Whitney Houston

Cool

Apparently was a lesbian but had a homophobic narcissistic bitch of a stage mother, had a deadbeat dad, pothead aunt and her brother introduced her to hard drugs. Clive Davis was a miracle worker who manufactured Whitney's good girl persona for Middle America and made her sing sappy love ballads and generic dance pop songs. But luckily Whitney's amazing vocal prowess elevated her schlocky material to a higher plane of existence. Getting with Bobby Brown was her biggest mistake. A nostalgia page on Instagram posted a clip from Bobby Brown's mid-2000s reality show and it reminded me of how low Whitney sunk at that point. That and her getting booed on stage for no longer being able to sing. Her untimely death saved her legacy sadly because if she was still alive today, I don't think we'd be having all these discussions without them being mocking and sarcastic like the Vadge discussions. Unlike Mariah, Whitney wasn't a songwriter who crafted original work but she was a much better vocalist and probably the best pop vocalist of all time.

Before she died, she was being booed in cities all over Europe for being completely unable to sing. And that was supposed to be her comeback! Her death really reversed her fortune though. Prior to her death, her music wasn't doing well and the then it just exploded once she died (itunes and then streaming later on).

She was not THE female singer of of the 80s. Like her or not, that was Madonna.

Not saying that she was the greatest singer of the 80s, but she was a phenomenon in the 80s.

Also, I would add that Whitney wasn't worthy of eating Kate Bush's poo. Kate wrote and produced her albums from the early 80s on, and the level of artistry in her music FAR outstripped Whitney.

One of the greatest travesties of the 80s was Whitney's idiotic video for How Will I Know, beating the wonderful dance piece that was Kate's Running up That Hill for best female video at the MTV video awards in '85.

“It’s never…as good as the first time.”

DJ Crack Rock

The rumor is that her brother molested her. As far as singing goes, she blows Madonna out of every known body of water. I loved her in The Bodyguard. A ridiculous film, but she had an undeniably vulnerable, touching presence. Powerful woman and bit hard by addiction/trauma.

"One Moment in Time" is capable of bringing tears to my eyes still, 32 years after I first heard it. That's talent.

Kathie Lee Gifford sang the National Anthem better.

Amazing voice. Weak catalog.

She died on my birthday and it RUINED my birthday party!

Her isolated vocal track for How Will I Know is excellent..

This thread was posted to elicit negative responses about Madonna. Full stop. Look at the way it was worded.

I don’t give a fuck if Whitney could out sing her, I loved Madonna’s voice and she was THE hottest act in the 80s. And I can’t stand her crazy ass.

Madonna released how many albums in the 80s compared to Whitney’s two? Yet Whitney’s numbers were still close to Madge’s, despite the fewer output.

Clive’s mistake in the 80s was not getting Whit to record a Christmas album.

Typical black girl. Trashy. Drug addled. Died young. RIP, crackhead.

She was on As The World Turns in 1984.

Madonna is not really a singer. Celine, Anita, Whitney and Mariah are singers. Madonna's a performer who sings just like Pebbles, Janet and Jody. Madonna did have good vocal moments but she's not close to a great singer

Didn't like her as a singer and never bought any of her music. But i met her once in an elevator and she was a lot cooler than i expected. I blame Clive for making her record all those corny songs

Whitney was a bimbo. She never wrote any of her songs and was too stupid to just have her name put on to whatever songs she sang like Cuntdonna. That is why she died penniless and why Dolly made 800 million from IWALY.

I could see Whitney doing rock like Tina Turner or Nona Hendryx or soul like Chaka Khan or jazz like Natalie Cole. Her voice was never fully utilized.

Did Whitney Houston even have the ambition? It always seemed like she was being pushed. To sing. To act. To do pretty much anything in public. She always struck me as a private person (despite the reality TV show). She probably would have been happier living her life out of the spotlight.

She had as much ambition as any drug addled crack whore. She wanted to rule the ghetto and did for awhile.

she was beautiful with a great voice.

