Whitney Houston DRAGS Paula Abdul's singing in new unseen footage for trailer of movie about her

I love how it's a trailer for her biography & then they have her throwing shade about someone like that. She could sing... Paula really was more of a dancer. Even in her prime, I think singing was a stretch for her. I hope there aren't Paula stans who are going to attack me like janbot now.

How many Whitney documentaries do we really need? I just saw the Showtime one and that pretty much covered everything.

All the Whitney documentaries are the same. There's only so much you can talk about when it comes to Whitney. It's not like she had that many sides to her/

Crack is wack.

R1, are there even Paula stans? I saw her in concert years ago when she could really dance and kind of sing.and it was a pleasant 2 hours.

Paula Abdul actually have concerts?

Interestingly, JLo, who is the Paula Abdul of her time rarely gives concerts.

R5 probably not now but 25 years ago there definitely were. From the middle of 1988 to the middle of 1991, Paula got 5 consecutive #1 hot 100 hits. I'm sure she had some stans back then. If there had been social media and they heard this Whitney comment there would have been hell lol even though Whitney was right

I feel bad for the all the real singers out there (both past and present) who never got hits and had to watch non-singers like Paula, Madonna, Janet and in recent years, Rihanna, Katy, Kesha, J-Lo, Britney and more get lots of hits. It's been worse in the last 15 years but it definitely went on in the 80s and 90s too. There have always been terrible singers who were popular (like Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson etc) but it's worse these days.

Paula can’t carry a tune in a bucket. Shit.

What's a stans?

Paula is tired of people not treating her like the gift that she is.

Willie Nelson has a lovely voice.

Paula can't sing. No matter what demons she had, Whitney's voice was supernatural. And she worked hard at it! I can totally understand her dismissal of a fourth rate vocalist like Paula Abdul. I like Paula, but singing? Chile, please!

Paula's a very fine dancer and choreographer, but her voice is a tiny little thing like Madonna's. Interesting that no one ever had Paula do Velma in "Chicago" on Broadway -- she might have been great.

I think her voice is tremendous!

Cissy Houston is a homophobic Jesus freak who ruined her daughter’s life with her hatemongering, all under the cloak of religion. That oprah interview when she said she would have a problem had Whitney been gay... lawd Jesus. She is part of what ultimately did Whitney in. Hate that woman.

Paula was more an entertainer than singer, but she has serious choreography chops and the awards to prove it.

Plus, she wasn't a bad wig wearing muncher like coke whore Whitney.

I wonder what Whitney thought of Christina Aguilera.

Paula was HOT for a period of time in the early 90s. Her songs were everywhere.

Her career fizzled after 1992, and she was never a great singer. But she was a good dancer and entertainer, and she looked great.

She definitely was on top in the pop world for a period of time.

I mean, Paula Abdul is what you get when MTV videos are a thing. Someone who can dance, but cannot sing.

Her pop hits of the late 80s and early 90s were good songs, produced well. And the videos are terrific.

Paula is certainly a better dancer than Madge., another "singer" who cannot sing.

R7, you make a good point. But such is pop music.

If you read about Diana Ross and the Supremes, you'll discover that Diana had the weakest voice of the three (the others being Mary and Flo, of course.)

Pop demands a certain voice that is not necessarily a trained, good voice. As the phenom that was the Supremes proves, it is the background singers who have the pretty voices.

I was about 13 or 14 when her Spellbound album was out.

Everyone straight boy my age was LUSTING after her like crazy.

Whitney had no soul when she sang. That was her problem. She was robotic. There was no feeling. Great singer but no emotion.

Paula was an amazing choreographer with the Emmys to prove it.

r17 she praised her several times. Whitney would mention Christina when asked what younger singers she liked.

Someone who drowned in a bathtub shouldn’t be “dragging” anybody.

R22, that was always my complaint about Whitney. A black woman with no soul!!

R24, of course W. liked Christiina.

Early Christina songs sound just like her. I am thinking of that song from the Disney film, Mulan. "Reflections", I think.

Wow, that picture (in OP's post) of Whitney all got up like a 1980s sexpot is just so sad.

That's more true of Beyoncé r22/r24. A true robot, whether singing or speaking.

[quote]If you read about Diana Ross and the Supremes, you'll discover that Diana had the weakest voice of the three (the others being Mary and Flo, of course.)

Mary and Cindy didn't even sing background on albums anymore. Motown got professional singers to do the job.

R22 must be deaf or emotionally disabled.

I was 11 when FOREVER YOUR GIRL came out and my gay little ass quivered for Paula, but even then I knew she wasn't a great singer. But man that album is FUN and remains so today, and gave us some of the greatest music videos. Get me drunk enough and I'll do the whole "Opposites Attract" MC Skat Kat rap for you.

AGREE R22----And though not a good voice, Madonna has a GREAT tone; truly unique and one of a kind.

That is god given, not trained

Straight Up and Cold Hearted are pop classics. I’m not a Paula stan but she did that.

If you haven’t listened to those songs in a while, I suggest listening to them on headphones at a loud volume. Fun.

Yes, R30, you are correct. But I read Mary's autobiography, and, apparently she and Flo WERE good singers who made "Glee Club" in High School.

Well paula like j.ho aren't singers.

You're right, R33, because they were good songs and well-produced. Still, PA's voice is thin as a piece of angel hair pasta in both.

Sorry to put you down so much, dear departed Whitney.

But another thing I dislit ked about her was she had no idea how to interpret a song; her phrasing was not good.

Now that we know she was definitely repressed in her sexual life, could that be why she could not sing a hetero love song convincingly?

She also couldn’t even read music.

She had a minimal education, and skated by all those years strictly on her God-given vocal talent with a minimum of effort.

Then she got into drugs and smoked her voice away as well.

Well Streisand can't read music, correct?

These divas seem to be so emotionally fragile and jealous. Whitney obviously could sing amazingly well, whereas Paula was just as obviously a pop star because she had a pretty face and amazing dance skills. But she still had a trash Paula even though it's obvious who was the better singer.

The press kissed Whitney's ass about what a great singer she was in all of her obits.

But I do remember the NYT giving some of her albums (1980s) negative reviews, one in particular that resonated with me stated that Whitney's artistry was not yet on a par with her great voice. Will try to find the link!

