Diana Ross is having a moment of sorts.
This is not the typical “becoming the next big thing” or “taking her career to the next level” type of moment. Nearly 60 years into her stellar career, Ross has sung lead on more No. 1 singles than anyone but Elvis Presley and Mariah Carey, after all. (The three are tied with 18 apiece, though Ms. Ross can trump them by adding the lines she sang on the benefit single “We Are the World.”)
Ross, who returns to Hawaii on Friday for a one-night engagement at the Blaisdell Arena, has already been a “big thing” for many decades. There is no “next level” for the superstar to reach.
This is, however, a late-career renaissance — a … “Ross-aissance”? — that has seen many things come together to land the music legend in a brighter spotlight.
DIANA ROSS: “ENDLESS MEMORIES” TOUR
>> Where: Blaisdell Arena
>> When: 8 p.m. Friday
>> Cost: $45-$255
>> Info: 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com
It began in November, with the Nov. 17 release of “Diamond Diana: The Legacy Collection,” a new career retrospective featuring an Eric Kupper remix of her first solo No. 1 single, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” that reached No. 2 on Billboard magazine’s Dance Club Songs chart.
Two days after that anthology dropped, the 73-year-old wowed with a medley of her hits at the American Music Awards, where she was bestowed with a lifetime achievement honor.
The month wrapped with the introduction of her first perfume, “Diamond Diana.” Though it comes late in her career, the scent was a natural progression for a woman who has been a fashion icon and the epitome of glamour almost since her career began.
In fact, “Diamond Diana” was borne out of a meeting to discuss a new line of clothing
“I walked into a meeting to talk about doing a line of apparel,” Ross told the Star-Advertiser in an email interview, “and the head of the company said, ‘What is that exquisite fragrance you’re wearing? We should do a fragrance.’”
ROSS HAS long designed some of her own outfits and said she created the clothes she wears for her shows, a creative outlet that goes back to her high school days in Detroit.
“I majored in fashion design costume illustration in school and I learned a lot about fabrics and just everything about making a dress or making a hat,” Ross wrote. “It’s been part of my soul since I was a little girl.”
Designing clothes for her live show is no small task. When Ross rolled through Hawaii 2-1/2 years ago for three performances, her first in the islands, she blew through six outfits a night, including color-coordinated hand fans.
As expected, those shows were stuffed with hits — both solo smashes such as “Touch Me In the Morning” and “Upside Down,” and chart-toppers from her time with the Supremes in the ’60s such as “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “Baby Love” — as well as some surprises.
Perhaps less expected is how much energy Ross brings after all these years. The love for performing is clearly still alive in her.
Ross says she enjoys performing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “I Will Survive” — “songs that have very positive energy and thought behind them.”
The joy she feels onstage was clear throughout her 2015 appearance in Honolulu, as she interacted with individual audience members and even brought some up to dance with her.
“It’s always a gift to be able to stand on the stage dancing in the light, (looking) at these wonderful faces of people and watching them enjoy the music,” Ross said. “Watching them smile really moves me and touches my heart. … I have huge appreciation for this life.”
Ross also shows great appreciation for her talented backing band, which she expresses by sharing the spotlight with them.
“As much as I love recording in the studio, there’s nothing more magical … (than) the energy on stage,” Ross said during her tribute at the AMAs last year.
Though it took Ross more than 50 years to come to a Hawaii stage, the experience was special enough to bring her back quickly. The beauty of the islands and its people didn’t hurt.
“Hawaii is paradise,” Ross emailed. “It’s so beautiful. The breeze. The light. The sky. The trees. The flowers. It’s Paradise. It is beautiful … and so are all the beautiful people.”