Milestones of the female soul singers

I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You is Aretha Franklin's 9th studio album, doubling as her first released through Atlantic Records; it reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Just prior to her I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You album, Aretha Franklin's 8 studio albums were released under Columbia Records, all of which used jazz, yet flopped.

However, Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You album is her breakout album.

The title track of the I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You album serves as Aretha Franklin's first major success, peaking at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On the other side of the border, Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You peaked at number 5 on the Canadian pop music charts, marking her first major Canadian success.

Respect is Aretha Franklin's signature tune, but also a music landmark, having been covered by female musicians with soul.

Whereas the original Respect version focuses on a plea from a working man, Aretha Franklin's version focuses on confidence and fierce independence for girls/women.

Using the letter-by-letter spelling of R-E-S-P-E-C-T and the playful refrain "Sock it to me," the Aretha Franklin version of Respect is an anthem for both civil rights and second-wave feminism.

The Aretha Franklin version of Respect topped the Billboard Hot 100 and rhythm & blues charts.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the border, Aretha Franklin's Respect version reached number 3 on the Canadian pop music charts.

Beyond its North American success, the Aretha Franklin iteration of Respect also won success in other parts of the world, notably Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Aretha Franklin's iconic iteration of Respect reached number 10 in Britain, number 14 in Australia and number 7 in the Netherlands, establishing her as a global music icon.

Plus, Aretha Franklin's Respect version won 2 Grammy Awards; it was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry.

For Aretha Franklin's version of Respect, it is one of the best, greatest most famous songs ever.

Whereas Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You tune achieves success in North America (but not worldwide), Respect earns truly successful global dominance.

Incidentally, Aretha Franklin's version of Respect is her worldwide breakthrough.

During the pre-Aretha Franklin era, female vocals in mainstream pop music comprised girl groups or smooth and conversational pop.

The worldwide success of the Aretha Franklin version of Respect proves that female music singers in mainstream pop music could use powerful, soulful and emotional gospel techniques.

Crazy Blues, which Mamie Smith performed, is innovative in that it is the first commercial tune in the blues genre featuring lead vocals by an African-American singer to earn major success.

Timi Yuro's 1961 cover of the soulful ballad Hurt is her breakthrough, but also establishes her as a rare female presence in blue-eyed soul, before this term was popularized.

What's a Matter Baby (Is It Hurting You?) is another Timi Yuro hit with this hurting theme, but using a more upbeat tone.

Health issues and music shifts ironically make Timi Yuro hurt, mirroring the titles of her tunes with the theme of this physical, mental and emotional breakdown that she feels.

Despite her own struggles, Timi Yuro's influence in bridging the gap between black music (specifically rhythm & blues and soul) and mainstream pop music is profound.

Beyond the United States, Timi Yuro is also popular in the United Kingdom as a figure of the Northern soul scene, but also the Netherlands, as well as Asian nations, including the Philippines.

Love to Love You Baby is Donna Summer's breakthrough tune.

Marilyn Monroe is the muse behind Donna Summer's breathy, sexy and sultry vocals for Love to Love You Baby.

Four Seasons of Love, the fourth studio album by Donna Summer, features herself channeling Marilyn Monroe's most famous pose being used in The Seven Year Itch.

I Feel Love by Donna Summer represents the future with a completely synthesized backing track.

Donna Summer's I Feel Love is the blueprint for electronic dance music (EDM), which features many genres, including dance-pop, techno, trance and synth-pop.

You Give Good Love is the first top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for Whitney Houston.

Whitney Houston's iteration of Saving All My Love for You is her first ever number one hit on the Hot 100 chart, but also her worldwide breakthrough.

How Will I Know is Whitney Houston's first upbeat tune.

The music video for How Will I Know serves as Whitney Houston's first to receive heavy rotation on MTV, which gave her exposure to teenagers and made her the first black woman to do so.