Whitney had no “artistry.”

She had a great voice and just sang whatever Clive Davis told her to.

Then she went and got high.

R33, "Knocked Out" was a really good Paula hit as well.

I think this is it.

Obits of pop stars don’t usually include references to bad reviews. Why? Because that would be tacky as hell.

Your obituary won’t include references to your awful haircut or bad breath. Instead, it will highlight your accomplishments. That’s what obits do.

Not even Paula would call Paula Abdul a good singer.

Why did Whitney care? Was she dragging Right Said Fred? Gerardo? The Macarena guys? Lots of non singers have hit songs.

Why was she so insecure? Or was she just being a C?Weird.

R45, lol.

Yes, of course an obit wouldn't include bad reviews. But lots of articles in the music press were, in my opinion, overpraising W. in the wake of her untimely demise.

With that said, I feel that W. is very much overpraised (and emulated) in today's "American Idol" music scene.

Good point, R46.

I guess Paula's success brought out the green-eyed monster in Whitney because she was decidedly NOT a one hit wonder.

Also perhaps because Paula was getting good songs that might have gone to Whitney?

R48, Whitney didn’t want those pop and dance songs that Paula was getting anyway.

Whitney was trying to actively “urbanize” her image. She hated that black audiences saw her style as being “too white”.

R49, other than marrying Bobby Brown, I don't believe she ever achieved an urbanization of her music.

Maybe not her music, but she certainly ghettoed up her image.

Paula was perfect pop.

Madonna once famously advised her (in print) to stand there and sing in her concerts -- because moving and singing exhausted Madonna every night "and I'm in good shape". This was before the Britney days of lip synching to a track, of course.

R20 Look at old Ed Sullivan shows of Diana Ross and the Supremes and you'll see they barely ever give a closeup of anyone but Diana; Berry Gordy must have given detailed instructions to the cameraman how to frame and shoot Diane.

It's not that hard to read music, at least to know what the notes are on the page. To sight-read is a harder skill when you can actually sing what is on the page. But to look at a page and know something starts on an "A" or if something is in Bb or C major can be covered relatively quickly. Whether Streisand or Pavarotti (another one said to not read music) ever learned something about the printed page, I guess it makes for an interesting story to tell the press.

That shows how stupid Whitney was.

Paula never sang on a record. It was all done with studio magic.

Whitney had a great voice, but very "meh" material for the most part. One song I hear a lot played on the radio is "I Want to Dance With Somebody" and it's not that good a song. I hear it a lot more than some of her other songs, and it doesn't even show off her voice as well as others do. While Clive Davis guided her to superstardom, he didn't guide her to very good songs for the most part.

R56, I always felt like the Dance With Somebody song was exactly the same as the How Will I Know song. Like them both, but same song.

I always said the bitch couldn't sing.

R57 That's because the same producer did both songs.

OP, she met Madona and liked her from I understand. She was asked about her a few times and never insulted her. Here is she is defending Madonna when a reporter asks her about Madonna wearing cone bras. I know there is that letter Madonna wrote about her and Sharon Stone but I think a lot of that was just her anger misplaced at a time when her (Madonna) career looked like it was on life-support.

R59, well, that, and they were both written by "Boy Meets Girl" who had a hit called "Waiting for a Star to Shine" that sounded the same as weell.

R13, Paula Abdul is a FAR worse singer than Madonna or even Janet.

That’s an unfortunate looking wig she’s wearing in R60.

R63, true, but at least her voice was still good at the time.

R41, the same caccusations were thrown at Mariah, but were innacurate in her case. I do think Whitney briefly managed to achieve what she wanted when she released "My Love is your Love". It is her only good album.

[quote]Straight Up and Cold Hearted are pop classics.

Naomi Campbell tells the story of how Whitney was introduced to speak at the Versace memorial as “Gianni’s favorite singer.” When Whitney stepped up up to the mic to speak, she threw a wink in Madonna’s direction.

Apparently, everyone saw it and everyone knew what Whitney meant by the wink.

R66, what??? Never heard that one. Any more details?

Hm, I think Naomi told Andy Cohen that story. The clip may be on YouTube

Sorry, but Paula is probably the best dancer ever in the history of these American popstars. If I was around when she was at her peak, my gay ass would have absolutely paid good money to see her perform in concert.

At least paula co-wrote one of her number one hits, while crackney never could write anything..

Again- why is there a second documentary? Because Cissy is participating? Big fucking deal.

And yet hardly anybody remembers Paula Abdul anymore.

How Will I Know and Who's Zoomin Who by Aretha are exactly the same song.

Whitney even gives Aretha a shout out iin the video.

Whitney herself was also off tune in lots of her live performances

Whitney Houston's Off-Key Night Disappoints London Fans

*off key!

R69, her polished dance moves and choreography was a huge part of her appeal.

Paula Abdul didn’t have strongest voice but was a hell of a dancer/performer. I enjoyed her music — there were worse

Whitney’s heavy cigarette smoking and cocaine use took a huge toll on her voice, even early on.

I don’t see the big deal. Most people cannot sing like Whitney Houston. If that’s the standard, then fuck it, no one can sing, other than Christina Aguilera and Pat Benatar, Minnie Ripperton, Aretha Franklin, and Mariah Carey. All of these women were/are fantastic singers, but Whitney could fucking SING.

Abdul was a FANTASTIC dancer/choreographer. Her songs were really fun. We all danced to that shit and drove around in our cars blasting it. So what if she can’t sing? Plenty of iconic artists can’t sing, but I’ll still listen to their music. Bob Dylan’s writing was rare, so I’ll deal with his shitty voice.

Whitney Houston’s voice was a rare gift. It’s a shame she became an addict. I would have liked to see what she would be doing right now, had she not died.

Exactly R79

Paula Abdul didn’t have strongest voice but was a hell of a dancer/performer. I enjoyed her music — there were worse

Do we need a new thread to discuss the molestation accusations?

Whitney might have taken lessons in phrasing from her cousin Dionne!

