25 replies to this topic

[AimingforYoko]

Yay! Another countdown show, starting Monday, February 13th on VH1:

Chicks rule. Countdowns rock. We're putting the two together! It's VH1's 100 Greatest Women In Music (1990 - today), the definitive countdown of female music awesomeness--from rock to pop to rap to R&B. This 5-hour special will rank the biggest of the big. Madonna, Janet, Britney, Whitney and others are all vying to be named the greatest female artist of the past two decades. And who better to crown number one than VH1? Exactly! In this 5-hour special, hosted by R&B's hottie hit-maker Ne-Yo, we'll see who's got staying power after some 20 years in the biz--and which newcomers belong on the same list with some of music's biggest names. Does Rihanna make it? How about Katy Perry? And where do they rank? The list runs the gamut: pop, hip hop, R&B, country, rock--they're all represented. We'll hear from the artists themselves - including brand new interviews with Amy Lee of Evanescence, Jewel, Ingrid Michaelson, Colbie Caillat and Gloria Estefan to name just a few - as well expert commentators, as they break down why these ladies made the list, and why they rank where they do. Let the arguing begin! This one's all about the ladies. It's time to recognize the women who changed music history--and the ones aiming to someday become legends themselves--in VH1's 100 Greatest Women In Music.

Why they're starting at 1990, I have no idea. Probably has something to do with availability of the artists.

[Shortcake2001]

Another cheesy list by Vh1. We will see artists who were popular or well-known, but the real women who were around before MTV are again being ignored. This is really what it is all about, artists who have music videos.

Edited by Shortcake2001, Feb 11, 2012 @ 3:27 PM.

[thethinman]

The 100 greatest women in music in the last twenty years? Are there more than five?

[Billie Jean]

Wonder if it's to late to make Whitney #1? Cause you know they would if they could.....

[livinggreen]

Fox News just reported that Whitney Houston has Died at the age of 48.

[PoeticJustice32]

The 100 greatest women in music in the last twenty years? Are there more than five?

That was my immediate thought when I just realized they were only considering people from the last 20 years. There are only a handful of people that could realistically be considered the greatest since 1990. Whitney, Mariah, Madonna, and Janet are the run-aways to me. I really couldn't even name 10 women I would consider "the greatest" much less 100!!!

[BDArizona]

The 100 greatest women in music in the last twenty years? Are there more than five?

That was my immediate thought when I just realized they were only considering people from the last 20 years. There are only a handful of people that could realistically be considered the greatest since 1990. Whitney, Mariah, Madonna, and Janet are the run-aways to me.

If all you listen to is pop, sure. If you listen to other genres, there are a lot. The Riot Grrrl scene and queercore were big in the '90s, producing women like Kathleen Hannah, Carrie Brownstein, Corin Tucker, and hosts of others. Female alt/grunge bands like L7 and Seven Year Bitch were around in the 1990s. Joan Jett has been doing music for more than 20 years, but was certainly active during the period in question. Mia Zapata was awesome. Her murder robbed the world of a great female artist. That doesn't even consider all of the women of country music. Pop isn't the be-all and end-all. There are lots of women out there making music and doing a damned fine job of it.

Edited by BDArizona, Feb 12, 2012 @ 9:01 PM.

[Shortcake2001]

If all you listen to is pop, sure.

This will be featured on VH1, so I am doubting they will feature any artists other than pop and R&B.

[Slade347]

Just as long as Taylor Swift isn't in the top 10.

[Pleasesendpants]

They did this already in the late 90s. It included women from all genres, no time restriction (Bessie Smith, Siousie Sioux, Stevie Nicks, Eartha Kitt, etc). Aretha was number 1. I'm surprised they don't just update that list.

[slowpoked]

I'm guessing it's this list:

VH1's Greatest Women in Music

[Pleasesendpants]

If that's really the list, it's worse than I thought it could be. When you are putting together a list of greatest anything and Jordin Sparks has a place on it, stop putting together your list. I love me some Adele, but number 5 is way too high, and I wouldn't have put her above Whitney even before she died. And the fact that Fantasia is on here and apparently "greater" than 68 other women on this list is a joke (oh, a sample of some of those women that Fantasia outranks? Salt N Pepa, Dixie Chicks, Tori Amos, Gloria Estefan, and Jill Scott. And Sarah McLachlan. One organized fucking Lilith Fair and the other was not convincing playing herself in a Lifetime movie about herself)

ETA: Seriously. FANTASIA is #32.

ETA again: Just looked at the "almost greatest" list. Grace Potter and her one single that you could only see on VH1 (and her backup on a Kenny Chesney song) made it on the actual list (#97), outranking Sinead O'Connor and Enya. But so did Ashanti, Demi Lovato, and Pussycat Dolls.

Edited by Pleasesendpants, Feb 13, 2012 @ 8:11 PM.

[Bastet Esq]

I'd like to believe the VH1 website was hacked and that list is the hacker's idea of a joke, but - and I say this as someone who used to watch every one of these they produced - VH1 has been getting really sloppy with their list/countdown shows lately. I'll probably still tune in tonight to see who they have doing commentary (another way in which I think these shows have suffered recently), but even allowing for the inherent level of subjectivity in such things, that reads like a rather screwy list.

[Afroman]

Ok I'm officially old cause I don't know who Ingrid Michaelson is...........

[Landmarx]

Yeah, Sinead O'Connor and Enya were the two I was most shocked about not making the list. I mean, Sinead made their original list of the 100 Greatest Women of All-Time list. Now she's below Jordin Sparks?

Enya must be too "out there" for a list like this- which is saying something considering Enya has had pop success and huge record sales.

Also, anyone notice the heavy use of 80s Madonna/Janet/Gloria Estefan footage in the opening to the show? Are we taking pre-1990 success into account or not?