Unfortunately in the 80s and 90s celebrities took drugs as if it was water without any hint of inibition or self respect

R22 That is your contribution, Dora Dumbfuck. Fortune cookies have more originality than you, twatbrain.

Didn't she almost have it all?

R23 it hurts you so much that i called her beautiful with a great voice? I'm stating facts.

As the Brits say, you're speaking out your cunt, Dora Dumbfuck.

R26 lol what's your problem?

Did she ever eat snatch?

Shrill and shallow.

Beautiful and such a lovely voice for so long

She's a way better vocalist than Madonna and Mariah. But her music really did lack substance compared to theirs. As annoying and shrill as Mariah can be, her songwriting was impressive and her music was unique to her. Whitney had songs that could have been for anyone but thankfully Whitney could interpret them. Whitney sounds much superior live. Mariah barely sings live and is very much a studio artist.

Whitney was a very old school style performer and she was compared to others like Madge, MJ, Janet, Paula who were more performers with choreography and stylized vocals. She had a stronger voice than all of them but her discography was just adult contemporary ballads, covers and generic R&B and pop. I think she could have gotten better material if she got sober and tried to learn the craft of music production. Maybe take up songwriting. A lot of pop stars learn to write their songs through just being around others and getting involved in the process. Whitney sorta just let others direct her.

Funny moments.

My favorite performance, All the Man I Need at the Welcome Home Heroes (Persian Gulf War) concert. I've watched it many times. So damn talented. Before the breast implants that she really did not need.

Mariah & Madonna are songwriters of substance? Lol

Her voice was fantastic but I found a lot of her songs bland and samey. The exceptions:

"Saving All My Love for You"

"I Have Nothing"

"It's Not Right But It's Okay"

"I Learned from the Best"

I love her and the documentaries on her made me love her even more. She was fucked up but for all the right reasons. Her family shamed her into not being gay; she was devastated financially by the same family; she sank into a downward spiral of drugs because no one wanted to help her and lose their meal ticket. And she was terrifically talented but, unfortunately, ruined mush of that talent.

It’s such a tragedy because she seemed like a good person who wanted a committed relationship and to be a good mom. Makes me genuinely sad.

She seemed like a warm and trusting person and unfortunately was surrounded by toxic family members. People say she should have been like Madonna and cut them off. But I think it's just a difference of personality and environment. Madonna is just a colder and extremely independent person. Not pleasant or nice. Also Madonna's mother died when she was younger so she wasn't micromanaged like Whitney. Some people aren't really capable of cutting off their family and I think Whitney was just a codependent person.

R37 right on. She seems like such a warm person who turned to drugs to blunt the pressure of so many people relying on her that she didn’t want to let down. I’m certain that her inability to be a good mother to Bobbie Christina devastated her. What a tragedy—and I don’t blame Bobby Brown. It was her family that fucked her up. They all used her with the possible exception of Cissy, who didn’t seem to use her financially but was definitely behind the anti gay crap.

One of the greatest voices but sadly nothing feels very legendary about her.

She had popular singles but definitely lacking discography. Her 80s music is too overproduced and generic and she had to oversing on them. Most of her 90s material were soundtracks. My Love is Your Love was her creative peak, her only consistent album and she should have expanded on that sound. Her 2000s albums were hot garbage.

I Thought Prince's was the greatest female singer of the 80s

She was so talented.

Whitney should've taken a page from Madonna's playbook and told her whole family to fuck off and just lived her life independent of them. She might still be alive today.

[quote] Yet Whitney’s numbers were still close to Madge’s,

This isn't true actually. Globally, Like a Virgin and True Blue--singles plus albums--outsold both of Whitney's albums by quite a bit. But in America, there sales were more closer together. Also important to remember that The Immaculate Collection cannibalized the sales of Madonna's 80s albums. That being said, The Bodyguard Soundtrack is bigger than anything by any female artist, ever. Yes, bigger than Come on Over.

I could see Whitney being a judge on a talent show or something. I feel she would have maintained her voice better than Mariah who can't sing anymore.

R45, Whitney's voice lasted from 1985 through 1999. Mariah's only really lasted from 1990 through 1996. So Whitney definitely won that battle.