Whitney's voice was changed after The Bodyguard I loved her voice and singing very much in her first 3 albums and The Bodyguard soundtrack but after that not so much she sounded so different and couldn't sing like her old self anymore

Documentary alleges Whitney Houston was sexually abused as a child

Whitney, which has the backing of the singer’s family, alleges Houston was abused by her cousin Dee Dee Warwick

Exactly R79

R80, there are people who cannot sing very well like Madonna and Janet Jackson who are icons....and then there's cannot sing for shit, like Paula Abdul. She's just on a whole other level of bad singing.

Dee Dee Warwick looks like a male version of Beyonce

Dee Dee Warwick looks like a male version of Beyonce

Exactly R79

Pat Benatar is a great singer? Since she sings rock and roll, I don't really hear it. Would love to hear her sing something more pop or jazzy.

All the divas are bitches. Remember Madonna making fun of Belinda Carlisle in Truth or Dare?

R88, in no way was I referring to Abdul as an iconic artist. Sorry if I didn’t make that clear. Dylan was the icon I was pointing out, who cannot sing to save his life, yet wrote so well, it didn’t matter.

The bottom line is that out of all of the people mentioned in this thread, only a few will be highly regarded in the next 20-30 years, for their contribution to their art form. Paula Abdul will not be one of these people.

Paula was a wonderful performer and came along at the right time in the music video era. Forever my Girl is still pretty cool. However, when she released Rush, Rush, as her single from the next record, she was finished. Her whiny vocals are pretty unbearable and that's not what we wanted from her.

rR94, completely agreed.

Paula Abdul's career-killing moment was her performance of "Vibeology" on the MTV Music Video Awards. She was dragged to filth for this, and her career was done overnight.

Whitney live was something else. Unencumbered by Clive Davis' requirements to please white audiences. Soulful, charismatic, better than her records.

Singing the Aretha Franklin classic 'Ain't No Way'

^ That version is better than the original.

Wow r97 that is so bad, I don't think I ever saw that.

The backlash against non-singers got pretty rough around 1990-ish with the Milli Vanilli uproar - when "Smells Like Teen Spirit" hit in 1991 the whole music scene changed

One thing for sure Whitney didn't need 20 dancers and bombastic choreography to capture an audience.

R100 is right, Nirvana and the Seattle grunge bands changed everything. Pop and dance music like Paula Abdul fell way out of mainstream favor.

R100 Just for a short while 1998 hit and pop was back with Britney etc.

R100, it was an amazing time. Grunge gave us such good music. I’m so happy that I was able to experience that whole scene in depth, because in my opinion, that was it. That was the last of REALLY good music, becoming comercially successful and recognized at that scale.

Now, I have to hunt down good music. They’re certainly not playing it on the radio, that’s for sure. How much bad music can people make? Ask Drake! Surely, he knows.

I’m not at all against someone like Drake coming on the scene, and making his very hard earned money. He’s out there hustling for his paper, and I do respect that. But fuck. What happened to exceptional music, from exceptional artists, going mainstream? Why does American radio refuse to play new, good music? Like the kind of music where people actually sing, and play real instruments.

Whitney had a brilliant vocal gift, but shes never been the best musician. her interpretive skill is not on par with the great soul singers.

In hindsight, Milli Vanilli and Paula got so much unnecessary shit. And that poor guy killed himself even after they released an album proving that they could sing.

Meanwhile, all these fucking no talents sprung up in the late 90's and were treated like royalty by the industry. How many times did Ashlee Simpson have to get booed in public with her off key vocalizing before the industry finally got the hint?

Paula's Vibeology performance isn't great, but it isn't bad either. Compare it with Britney Spears drug induced stupor a few years back which remains the worst performance ever given by a major artist on any awards show And then MTV invites her ass back the next year to lipsynch again!

Since R106 brought it up, let’s watch Britney’s VMA meltdown.

Her fake tits are exploding at R107 pic lol

R105, yes, exactly.

Am I the only one who preferred Whitney's voice in the late 90s? It was deeper, richer and more soulful. Here she is live singing a medley of songs by her favorite singer in 1997.

Whitney sings Lena Horne

r106 that's a very good point. No-talents like Britney and others kept getting their asses kissed left and right, yet not that many years earlier a person could make one mistake or one flop single and they were over.

Your comment about Ashlee Simpson made me laugh. I remember that well, it was like the public had to revolt before the music industry finally got the hint that nobody liked that talentless twat. It took a while, but they finally stopped pushing her on the public.

Whitney was a woman who could never be completely honest with herself. She took for granted and misused what had been given to her and paid the ultimate price.

Singing Rodgers and Hammerstein in 1997. I wish she'd done a full album of broadway songs.

I adored Whitney and was really sad when she died but r2 is spot-on, and sadly they seem to not be generating any real interest in her by newer generations.

You never hear today's female singing stars mention her as a vocal influence.

R22 Plus Whitney most screamed most of her studio songs. Not very pleasant. Extremely tiring after a little while. Donna Summer had a similar range but you never got sick of her from screaming.

That's right r78, you tell em!

Well both women had affairs with a married member of the Jackson family. Whitney and Jermaine Jackson and Paula with Jackie Jackson. Atleast {Paula got the cute one maybe that's why Whitney was mad.

R116 donna had fun songs, whitney on the other hand....boring bland ballad after boring bland ballad.

I think some of the jealousy Whitney had was because Paula (a syrian Jewish mutt) had more cred with the black community (her friendship with Arsenio helped) than her in the late 80’s/early 90’s. The black community viewed Whitney as a Total oreo and she hated that.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

[quote]You never hear today's female singing stars mention her as a vocal influence.

Which is a good thing. Have you heard today's singing stars? They couldn't be further removed from the type of singer Whitney was.

Margaret Maldonado reveals in her book, “Jackson Family Values,” that Jackie had become the first of the Jackson brothers to get a divorce. His wife, Enid had caught Jackie having an affair with Paula Abdul (American Idol). According to Maldonado, “caught” probably isn’t the right word. Jackie did little to keep it a secret during its long run. The affair came to a climax one evening in 1984, when Jackie had taken Paula to the movies at the Sepulveda Drive-In Theater. Marlon’s wife, Carol, found out about it and told Enid.

Enid drove to the theater and located Jackie and Paula. She yanked Paula out of the Range Rover by her hair and dragged her across the theater lot while Jackie tried to pull his wife away. Jackie was still trying to help Paula when Enid got into her car and put it in reverse and ran into Jackie’s leg.

