The best

You're simply the best, better than all the rest.

In the summer of 1989, Tina Turner released "The Best", a song about an overwhelming love.¹ For her millions of fans, however, the lyrics could have been about Turner herself.

Turner, who died on Wednesday aged 83 after a long illness, was one of the most beloved singers of all time.

The tributes poured in. Former US president Barack Obama tweeted: "Tina Turner was raw. She was powerful. She was unstoppable. And she was unapologetically herself - speaking and singing her truth through joy and pain; triumph and tragedy."

Turner was a great rags-to-riches story. She was born into poverty Anna Mae Bullock in rural TennesseeA state in the south of the USA known for country music. . Abandoned by her parents, she worked as a domestic servant.

Then, one fateful night in 1957, Bullock seized the mic during the interval at a rock'n'roll concert. Bandleader Ike Turner was blown away by the grit and power of her voice. He hired her on the spot. She became known as Tina Turner.²

Married soon after, the Turners became unstoppable. They scored hit after hit. Stars flocked to their fiery live performances. The Turners attracted a diverse crowd, bringing Black and White fans together in a country where civil rights remained under dispute.

The glamour hid an appalling reality. Ike sank into cocaineAn addictive illegal drug. addiction. He abused Tina. She escaped in 1976. But the divorce lawsuit left her homeless and penniless.³

Turner bounced back against the odds. She worked her way back up to the top. Her 1984 album Private Dancer blew up. Her memoir I, Tina (1986), a global bestseller, told the story of her abuse in full.

Turner retired in 2009. She lived out her last years with her second husband in a SwissBelonging or relating to Switzerland, or to its people or culture, a mountainous Central European country. castle.

When asked about how she had survived, Turner said: "I stayed on course... because I believed in something inside of me that told me that it can get better." For many, these words have proved a comfort in times of hardship.

Yet others are weary of holding her up as a symbol of survival. Daphne A Brooks writes: "It is easy to fall for the romantic and all-too-real triumph of Turner's story". But we should also see her as a one-of-a-kind artist whose music exists to be enjoyed.

Yes: Some medieval Christians used to model their lives on those of saints. Turner is a saint for the modern age, triumphing over suffering. She should stand as a role model for those faced with adversity.

No: Turner's survival against the odds is an extraordinary achievement. But it is also a one-off. We would be better off learning from the stories of ordinary people without Turner's stardom.

Or... Turner's life is not a model but a cautionary tale. Rather than celebrating her resistance to trauma, we should stamp out domestic abuse so that no one has to suffer as she did.