Mariah was also singing every day as she came up with melodies and lyrics for her songs since she released 1 album every year in the 1990s. She used her singing voice so much more than Whitney over a 10 year period. Shows, interviews, traveling around the world. She is human, body parts wear out.

Vote for your favorite performance!

[quote] The rumor is that her brother molested her.

All the big lesbian stars were molested by men - Ellen, Rosie, Jodie, Whitney. I don't understand how this keeps happening.

[quote] She used her singing voice so much more than Whitney over a 10 year period. Shows, interviews, traveling around the world.

Didn't Whitney sing live way more than Mariah? Mariah wasn't a big live performer and she had stage fright.

That should say *give live performances*

The same reason men molest gay boys. Predators are attuned to those who are different and usually isolated from their peers which makes them easy targets to groom.

[quote] Apparently was a lesbian but had a homophobic narcissistic bitch of a stage mother, had a deadbeat dad, pothead aunt and her brother introduced her to hard drugs.

It wasn't JUST her mother. Her entire social environment (the church) was disapproving. She lived with Robyn, she could have dealt with Cissy but couldn't take on the whole world.

[quote] She was not THE female singer of of the 80s. Like her or not, that was Madonna.

Madonna is not a "singer."

ALL of Mariah's songs sound the same

Cynthia Erivo is a better singer than Whitney. Better in terms of range, power, interpretive ability and the ability to deliver the goods live.

[quote] Also, I would add that Whitney wasn't worthy of eating Kate Bush's poo. Kate wrote and produced her albums from the early 80s, and the level of artistry in her music FAR outstripped Whitney.

We all love Kate, b*tch, but she is not in league with Whitney Houston as a singer, not even close. Besides she started pre-80s. There are many MANY voices between Kate and Whitney.

[quote] One of the greatest voices but sadly nothing feels very legendary about her.

Legendary without a doubt. Objectively, she had the most phenomenal vocal instrument in popular music. Find a vocal performance that can match this

Arguably, there may have been more popular recording artists of the 80s.Whitney was the finest pop singer. A goddess amongst us fallen.

Technically she was among the biggest in 1992/1993 and enjoyed success throughout the 90s with Hollywood movies and the TV version of Cinderella. Though she was also popular in the 80s with a breakthrough debut, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Springsteen and others had her beat.

Cynthia Erivo (who is a Ella Fitzgerald copycat) is nowhere near being a better singer than Whitney. Tell that bitch to go back to the UK since she hates blacks so much but has no problem stealing parts from American black actresses.

And Cynthia stole Lena Waithe from her wife!

[quote] Cynthia Erivo (who is a Ella Fitzgerald copycat) is nowhere near being a better singer than Whitney. Tell that bitch to go back to the UK since she hates blacks so much but has no problem stealing parts from American black actresses.

That's harsh, and a mischaracterization of her comments re Blacks in Hollywood. However, I agree she should not be mentioned in the same breath as Whitney.

Objectively, Whitney had a spectacular voice - very powerful, resonant, agile and with an extremely rich tone. The problem is that her drug-addiction and laziness affected her voice, since she genuinely thought that basic technique was enough to help her to preserve her instrument no matter what happened. That was obviously not the case, and soon enough she ran into serious issues and started losing range and stamina by the early 90s. Still, I am mystified by the Madonna comparisons. Madonna is a barely mediocre singer who had to rely on shock tactics and controversial lyrics and videos in order to sell records. On the other hand, Whitney had pure, raw talent that was destroyed by years of hard drug use and lack of practice. They cannot be compared.

Her personal life was a complete mess and her family sound like horrible, expolitative people who shamelessly used the affection she felt for them in order to parasitize her. Still, she IS a legend and her sad demise will never be able to overshadow the glory of her early years.

As for Mariah, she was the first singer who started promoting the idea that if you don't constantly belt at the very extremes of your range, then you cannot sing at all. And look at how that has served her: her voice is a disaster and by 1996, her vocal chords were ravaged and she had to rely on pre-recorded passages in order to perform live. Conversely, Whitney remained a force with which to be reckoned until the early 2000s. Again, they cannot be compared.