The broken leg kept Jackie from performing on the Victory Tour. Three years later, the couple divorced. Shortly afterwards, Enid had Jackie arrested for violating the terms of the divorce. He came to the house and tried to use the recording studio he’d built. When Enid turned him away, he broke the French door leading into the kitchen. Right after the glass hit the floor he was in police custody.

Meanwhile, Maldonado (the author) who was dating Jermaine, says, after Hazel threw Jermaine out, he moved in with me and our son, Jeremy. When he arrived, he said, “I only have $300 dollars to my name.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Like all of his brothers, he made $5 million from the Victory tour in 1984, drove around in a Ferrari and had a huge estate in Brentwood. How could he possibly be broke? I was shocked by what he said but told him not to worry; we would manage somehow.

Wow. I was wondering when the Donna Summer troll would show up. He feels Whitney's success should have been Donna Summer's. He can't see Whitney was infinitely more talented and looked like a golden age movie star to boot.

Randy knocked Paula up (instead of out) and she had an abortion.

Opps, I mean Jackie knocked Paula up.

[quote]You never hear today's female singing stars mention her as a vocal influence.

Ariana Grande mentions Whitney all the time. Ariana is the only young singer today who appreciates and honors the legends of the past.

R120, they were dating, not friends

Don't a lot of pop stars today say that Whitney was an influence? Mariah is certaintly mentioned.

That's some shady shade.

When Bobby Met Whitney...

Is when it all went wrong.

"If you read about Diana Ross and the Supremes, you'll discover that Diana had the weakest voice of the three (the others being Mary and Flo, of course.)"

Yet, after leading the Supremes to 12 #1 hits, Mary didn't replace Diana after she started a successful solo career. The group was failing (called the "No Hits Supremes"). Diana stepped up and they became the definitive Girl Group of all time.

She's not a belter but you always know it's her voice and style. 18 #1 songs is not a bad legacy to look back on. Can you imagine Paula doing this song back then? Or Mary Wilson?

omg, I read from the last comment up and r125 I thought meant Randy "dawg" Jackson knocked up Paula during American Idol

J Lo is the new Paula

And J Lo doesn't have talent either, R133.

R127 no one asked the opinion of an arianator they have no taste!

R131 nah she was a crack addicted Newark hood rat before she met Bobby. Clive Davis kept that whitney hidden.

R131, no, she was addicted to coke even before that, Bobby is just a convenient scapegoat for her fans. People assume he was the worse of the two but many people say it was Whitney who was more aggressively into drugs than him.

Yes. Bobby was a saint who tried his best to stem Whitney's addiction by keeping her away from drugs and never using them to control her. He was nothing but a good force for her. Poor Bobby is the real victim 🙄

Whatever

At least I can handle my drugs

Crack is whack and Paula's a hack, R139

J Lo knows only the sack.

Bobby could be there when Whitney needed him.

R124 LOL. Fuck off and play in traffic you psychotic piece of garbage. Crackhead Houston only had maybe 5 years that she could sing. Everything after 1995 was crap. Donna Summer never did drugs and never lost her voice.

Whitney was the top notch the best vocalist of all time. Nobody could or can sing better than her in her prime. Even the amazing vocalist like Céline looks up to her. Her catalogue is shit however.

Whitney can't sing a note now. She be rotted.

R143 I would say at some point vocal talent is subjective. I mean, wouldn't Mariah, Celine, Whitney have similar ranges, etc?

R143 IMO Céline sings better but she's nasal

R145 Celine and Mariah have bigger vocal range

R145 Celine and Mariah have bigger vocal range

Paula got lucky, she was at the right place at the right time when videos were still selling music so she could make sales with a weak voice.

R149 or the bitch made some catchy fun music between 89-91 and wasn’t just recording boring crap like (all the man I need)that clive wanted.

[quote]Celine and Mariah have bigger vocal range

Agreed. But Whitney had much more power and near perfect vibrato. Agree, though, that she tended to SHOUT, and her material was mostly shit.

Celine probably has the purest voice, even if she is a bit nasal.

[quote]Fuck off and play in traffic you psychotic piece of garbage. Crackhead Houston only had maybe 5 years that she could sing. Everything after 1995 was crap. Donna Summer never did drugs and never lost her voice.

Just no. Several videos above from Whitney singing live span 1985 - 2000 (15 years where she could sing everybody under the table). She had a very successful world tour for her My Love Is Your Love album in 1999 which was full of performances where she hit it out park and thankfully, they can be found on Youtube for all to see. Her started leaving her after 2000 and by the time of the infamous skeletal appearance at Michael Jackson's tribute in 2001, she was sounding a mess.

Donna Summer, on the other hand, stained, stigmatized and forever linked to probably the most universally despised and ridiculed genre in recorded history, disco.

Here she is in 1996, high as a kite, sweating buckets, but still singing like no one else can.

Whitney very early in her career, possibly with her natural hair.

I admired how she kept her cool with S. Gainsbourg.

She was mad as hell, r153. Gainsbourg tried going to her dressing room with a bunch of flowers to apologize but she wouldn't see, refused to speak to him and told her people to get him away from her.

When I first heard the song Forever Your Girl I was like, what the hell is this and who the fuck is singing this shit. Does she have a cold? It did have that ear worm quality to it though and I did start to like Paula. Knocked Out is my favorite and Rush Rush is a really lovely ballad. She definitely had some good songs and the hit makers must have liked her. She was pretty adorable, which didn't hurt.

I remember the Rolling Stone review of Like A Virgin, they didn't like it, said Madonna was all over the map vocally and wobbly. They especially didn't like Madonna's remake of Love Don't Live Here. So much for critics, right?

Whitney didn't lie about Paula.

[quote]When I first heard the song Forever Your Girl I was like, what the hell is this and who the fuck is singing this shit.

Yvette Marine.

Simple song, but Whitney makes you feel it. Better than the studio record.

[quote]I wonder what Whitney thought of Christina Aguilera.

She loved her

^that was from a BET Awards tribute where Xtina sang a tribute

Paula’s message to her detractors

Whitney was friends with Janet. Here she and Pebbles give Janet props, followed by a snippet of Whitney covering Janet’s CONTROL in concert...

