On the occasion of the release of her second book Divas: The Greatest Icons of POp, we spoke with Sarah Dahan. A journalist by training, she has always been passionate about music. It was therefore natural that she turned to the musical universe for the writing of her two books. Discover without delay our interview for a privileged immersion among the Divas of pop.
Hi Sarah, can you introduce yourself?
Yes, I have been a journalist for about ten years. I started with an internship at Inrocks at the end of my master's degree in journalism. And from there, I started a little bit to draw for different magazines and newspapers. Then, I was in writing at the magazine Flavor, which is a feminine that no longer exists today. Then, I started to draw more regularly for the Inrockuptibles and GQ, among others, and then I was head editor 3 years, of Konbini's snapchat discover. It's been about a year and a half since I left and I started writing the book Divas, not very long after. I had already written a book on French song in 2015, which is called: Je ne vais pas me silence because you have pain in the eyes.
Can you tell us a little more about these experiences in journalism and what pushed you towards this profession?
I am a culture journalist but quite focused on music. It was a bit of a coincidence because when I did my master's degree in London, there were several specialties to choose from and there was pop, Music Journalism. There was this specialty and it's true that it always interested me, but I didn't think I could do that, I didn't imagine doing that. And actually, by taking this course, it made me want to. I had the opportunity to do an internship at Inrocks then and it directed the rest a little. Music has always been very important in my life and it was a natural extension to write about it. Try to be interesting on it. 
So it was precisely these experiences in journalism that allowed you to achieve what you wanted to do, write books around music. You can explain this passion for music, maybe you are a musician?
So no, I'm not a musician. I've tried instruments a little bit but I'm not a musician. My dream was not necessarily to write about music, to write books anyway. The first time, it was a contest of circumstance, a meeting with a publisher and it is clear that I really liked the experience and that I wanted to do it again. That's for sure! In this case, between the two books, the form is very, very different, because the first is more small sections. It's less written, if you will, in the sense that it's full of different little headings and it's also a humorous book that's a little sarcastic about French song. The more time passes, the more I realize that there are things that interest me and I want to go towards that, I want to dig a little deeper.
Can you introduce us to Divas ?
So, Divas is a book about the great icons of pop, the feminine icons, because it also started from the observation, that all these women, they are the ones who move the lines. Whether musically or culturally speaking, in the broadest sense. I really wanted to talk about it and I wanted to find a way to connect all these women, because they have a lot in common but they are also very different. My bias was to say to myself: pop icons in the popular sense, in the very mainstream sense. It's the ones that have really sold a lot and have a career that has an impact. Who have been there for a while and who have been able to mark the public, in one way or another. And so, I had this idea of the seven families, because I thought it was something quite playful and a little more original, to be able to connect all these women together. 
How did you make the selection of these 35 singers?
I made a list, quite simply, of the ones I wanted to talk about and then I thought it would be interesting to divide them into families. And that was the bias, they are very popular singers. There are women, obviously, that we all know and there are some who are less known. It was also my desire, to perhaps introduce to a French public, some artists, who are luminaries in the United States. But in France, the general public does not necessarily know Carly Simon or Carole King, Dusty Springfield. And they are women in fact, whose songs we know, but we do not necessarily know who they are and it seemed important to me to look back on their careers.
There is really the desire to highlight them, and also, through your research work, to give us anecdotes that were not known to all.
That's right! It was a mixture of, I trace their careers and a kind of rather personal, quite subjective analysis of their impact. And obviously, the idea is also to discover things. My desire is that we read the book and that after that, we want to listen to all the singers. 
Hence the fact of adding a playlist accessible with a QR code?
Yes, absolutely! That was my editor's idea and it's a very good idea. Because it's true that it's good to write about music, it's even better to listen to it.
It makes it all more concrete!
Exactly, more concrete, more complete. And that's it! The circle is complete. It can seem abstract sometimes, just reading things about female singers. We imagine things much better by listening to their songs and we make an opinion much more easily.
For this book you collaborated with Nathalie A. Rocha, for the illustrations, what did you like about his work and how did you meet?
Nathalie Rocha is Colombian and in fact, I had seen her work on Instagram, a bit by chance. I came across it and I thought it was very cool, very pop, very colorful. And when it came time to choose an illustrator, it turns out that the publishing house, on its side, had also spotted her. So there was a consensus on that. It's pretty good news that we're on the same page. She was approached by the publishing house and agreed to collaborate on this project. Nathalie Rocha worked from photos, some are quite iconic, Britney Spears with her duvets, Jennifer Lopez in her famous green Versace dress. Either she was the one suggesting pictures, or it was me. It was really a collaboration. 
Are you planning to write new books? Has Covid allowed you to think and work on new projects?
So, yes, I have plans. It's true that I have ideas for books on music too. There, it was rather a musical approach in fact, really to discover the careers of these singers and their songs. Now, I want to be interested in business music that is constantly evolving. For now it is maturing. But yes, music continues to inspire me a lot, to question me a lot and that's it! It's something I'm passionate about.
Do you have a final word for our readers?
I would tell them to be curious and go for the book! To listen to the playlist, because that's also how you get an idea for yourself and it's good to discover things. It was also my desire, to go beyond, what we can read in magazines people or a little preconceived ideas that we can have about some singers. Rely on the most important, that is, music and be curious and open-minded.
Going further than the media image we have of these singers?
Exactly! From the portrait that can be drawn, quite simplistic, quite sexist sometimes. To simply listen to the music and get an idea for yourself about the career of these singers! 
Thank you very much Sarah Dahan for your time! You can find Sarah Dahan on Instagram: _sarah_dahan_ And you can find her book Divas: The Greatest Icons of Pop published by Huggin & Muninn right here. Discover our reading corner!