Cynthia and Jennifer's power and vocal ranges are far superior to Whitney's. Whitney just didn't have the range or technical ability.

The doctors said the cigarettes were even more harmful to her voice than the marijuana. Sadly, in the 80s/90s few programs were available to help Whitney stop .

"...Yes, bigger than Come on Over.""

well, considering that album sold about 400 copies, that wouldn't be hard, R44.

R67, LMAO

Nobody but Lena Waithe gives a fuck about Cynthia Erivo, so she's really not worth discussing, in a thread about Whitney Houston or otherwise.

R67 Her uneven eyes are distracting in that shot!

Cynthia and singers like Hudson have powerful voices but they’re not as pretty as Whitney’s voice.

Some powerful voices are all power and no beauty. Like Jennifer Holliday can vocally wipe the floor with anyone but she doesn’t have a pretty voice.

Mariah and Whitney were great because they had pretty voices on top of their power and range.

Mariah actually has more range than all mentioned. She is vocally superior to anyone mentioned in the thread. And in her prime she had more control. Mariah could sing the lowest notes and the highest notes perfectly. No one could touch her.

[quote]Madonna is a barely mediocre singer who had to rely on shock tactics and controversial lyrics and videos in order to sell records.

Madonna is an above-average singer and she made some beautifully crafted pop music.

R72 LOL. She can't sing. She can carry a tune at best but even Kylie Minogue and Rihanna sound better. Madonna's team of producers and cowriters made some beautifully crafted pop music.

Madonna wrote or co-wrote many of her songs. You don't get as famous as she did with no talent and an ugly voice.

You don't get to be a global superstar without talent. If Madonna's career had been solely carried by sex appeal alone, she would've been Samantha Fox.

Hey, Vadge this about Whitney, not you! You got a million other threads on you to post on.

I always thought Madonna was the female singer who best represented the 80s. And that's one reason why I hate the 80s.

She was so beautiful and happy here. Luther seems to be very fond of Whitney. God blessed her.

I can appreciate Madonna's music. It was good stuff. But she is not a good singer and she is not even a musician. Just a dance geek with the mind of a smart businesswoman driven to succeed. She is heavily involved in her music, sound, visuals and choreography. Whitney is a real singer. Mariah, love her or hate her, was an actual artist since she wrote her music. Even though they are compared, they are so different in their skill set. I would say yes, Madonna is the artist of the 80s but not because she is the most talented but the most innovative and creative.

Poor Nippy, But I am still kicking at 77, my Eldergay Children !!!! New Concert Tour Commencing !!! USA in the Spring !and Summer !!!

Whitney was the best to ever live, I will never change my mind and I’m young. Hear what she added to this song:

Diana Ross really kept her voice and her looks. She aged extremely well.

[quote] You don't get to be a global superstar without talent

Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Kpop groups, many boy bands and girl groups. Stardom is all marketing, good looks, charisma and a good team of producers to make catchy songs. Yeah they can dance and energize a crowd. But it's not about being musically talented as being a "whole package."

[quote]I always thought Madonna was the female singer who best represented the 80s.

She was. And MJ was the male equivalent. Some people try to make it a trinity and include Prince, but I never thought he was in their league, commercially. Artistically, he was superior, IMO, but MJ and Madonna were far more successful than him throughout the '80s, the '90s, and beyond.

Cissy is a bully and her father was too. Fucking ogres pushed her and her trashy brothers mooched off her until she died. And her SIL Pat Houston sounds like a right cunt. Whitney seemed to be in control of her career. But really she was being run by her parents and Clive Davis, and he just saw her as a commodity to make money from. I was pissed at her for the drug abuse but felt so bad for her at the same time. It’s hard to get off crack. It’s ruined so many friends and family members, including my brother.

I like Whitney enough, but was never insane about her. She sang huge loud ballads with her tremendous leather lungs, but none of the songs had much emotional depth and it seems she didn't either.

I thought she was good, certainly talented and fun, but not more than that. Her decline was very sad. Trashy and sad.

