mattwinslet i have to say aretha franklin was very good but many including me have to say that celine dion came very close even not on par with miss aretha franklin ..celines vocal rang in natural women was outta this world but when are that ask her to HELP ME LIFT IT ....celine showed us why she is where she is today and where she will always be :) to mr celine dion is the best out there :) I've met her also and what u see on TV is what u get..she is the most polite celebrity i have ever met a true lady:) peace matt: ps i thought all the divas added something that night the only diva missing for me was mr whitney houston :) i hope she can get her powerful voice back last time i heard her voice i felt so sad :(xx

Devans00 Over the years, I kept hearing people talk about how Aretha Franklin's performance on the first VH1 Divas show brought the house down, so of course I had to see it for myself.People were not joking. She was at least a step ahead of the other singers in terms of singing power and ability to command a house. The only singer who had the confidence to hold a candle to Aretha was Celine Dion. I was really impressed how she stepped up and held her own during the last gospel number. It was really entertaining to see the contrast of Celine and Aretha's body types and singing styles hollering at each other. I wish I was there to hoot them on.The second to last song, A Natural Woman, was so amazing, I had to watch it again. Even though Aretha was commanding, I really enjoyed the blending of the different singers' styles and voices. Gloria Estafan and Shania Twain were a little washed out, but Maria Carey and Celine Dion brought it. I've been a Carole King fan for a long time, so it was wonderful to see her get her props as a songwriter and entertainer.Too bad Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige weren't on this year instead of the following year.

kauffman97501 Hi This was one of the best Divas since it had 5 singers that have reached the pinnacle of success in their field. They have earned top record sales and more importantly honed their talent. They are were great in this show. Although Shania Twain brought a lot of energy and got the crowd into her performances. Some of the others were more sedate. Franklin did dominate but dominating is not always what a great performance is always about. Carey's voice is great which makes up for lack of performance. She uses her voice as the main show. Which is great since there are a lot of singing performances that are everything but the voice..

algernon4 Aretha Franklin proved that she and only she was the only 'diva' on that stage. The critics who watched the show all agreed that she was truly regal and the only singer on the show who could honesty be called a true "diva." The others were obviously "in training."She didn't have much competition and the other ladies seemed a bit intimidated by her presence. By the last half hour of the two hour show, it had become "the Aretha Franklin show." Her command was so strong, her co-stars materialized into background dancers when Aretha went into a surprise gospel number that none of the women seem to know.The finale included the Carol King classic, "A Natural Woman," a huge hit for Franklin, on which Aretha "went to church," leaving the others to watch in awe (or was it disgust?) Gospel singers are notorious for "stealing the show."Aretha, by her standards, was just average, really. If she had had to "compete" with say, Patti LaBelle, Bettye LaVette, Etta James, Yolanda Adams and some other soulful divas, you might have had a show that would have gone down "in infamy."With Celine Dion, Gloria Estaphen, Carol King, Shania Twain and Mariah Carey as her competition, all Aretha had to do was glide through this one.