From Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish to Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Charli XCX, 2024 has been the year of the diva.
And two of the biggest female pop stars of the ’90s — Mary J. Blige and Gwen Stefani — are still keeping it relevant three decades after they first rocked the music world.
Blige, 53, and Stefani, 55, are at the age when even the most indomitable divas — from Madonna and Janet Jackson to Jennifer Lopez — are in decline from their chart-topping heights and creative peaks. But, even if they never feel the “Real Love” that they once did, both are back with new albums released Friday — Blige’s “Gratitude” and Stefani’s “Bouquet” — that show they are not ready to rest on their legendary laurels just yet.
Both made their debuts in 1992: Blige as the queen of hip-hop soul with “What’s the 411?” and Stefani as the ska-punk princess of No Doubt’s self-titled set.
And many hit singles, albums and tours later, both have reached major milestones: Blige is marking the 30th anniversary of her 1994 masterpiece “My Life,” while Stefani is celebrating 20 years of her 2004 solo debut “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.”
Blige is also taking a well-deserved victory lap after her Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction last month. But while this might have been the time to just cruise on the classics that got her into music’s most exclusive club, the “Family Affair” singer is still staying fresh in the game.
And why not? Blige’s last LP, 2022’s “Good Morning Gorgeous,” was a surprise Album of the Year Grammy nominee in 2023.
Better than we had any right to expect, “Gratitude” is a solid follow-up by an artist who has consistently come through — even when she doesn’t owe us anything anymore.
All the glory aside, there’s still plenty of heart and hunger in Blige that you can feel on this thank-you to the fans who have been riding with her from Day 1 .
Staying true to her roots, Blige — not ready to settle into auntie status — comes on hard with the first five tracks, including the Fabolous-assisted opener “Breathing,” on which she exhales from all the drama: “So used to holdin’ it in/ But now I’m breathing/ And I’m inhaling deep.”
Another rapper —Jadakiss — takes the mic on “Need You More,” which might put you into ’90s nostalgia nirvana when it riffs on the 1990 En Vogue hit “Hold On” with that bumping bass line.
Meanwhile, “Beautiful People,” “You Ain’t the Only One” and “Never Give Up on Me” all recall the jazzy hip-hop soul of early MJB faves such as “You Remind Me,” “Love No Limit” and “Mary Jane (All Night Long).”
Do they beat any of those cuts? No. But the throwback feels are real.
And so is the state of grace she is in on “God’s Child,” which features Fat Joe — yet another rapper still holding it down for Blige’s native New York.
If Blige is bopping in her thigh-high boots, then Stefani is giving herself a midlife makeover.
The No Doubt frontwoman transformed into a dance-pop diva on “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” She was the missing link between Madonna and Lady Gaga, cooler and quirkier than Britney Spears. And after the success of “Hollaback Girl,” “Rich Girl” and more, she stayed into that groove on 2006’s “The Sweet Escape.”
But, after reuniting with No Doubt on 2012’s “Push and Shove,” Stefani surprisingly didn’t make another solo album until 2016’s “This Is What the Truth Feels Like.” However, she kept busy as a coach on “The Voice,” where she fell in love with her husband, Blake Shelton, after splitting with Bush’s Gavin Rossdale.
Her ex is no doubt the subject of “Somebody Else’s,” the punk-pop opener of “Bouquet”: “You’re somebody else’s/ And it doesn’t even break my heart/ You’re somebody else’s/ And I pray for them, whoever they are.”
But after that feisty flip-off, Stefani settles into a soft-rock sweet spot that includes several floral-themed tracks — the title tune, “Empty Vase,” “Marigolds” and “Late to Bloom” — that give flowers to Shelton.
The hubby even turns up on the closer “Purple Irises,” where they gush over their marital bliss as mellowed-out middle-agers.
“It’s not 1999/ But this face is still mine/ The way you look at me/ I swear my heart hits rewind,” she sings. “Its’ not 2014/ But you still good in those jeans,” he counters.
It’s not quite country — although Stefani rocks a cowboy hat on the album cover, and Nashville stalwart Scott Hendricks produced the LP — but it definitely drifts into yacht-rock territory.
Which, when you think about it, isn’t far from Carpenter’s big 2024 hit “Please Please Please.”
And, after Olivia Rodrigo joined the No Doubt reunion at Coachella this spring, it’s clear that Stefani has left her stamp on the next generation of divas.
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