Madonna feared Nippy

All women bash each other if they feel like the other is competition. Please stop bringing up christina Aguilera. She is a horrible singer who belongs in the same category as taylor dayne. Not whitney.

Paula's been around for 30 years, despite minimal singing chops. Nothing wrong with her career- people would kill for what she had.

Whitney is dead, found floating in a tub with her wig half-off. A junkie.

Is Paula still “around”? That would imply that she’s still making music and performing. Isn’t she sitting in her house in the Valley, waiting for Simon Fuller’s call? I can’t imag that she’s doing much more with her days. Other than pills, I mean.

To me, paula seems like a much nicer person. Forever Your Girl is still the jam. Love that video.

Some of you posters may be too young to remember Paula, but she was something back in her day. Great choreographer too. She's done everything from a Jackson's tour to the Academy Awards.

Apparently, in this documentary, it is revealed that Whitney was molested by a female relative,

R152, she doesn't seem high to me. Just sweating from the lights.

It's amazing to watch how musical Whitney was. Not only was her voice stunning but the way she curved around the melody was amazing.

R163, Madonna actually had a voice teacher?

Still hilarious, you must admit.

At the time of Crackney’s death Paula had nearly twice as big a net worth than Crackney...got to hand it to Paula she did the most with what little talent she had.

Paula was really big for her first two albums then her singing career bombed. She was smart to move into the lucrative Reality TV world. She made a ton of money being a judge on American Idol (and I loathe that show) alone. Not to mention the other shows she moved on to later on.

I loathe A.I. too.

But from what I know of it, Paula was utterly charming on it.

Also, who better to judge a future Idol than a very limited singer who made the absolute most of what she had?

[quote]Pat Benatar is a great singer? Since she sings rock and roll, I don't really hear it. Would love to hear her sing something more pop or jazzy.

R92, Some of Pat Benatar's music has always seemed a little poppy, but she did the "Jazzy" thing a long time ago, too.

Paula is such a nice person

R172, I had never seen that vid.

It most definitely crossed that line that divides humorous from really mean-spirited.

And that was most definitely before the whole Beyonce/J Lo "big booties are beautiful" era.

Pat Benatar's more "poppy" side.

The fact that they really did stretch Paula in the original video (as they did Ann Wilson of Heart once too) made it a bit less mean. And a backup singer had just come forward to say she was laying down a track with all her choices that Paula would ape later.

MAD TV didn't always get it right but that one was pretty dead on.

Whitney was an amazing vocalist but she couldn't write it produce music or play instruments or dance. Paula was one hell of a dancer but a weak vocalist , that's not to say that Paula wasn't talented.

They all have their talents in different areas of performing, Whitney's was her voice, Paula's was her dancing

R163 for Evita she did and her voice sounded GOOD from 96-01 and then she started touring more often...

Pat's more famous pop song.

Whitney was MUSC BIGGER globally than Janet or Paula, who both fell under the "big in the US but not that big internationally " umbrella

Of course, Madonna was bigger then them all, ESPECIALLY worldwide

Even during Paula 's peak popularity years (89-91), Madonna was easily outselling her worldwide and this was AFTER Madonna's initial peak popularity years of 84-87

As you can see from this clip of Madonna visiting her vocal coach, she could have been a better singer than Whitney if she had trained more. She really only trained her voice when she was doing Evita and then forgot about it.

R185, better singer than Whitney? The lies you tell. That's not biologically possible.

Paula was at least fun when she was pilled up or drunk, unlike Whitney.

R184, you are correct, except for the Erotica/Bedtime Stories phase, Madonna was always more popular globally than Whitney. And she was even more popular than Mariah from the Ray of Light Era and onwards (globally).

ALL these women, Whitney, Madonna, Janet, Paula, Celine, Mariah etc have SOME talent, they're all DIFFERENT types of performers and have their strengths in certain areas. Again, it's sexist when gay men CONSTANTLY put women against one another but don't do the same with MEN. No one goes on and on about John Lennon not having a great voice

Ha ha ha!

R190, I saw this 11 years ago and it is still one of the most bizarre, funniest things I have ever seen.

" You guys, I'm tryin' to tell you a GOOD DAMN STORY".

Make that "GOD DAMN STORY", my fucking GODDDDD!

George Michael with Paula Abdul who choreographed the Faith World Tour

" Where's God when you need him? What if God was one of us?".

[quote]MAD TV didn't always get it right but that one was pretty dead on.

That clip is from IN LIVING COLOR, not MAD TV.

Lol at the person crowing about how Janet wasn’t “that big” outside the US. This is a woman who had throngs of fans and paps following her through airports in continents from Australia to Asia, and who has had sold out concerts for decades in 6 of the 7 continents.

The list of films that Paula has choreographed beginning from the early ‘80s and spanning over several decades is lengthy and impressive. She may not be the best singer, but she is hella talented. Gene Kelly was an admirer. She’s worked with everyone from Janet Jackson and the Jackson brothers to ZZ Top. She was wealthy before American Idol was even a thing.

You said it Chewie: Whitney is dead, found floating in a tub with her wig half-off. A junkie.

Best comment EVER R165

R189 Not a fair comparison, you turd. Most women singers/entertainers in the world don't even come close to the level of talent in one John Lennon. His level of talent, singing, songwriting was stratospheric. He was far superior to pretty boy bitch-tart Paul McCartney.

R197, she definitely had fans in other countries but no, she was NOT popular globally IN COMPARISON to Madonna, Celine, Whitney or Mariah. All those women were far more popular than she is. Notice she doesn't even approach the top 25 biggest selling artists of all time. Madonna is number 3.

Wow, did Paula have a chin implant?

And let's not forget how Kathy Griffin mocked Whitney H. mercilessly.

It's kind of sad now that Whitney is gone.

In terms of certified sales, Rhianna has sold more than Madonna, and is the biggest selling female artist of all time. Provided we're going by the list at R201 which isn't accurate because it takes into consideration RIAA certifications, and many big selling artists weren't on labels that worked with the RIAA (Motown for one)

Soundscan, a much more reliable source, has Madonna listed in the lower top ten of artists with post 1991 sales.

Zeppelin and Floyd have had to have sold just as much as the Beatles, if not much closer to them.

R204, the list adjusts for digital singles sales.

Janet’s biggest selling albums have never been re-certified, so her published albums sold tallies are probably way off. She was the first female to have a #1 in the SoundScan era.

