Jennifer Hudson, Sheryl Crow, Cyndi Lauper Join "VH1 Divas"

VH1 Divas added a Dreamgirl and a trio of rockers to their lineup today as the network announced that Jennifer Hudson, Sheryl Crow, Cyndi Lauper and Melissa Etheridge will all perform at the September 17th concert at Brooklyn, New York's Academy of Music. Martina McBride will also perform on the special. The quintet joins a previously announced roster of lady vocal talent: Leona Lewis, Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus, Jordin Sparks and Adele. As Rolling Stone previously reported, former American Idol judge Paula Abdul will host the festivities, which will be broadcast live on September 17th on VH1.

In addition to the performers, VH1 also revealed that the evening's presenters will include The Hills alums Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port, My Life on the D-List host Kathy Griffin, fellow diva Toni Braxton, the cast of the Fame remake and actor Ryan Kwanten, who plays Jason Stackhouse on HBO's True Blood.

If attendance records have any standing, Lauper has officially usurped Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige as the Queen of the Divas. This year's appearance marks the third time Lauper will have performed at VH1's special after featuring at both the 2002 and 2004 concerts. All the other 2009 performers are making their Divas debut. For Hudson, Divas represents yet another high-caliber appearance in 2009, with the Oscar winner following "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XLIII with performances at the Grammy Awards, American Idol and the Michael Jackson memorial concert. This year's Divas concert will be VH1's first since a 2004 special in Las Vegas.

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• Watch Whitney Houston Belt With Stevie Wonder at "VH1 Divas" 2003

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Song Stories

“Time to Pretend”

MGMT | 2008

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”

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