One of Whitney's funkiest songs:

R87, I remember this was after her career really hit the skids. Entertainment Weekly gave that song an "F" (it's actually not a bad song at alll).

Whitney's "Just Whitney", Mariah's "Charmbracelet", and JLo's "This is Me... Then" were released around the same time in December 2002.

Whitney appeared to be chasing Aaliyah and Destiny's Child with this album, which may have been a mistake.

Reviews here:

Whitney must be a really good person. 10 years after her death, Dionne still choked up remembering her.

We no longer have singers like Whitney Houston who interpret songs. She’s done several covers of pop and soul songs, putting her spin on them. It’s a gift.

The first time I saw her was when she appeared with Jermaine Jackson on "As The World Turns". They performed Nobody Loves Me Like You Do, and nobody knew who Whitney was. Jermaine was the big star at the time.

What songs should have sung?

Oops.

What songs should she have sung?

[quote] Mariah actually has more range than all mentioned. She is vocally superior to anyone mentioned in the thread. And in her prime she had more control. Mariah could sing the lowest notes and the highest notes perfectly. No one could touch her.

Mariah is smoke and mirrors. She is a studio creation. She has never produced a live vocal that comes close to Whitney, even diminished Whitney. Mariah is not even in Celine's league as a live vocalist. Her studio recordings are great but she is not a live vocalist who had technique, range or breath control.

Great pipes- but not a great artist. There was a hard edge about her approach to a lot of songs- chopped phrasing and limited understanding of lyric so it seemed. I think that’s why she rarely ventured into great material (beyond pop and light r&b.) She never grew as a singer- maybe because of her substance abuse. Ditto Mariah Carey, Cristina A, and to a great degree Celine Dion. Lesser voices from the past like Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, Dusty Springfield and others were much better artists. Judy , Aretha, Barbra, Ella had the pipes and the artistry. Bassey was fun but mostly I laugh at her- she’s camp times ten.

R95, neither Whitney nor Mariah could/can make it through a show or concert even vocally much less a sustained performance. Celine can- although as I said above, her artistry is not at the level of the very greatest vocalists. In her case I think it may be because her taste is so bizarre.

R95 Poppycock. You must be joking.

Mariah’s studio trickery is in her arrangements. That doesn’t deter her vocal range and ability. She makes her arrangements complicated. I mean some of her lines in her verses will overlap each other, it’s impossible to sing them live.

But her range and ability is real and shits all over Celine and Whitney. They don’t even have Mariah’s range. They can’t hit notes she can - they haven’t.

R97 Celine took care of her voice whereas Whitney and Mariah never did. They drank and smoked.

Celine doesn’t actually have power, she has range and she can control it. Jessica Simpson has range and no power and she can’t control it.

And for the record Celine lips some of her vocals live.

Mariah never smoked.

Mariah's whistle note is a gimmick. She had little control over it and no smooth transition to it. And she lost it years ago. She has nowhere near the vocal power or range of Whitney Houston -- whose smooth transition from chest to head voice was unmatched. Celine has fantastic breath control and fuller vocal belts than Mariah. Neither came close to Whitney in her prime.

R95 Promoting 100% white girl Mariah over all the black singers is a KlanGranny thing to do.

Whitney had a gorgeous smile.

Drugs and Bobby Brown ruined her.

Such a sad ending.

I miss her. Weird that both Whitney and Natalie Cole both died, followed by their children…

Mariah is nowhere as respected as Whitney despite being a talented songwriter.

Houston was the best and is the best. There is no one out who can touch her. Not Huddy. Not Cynthia.

If you watch any episode of Unsung on 80s and 90s R&B divas, Whitney is mentioned. In all of them! That’s power and influence.

Dionne, Diana, Lionel, MJ and Whitney all got flack for crossing over. It’s bullshit!

I love all the belters like Whitney, Mariah, Celine and Patti. And Stephanie my favorite. Love strong black female voices. Aretha, Gladys, Phyllis, Anita, Regina Belle and my outliers too, like Randy Crawford, Patti Austin and Angela Bofill. I hope that Angela is okay today. She had a bad stroke years ago and lives in a nursing home or something like that. Dionne Warwick too, though her voice deteriorated over the years.