But this is about Whitney and Paula. Each woman excelled where the other one lacked.

R207, the list takes that into account. Even if you include her recertifications, even her best selling albums only sold like 1 or 2 million more than reported.

There’s no way that the ‘janet.’ album isn’t diamond in the US. That thing sold like wildfire. Richard Branson has said that it was the album that purchased his Necker Island.

Fortunately, he didn't invest in state fairs.

^Give it up, twat.

Stop indulging JanBot.

Whitney was right, Paula was a shit "singer." As someone posted upthread, she lucked out in timing. She had good industry connections and was able to paste a "singing" career together thanks to good producers and great videos during a time MTV was the make-or-break forum for pop acts.

But, credit where due, she was an innovative choreographer. Everything she did in that respect was memorable.

How about Prince? I know he was one of the most talented instrumentalists of all time, but his singing left much to be desired.

I mean, Billy Joel too, if you want to get technical.

R209, according to the most recent sales figures, it sold 8 million--close to diamond but not quite.

None of these bitches can touch Cardi B.

R215, vomiting in my mouth a little at the thought.

[quote] Janet’s biggest selling albums have never been re-certified, so her published albums sold tallies are probably way off. She was the first female to have a #1 in the SoundScan era.

Oh, honey. They haven't been re-certified because they haven't sold. You poor thing.

And anyone saying Rihanna is the biggest selling female artist of all time needs to take a step back and realize that 2/3 of those "sales" are streams. That's not sales.

[quote]Oh, honey. They haven't been re-certified because they haven't sold. You poor thing.

They haven’t been re-certified because Janet has never bothered to have them re-certified, moron. Apparently it DOES take a rocket scientist.

Paula toured with new kids on the block and boys 2 men last year and was a joy to watch. Yeah she’s not the best singer but as she a performer she was wonderful. At 55 she still could easily do the difficult choreography and the songs were fun sugary pop.

Before AI, Paula was nearly broke and had mismanaged her money.

[quote] They haven’t been re-certified because Janet has never bothered to have them re-certified, moron.

Sure, dear.

I'm surprised Paula was almost broke before AI. She made boatloads of money and doesn't appear to live extravagantly- at least judging by her houses.

That's it!

Why shouldn't she try her hand at recording an album? Janet Jackson had only a slightly better singing voice and was not as good a dancer.

J. Lo came later. Pretty woman, okay dancer, so so singer.

Hey Baby! R221 She probably didn't make all that much. She wasn't a big tourer. And she had two successful albums.

"Can I Be Me?" the Nick Broomfield doc on Miss Whitey Houston contains not one good vocal performance by her. She really couldn't sing for shite live.

MAD's Debra Wilson did a great Nippy.

Debra Wilson did a way better Whitney Houston than Whitney ever did. Debra was a better singer, too.

[quote]She probably didn't make all that much. She wasn't a big tourer. And she had two successful albums.

Are you nuts? Paula was choreographing big movies and tons of major artists back then. Her list of choreography credits is longer than my arm. Not to mention her Pepsi and LA Gear endorsements and hit albums and singles.

^I meant Coke endorsements

Paula in Toto’s TILL THE END video

Paula created Vanity’s smooth moves for the film ACTION JACKSON.

She also choreographed Tawny Kitaen in Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” video

It’s jarring how little Whitney (and Paula) made in comparison to Britney, Mariah, Janet Celine and even Christina.

Does DL have a Paula Abdul troll on their hands?

R223 she probably sold at least 20 million albums, not counting singles. That should be worth 20 million, at least?

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Paula Abdul recently learned a $900,000 lesson in homeowner liability when she agreed to settle a claim that a woman injured herself after slipping and falling on the pop star’s driveway. In 2009, during the taping of Abdul’s reality series Hey Paula, Jill Kohl, who was part of the production team, allegedly fell and injured herself, claiming in her complaint that Abdul’s driveway “was in a dangerous and defective condition.”

“Invitees are people you invite to your home for some business purpose, and it’s the category that Ms. Kohl seems to have fallen into—no pun intended,” says Christopher Balch, an attorney at Balch Law Group. “The general rule is that a premises owner or occupier must act reasonably to keep the property safe for people to walk around.”

Abdul’s hefty settlement serves as a reminder for homeowners that in many circumstances they are responsible for the well-being of their guests. However, just to what extent they are responsible varies depending on the type of guest as well as the case law and regulations specific to the homeowner’s particular state. Further, should an accident occur on your property, there are some tactics you can useto protect yourself from a costly and time-consuming lawsuit.

“The law varies a little from state to state,” says Jamie Sheller, managing partner at Sheller P.C. “Generally speaking, there are different levels of duty depending on the person entering onto your premise, whether they are a trespasser or some type of a guest.”

R232, Whitney wasn’t very smart, and the people managing and negotiating her finances and contracts were likely taking advantage of her to a large extent.

[quote] [R223] she probably sold at least 20 million albums, not counting singles. That should be worth 20 million, at least?

Not even close. Only superstars like Madonna and Bon Jovi, et al. could ask for (and receive) a royalty rate that high (or higher). For someone like Paula (for her first album) it would have been more in the neighborhood of 10-35 cents per unit sold, especially when you factor in all the money being deducted for her share of the recording and marketing (which artists split with the labels). I'm sure she was able to negotiate a higher royalty rate for Spellbound just as a sign of good faith because Forever Your Girl was such a monster hit. But yeah, people bitch about the royalty rates from streaming, but they aren't too much worse than when people actually bought music.

Yeah, Paula probably never made much a ton of money for FYG, even though it was huge hit.

She probably made more from Spellbound because she was a proven seller. It sold less than half of FYG total sells but was considered a hit anyway and scored her two more #1 singles. She had more input on it and also co-wrote several of the songs on the album, so she got a chunk of money for that as well.

Another shout out for Paula’s undeniable likability. Remember when she was tricked into appearing in, was it.. Borat? You could tell she was a decent person because other people thrust into that weird situation would’ve freaked out and had she had nasty true colors, they would’ve come out for sure. She seems like a sweetheart. That being said, Whitney was the powerhouse talent who never should’ve been threatened by her moment of commercial success. Just goes to show how irrational people can be when it comes to fame and career.