I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) is a shift for Whitney Houston by reaching a wider audience with a more pop-oriented music sound after hits with ballads on her debut album.

George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam and Narada Michael Walden are the masterminds behind Whitney Houston's upbeat tunes: How Will I Know and I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me).

The soulful rendition of the Dolly Parton song I Will Always Love You serves as Whitney Houston's signature tune, but also a cultural phenomenon.

Control is Janet Jackson's commercial and artistic breakthrough.

What Have You Done For Me Lately, Nasty, When I Think of You, Control's title track and Let's Wait Awhile are five Janet Jackson tunes reaching the top five on the Billboard Hot 100

For Janet Jackson, she is the first female artist to earn five of the top five hits in one album.

Paula Abdul was the choreographer for the music videos accompanying some upbeat tunes from Janet Jackson's breakthrough album Control.

Blending rhythm & blues with hip-hop undertones and dance-pop, Janet Jackson's Control album is a precursor to the new jack swing genre and the pop sound of the late-1980's and the 1990's.

In addition to earning independence from her own brother Michael Jackson's influence, Janet Jackson's Control album established her as a preeminent female pop music artist, rivalling Madonna.

So successful was Janet Jackson's Control that Paula Abdul decided to launch her own career.

Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 is the fourth studio album, scoring worldwide hits like Miss You Much, Rhythm Nation, Escapade, Black Cat and Love Will Never Do (Without You).

Vision of Love is Mariah Carey's debut single, but also popularized riffs, runs, melisma and the whistle register in mainstream pop music.

Mariah Carey's Vision of Love tune is also the blueprint for future female singers using her techniques.

During the climax of her own Vision of Love song, Mariah Carey uses her whistle register, which she popularized; the inspiration for Mariah Carey's whistle register is Minnie Riperton.

Someday is Mariah Carey's first upbeat tune.

Emotions is Mariah Carey's second studio album, which, besides its title track, features others, such as Can't Let Go, Make It Happen, etc.

For the title track of her second album, Emotions features Mariah Carey's upper range and her whistle register.

Unconfined to Mariah Carey's whistle register, Emotions also has disco, rhythm & blues and gospel.

What's the 411? is Mary J. Blige's first album, innovative in that it fuses rhythm & blues and hip-hop to create hip-hop soul.

The remix of What's the 411? is also innovative, as it is the first album to feature a rapper in each tune.

Incidentally, the remix of What's the 411? popularized rap as a featured act in mainstream music.

Music Box features such songs as Dreamlover, Hero, Without You and Anytime You Need a Friend.

Dreamlover is Mariah Carey's first attempt to incorporate hip-hop into her songs, influenced by Dave Hall's work with fellow New Yorker Mary J. Blige.

Blind Alley by The Emotions samples Mariah Carey's Dreamlover tune.

Hero is deemed by many to be Mariah Carey's signature song, known for its message of finding inner strength and self-empowerment.

Without You is Mariah Carey's soulful cover version of the 1972 tune of the same name.

The music video for Anytime You Need a Friend marks Mariah Carey's first image change.

All I Want for Christmas is You is a modern Christmas anthem for Mariah Carey, which blends various music genres, like pop, rhythm & blues, soul and gospel.

Furthermore, Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is You also mixes 1960's rock and Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, especially in its structure and instrumentation.

With Dreamlover being Mariah Carey's first attempt to have the hip-hop genre, Fantasy solidified this direction; its remix, featuring ODB, is produced by Puff Diddy, who worked with Mary J. Blige.

Puff Diddy's remix of Mariah Carey's Fantasy popularizes the trend of rap verses in pop tunes.

Genius of Love by Tom Tom Club samples Mariah Carey's Fantasy.

From 1993 to 1997, Mariah Carey had a marriage with her manager Tommy Mottola, during which the latter controlled her image, making her feel like a prisoner or child bride.

Honey's music video marks a step up for Mariah Carey to embrace a more liberated and overtly sexual image, in contrast to the traditional and demure persona she has cultivated.

