Jennifer Keishin Armstrong - Pop Star Goddesses: And How to Tap Into Their Energies to Invoke Your Best Self

Contents

Australia

HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.

Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street

Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

www.harpercollins.com.au

Canada

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower

22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor

Toronto, Ontario, M5H 4E3

www.harpercollins.ca

India

HarperCollins India

A 75, Sector 57

Noida

Uttar Pradesh 201 301

www.harpercollins.co.in

New Zealand

HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand

Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive

Rosedale 0632

Auckland, New Zealand

www.harpercollins.co.nz

United Kingdom

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF, UK

www.harpercollins.co.uk

United States

HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

195 Broadway

New York, NY 10007

www.harpercollins.com

Quotes from and about the artists were culled from published and recorded interviews and are cited within the text when necessary for clarity and context. More detailed sourcing information is available in .

Contents

I have loved Britney Spears from the first time I heard... Baby One More Time, because it takes a stronger person than I to resist... Baby One More Time. I continued to love her because I shared my Britney worship with my sister, who is ten years my junior and just a little bit younger than Britney herself. But over the two decades of my fandom, Britney has come to mean more to me than earworms and dynamic dance moves. She has helped me to channel my Work Bitch spirit. Ive always had ambition, but Britney showed me how to take it to another level, how to power through in the worst of times.

Plenty of other stars on my most-played list have also had this effect on me. Kelly Clarkson proved to me that even the most successful among us could be regular, could be goofy and imperfect while also blessed with superhuman talent. And Beyonc, well... what would Beyonc do? I have asked myself this question over and over in my own professional life. Beyonc would negotiate for more money. Beyonc would demand a do-over here. Beyonc would practice this again and again until its perfect.

Pop Star Goddesses direct my goals every day, and I am grateful to them for this.

Some, like Britney, have also served as what Id call an inspirational cautionary talenot immune to difficulties, but always, somehow, a survivor. We all know that in 2007, Britney had one of the most iconic public meltdowns of all time. To me, this doesnt disqualify her from goddesshood; in fact, she began her journey toward goddesshood at this time. She shaved her head in full view of cameras at a Los Angeles salon, beat back paparazzi with an umbrella, and was hauled on a stretcher from her home to a hospital. The fact that she survived that period at all remains a miracle. The fact that she has continued to make great music and set trends with a four-year residency in Las Vegas impresses me even more.

Britney has endured public ups and downs to this day. Over the past few years her Instagram has become essential viewing, showing us Britney at her best. There, weve seen her make watercolor paintings, work out with her trainer/model boyfriend, and dance like its 2002. And on this very same social media platform, she has also shown glimpses of her vulnerabilities. There, she announced the cancellation of her second Las Vegas residency and her decision to take time off to care for her ailing father. In 2019, Britney checked into a mental health treatment facility, which stoked fans worry anew; she essentially confirmed her decision to get help with an April 2019 post on Instagram that read, Fall in love with taking care of yourself, mind, body, spirit, and the caption, We all need to take time for a little me time. But these low moments, documented more publicly than her previous struggles thanks to social media, further prove that her survival instincts continue to do battle with the demons of her life. She gives us all ample cause to root for and draw inspiration from her.

This vulnerability is consistent with the stories of goddesses throughout history. Goddess stories hinge on weaknesses as well as strengths. Goddess worship and culture span time and cultures, from the Greeks and Romans to the Celts, Hindus, and Sumerians. Devotees have called upon these female representations of divinity to draw strength from their special qualities, trials, and triumphs for thousands of years.

These days, we have pop stars, whose outsize personalities can be seen as a kind of goddess energy. A pop stars goddess ability determines her persona as well as her staying power in the public eye. Without goddess-like symbolism, a pop star faces an uphill climb to remain relevant. Musical skill alone wont do it. Narrative keeps fans interested.

Weve stuck with Cher, the matriarch of modern Pop Star Goddesses, for decades after her debut because of her goddess energy. And she begat the holy trinity of the 1980s: Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Janet Jackson. These icons turned their unique qualitiessome would even say their weaknessesinto strengths.

Cher embraced being exotic and svelte at a time when most stars were one of two types of busty white blonde: cute blonde or sexy blonde. She had a low voice and long, dark hair and bold Armenian features. Millions of girls with dark coloring and flat chests worshipped at the altar of Cher, who showed us we were beautiful, too.

Madonna, named for the Virgin Mary, made her rebellion against Catholic repression her stock-in-trade and set the model for the modern Pop Star Goddess in the process. Her opposite, Janet Jackson, shy and quiet offstage, transformed into a precise, dynamic performer when the lights came up; Janets quiet resolve allowed her to break free from a controlling family full of performers. Whitney Houston represented diva perfection (an image shattered in her later years by the much more complicatedand interestingwoman underneath). In the 1980s, millions of American girls wanted to be Madonna, Janet, Whitney, or some combination of the three.

Thanks to these original four, Pop Star Goddesses have proliferated in the decades since, and Cher, Madonna, and Janet have taken on more dynamic and sophisticated attributes with time. Pop Star Goddesses, after all, age with the rest of us. It turns out this is another of their goddess strengths: they exemplify different approaches to aging. Cher and Madonna have chosen to fight aging with their trademark determination. Janet Jackson had her first baby at fifty. The goddess role models we choose sometimes change as we age. As Ive gotten older, Carla Bruni, the cool French chanteuse who also spent some time as the first lady of France, has become one of my favorite Pop Star Goddesses. When youre over thirty-five, you might prefer to evoke some Bruni-like sophistication rather than emulate Rihannas zero-fucks attitude.

We can all use a little Pop Star Goddess energy in our lives. Luckily, we have a wide variety of goddesses to choose from. Pop Star Goddesses explores thirty-five current goddesses for whatever situation you may find yourself in and suggests some ties to ancient goddesses who share qualities with our favorite pop stars of today. You might find that some days you need a shot of Cardi Bs rags-to-riches determination; other days you might want to become a Lady Gaga social justice warrior. Each Pop Star Goddess finds strength in her uniqueness, but her qualities are also universally valued: take Janelle Mones public embrace of her sexuality, Ariana Grandes ability to evolve, or Alicia Keyss earth-mother wisdom, to name a few. Kelly Clarkson, known for her honesty, will take down a powerful music mogul whos treated her poorly or cop to her love of wine in interviews. BritishSri Lankan rapper M.I.A. will get more political than anyone is comfortable with and models a gangsta energy unusual for female stars. Nicki Minaj flaunts every inch of her sexuality and brags about her prowess in the bedroom, her business acumen, and her legit rap skills, just as men have done since hip-hop began.