Whitney was emotionally stunted and her music suffered. Part of the reason she was with a woman was to learn about emotions.

She ALREADY had the power of a man talent wise.

WHAT AN AMAZING MACHINE!

I always felt like out of the three big voiced divas of the 90s, Celine was better at emoting in a song. That's why I prefer My Heart will go on over I will always love you.

Whitney was indeed right about Paula Abdul singing off-key on the record, which is unforgivable. How did the record company allow that?

Can someone give an example of where she is off key? Not being snarky, I thought she had a thin voice (though I loved the first record) but off key? Even just a line, please. I must not be discerning enough to notice.

Drop the needle ANYWHERE, R244. And I'm not being snarky, either.

I love Whitney but there was a reason Paula's songs were bit hits - they were catchy and people could sing along to them, unlike Whitney's songs which had all the melisma that the average listener couldn't sing along to unless it was a song like So Emotional or How Will I Know.

I like the tone of Paula's voice and it was perfect for songs like Forever Your Girl and Opposites Attract. And her lower register was great for Straight Up and My Love is for Real (so underrated). No, she's not a great singer but as a pop singer, she was perfect.

What the fuck are you talking about, R246? Whitney had 24 Top 10 singles (on the Hot 100, not some bullshit chart). ELEVEN of them went to #1. She even managed to make the Star Spangled Banner a hit twice. Paula's hits output pales against Whitney's. Paula had eight Top Ten singles, six of which went to #1 and her singing career was over in three years. Whitney was still hitting the Top 10 into the 21st century. Paula was a product of good production and catchy songwriting ONLY. She was a flash in the pan as a singer. That's not to take away from the success she did have, but to say that Paula had big hits and Whitney didn't is you telling a lie.

Paula's voice wasn't perfect for her songs. Thanks to good production and studio trickery, her voice was irrelevant to her songs. The pop song equivalents of Disney movies--doesn't matter who stars in them, they're going to make money.

R248, that's true. Just listen to "Rush Rush", it proves your exact point--it's all about the production. It's a great song, but the production makes her voice completely artificial.

If you're old enough to remember when Paula Abdul was making these songs back in the day, it was widely discussed that she was all studio wizardry. This was before Autotune, so it was whatever they were using back then. She was never really taken seriously because her vocals were faked. Of course, that kind of thing mattered back then. Today, not so much.

I remember very clearly a headline response (I think it was in Rolling Stone) to the lawsuit about her vocals ending in Paula's favor. It was something like: Jury verdict confirms that Paula Abdul is the person responsible for every single song on that album.

I dated someone who was a producer and he said back in the 80s, 90s (Paula's peak years) what they did was get a singer like Madonna or Britney or Janet or Paula with no power to their voice and just layer like 20 of their individual takes on to one. They also mix session singers voices with non-singers like Paula. She was sued on FYG for doing just that. The session singers got little to no money or credit for having their voices mixed in.

Berry Gordy did that with Brenda Holloway and Diana Ross. He had Holloway do entire albums that he had Ross study and then would never be released.

Yes, the Milli Vanilli type total fakery was actually highly unusual, which is partly why they got such shit for it. Much more common is the layering of vocals, so that you can still recognize the singer's actual voice. JLo has been long rumored to have studio assist on her albums, but her voice is in there somewhere because it still sounds enough like her to be plausible.

The old trick was the Martha Wash scenario, where you just leave the real vocalist uncredited or uncompensated for giving up credit. Good on her for suing their asses off and getting legislation passed to put an end to that though.

Plus she was an AIDS and gay-rights activist early on, so she's just all-around awesome.

Yes, Martha Wash has always been a wonderful person.

Agreed. Martha Wash is a national treasure. In fact, most of those fat black girl singers were awesome. Lolleata Hollaway et al.

That's JLo really singing on her albums. Albeit with a lot of help. There's a clip on youtube of her butchering a song during a recording session and attempting to get it right. I'm surprised she's hasn't gotten it pulled off youtube. The crew on her albums really earned their money to make her sound passable.

Poor Martha Wash. They had the talentless model lip-synching her vocals in the Black Box songs. Once the mic was on during a concert performance and lip-synching models horrific screechy voice singing voice could be heard singing along with Martha for a minute before they cut the mic off and just played Martha's vocals. The clip was pulled from youtube unfortually.

r247 I never said Whitney was hitless. I mean, Billboard charts confirm that. What the fuck are you talking about? But while Whitney's songs were hits because of her voice, Paula's were hits because they were simple pop songs that were easy to sing to. This was a time when the charts were more varied - you had rock, pop, R&B, even a little dance on the charts.

Paula is not a great singer but to say she "faked it" is completely false. A jury declared it was her singing on the album. And if you listen to her speaking voice you can tell that is her singing voice, the tone, inflections, etc.

However there was some merit to Yvette Marine's case. Because if you listen to the song. Next to You, her vocals seem buried and the background vocals take over. I do think Paula sang on the album - and Yvette said she did sing on the album - but I think the producers on certain songs perhaps did "blend" her voice with Yvette and/or others.

Paula's vocals, that is.

This is the clip R257. The "singer" is Quinol, one of a couple models they used to lip sync to Martha's vocals. C + C thought they could get away with screwing over Martha because they *technically* never claimed anyone else was singing on the track, they just left the female singer uncredited. Then when they had models lip sync in the video or on stage, they would claim it was just a visual performance. Luckily Martha (and the court) didn't buy that bullshit.

This video is hilarious. I think they accidentally left the mic live after she spoke the intro to the song. Some lip synchers do actually sing into a dead mic to make it seem more realistic. It's actually harder than people often realize to lip sync convincingly.

I'm confused about Black Box. Didn't they use Heather Small's (from M People) vocals for one of their songs as well?

I'm not sure why C+C Music Factory used Martha's vocals when they already had Zelma Davis, who could sing. She's wasn't a powerhouse vocalist like Martha though. She sang on their other hits.

They re-recorded "Ride on Time" with Heather Small after Loloeatta Holloway went after them in the press for sampling her vocals without permission. They didn't credit Heather Small at first either, not until they legally had to.

I actually remember all this from childhood. I think some of these legal battles influenced my decision to become a lawyer (although I don't do entertainment law).