Edited to Add: Shania Twain barely made the top 40? Celine Dion is #21? Excuse me?

Edited by Landmarx, Feb 13, 2012 @ 11:14 PM.

[Billie Jean]

Adele and Lady Gaga ranked higher than Whitney? Rhianna ranked higher than Celine Dion????? Mandy Moore even listed at all?????? WTF?! I'm guessing they must of just based rank on which names were picked out of a hat first because c'mon. What a joke. Lady Gaga is thisclose to being has-been already and she's only been around less than 5 yrs. I know these countdowns are fluff pieces to fill up airspace in between D-list reality show reruns and mean absolutely nothing, but I think its insulting to viewers to even try to sell us this trashpile of a list.

[mooncreek]

It'd be better if they just said the truth: these are 100 female singers that we could cobble footage together. If you agree to appear on the show, spot is guaranteed. I like Regina Spektor but even she must know she doesn't belong on a list like this.

[reggiejax]

The 100 greatest women in music in the last twenty years? Are there more than five?
That was my immediate thought when I just realized they were only considering people from the last 20 years. There are only a handful of people that could realistically be considered the greatest since 1990. Whitney, Mariah, Madonna, and Janet are the run-aways to me.

If all you listen to is pop, sure. If you listen to other genres, there are a lot. The Riot Grrrl scene and queercore were big in the '90s, producing women like Kathleen Hannah, Carrie Brownstein, Corin Tucker, and hosts of others. Female alt/grunge bands like L7 and Seven Year Bitch were around in the 1990s. Joan Jett has been doing music for more than 20 years, but was certainly active during the period in question. Mia Zapata was awesome. Her murder robbed the world of a great female artist. That doesn't even consider all of the women of country music. Pop isn't the be-all and end-all. There are lots of women out there making music and doing a damned fine job of it.

Considering this is a VH1 list, we'll be lucky to get even token mentions on the list from anyone not filed under the pop/R&B/crossover country axis of evil. I mean musical genres. Of the acts mentioned, I would imagine only Joan Jett and maybe L7 would get a mention. If that. Courtney Love and Liz Phair are likely as far left of the dial as this list will get.

Edited to add

OK, I have checked out the complete list, and I guess the Kim's (Deal and Gordon) and PJ Harvey are as far left as it goes. But I am truly oustanded at who ranks where. Faith Hill and Shania Twain, on popularity alone, deserve to be higher than their positions in the 30's. And Fantasia even being on the list is ridiculous, let alone being # 32. Maybe #32 on a list of American Idol female singers. Maybe. And don't get me started about the appearance on the list of Disney robots Miley Serious and Selena Gomez. And Adele at #5 is simply too damn high. But I will admit that a few more albums and we might very well be saying that #5 is too damn low. But those albums haven't happened yet, so #5 is still ridiculously high. I guess we should be thankful that Lana Dull Rey didn't use her daddy's influence to get on the list.

Edited by reggiejax, Feb 14, 2012 @ 12:03 PM.

[Danie84]

This list is wackydoodle.

We're talking about the best women in music from the past 20 years, so that's 92 to now. My top five list is:

Aaliyah
Shirley F-ING Manson
Lauryn Hill
Fiona Apple
Beth Gibbons

I agree, the Riot Grrrl scene never gets any recognition from any of the music outlets. I know I wasn't the only one shouting out my tiny lungs to Bikini Kill's Pussywhipped. Kathleen went on to form Le Tigre. I feel she never get any love.

Edited by Danie84, Feb 15, 2012 @ 7:51 AM.

[Talov]

list of Disney robots Miley Serious and Selena Gomez.

Gomez didn't make the list, but Demi Lovato did.

[JakeyIsSusan]

I was pleasantly surprised to see "alternative" women being represented at all (k.d. lang, PJ Harvey, Bjork), but in sound agreement that Fantasia's ranking was WAY too high, and I seriously wonder if it's because she had a VH1 reality show.

A list like this is going to be completely arbitrary, and that's fine, but it would be great if they could offer some sort of reasoning at the beginning of the show: A poll of critics, chart performance, longevity, cultural impact, et cetera. But I will be a hypocrite and say that seeing Mariah outrank Gaga, Rihanna and Britney was a pleasant surprise.

[StinkPill]

I am LOVING the riot grrrl references!! So glad Kim Deal, and Kim Gordon got some love. I think I would drop dead if Kathleen Hanna or Poly Styrene (rip) ended up on a list like this. So many rockin' chicks have been overlooked in the music industry.

[Ktwo]

I have watched this for ten minutes and am already outraged - Jennifer Hudson outranks Sheryl Crow? WTF?

[spaceytraci17]

This is the first of the obligatory Vh1 countdowns that I've ever avoided. I've come to realize that short of the top 10 (usually decent in my experience) I don't understand the inclusion of some on the list nor the order they appear. It's hard to remain objective about these lists because people clearly have their favorites who may be people who wouldn't even rate on someone else's list which is why I think the lists always looks so...screwy (for lack of a better term).

[under the el]

The order in which the artists are included is always screwy to me, but it was nice to hear some of the music that my friends and I tried to sing (horribly). Can't believe they mentioned The Cover Girls- freestyle!

[troublecakes87]

I can't take any list that has Jordin Sparks on it seriously and ranks Celine NOT in the top 10. I get that she's not everybody's cup of tea. I also don't understand why Sarah McLachlin ranked so low. Maybe she hasn't done anything big in a while, but she did form freakin Lillith Fair, the tour FOR women that dominated.
I'm okay with Adele's ranking- I liked her before "21" and "Rolling In The Deep". Homegirl has been on the scene for almost 5 years now and I've loved her for all of them.