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Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9,
1963) is an American pop and R&B singer and actress.
Houston has also been a film producer,
songwriter and former fashion model.
Houston's debut album was released in 1985
to considerable critical and commercial success, and within the next
three years she released a record seven consecutive number-one hits on
the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, a record that still has been unbroken.
She was one of a handful of African-American artists who received heavy
rotation on MTV during the network's early years in the 1980s.
Houston continued her success in the 1990s
with the release of several films and their corresponding soundtrack
albums, the most popular of which was The Bodyguard (1992), which became
one of the best-selling albums of all time and produced her hit
signature song "I Will Always Love You" (a cover of Dolly Parton's
original). Her record sales during the next decade were modest, and her
personal life became the subject of controversy because of allegations
of drug abuse. As of 2002, Houston had sold over 120 million albums and
50 million singles [1].
****
Birth name Whitney Elizabeth Houston
Born August 9, 1963
Origin East Orange, New Jersey, United
States
Genre(s) Pop, R&B, gospel
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, actress,
film producer, fashion model
Years active 1984–present
Label(s) SonyBMG/Arista
Website WhitneyHouston.com
****
Personal and family life
Early years
Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey to
John and Cissy Houston. She was born and raised Baptist but also exposed
to the Pentecostal church. She attended a Catholic high school.
Houston's mother, first cousin (Dionne
Warwick) and godmother (Aretha Franklin) were all notable figures in the
music industry for their gospel, rhythm and blues and soul music
recordings. At the age of eleven, Houston began to follow in their
footsteps and started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir
at the New Hope Baptist church in Newark, New Jersey.
Married life
Houston married R&B singer Bobby Brown in
1992. Their relationship came as a surprise; at the time, Houston's
image was very demure and elegant, and Brown's raunchy stage persona was
a substantial contrast.
On March 4, 1993 she gave birth to the
couple's first child, daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown.
In September 2006, it was reported that the
couple are in the process of splitting up. Houston filed legal papers to
initiate the process; there are conflicting reports as to what occurred.
According to publicist Nancy Seltzer, Houston filed for divorce from
Brown on September 8, 2006. [1] However, Brown's lawyer, Phaedra Parks,
indicated that the action was a legal separation, and not a petition for
divorce. Parks indicated that in the separation papers, Houston
requested custody of the couple's 13-year old daughter Bobbi Kristina,
and requested that any property litigation be postponed until a later
date. [2] The separation will become a divorce in October; Houston has
hired attorney Stephen Kolodny, who has represented many celebrities in
their divorce trials. [2]
Music career
Early music career
She was featured as the lead vocalist on
the Michael Zager Band's single "Life's a Party" in 1978, and Zager was
so impressed that he offered to obtain her a record deal but she
declined. In the early-1980s, she started appearing as a fashion model
in various magazine advertisements and snagged the cover of Seventeen
magazine and a Canada Dry commercial. During these modeling years, she
also continued to balance her burgeoning singing career by working with
producers Michael Bienhorn, Bill Laswell and Martin Bisi on an album
they were spearheading called One Down, credited to the group Material.
It was planned to contain eight songs, each one featuring a different
lead vocalist. Houston contributed the ballad "Memories," which received
favorable reviews from The Village Voice when the album debuted.
Houston had been offered several record
deals (from Michael Zager in 1980, and Elektra Records in 1981) and in
1983 an A&R representative from Arista saw Houston performing with her
mother in a nightclub in New York City. Clive Davis saw Houston and
offered her a worldwide-contract, which Houston signed. Her debut album
took over two years to complete, as the team searched for songs to
complement her voice. Houston's first taste of commercial success was
with "Hold Me", a duet with Teddy Pendergrass (which first appeared on
his album, Love Language) which peaked into the top fifty on the U.S.
pop chart and the top five of the R&B chart.
Music career chart success
Houston's self-titled 1985 debut album was
initially a slow seller, until the success of its single "You Give Good
Love". That single gave Houston her first top five hit on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100. Follow-up singles "Saving All My Love for You", "How
Will I Know" and "Greatest Love of All" all went to number one on the
pop charts, and Whitney Houston eventually topped the album charts. The
album went on to sell twenty-four million copies worldwide (with over
thirteen million copies being sold in the U.S. alone),[citation needed]
making it the best-selling debut album ever by a female artist at its
time of release, which it was then broken by Britney Spears' debut
album, ...Baby One More Time. Her first worldwide tour, "The Greatest
Love Tour", took place in 1986.
