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By Eric
Schumacher-Rasmussen of MTV News
It was "Divas." It was Vegas. So it
had to be an over-the-top, throw-subtlety-to-the-wind kind of affair,
right?
Not entirely, though "VH1 Divas Las Vegas" did offer a
show-closing Elvis medley and enough vocal gymnastics to turn the MGM
Grand into the earth's vibrato epicenter.
Between host Ellen DeGeneres' low-key approach and a few quiet acoustic
numbers from Shakira, Dixie Chicks and Stevie Nicks, this year's edition
may have been the mellowest yet.
Even the opening number — an out-of-breath DeGeneres rapping Salt-N-Pepa's
"Shoop" while crawling among a slew of sweaty studs —
suggested that this show might offer more nuanced treats than years
past. And when Celine Dion and international dance star Anastacia
stormed the stage with a version of AC/DC's headbanging classic
"You Shook Me All Night Long" (featuring a cranked-up guitar
solo by Meredith Brooks), it was clear that any bombast would be
delivered with a self-deprecating wink.
That self-deprecating wink is something that Cher has mastered, allowing
her to offer up her anthemic "Believe" and "Song for the
Lonely" with convincing sincerity while later she donned a black
pompadour and fake sideburns for her tribute to the King. While she fell
short of some of the high notes on "Believe," she made up for
it with her enthusiastic version of "Lonely," spurred on by
Cyndi Lauper.
The Dixie Chicks slowed things down with their upcoming single,
"Long Time Gone," backed by stand-up bass and dobro. Dressed
in loose, flowing shirts that said "Appalachian gypsy," the
Chicks' acoustic turn suggested they might have been inspired by the
success of "O Brother, Where Art Thou" to reveal a rootsier
side than on their crossover hits. Even the full-band version of
"Wide Open Spaces" was airier than usual, and their duet with
Stevie Nicks on Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" was the evening's
quietest moment.
Shakira took a similar approach, forsaking the uptempo "Whenever,
Wherever" for an unplugged version of "Underneath Your
Clothes." While her sleeveless t-shirt and ripped jeans were biker
chic, her harmonica solo revealed her folkier side, and she went back
and forth between her throaty vibrato and reedy chirp on the song's
chorus.
Despite her song title to the contrary, Mary J. Blige's set was full of
drama, no moreso than when she and Whitney Houston engaged in a growling
call-and-response duel at the end of "Rainy Dayz." Blige
repeated the formula on "No More Drama," ending the song,
almost on her knees, with repeated shouts of the song's title.
Anastacia, a native New Yorker who's scored massive hits in Europe
despite being a relative unknown Stateside, took her solo shot to
present "One Day in Your Life" from her upcoming album, Freak
of Nature (which has already been released overseas). With her
flowing sleeves and oversized shades, she looked a bit like Nikka Costa,
but while Costa offers her funk with icy coolness, Anastacia attacked
her tune like a disco diva-in-waiting.
At the other end of the spectrum was Dion, who was already well
established when she appeared on the first "Divas" broadcast
in 1998. After a two-year hiatus, Dion returned to the stage and the
charts this spring with A New Day Has Come, and she used her
closing spot to focus on her new material. Wearing a simple, sleeveless
white cocktail dress, Dion kept her performance of "I'm Alive"
and the album's title cut relatively low key, for her at least.
Everyone threw caution to the wind with the Elvis medley that wrapped
things up. Anastacia offered up "Jailhouse Rock" and Blige did
"Blue Suede Shoes," both in appropriately slick Vegas
arrangements, while the Dixie Chicks' "That's All Right
(Mama)" was practically a parody of country music, replete with
dancing cowboys. Shakira and Dion took the ballads heavy on the
theatrics, the former stretching out her notes on "Always on My
Mind" while the latter sang the first verse of "Can't Help
Falling in Love" a cappella.
Reprising "You Shook Me All Night Long," all nine divas
(Houston didn't return) closed the show together, with the
cross-dressing Cher planting a big kiss on DeGeneres' lips. As the King
himself might have said, "Thank you, ma'am."
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