Diva Wars

It’s been a busy week out there for the ladies! First Etta James takes Beyoncé to task for the latter’s version of “At Last” at the presidential inauguration, then teen queen Hilary Duff has a go at Faye Dunaway over their newly-shared role in Bonnie and Clyde. Whew!

One reason I’ve probably collected more male friends than female over the years is this tendency to pull out the claws and fight dirty. Like the women I know have time to get stirred up over petty crap. Let’s just examine the dustups, shall we?

Etta James is a vocal legend, and “At Last” is her signature piece. I know Ms. B played her in this year’s film Cadillac Records to great reviews–even EJ herself was pleased at the performance–but EJ has the tiniest of points. She’s miffed that she wasn’t even asked to sing the song herself. To her, “At Last” is her song, and it would have been a courtesy to include her somehow rather than skipping over her for the new hot flavor.

The new hot flavor, however, was a big Obama supporter (along with her husband Jay-Z), so that probably explains the invite. Big money to the campaign, big spot on primetime at one of the inaugural balls. And she did a great job, mainly because “At Last” is one of the few songs that’s naturally in her range. Normally she picks material that’s too high for her, so it comes out screechy, and she has that tendency to sing eighty notes where, say, three would do (a reason I don’t care for Mariah Carey, either). And she’s responsible for the current Most Annoying Song in the World (“Single Ladies”)–it gets stuck in your head worse than “It’s a Small World,” and the part that sticks is the “uh uh oh, oh oh oh” nonsense–so maybe someone ought to encourage her to pick better material. Apparently, she does have some chops, so she ought to explore them.

Hilary Duff, however, hasn’t proved any chops beyond Lizzie Maguire, so I have no idea where she thinks she can get all over someone who’s won an Oscar and be catty about facelifts. Right now, her looks are what’s getting her any work. Besides, you’re in a remake of an iconic American film. Win yourself critical acclaim in a couple of original films and get nominated for an Oscar, then let the fur fly. Until then, remarks about how your Disney-trained fan base won’t even know who Faye Dunaway is just make you look petty. Didn’t your mama ever tell you about not saying anything if you can’t say anything nice?