Houston's second album, Whitney (1987),
debuted at number one in the U.S. and the UK, the first album by a
female artist to do so. It eventually went on to sell over nineteen
million copies worldwide (with over nine million copies being sold in
the U.S. alone).[citation needed] The singles "I Wanna Dance with
Somebody", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional" and "Where Do
Broken Hearts Go" brought her total of consecutive Hot 100 number-one
hits to seven, breaking a record previously shared by The Beatles and
The Bee Gees (with six). Houston embarked on the worldwide "The Moment
of Truth" tour. She also recorded the theme song to 1988 Olympics, "One
Moment in Time", which peaked at number five in the U.S. and reached
number one in the UK.
Houston's third album I'm Your Baby Tonight
(1990) featured collaborations with Stevie Wonder and Luther Vandross
and reached number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. It did not sell as
well as her first two albums, but sold quite well with twelve million
copies sold worldwide (four million of those in the U.S.).[citation
needed] The first two singles, "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "All the Man
That I Need" went to number one in the U.S., and "Miracle" went top ten.
"My Name Is Not Susan" and "I Belong to You", however, were less
successful. Houston embarked on the "I'm Your Baby Tonight" world tour
in 1991. The tour was voted "Worst Tour of the Year" by Rolling Stone
poll voters[3] and had poor attendance records in over half of the
venues. Her performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV
in January 1991 was released as a single and reached the top twenty of
the U.S. charts, and all proceeds went to the American Red Cross. Her
rendition of the national anthem was named number one in the NFL's 2003
list of top twenty-five musical moments in NFL history. Her concert at
Norfolk, Virginia as she welcomed back U.S. troops returning from the
Gulf War received high ratings on HBO.
Soundtrack recordings
Houston had chart success with several
soundtracks of films that she appeared in.
The soundtrack to the film (see The
Bodyguard (soundtrack)) became a bestseller; of July 2006 the RIAA had
certified it platinum seventeen times, which made it the biggest selling
film soundtrack and female album of all time.[citation needed] Houston's
remake of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" spent a
record-breaking fourteen weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100
and broke numerous chart records all over the world; it also sold over
nine million copies worldwide, making it still the best-selling single
by a female artist ever and one of the most-played songs of all time.
Additional singles from the soundtrack—"I'm Every Woman" (her remake of
Chaka Khan's 1978 song), "I Have Nothing", "Run to You" and "Queen of
the Night" (which she co-wrote)—were also radio, chart, and club hits.
Houston recorded three songs for the
Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, and the leading single, "Exhale (Shoop
Shoop)", debuted at number one on the Hot 100 and became the single with
the longest time spent at number two in music history. "Count on Me" (a
duet with CeCe Winans) was another top ten hit, though "Why Does It Hurt
So Bad" only reached the top forty.
The soundtrack to The Preacher's Wife saw
Houston returning to gospel music. Songs like "I Believe in You and Me",
the Annie Lennox-penned "Step by Step", and "You Were Loved" were
popular, and the soundtrack eventually became the biggest selling gospel
album of all-time with over five million copies sold worldwide.[citation
needed]
During this period, she and husband Bobby
Brown wrote the song "Something in Common", which reached the UK top
twenty on release. That year she became the first American singer to
perform in post-apartheid South Africa, and her concerts raised money to
aid South Africa's children.
Subsequent albums
My Love Is Your Love, Houston's fourth
studio album, was originally conceived as a greatest hits album with a
handful of new tracks, but the recording sessions went more smoothly
than expected and produced enough new material for a full-length album.
Recorded and mixed in only six weeks, My Love Is Your Love was released
in 1998 and sold over eleven million copies worldwide. Co-produced by
Houston, it was more hip-hop and R&B driven and saw her branching out
musically with collaborations with producers such as Wyclef Jean, Missy
Elliott, Lauryn Hill, and Babyface. Houston also recorded "Heartbreak
Hotel" (with Faith Evans and Kelly Price), "It's Not Right but It's
Okay", and "My Love Is Your Love", which all reached the U.S. top five.
All but one of the album's singles become number-one dance hits,
establishing Houston's presence on the U.S. club scene. After the "My
Love Is Your Love Tour", She also performed on the VH1 Diva's Live '99
special with artists such as Mary J. Blige, Tina Turner, Cher, and Chaka
Khan. Houston also recorded the song "When You Believe", a duet with
Mariah Carey, for The Prince of Egypt soundtrack. The song won an
Academy Award.