R100 She did. Google it.

R105 Yeah but meh.

Whitney did not transcend into the next generation the way Mariah Carey did.

Mariah had a solid 20 years. Whitney had 10 and barely.

I’m 34, Whitney was OLD to me growing up. Her “My Love Is Your Love” album was like Cher’s “Believe”.

She was my age when she put that out. I always thought she was in her 40’s during “The Bodyguard” soundtrack. It was the music, it was the hair, she always gave off Auntie vibes. She came off OLDER than Madonna and she was younger.

She suffered from the same thing Barbra Streisand had. Being in her 20’s and coming off like she was 45.

Whitney was never ever cool, at least to my generation. My teachers listened to Whitney Houston, me and my friends listened to Mariah Carey.

And Mariah could do things Whitney couldn’t do which was R&B and hip-hop, which Whitney sucked at.

Mariah’s hip hop stuff is terrible, save for some of the remixes. And Whitney’s music was always played by black radio stations. A lot of her music to me, is quite soulful.

Like this song came out in 2003 when I was 16.

She was completely washed and dried up and embarrassing by 2002. And it had been years since she had a hit.

This was Clive Davis trying to give her a big comeback ballad and it was fucking awful and embarrassing.

I remember laughing at the video the few times I saw it on TV.

But she’s dead so we’ve forgotten about all of this lol.

R109 Most of her hip-hop stuff are the remixes lol

I will add, crackhead Whitney was cool to my generation.

I mean we did know her as the great auntie diva of the late 80’s and early 90’s but we knew her as a crackhead.

Her Wendy Williams interview is the best thing she had done since “The Bodyguard” soundtrack.

Is there a thread for the new "In Defense of Whitney Houston" book?

Whitney's first album was R&B lite. Take Good Care of My Heart, Saving All My Love For You and You Give Good Love are soulful songs. Her second album was mostly dance pop. I don't see how Whitney is different from Prince, Michael Jackson, Jody Watley and Janet Jackson in doing both pop and r&b.

Mariah was cool because she hopped on trends and turned herself into a video vixen. She purposely tried to aim for a young audience. Whitney always seemed adult contemporary which is a genre that skews older. Mariah is crazy and became a joke. She entered Madonna territory of being a clown to young kids who don't remember when she was actually a top singer and performer. Whitney's legacy is being revived now actually and young people are trying to cover songs. Mariah's oversexed image isn't embraced by Gen Z who seemed more uptight actually.

It is true how Whitney always seemed "older." It was the pop ballads/Adult Contemporary sound. She was in the category of "my mom loves her music," along with Bette Midler and Gloria Estefan.

Also Whitney was never marketed as a sex symbol. She looked and sounder older than her peers despite not being much older.

I'm always amazed how different she was as a singer and esp live singer and how dumb she came across in interviews.

She was an amazing interpreter of melody and lyric and had a real sophistication about her, but she was a churchie through and through. The fact that she hung out with Kim Burrell in the last months before she died makes me think that, if she had lived she would have turned out like her mother. Bigoted, narrow minded and unpleasent. The Houstons were a trashy family.

She once said in an interview that they, meaning Clive and the industry, wanted her to do what Diana Ross did, marry a white guy, and she made a very dismissive remark about it. Whitney instead went to scrape the bottom of the barrel with Bobby Brown, like she didn't even look for a black guy that was decent, treated her well, wasn't a druggie and didn't cheat on her any chance he got.

She was such a dumb girl!!

[quote] 100% white girl Mariah

Eye Roll.

[quote] Mariah had a solid 20 years. Whitney had 10 and barely.

What? Whitney was popular from 1985 to 1999. Mariah from 1990 through 2008. And this is actually being unfair to Whitney (unlike Mariah or Madonna, Whitney never had a steep decline during her prime). Let's also not forget that Whitney' released WAY less studio material in her peak than Mariah did. Mariah was as productive as Madonna.

