She always sang about relevant stuff in her music and had a huge impact with her visuals, music and sexiness (ok, we all know she was not into that stuff).

Anyway, she had impact in how woman could sing openly about sex - Love to Love You Baby inspired Janet entire career and that's a fact.

Not to mention that as a Broadway singer she brought so much of that energy to stage, inspiring a lot of performers.

 

 

No!

Yes 

3 minutes ago, MP3 said:

Yes 

Why?

No, I Feel Love is the quintessential piece of modern music. 

Edited January 3, 20251 yr by Loca

Isn't 'I Feel Love' the first electronic hit EVER? Her sound changed the world. And yes she did make a certain kind of sexiness okay for women in the mainstream. She should be given more credit for her work 

No. She inspired absolutely ALL of the divas that came after her, made sex positive songs more accepted by the public, and showed everyone you can be a vocalist and still murder a dance / big pop beat.

Giorgio Moroder would've probably found another singer

Unless your fave is Aretha, Patti, Diana or Tina (she had a huge impact on all of their careers as well), your fave's career rests comfortably on the shoulders of Donna Summer.

 

I Feel Love, LTLYB, MacArthur Park, Last Dance and Hot Stuff >>> most careers

Edited January 3, 20251 yr by king_queen

8 minutes ago, Loca said:

No, I Feel Love is the quintessential piece of modern music. 

 

4 minutes ago, PrettyHurts said:

Isn't 'I Feel Love' the first electronic hit EVER? Her sound changed the world. And yes she did make a certain kind of sexiness okay for women in the mainstream. She should be given more credit for her work 

We talk a lot about I Feel Love but Last Dance was the first ballad-to-disco song in history, that was a shock.

 

The same for Love to Love You who was responsible for the twelve inch single existence.

5 minutes ago, Gui Blackout said:

Giorgio Moroder would've probably found another singer

He tried.

On the Radio is like one of the most definitive and successful songs of the 80s

3 minutes ago, fememeist said:

On the Radio is like one of the most definitive and successful songs of the 80s

Bad Girls was an iconic album too 

13 minutes ago, Gui Blackout said:

Giorgio Moroder would've probably found another singer

 

no she is one of a kind, she was even getting cute hits all the way at the end of the 80s too. I Feel Love is without a doubt one of the best songs of all time.

15 minutes ago, Gui Blackout said:

Giorgio Moroder would've probably found another singer

Not even in your wet dreams

She's very of her time. Unfortunately she didn't move with the culture and got stuck in the 80's. I know 1 or 2 songs but nobody keeps up with her. She's not well known in my country. I'd lump her in with people like Cyndi Lauper but she managed to produce a dance record in the late 2000's that made a little noise and also moved to Broadway so she's not as stuck as her 

No just look at the Bad Girl era. Honestly, I'd say that kind of set the template for the modern female music era. Which was then developed further by Madonna during the Madonna/Like a Virgin era.

Edited January 3, 20251 yr by UseYourIllusion2002

I've long felt like Donna was underrated as a vocalist and even songwriter to a lesser extent. Not many can sing "MacAuthur Park" the way she did! 

 

She kinda set the standard in the 70s, but personally I like some of her 80s stuff more.

14 minutes ago, Asparagus Spears said:

She's very of her time. Unfortunately she didn't move with the culture and got stuck in the 80's. I know 1 or 2 songs but nobody keeps up with her. She's not well known in my country. I'd lump her in with people like Cyndi Lauper but she managed to produce a dance record in the late 2000's that made a little noise and also moved to Broadway so she's not as stuck as her 

I think her homophobe scandal really ruined her career (as it should). And we can't really compare Cyndi to her because Donna is from a decade before Cyndi and a lot of people knows Bad Girls and I Feel Love.

 

Maybe if she didn't had that scandal the support from gay comunity would give her legacy more longevity.

13 minutes ago, HarajukuPrincess said:

I've long felt like Donna was underrated as a vocalist and even songwriter to a lesser extent. Not many can sing "MacAuthur Park" the way she did! 

 

She kinda set the standard in the 70s, but personally I like some of her 80s stuff more.

She was really a pro singer and died without losing her voice at all, like most of old divas did. 
 

For the songwritter thing yes, she was underrated. Not every female act from that time write their songs like she did, she was responsible for most of her hits.

Definitely not. She, alongside Diana Ross, was the blueprint of a pop star. Her image as a strong, independent, sexual woman is still replicated to this day.

 

Also, let me use this thread to promote some of her best and underrated songs.

 

 

 

 

11 minutes ago, blown away said:

Definitely not. She, alongside Diana Ross, was the blueprint of a pop star. Her image as a strong, independent, sexual woman is still replicated to this day.

 

Also, let me use this thread to promote some of her best and underrated songs.

 

 

 

 

Could it be magic is THAT song!

She did for women, POC, and gays what the Beatles did for straights: made mainstream pop conceptual and elegant without being obvious and unsubtle (cough Barbra and Diana cough). What Donna contributed in the 70s is what Madonna elevated in the 80s. Pop and dance as ideas instead of acts.

On 1/3/2025 at 2:39 PM, edutada said:

She always sang about relevant stuff in her music and had a huge impact with her visuals, music and sexiness (ok, we all know she was not into that stuff).

Anyway, she had impact in how woman could sing openly about sex - Love to Love You Baby inspired Janet entire career and that's a fact.

Not to mention that as a Broadway singer she brought so much of that energy to stage, inspiring a lot of performers.

 

No, the pop scene would not be the same. Donna is iconic and an absolute trendsetter in so many ways. "I Feel Love" birthed an entire genre five years ahead of its time and very few of the girls can say that.

 

However, it's inaccurate to say that "Love to Love You Baby" inspired Janet's entire career, when Janet barely touched sensuality until 1993. "Love to Love You Baby" was not the first time a woman's orgasmic moans were the focus of a hit - that would be "Je t'aime...moi non plus", which hit #1 in the UK in 1969. In fact, it was a direct inspiration for "Love to Love You Baby", as a producer at Casablanca sent a note to the founder of the label to suggest Donna record it. Those sessions evolved into "Love to Love You Baby".

 

 

Edited January 4, 20251 yr by DammnBaby