Goodbye ManDIVA–We Knew Ye All Too Well
Diva: a now-poetic Italian word meaning goddess (cf. ‘Casta Diva,’ [chaste goddess], an aria from the opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini); later was applied to the goddesses of the operatic stage (such as Callas herself, famous for singing the above aria). Appropriated by English speakers, by the late twentieth century its meaning had changed to refer to any of hundreds of forgettable popular female singers of fleeting success.
ManDIVA: a now-poetic Italian word meaning man-goddess. No, no, my mistake. ManDiva was the nickname given to Mandisa, a former contestant on American Idol 2006 with a huge, beautiful voice, a huge, beautiful smile, and a huge, ugly tragic flaw. Read more here.
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