The main reason Mariah Carey started to utilize a more sexual image for her Honey music video is the break-up of her husband Tommy Mottola.

Butterfly's title track features Mariah Carey, for the first time, delivering a whispery tone that is high in pitch, yet soft in sound.

Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston have their pop rendition of the Stephen Schwartz song When You Believe from The Prince of Egypt.

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds made When You Believe a success for both Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.

What fits When You Believe as a collaboration between both Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey is a smooth blend of their soulful voices and their backgrounds in faith and gospel music.

Plus, for both Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, When You Believe dispelled rivalry rumours.

The cover version of the late-1980's Brenda K. Starr tune I Still Believe, for whose original version she does backup, is a moderate worldwide success for Mariah Carey.

Incidentally, singing backup for Brenda K. Starr is Mariah Carey's first major professional gig.

For Mariah Carey, she delivers her version of the Brenda K. Starr song I Still Believe as a tribute and a way to say thanks to her former collaborator.

Heartbreaker is Mariah Carey's 14th Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper.

We Belong Together is Mariah Carey's historic commercial comeback, coming after her debacle being caused by her own widely-publicized breakdown and 9/11.

During her long career, Mariah Carey has endured connecttions to Old Hollywood, especially Marilyn Monroe, with whom she has been obsessed since childhood.

The music video for Mariah Carey's own cover version of I Still Believe is based upon the 1954 visit to South Korea for a USO tour by her idol Marilyn Monroe.

Plus, the music video for Mariah Carey's Butterfly takes inspiration from the 1950's film Baby Doll, in which Marilyn Monroe's friends Elia Kazan and Carroll Baker were involved.

At the curtain call of the musical version of the 1950's comedy film Some Like It Hot, starring her idol Marilyn Monroe, Mariah Carey has a surprise appearance and narrates the instructions.

What motivated Mariah Carey to be a co-producer for this musical iteration of Some Like It Hot is her passion for the leading star of the original film version named Marilyn Monroe.

Plus, Mariah Carey, a lifelong fan of Marilyn Monroe, has the latter's white baby grand piano.

Gladys Pearl Baker, who was Marilyn Monroe's mother, first used the baby grand piano.

Having been institutionalized, Gladys Pearl Baker's baby grand piano was deemed lost until her young daughter Marilyn Monroe tracked it down and coloured it white to match her decor.

It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be is a duet between Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston.

What makes It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be something of an appropriate duet is that Aretha Franklin symbolizes the old generation, while Whitney Houston symbolizes the new.

Aretha Franklin, incidentally, is Whitney Houston's honorary aunt; Cissy Houston is one of the backup singers for Aretha Franklin, but also Whitney Houston's mother.

Long Distance has a music video, during which bridge (and final chorus) Brandy Norwood sings in the pouring rain with slicked-back wet hair.

Directed by Chris Robinson, this music video for Long Distance (Brandy) was filmed at the Park Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California.

Firstly shot in monochrome (black-and-white) in order to reflect the emotional sadness, loneliness and isolation, Brandy's Long Distance music video shifts to colour for the bridge/final chorus.

Mirroring human tears, Brandy's Long Distance music video features water drops, used to enhance the emotional weight of this tune and true to her sob-choked, soulful and emotional singing voice.

Too Little Too Late is JoJo's signature tune.

Directed by Chris Robinson, this music video for Too Little Too Late (JoJo) emphasizes on soccer (or association football).

Mirroring human tears, JoJo's Too Little Too Late music video has water droplets, used to intensify the emotional weight of this tune and true to her sob-choked, soulful and emotional singing voice.

Chris Robinson directed both the Too Little Too Late (JoJo) and Long Distance (Brandy) music videos featuring a rainy climax via sob-choked, soulful and emotive singing girls.

Backlash against the over-singing trend forces a return to the pre-Aretha Franklin era, in which female vocals use whisper-pop.