[quote] Whitney's legacy is being revived now actually and young people are trying to cover songs.

Her death is what did it.. Trust me, before her death, nobody was talking about Whitney positively. In fact, until her death, her digital singles sales were awful. In a way, she died at the perfect time--the point where digital single sales were at their peak and just shortly before Spotify took off.

She had a fantastic voice but I wasn't a fan of much of her material. I read that Clive Davis steered her into a more pop sound because he thought that would make more money for his company and to be fair, more money for her. Poor thing didn't have much agency over her own life--personal or public-- between Cissy, Clive, and Bobby. I've always thought she a sort of Trilby. The closeting was also destructive to her. For a revelatory look at Black Gospel music--which is where Whitney came from--and its homosexual subculture, I highly recommend "The Fan Who Knew Too Much" by Anthony Heilbot.

[quote]She once said in an interview that they, meaning Clive and the industry, wanted her to do what Diana Ross did, marry a white guy, and she made a very dismissive remark about it.

I hate to say it, but she probably would've been much better off if she'd married a white guy. Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Tina Turner (after she left Ike) and Sade (after she left her first husband) all married white guys and their lives were much more peaceful and much more sane and balanced as a result.

It's also funny that both Diana and Donna's daughters and sons were more Afrocentric then they were and just identify as Black. Whitney could have married a rich black CEO, lawyer or athlete. She choose a ghetto deadbeat like Bobby Brown who was younger and had kids as a teen.

Marrying a white guy would make little difference. It's about discipline, ethics, income and education. And if Whitney went for a white guy, it would probably also be another trashy druggie bad boy to do coke with. I know plenty of Black women with white trash thug boyfriends and husbands.

Whitney Houston never "interpreted" anything! That is preposterous, lol.

She belted every note as powerfully as she could and overpowered lyrics with volume as if they were an obstacle.

That is not what a song interpreter does.

[quote] Whitney's "Just Whitney", Mariah's "Charmbracelet", and JLo's "This is Me... Then"

All three are bad--with J Lo's clearly being the worst.

[Quote] She belted every note as powerfully as she could

Not true at all. She used her head voice often and expertly.

How asinine to suggest that Whitney should have married white. Diana Ross was blindsided by her husband in the divorce. And alcohol has been a problem for Miss Ross...

Whitney grew up in a household where someone shoved a wire hanger down her throat... And her brother has admitted to first taking heroin when he was a preteen. The Houston household was dark sided.

[quote] someone shoved a wire hanger down her throat

How original!

I love Whitney but she made so many stupid decisions... marrying Bobby, letting her family mooch off of her, and letting Pat Houston run her estate. Ugh. In return, what thanks did you get Whitney for giving Pat the estate?

A fucking hologram.

Is it Pat Houston's fault if she's the only one seemingly without addiction issues?

She was pitch-perfect without soul. "I Will Always Love You" was sung beautifully but without an ounce of love in it, not to my ears. Dolly Parton doesn't have the vocal range or strength Whitney did, but she sang the song with real emotion, and I felt it, I got no emotion from Whitney.

With Cissy out on the road touring all the time, she wasn’t really there to supervise the kids. I don’t know much about the first husband, but wasn’t Whitney’s father corrupt and something of a player?

First husband? Was Cissy married to Gary Garland's father?

Whitney's father was said to visit women during the day...

R136, Wikipedia says she was married to Freddie Garland from 1954 to 1956. She married Whitney’s dad in 1959.

R110, it’s not crap- it’s rather good, but it’s not the material you would expect from a great singer in the prime of her artistic life. Popularity when you’ve had her success become less satisfying for the greatest rather than pushing and exploring. This never happened with Whitney. Hasn’t with Celine either. Aretha, Linda and Streisand all moved into new genre and in the case of Streisand, sung just about all that could be- including her own. Streisand’s best work of the last 15 years was her least selling CD!

R126 That’s why I don’t get the hate for Madonna.

She understands what she’s capable of doing vocally and writes ballads that suit her vocals and there can be warmth and emotion there.

