Y&RWorldTurner

Here's the 1998 Behind The Music special in its entirety. Again, I can't fully link it, since embedding isn't allowed: ...http://vimeo.com/6752935

One of the best Behind The Music specials VH1 ever did was Madonna's. There's an even longer version from 2001, but here is the original version that aired in 1998 during the Ray of Light era. She talks about the Sex book era in this part ...http://vimeo.com/6743317 (I can't embed the video or post the link fully)

Some of Shep's Pettibone's best work was with the Erotica era remixes, which were heavily house-influenced and surpassed a lot of the album versions. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/k3rqs5LaXZw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It's really a testament to Babs that she managed to transcend so many different eras and trends and still keep her core element and audience in tact. I'm partial to her 70's output, which is all over the place and the era she was embraced pop and contemporary music the most.

Those television specials she did hold up well too. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/X2nLsn1Ljxg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tZNFLWV8tfg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Her take on this has always been my favourite: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/99cCk3KtBNU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I'll admit to liking some of her work, even if she sometimes has a very grating personality. As Disco was also a topic, here are Barbra's brief forays into disco. I know some may consider her Guilty album, produced by Barry Gibby as disco-lite, but to me, it's always been more Easy Listening, with the exception of Promises. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5szncrypGpU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bhr77PnXZpc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nketoWvCES4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> And of course: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QsY066wa08E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The Sex book wasn't even that graphic, IMO. That 92-93 period was scathing for her. She was overexposed, and you couldn't turn on the TV or read a magazine without something talking about her. Up until that point there had been a careful balance between the music and the image she was trying to convey, and the music was lost in the shuffle during that era. Not to mention, Erotica was never a particularly commercial and radio friendly album, and one of the reasons she primarily focused on ballads in the mid 90's (with Something To Remember), was to soften up her image. Bedtime Story was her transition album, and one of her most dated IMO. Of course, in addition to motherhood and the glow she had after Evita, it all laid the groundwork for Ray of Light in the end.

I still consider this the best closing any of her tours: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/emFWmJjsR_A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Though, I think this one was perhaps her most heartfelt: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9x0M3mK-TO4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I know the Blonde Ambition tour performances of Express Yourself is considered iconic, but I prefer the faux-disco Girlie Show version: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1p9hVbvl4wQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Another highlight for me. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/STJaPzwi2zc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Several versions of Blonde Ambition were filmed. The one from the Japan show, which is widely available online, and there's one from a date she did in Spain that aired in Spain and the UK. That's the one where the weather was reportedly 100 degrees and Madonna's hair was frizzy... The show from Nice, France of coursed aired on HBO, and one of the Paris shows was apparently filmed entirely during the making of Truth or Dare - which many consider the best recorded show of the lot.

Blonde Ambition had an iron-clad contract with Pioneer that stipulated that it could only be released on laser disc (remember that?) for a certain amount of time. Neither Madonna or Warner Brothers own the DVD rights to it, despite conflicting claims. Though, I'm sure it could be purchased or at least licensed. The 1990 HBO broadcast of the Blonde Ambition Tour was such a huge event during the summer of 1990. It really helped set the stage for a lot of modern pop tours. I still consider that era her peak in not only popularity and cultural relevance, but in artistry. In a lot of ways Girlie Show is a better produced tour, but nothing can top her raw energy and her audience interaction on the Blonde Ambition Tour. Her sense of humour was great back then too.

Whitney left everything to Bobbi-Kristina in her will, not surprisingly. http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/story/2012-03-07/Whitney-Houston-will/53403342/1 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2111832/Whitney-Houston-leaves-daughter-Bobbi-Kristina-ex-husband-Bobby-Brown.html

I never thought Oprah was the classiest woman, but she couldn't wait at least 6 months? I guess anything to bring attention to the disaster that is OWN... Fact is Oprah's Next Chapter is the highest rated show on OWN, and last month's Whitney special (which was a re-broadcast of the 2009 interview with Whitney) was OWN's biggest success last month. This is so not a coincidence. It's a blatant appeal on Oprah's part for ratings, which her network basically needs.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/p2FnunslP1E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I just had to. No one did Whitney better than Debra Wilson.

In an era of overproduced generic pop music, she stands out due to her only selling point being her voice and ballads. I think people were craving something different from the average run of the mill pop star, and Adele just struck that cord and came along at the right time. 21 is also a massive success in the UK, and was the #1 selling album in both the US and UK last year (worldwide overall too). I do think her US fans are a bit more obsessive though, but she's equally as successful in the UK.

http://www.billboard...006310552.story

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UAWcs5H-qgQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/c4BLVznuWnU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Also like the acoustic version he did at last week's BRITS: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QyK5junVk4E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Us78Mw3Fr9U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I think I'll pass, that's not an era I want to experience again.

Per Robyn last week in Esquire: http://www.esquire.c...houston-6654718

I don't want to feed into speculation, but it seemed like the bond she had with Robyn was unlike any other bond she had in her life. I seriously wonder how much truth there is to her wanting to be with Robyn, but Cissy, Clive, the church, and the industry making her go in another direction to keep up appearances. As for prophetic last words, Vh1 had a great one in their special about her. I can't remember Whitney's exact quote, but it was about how she wanted to be remembered and the how she doesn't plan her life.

Diane asked about Robyn too in their interview, there were apparently problems between Robyn and Booby. 6:53 in: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mEqeGWKeaSE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Whitney's one-time best friend, and her alleged longtime lesbian lover. The two were extremely close since they were teens. Robyn was also Whitney personal assistant, and only quit when Whitney's life and career started to deteriorate in the early 00's.