Is Diva Dead?

The hosts of Lemme Say This open with a confession: they're not sure if Ariana Grande is a diva. She has the pipes, the ponytail, the hair. But something is off. "I think it's a dark time," one says. "The diva is an endangered species." What follows is a taxonomy of divadom—its requirements, its history, its current crisis—built from a sprawling, affectionate argument about who qualifies and who doesn't.

The Recipe for a Diva

The hosts agree on several non-negotiable ingredients. First, you have to be able to sing. This immediately disqualifies a long list of celebrities who might have the attitude but lack the instrument. "Adele, Loki has been cut," one says, before reconsidering Madonna—who is not a vocalist in the traditional sense but is so thoroughly a diva that she gets readmitted by acclamation. ("Brave, Madonna's back in," the other concedes.)

But talent alone isn't enough. A diva needs what one host calls "an element of drag"—a theatrical, larger-than-life performance quality that connects to queer culture. This means big hair, dramatic fashion, and a refusal to be ordinary. "You gotta have at least one clip-in and big hair," one says, which immediately disqualifies Phoebe Bridgers ("She's too human") and Lana Del Rey, who "walks out of the house in Lisa Frank pajama bottoms to the Oscars."