a coveted spot at the famed Tisch School of the Arts. Soon after, she started writing songs for the Pussycat Dolls, and at age 20, she was signed to Interscope Records. Starting with her 2008 debut, The Fame, she became one of pop culture's most ubiquitous figures, with songs from "Just Dance" to "Born This Way" dominating the pop charts and her public antics (Kermit dresses! Birds flown! Gender identity rumors!) dominating pop culture.

Beyonce Knowles, the leader of Destiny's Child, always knew she wanted to be a star. She formed the first incarnation of Destiny's Child in 1990 -- when she was 9 years old. By 2001, the group began to dissolve. Knowles nabbed a lead role in Mike Myers' Austin Powers: Goldmember; an appearance in MTV's Carmen: A Hip Hopera cemented her reputation as a formidable entertainer. Her solo debut, Dangerously in Love, came out in 2003. The first single, "Crazy in Love," was a duet with beau Jay-Z that zoomed to the top of the charts. B'Day, her stunning 2006 sophomore turn, featured hits like "Deja Vu" and "Ring the Alarm." Later that year, Beyonce starred as Deena Jones in the Oscar-winning movie musical Dreamgirls. In 2007, Beyonce made a Latin-crossover attempt, dueting with Shakira on "Beautiful Liar" and releasing a deluxe edition of B'Day, featuring "Amor Gitano" with Mexican crooner Alejandro Fernandez and a Spanish version of the anthem "Irreplaceable." For her third studio album, I Am ... Sasha Fierce, Beyonce split herself into two personae -- the tender, traditional Beyonce and the club diva Sasha Fierce. And for 2011's 4 she switched things up again, delving into old-school R&B, soul and boogie-funk.