R262, what's really twisted is after stealing Martha's vocals and getting exposed, the producers had the nerve to claim she was demanding too much credit because their songs would have been hits without her anyway. So why bother? Why not just hire a "hot" singer from the get-go and avoid all this trouble?

I don't think Zelma could've pulled off "Everybody Dance Now" at least not as powerfully as Martha did anyway. Martha's part in that song wasn't easy to sing.

[quote] I never said Whitney was hitless. I mean, Billboard charts confirm that. What the fuck are you talking about? But while Whitney's songs were hits because of her voice, Paula's were hits because they were simple pop songs that were easy to sing to. This was a time when the charts were more varied - you had rock, pop, R&B, even a little dance on the charts.

What you said was-

[quote] I love Whitney but there was a reason Paula's songs were bit hits - they were catchy and people could sing along to them, unlike Whitney's songs which had all the melisma that the average listener couldn't sing along to unless it was a song like So Emotional or How Will I Know.

I stand by my comments. Learn how to make a point if you can't handle criticism, or hire a ghost writer.

If you ain’t old enough to remember when Paula Abdul was making hits then you belong in a sandbox.

Here's Zelma Davis singing "Everybody Dance Now" live. Not bad at all, but not as good as Martha. She's better than Freedom Williams live though.

Zelma Davis could “sang” when given the chance. Here she is belting alongside Martha Wash in C + C Music Factory’s “Do You Wanna Get Funky”

r266 and yet nowhere did it state that Whitney didn't have hits.

Learn to show receipts.

And learn how to counter a fucking point you moron.

[quote]If you ain’t old enough to remember when Paula Abdul was making hits then you belong in a sandbox.

Paula Abdul's heyday was 30 years ago. You would have to be at least 40 years old to really remember her.

^Exactly my point.

R252 that is how Sheryl crow got her start. She would try to sound like the artist, then their voices would be combined. She said she did this for some pretty big names. I always wondered if it was for Madonna or Janet.

I don't think Madonna's voice was altered although I heard a rumour that Donna Delory's voice was mixed with Madonna's to sweeten it. But who knows. Madonna's early vocals on Everybody sound exactly like her live vocals she did at Danceteria.

I'm 39 and remember Paula very well. She was hitting it big when I was first getting into music. She's not a great vocalist but I still enjoy some of her songs today.

R274 You don't think...at all, dumbfuck. Madonna had forty vocal engineers when recording Ray of Light, this was after her vocal training with Evita. Keep up, dummy.

Blowing Kisses in Wind is sublime

[quote] And learn how to counter a fucking point you moron.

When you actually make one, I will. If you were the least bit coherent, I wouldn't have had to school you.

r278 keep trying cunt. I didn't lose anything. You lost your reading comprehension you dumb fuck.

For her Spellbound Tour, Paula sang Rush Rush live.

That is some horrid closed-throat singing. Her jaw is ready to snap right off.

WHITNEY is DEAD!

And Paula the cat is alive.... ALIVE!!!

You forgot the clip R282.

Rush is a great song and she sounds great as well---

C+C Music Factory... David Cole died from AIDS awhile back but what is the story about Robert Clivilles? I always had the hots for him back in the early 90s when I was an early teen and they hit it big.

Lots of people that appears on those sappy talent shows have 'great vocals

R240 Whitney was the [bold]powerhouse talent[/bold]

powerhouse talent "?!! You must be joking right? Houston never wrote any of her songs, added to that she never played any instruments. What so talented about an artist who neither writes her song nor plays any instrument??

Neither did Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra, you fucking dipshit.

[quote] [R278] keep trying cunt. I didn't lose anything. You lost your reading comprehension you dumb fuck.

Hahahahaha. So desperate. You argue worse than Jabba. Reduced to screaming insults. Whenever you'd like to finally make that point you haven't yet, no one's stopping you.

Janbot would wipe the floor with ALL of you.

Robert Cliviles was SO hot. He’s married with kids now. Sorry fellas.

R289 is a Janbot fan.

R290 Exactly. Janbot's cunt is so huge it is like a whale's mouth.

R287 Whitney played the piano albeit not during any of her live performances. I’m not saying Whitney was some master composer but she definitely had an ear for music in so much that she was able to lay down a track in very few takes. Many producers have commented on Whitney’s ability to nail a song in one or two takes. Whitney was also widely regarded in the industry for doing her own vocal arrangements. Whitney didn’t write her own music, yes, but to say she had no “talent”is doing a disservice to her once in a lifetime vocal abilities.

Many great singers didn't write their own songs.

She co-wrote Queen Of the Night

R294, I don't remember which song writer it was, but when comparing and contrasting Celine Dion and Whitney, he said that Whitney would often change things completely when she would sing whereas Celine would just walk in, look at what she was given, and sing it as is with no changes.

R287- Since when does being an amazing interpreter of songs and having an insane singing voice NOT qualify as being a powerhouse talent? Are you serious? Show this asshole the receipts.

[quote]Many great singers didn't write their own songs.

They are basically American Idol singers lol

R298 amazing interpreter of songs

Well she wasn't even that

A powerhouse talent would be someone like Prince or Bowie a great singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist

She had singing talent but she wasn't powerhouse talent as some users are exaggerating

Diva! Truly the best singer.

Paula should've DRAGGED Whitney Houston's dancing but In Living Color beat her to it.

R304, Paula was a nice person, not a vicious bitch, and therefore didn’t feel the need to “drag” anyone.

R305=Paula Abdul

Here's another funny Whitney clip

r304 MADtv did too, at 1:15 in the video

R305 is right but Whitney needed to drag Paula one of the nicest persons in Hollywood

What a bitch

Kim Wayans is hilarious!

really surprised by Paula's live vocal on "Rush Rush" and the studio "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" - I now believe she is a better singer than tired Whitney Houston.

I remember time in the 90s when another singer sued Paula Abdul, claiming that her vocals were on Paula's album, but she wasn't given credit (or proper payment). Wasn't her voice blended in with the lead vocal to make Paula's voice sound stronger?

How do I sing on key? Others do it with me. I pay them a large fee.

What album was Whitney Houston talking about? (The one were Paula Abdul was out of key) ?

Thanks

Does it matter, R315? Pick one.

LOL. Funniest comment in fucking ever.