Houston subsequently released Whitney: The
Greatest Hits over eleven million copies worldwide and spending two
weeks at number one on the UK chart. The compilation included duets with
Enrique Iglesias ("Could I Have This Kiss Forever"), George Michael ("If
I Told You That") and Deborah Cox ("Same Script, Different Cast").
In August 2001 Houston signed the biggest
record deal in history with Arista/BMG: she renewed her contract (worth
an estimated $100 million) to deliver six new albums on which she would
earn royalties. Two months later, she re-released her version of "The
Star Spangled Banner" after the September 11th attacks; it reached the
U.S. top ten, achieved platinum status and its proceeds were donated to
a relief fund.
Just Whitney, released in December 2002,
received mostly modest reviews and, although it reached the top ten on
the Billboard 200, it failed to reach the top seventy-five in the UK and
sold just three million copies worldwide (less than one million in the
U.S.). The singles "Whatchulookinat" (co-written by Houston), "One of
Those Days" and "Try It on My Own" failed to reach the top forty on the
U.S. Hot 100, but remixes of "Whatchulookinat", "Try It on My Own" and
"Love That Man" reached #1 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Chart.
In late 2003, she delivered her sixth
studio album, a Christmas release entitled One Wish: The Holiday Album
which consisted of covers of Christmas songs. Though the single "One
Wish (for Christmas)" (a cover of the Freddie Jackson song) reached the
top twenty on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, the album itself
failed to achieve gold status in the U.S.[4] Houston's first studio
album not to do so.
In 2004, Houston embarked on an
international tour, including the "Soul Divas" tour with Natalie Cole
and cousin Dionne Warwick in Germany, as well as several solo dates in
the Middle East, Russia, and East Asia. In September 2004 she made a
surprise performance at the World Music Awards, in tribute to long time
friend Clive Davis.
Current/anticipated career activity
She performed at the 2006 Winter Olympics
in February 2006, in Torino, Italy to a poor reception. Houston,
escorted by Clive Davis, also attended the 15th annual Society of
Singers ELLA Awards in Beverly Hills, California on September 12, 2006
which was Honouring Johnny Mathis.
Music mogul Clive Davis has announced that
six songs have been chosen for Houston's upcoming album, which will
start recording soon.[citation needed]
Film and television career
During the 1980s, as Houston was working on
launching a music career, she also auditioned for acting roles,
including the part of Sondra Huxtable on The Cosby Show, which was won
by Sabrina Le Beauf. She also earned guest-starring roles on episodes of
Gimme a Break and Silver Spoons.
Houston's first major film role was in The
Bodyguard (co-starring Kevin Costner), The film was commercially
successful, grossing over $120 million in the U.S. and $410 million
worldwide, but reviews were mixed, and Houston received three Razzie
Award nominations.
Houston also starred alongside Angela
Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon in the 1995 film Waiting to
Exhale, on which she served as executive producer. The film was another
success in the U.S., grossing over $70 million,
The 1996 film The Preacher's Wife had
Houston star along Denzel Washington. It grossed nearly $50 million in
the U.S.,
In 1997 she co-produced and starred in
(along with Brandy, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, Bernadette Peters,
and Victor Garber) a made-for-television remake of Rodgers &
Hammerstein's Cinderella. Airing in November 1997 via ABC, the film
attracted a record-breaking television audience of over sixty million
U.S. viewers, won an Emmy Award and holds the record of the highest
selling video of a made-for-TV film.
Houston also became involved in film as a
producer. She undertook her first major film producing assignment: the
Disney comedy The Princess Diaries starring Anne Hathaway and Dame Julie
Andrews. The film grossed over $100 million at the U.S. box office, and
her production company Brownhouse received a percentage of the profits.
Houston produced two other projects for
Disney: the 2003 television film The Cheetah Girls (starring
Raven-Symone) and the sequel The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.
In May 2006, Houston also was an executive producer for The Cheetah
Girls sequel The Cheetah Girls 2: When In Spain.
Houston co-starred in 2005 on her husband's
reality TV program Being Bobby Brown, which provided a view into the
domestic goings-on in the Brown household. The show even won the number
one clip on a 2005 episode of The Soup on E! which can be watched here.
