lol YASS i agree! You CAN’T replace MC but Michael and Ciara tho! lol Oh.

Janet/Ciara..? Ehh… in dance I suppose. Musically, Ciara is so far off to the hip hop side w/ little pop appeal its hard to even see. But I definitely see the rest. So glad you threw Kim Burrell & J. Sullivan in there! Gritty vocalists that sing from the gutttt!

Janet/Bobby/Ciara/Usher were giving me lifee; especially Bobby!

idk songs like Bleeding Love and Can’t Breathe by Leona certainly rival Mariah. Though recently she’s sparingly used her head voice and has been working on her lower register.

Plus she’s been out of the spotlight and not had much opportunity to really shine as an artist.

Sorry but this post is a fail. First off the Janet/Ciara comparison is way off the only thing they have I. Common is that they both dance. If we’re going to go by that than you might as well put every female that came after Janet that also incorporate dance in their videos and live performances too. You might as well say every pop artist now is basically riding off Janets blueprint including Beyonce.

Totally agree with Beyonce/Tina Turner comparison.

Nicki & Kim… kim clone clown is the biggest fraud and fake an i am not even a kim fan… im more lauryn hill foxy n missy but u can see she is a fraud obvious

Gaga does everything better than Madonna

As much as it would’ve hurt you to admit it, there are a few contenders in the Mariah/… comparisons, sure they don’t have the vocal abilities it takes to sing such technical songs like Obsessed and Shake It Off but hey ! .. Mariah/Leona that’s life , deal with it !

To be honest, I never really saw the whole Janet/Ciara comparisons. Ciara has more of a vocal range and her style is more hip-hop/pop while Janet’s style is more home to R&B

And I think Christina and Leona are just as good singers as Mariah

“although Lady Gaga is a better artist than Madonna” < LMAO… How can you say she's blatently copies Madonna and then say she's a better artist? If she's copying she isn't an artist she's a CON artist… her music isn't as good as Madonna's, her videos aren't as good as Madonna's, her tours aren't as good as Madonna's, her dancing isn't as good as Madonna's… the only thing she has is a better voice but that doesn't make you an artists so…

Trent, would you consider a post on influence in the game and WHY artists feel the need to emulate ‘to the ‘t a previous artist’s image? Case & point: I watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith the other night. I know Britney performed in costume similar and a year or two years later Beyonce performed a similar set, dressed almost identically and all. I’m not trying to harp on Beyonce here because there have been others like Rihanna, Gaga, even Kelly, who have done the same exact performance via the stage or music video influenced by some recent pop culture image/art piece/work, etc.

I get that imitation is the best form of flattery. Imitation can also mean suicide [career]; see Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” essay for further explanation on the latter.

But why, upon seeing/knowing that David LaChappelle had a photoshoot less than ten years prior that sparked controversy and was touted as good/bad/ugly/high art/whatever, why take it upon yourself so quickly to reference (copy) that for a music video, Rihanna? WHY?

Why borrow the work/likeness of a current choreographer without giving due propers in any form or fashion and expect it to fly, Beyonce?

Why write a song with the same chord changes and vehemently deny its likeness to an iconic song made twenty years prior, Gaga?

Why do they put themselves in these situations? Do they not have time to cultivate their own ‘iconic’ work? Is it easier to do what’s been done under the name of ‘homage’ or ‘influence/inspiration’?

WHY DO THEY DO THAT TRENT?

I guess if you run out of ideas you’re just out of ideas. But why not go back and be inspired from something that’s obscure and old, like wayyyy old, like ancient sea scrolls and fall of Pompeii old? LOL they would have less a chance of folk calling them out on copying.

With that rant said, let me look to the OT:

Usher might’ve been influenced by Bobby Brown but he didn’t let that take over. He is his own star and was able to transcend mere mimicry into something of his own.

Likewise, Beyonce. While influenced by Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Janet Jackson, Betty Wright, Donna Summer, Lola Folana, Naomi Campbell, Barbra Streisand, etc. she finally, FINALLY came into her own image/artistry and is now just herself…though I still get black marching band majorette, vegas showgirl and geigh dancer doing choreo at club cheetah on a saturday night. LOL. SHE IS BEYONCElita and BEYONCE. She’s transcended those tropes that formed her performanceship at first.

Kim Burrell and Jazmine Sullivan both come out of the school of Phyllis Hyman, but I don’t really see them as anything other than their artistic selves. I don’t see Kim when I hear/view Jazmine…but Phyllis is all up and in through Jaz’s work: see “I’m in Love With Another Man”.

Gaga and Madonna. Gaga straight jacked everything Madonna and Annie Lennox and Grace Jones and maybe some Debbie Harry. The End. Also, Rihanna pulls from those legends, too.

Celine…well, to me there is none like her. I don’t know that lady in the vid after hers so I can’t compare/contrast/or care.

And any female performer that incorporates choreographed dance military style into their performances, passed through the halls of the Haus of Janet Jackson (and Michael Jackson). The end. LOL.