In 1998, VH1 debuted the first annual VH1 Divas concert. VH1 Divas Live was created to support the channel's Save The Music Foundation and subsequent concerts in the series have also benefited that foundation. The VH1 Divas concerts aired annually from 1998 to 2004. After a five year hiatus, the series returned on September 17, 2009 with a younger-skewed revamp. The latest edition, VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul, was recorded on December 18, 2011 and aired the next day on VH1, doubling the previous year's ratings. The next edition, which will air live from Los Angeles in December 2012, will salute the musical legacy of Whitney Houston.

VH1 Divas Live: An Honors Concert For The VH1 Save The Music Foundation aired live from the Beacon Theatre in New York city on April 14, 1998.

The show was produced by Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich, directed by Michael Simon and written by producer/writer Martin Lewis.

(in order of appearance)

Aretha's band was used for her duet with Mariah Carey (Chain of Fools) and the finale (Natural Woman, and Testimony).

Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and pianist. In a recording career that has spanned over half a century, Franklin's repertoire has included gospel, jazz, blues, R&B, pop, rock and funk. Franklin is known as one of the most important popularizers of the soul music genre and is referred to as the Queen of Soul, a title she was given early in her career. Franklin, the daughter of prominent Baptist minister and activist C. L. Franklin, began her singing career singing in her father's church at the age of ten and started recording four years later. After several years in the gospel circuit and with her father's blessing, she formed a secular pop music career at the age of eighteen, signing with Columbia Records, where she was branded by its CEO John Hammond as his most important act since Billie Holiday. Franklin's Columbia period wasn't as successful as hoped and in late 1966, Franklin switched over to Atlantic Records, where she began recording a string of popular hits including "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "Think", "Chain of Fools" and what later became her signature song, "Respect".

Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and released her self-titled debut studio album, Mariah Carey. The album went multi-platinum and spawned four consecutive number one singles, on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Following her marriage to Mottola in 1993, a series of hit records, including Emotions (1991), Music Box (1993) and Merry Christmas (1994), established her position as Columbia's highest-selling act. Daydream (1995), made music history when the second single, "One Sweet Day" a duet with Boyz II Men, spent a record sixteen weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100, and remains the longest running number one song in US chart history. During the recording of the album Carey began to deviate from her pop background, and slowly traversed into R&B and Hip-hop. After her separation from Mottola, this musical change was evident with the release of Butterfly (1997).

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all-time. Houston was one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African American female artists to follow in her footsteps.

Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Album") on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Houston's 1985 debut album Whitney Houston became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was named Rolling Stone's best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album Whitney (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards (born May 24, 1944), better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry. LaBelle spent 16 years as lead singer of Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, who changed their name to Labelle in the early 1970s and released the iconic disco song, "Lady Marmalade".

LaBelle started her solo career shortly after the group disbanded in 1977 and crossed over to pop music with "On My Own", "If Only You Knew", "If You Asked Me To", "Stir It Up" and "New Attitude". She has also recorded R&B ballads such as "You Are My Friend" and "Love, Need and Want You".

LaBelle possesses the vocal range of a soprano.

Patricia Louise Holte was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 24, 1944 . Her father, Henry Holte (alternatively, Holt), was a railroad worker and lounge singer. Her mother, Bertha Holte, was a domestic and housewife. Holte was one of four daughters (Vivian, Barbara, Patricia and Jacqueline). Holte recalls having a happy childhood but said being sexually molested at the age of seven led her to be shy and withdrawn. Holte's parents had an unhappy marriage. When Holte was twelve, her parents split up and Bertha Holte raised her daughters as a single mother. Holte's mother later adopted Claudette Grant, who would become one of Holte's closest friends.