Diva Down! Beyoncé's Career is Over?

The gift of life is priceless but it can cost women their career

Think I'm being over the top. Take a look at some so-called Divas who after having kid(s) their careers cooled off.

Whitney Houston - Houston marries singer Bobby Brown, they have a daughter, Mommy and Daddy careen their careers into a pole of cocaine and dookie bubbles as America wonders who's watching the baby. Both have fallen out and off but we can only hope Bobbi Kristina is somehow better off for that. Both still sell record albums, but not often.

Christina Aguilera - At the height of her popularity, Aguilera decides to get married and have a child. The marriage crumbles, as does her career. When was the last time we’ve even seen the baby? Oh right – a few days ago. NICE.

Britney Spears - The grandest pop diva in the world starts diddling with The Help, inseminator to the stars  Kevin Ferderline. This turns into a marriage, subsequent divorce and custody wrangling. We are entertained. Trying to balance the checkbook, career and baby on her lap has proven challenging and to date, Spear's career has not recovered from motherhood.

Lauryn Hill - Hill was the most promising voice of female empowerment in rap music since Queen Latifah, until she began making babies. Motherhood took over her life and those children became the priority over all else -- as it should be.  Even though she does shows here and there, we will never know what could have been.

Michael Jackson - The King of Pop wants to become the king of Pops so he goes off and does it turkey-baster style and with his secretary. Despite the fact that they wore masks most of their young lives and were hung from balconies, he seems like he was a good single father. It’s worth noting that while he put out some good-to-great records, his priorities clearly changed. Nothing he did after he became a single father ever came close, artistically or otherwise, to "Thriller."

Divas never recover from motherhood. They go on being divas, but they never take the same risks, never push the boundaries. They struggle for relevancy, play a lane and then run it into the ground as they retire into self-parody (see also, MADONNA) Can you name a diva who has had a vital career right after motherhood?