Whitney Houston: Tragic end to pop queen's reign
Source: Agencies |
February 13, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
WHITNEY Houston, pop music's queen until her majestic voice was ravaged by drug use and her regal image was tarnished by erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died on the eve of the Grammy Awards she once reigned over. She was 48.
Beverly Hills police said Houston was pronounced dead on Saturday afternoon in her room on the fourth floor of the Beverly Hilton.
Houston's publicist Kristen Foster said the cause of death was unknown. Police received an emergency call from hotel security about Houston and paramedics already at the hotel because of a Grammy party were not able to resuscitate her.
Houston's longtime mentor, Clive Davis, went ahead with his annual party at the hotel where her body was found. He dedicated the evening to her and asked for a moment of silence as a photo of the singer, hands wide open, looking to the sky, appeared on the screen.
Houston was supposed to appear at the gala, and Davis had hoped she would perhaps perform. "It's her favorite night of the year ... (so) who knows by the end of the evening," he had said.
Sweating profusely
Houston was at rehearsals for the show last Thursday, coaching singers Brandy and Monica. But she looked disheveled, was sweating profusely and liquor and cigarettes could be smelled on her breath.
Just days before, she had performed at another pre-Grammy party with singer Kelly Price. Singer Kenny Lattimore hosted the event, and said Houston sang the gospel classic "Jesus Loves Me" with Price, her voice registering softly, not with the same power it had at its height.
Lattimore said Houston was in a good mood, surrounded by friends and family, including daughter Bobbi Kristina.
"She just seemed like she was having a great night that night," said Lattimore, who said he was in shock over her death.
Aretha Franklin, her godmother, also said she was stunned.
"I just can't talk about it now," Franklin said in a short statement. "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen."
At her peak, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry. From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful and peerless vocals rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.
The perfect image
Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like "The Bodyguard" and "Waiting to Exhale."
She had the perfect voice and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise.
She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first emerged sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.
But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances.
She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse.
It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.
She seemed to be born into greatness. In addition to being Franklin's goddaughter, she was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston and the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick.
Houston made her album debut in 1985 with "Whitney Houston," which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. "Saving All My Love for You" brought her first Grammy for best female pop vocal. "How Will I Know," "You Give Good Love" and "The Greatest Love of All" also became hit singles.
Another multiplatinum album, "Whitney," came out in 1987 and included hits like "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."
Her 1992 marriage to soul crooner Bobby Brown seemed to be an odd union: she was seen as pop's pure princess while he had a bad-boy image.
Over the years, he would be arrested several times, on charges including DUI and failure to pay child support.
But Houston told Rolling Stone in 1993: "I am nobody's angel. I can get down and dirty. I can get raunchy."
Beverly Hills police said Houston was pronounced dead on Saturday afternoon in her room on the fourth floor of the Beverly Hilton.
Houston's publicist Kristen Foster said the cause of death was unknown. Police received an emergency call from hotel security about Houston and paramedics already at the hotel because of a Grammy party were not able to resuscitate her.
Houston's longtime mentor, Clive Davis, went ahead with his annual party at the hotel where her body was found. He dedicated the evening to her and asked for a moment of silence as a photo of the singer, hands wide open, looking to the sky, appeared on the screen.
Houston was supposed to appear at the gala, and Davis had hoped she would perhaps perform. "It's her favorite night of the year ... (so) who knows by the end of the evening," he had said.
Sweating profusely
Houston was at rehearsals for the show last Thursday, coaching singers Brandy and Monica. But she looked disheveled, was sweating profusely and liquor and cigarettes could be smelled on her breath.
Just days before, she had performed at another pre-Grammy party with singer Kelly Price. Singer Kenny Lattimore hosted the event, and said Houston sang the gospel classic "Jesus Loves Me" with Price, her voice registering softly, not with the same power it had at its height.
Lattimore said Houston was in a good mood, surrounded by friends and family, including daughter Bobbi Kristina.
"She just seemed like she was having a great night that night," said Lattimore, who said he was in shock over her death.
Aretha Franklin, her godmother, also said she was stunned.
"I just can't talk about it now," Franklin said in a short statement. "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen."
At her peak, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry. From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful and peerless vocals rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.
The perfect image
Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like "The Bodyguard" and "Waiting to Exhale."
She had the perfect voice and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise.
She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first emerged sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.
But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances.
She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse.
It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.
She seemed to be born into greatness. In addition to being Franklin's goddaughter, she was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston and the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick.
Houston made her album debut in 1985 with "Whitney Houston," which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. "Saving All My Love for You" brought her first Grammy for best female pop vocal. "How Will I Know," "You Give Good Love" and "The Greatest Love of All" also became hit singles.
Another multiplatinum album, "Whitney," came out in 1987 and included hits like "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."
Her 1992 marriage to soul crooner Bobby Brown seemed to be an odd union: she was seen as pop's pure princess while he had a bad-boy image.
Over the years, he would be arrested several times, on charges including DUI and failure to pay child support.
But Houston told Rolling Stone in 1993: "I am nobody's angel. I can get down and dirty. I can get raunchy."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