Unlike a Paula Abdul who sings out of her range on ballads where she’s a disaster trying to hold notes and belt.

Madonna’s “I’ll Remember” and “Take A Bow” is just as beautiful as anything Whitney and Celine and Mariah have done. If you gave those 3 a song like “Frozen”, they’d belt and shout all over it.

There’s nothing with wrong with not doing vocal aerobics.

She was a hilarious crackhead for so many years to be considered the tragic ingenue. Sorry.

[Quote] She understands what she’s capable of doing vocally and writes ballads that suit her vocals

Oh, please. "Take a Bow"... "Ray of Light"... Madonna has plenty of songs that contains notes she can't actually sing.

Madonna only interpreted in the 80s. She showed far more emotion in her first few albums with songs like Borderline, Live to Tell and Crazy For You. All her attempts at serious artful stuff in the 90s like Erotica, Bedroom Stories and Ray of Light, she sounds hollow and flat.

Rap and hip-hop songs are not sung at talent shows. And Houston has more Spotify listeners than Carey.

R132 Got to admit she makes decision like a trailer trash. I am pretty sure she signed into some shady contracts because she couldn't understand the terms of the contract.

Still love her.

I heard that Whitney Houston was basically illiterate. That is why she never wrote anything because she couldn't. Poor ghetto crack head. Didn't she almost have it all.

R146, I don't believe that. She graduated from a private high school.

Don’t believe it r147. That poster is a borderline racist troll…oh, who am I kidding…it’s a straight up racist troll.

Nope. Whitney never made it past grade 6. Pretty obvious considering all her ghetto choices in life.

Give it a rest.

Why is this thread the same 2 people back and forth, with the dumb racist 146 chiming in

R120 Until 1999? “My Love Is Your Love” peaked at #13 on the albums charts. It did well but Michael Jackson’s “History” album did well too and he was not “popular”.

For me it’s like Mariah was popular for Gen X in high school and then she came back around for Millennials high school. Not that high school is the scale of popularity but young kids definitely define the musical generations of popularity.

R144 Cause she’s dead.

Whitney was over years before she died. She was not relevant in the 2000’s.

[quote] Michael Jackson’s “History” album did well too and he was not “popular”.

This doesn't make sense. You can't have an album sell well and be unpopular at the same time. My Love is Your Love went 4x platinum. Considering that it was 14 years into Whitney's career, those are good numbers. Mariah's Rainbow sold less than My Love is Your Love despite hitting number two .

"For me it’s like Mariah was popular for Gen X in high school and then she came back around for Millennials high school. Not that high school is the scale of popularity but young kids definitely define the musical generations of popularity. "

Like, literally, like

Whitney has numerous hits from the "My Love Is Your Love" album. She was absolutely still relevant. It was really a comeback from her movie soundtrack period. Numerous singles post "Bodyguard" weren't the worldwide hits that she'd had previously.

Just rewatched Whitney's grammy win, and her mother was in there with her most of the times. Her mother basically followed her around and possibly controlling what she can or cannot do. That's not normal. Pretty sure she is one of those child actor parent who use their child to earn money. She seems so shady.

I think Dionne genuinely love her though. She and Robyn may be the only two person who are close to her and didn't use her to make money.

And Clive Davis is the most shady out of all. Why would he tell Whitey Houston to make an album when she doesn't want or need to and when he know fully her voice is gone. Super shady of him to tell Whitney to get back into the business. Greedy old jew.

Instead of driving herself to addiction, she should man up and tell the people around her to get off her back. She should learn a thing or two from Madonna and Mariah Carey.

[quote]Until 1999? “My Love Is Your Love” peaked at #13 on the albums charts.

Then stayed in the charts for most of 1999. It was one of those slow build albums that ended up being very popular.

Whitney's strength, however, was in her live performances. Starting with one on YouTube will send you fast down a rabbit hole. There were many nights when she was hoarse or the voice just wasn't there, yet somehow she pulled a rabbit out of the hat by delivering raw, stirring performances. As the clip at r32 shows, her personality played a part. She was funny, engaging and witty.