Awards
Houston has won twenty-one American Music
Awards (a record for a solo artist), and six Grammy Awards. Among the
recognition Houston has recieved:
For Whitney Houston:
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" Grammy
Award for "Saving All My Love for You"
Emmy Award for "Outstanding Individual
Performance in a Variety Program on TV"
For Whitney:
Grammy Award, Best Female Pop Vocal
Performance " for "I Wanna Dance with Somebody"
Several American Music Awards for "Whitney"
For I'm Your Baby Tonight:
Four Billboard Music Awards
For The Bodyguard soundtrack:
Grammy Awards for "Best Female Pop Vocal
Performance", "Record of the Year" and "Album of the Year"
Eleven Billboard Music Awards
Eight American Music Awards
For the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack:
Three NAACP Image Awards for "Outstanding
Female Artist", "Album of the Year" and "Best Soundtrack Album"
Two American Music Awards for "Favorite
Adult Contemporary Artist" and "Favorite Soundtrack"
Soul Train Music Award for "Best Female
R&B/Soul Single"
For My Love Is Your Love:
MTV Europe Award for "Best R&B Artist"
Two NAACP Image Awards
Grammy Award for "Best Female R&B Vocal
Performance" ("It's Not Right but It's Okay")
Other recognition:
Soul Train Music Award for "Artist of the
Decade".
"First Annual Lifetime Achievement" at the
BET Awards in 2001.
A 2004 Women's World Award
Lifetime Achievement Award
At the first annual BET Awards in 2001,
Houston was honored with the Lifetime Achievement award. During the
dedication segment of the ceromony, singers Christina Aguilera and
Luther Vandross paid tribute to Houston.
Controversies/personal challenges
Houston has been at the center of intense
media attention and speculation about her personal life. Media coverage
became more intense after her marriage to Brown, and has included
speculation about her career and her marriage to Brown, as well as more
unusual tabloid stories, and the recent revelation that Osama bin Laden
was preoccupied with Houston. [3]
Shortly before the release of the CD and
DVD Whitney: The Greatest Hits in April 2000, airport security
discovered several grams of marijuana in Houston and husband Bobby
Brown's luggage at a Hawaiian airport, but they boarded the plane and
departed before police could arrive. Charges were later dropped against
her and Brown but other rumors about drug use developed around the
couple, and Houston became well known in the industry for cancelling
appearances. Shortly before the December 2002 release of her fifth
studio album Just Whitney, Houston gave an interview with Diane Sawyer
(where she discussed drug allegations and marital issues). Houston
entered drug rehabilitation facilities in March 2004 and again in March
2005.
Tabloid media and traditional news outlets
reported in early 2006 that Houston was again fighting drug addiction.
The National Enquirer published pictures of a bathroom (purportedly
Houston's) littered with drug paraphernalia, and credited the pictures
to Tina Brown (Bobby Brown's sister). Tina Brown also said that there
were holes drilled in the walls of her apartment so Houston could see if
anyone was entering. The story has received substantial coverage in the
media.[5] [6] [7] [8]
John Houston dispute
Houston became involved in a dispute with
her father, John Houston. In 2002, John Houston's company sued his
daughter for $100 million, stating that they were owed the money for
helping to guide her career, as well as helping Houston manage the
controversies surrounding her career. [4]. Both of them appeared on
television and disputed the other's claims. [5] John Houston died in
January 2003. His daughter attended a wake for her father, but did not
attend his funeral. [6]
Health concerns
In addition to the allegations about drug
usage, Houston's appearance has led to speculation that she was
anorexic, had a eating disorder, or experienced weight loss in
conjunction with the drug usage. In particular, Houston's appearance at
the 30th anniversary concert for singer Michael Jackson elicited a
strong response. [7]
In 2006, it was reported that Houston had a
brain tumor; she made a statement via her website stating, "Please note
that reports on Whitney's health circulating in the media at present are
not true and totally unfounded."[9]
Discography
Number-one songs
The following songs reached number-one on
the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 or Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and
Tracks charts.
1985: "You Give Good Love"
1985: "Saving All My Love for You"
1986: "How Will I Know"
1986: "Greatest Love of All"
1987: "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who
Loves Me)"
1987: "Didn't We Almost Have It All"
1988: "So Emotional"
1988: "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"
1990: "I'm Your Baby Tonight"
1991: "All the Man That I Need"
1992: "I Will Always Love you"
1995: "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)"
1999: "Heartbreak Hotel" (with Faith Evans
and Kelly Price)
2001: "The Star Spangled Banner"
****
References
1 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,213689,00.html
2 http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_21239319.shtml
3 Rolling Stone, December 1991.
4 http://www.riaa.com/
5
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/04/12/whitney_houston/index.html
6
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006140354,00.html
7
http://www.azcentral.com/ent/celeb/articles/0420houston.html
8
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,189581,00.html Fox News
9 http://www.whitneyhouston.com/news/
****
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