Welcome to the Playlist, a new feature here at Diva Dirt looking at the latest music and music-related news! From wrestling Divas to musical ones, this week as we look at the triumphant chart success of Leona Lewis and Danity Kane! Fitting, as this is Diva Dirt after all!
Following in the footsteps of Whitney Houston and Destiny’s Child, divas in their own right – say hello to the new class! Leona Lewis and Danity Kane both made headlines, #1’s and history this week as they topped the single and album charts, respectively.
The Great British Invasion
As someone that’s been on this girl’s bandwagon for nearly two years, I’m happy to report that Leona Lewis made (even more) history this week as she became the first British female to top the US Billboard Hot 100 in 20 years! The songstress from Hackney, East London (that’s in the UK for some of you out there) has had whirlwind, worldwide success since winning The X Factor (the British equivalent to American Idol) in 2006. Leona topped the Hot 100 with the smash-hit single, “Bleeding Love” which was last year crowned the biggest selling single of 2007 in the UK and held the #1 spot here for 7 weeks. The British diva’s accolades don’t stop there, she also had the biggest selling single of 2006 in the UK with a cover of Kelly Clarkson’s “A Moment Like This.” Her debut album, “Spirit” was also dubbed the biggest selling debut in British history. Oh and not to mention, this girl has one hell of a set of lungs on her!
Taking her talent overseas, Leona signed a $10m record deal with Clive Davis’ J Records and with a little help from her mentor, Simon Cowell has been appearing all over American television of late. How many of you saw her on Oprah last week? A lot, would be the answer! Congratulations, Leona! If you haven’t heard “Bleeding Love” yet, A) you’re a fool and B) what the heck are you waiting for?! Download it right now on iTunes! “Spirit,” the album, gets it’s American release on April 8th!
And just to tie this to Diva-dom; Divas we think would love Leona are: Layla, Jillian (we beg her to sing Bleeding Love on WWE TV, please?!), Melina, Lilian and Maria. Of the TNA Knockouts, we suspect Leona’s soulful voice may sooth the ears of the likes of Angelina Love, Gail Kim, Karen Angle and Sharmell.
Show Stoppin’, Chart Toppin’
Leona isn’t the only diva to grab herself a #1 spot, as Diddy’s angels, Danity Kane topped the album charts this week with their infectious second album “Welcome to the Dollhouse.” Boasting a more euro-pop sound than their debut album, Danity Kane also make history as the only girl band to top the Billboard 200 with their debut and sophomore albums! With funky, upbeat songs such as the lead single “Damaged,” “Bad Girl” and “Pretty Boy” this album relies less on mushy ballads and more on uptempo tracks that’ll be stuck in your brain for days!
Getting a little boost in sales, no doubt from their reality show “Making the Band 4” (season 2) which saw the girls, their boyband counterpart, Day26 and solo artist Donnie Klang recording their albums. Day26 have just released their album, so time will tell if they are able to top R&B’s new top girl group! If you haven’t got the album already, “Dollhouse” is in stores and on iTunes right now and you will not be disappointed!
Divas who will love this album are: Most of them! There is no Diva or Knockout out there who wouldn’t be able to relate to “Bad Girl,” this album makes for a great listen during a workout!
