Whitney Houston dead at 48!

[dragonflies]

It's most likely just a rumor but I read she mixed barbituate's with alcohol & drown in the tub

[Soapsuds]

Apparently Bobby is now flying to LA to be with his daughter....ummm...really kind of late.....

[Cat]

I've been away from a computer since I heard this, but words cannot express how shocking and devastating this is. The news services here are all saying "this was not unexpected" but I honestly thought that Whitney's mother, daughter, Clive Davis and her own faith would pull her through her drugs hell. I *wanted* to see Whitney make it. I wanted to see her sing even after the damage that crack did to her vocal cords. Even with that damage, this woman's singing ability is still worlds away from the Xtinas, Timberlakes, Katy Perrys, the smug and entitled brats who really do think they are the second coming of Whitney and Michael Jackson. Like, I can't even stomach seeing JT on the screen anymore, I just want him to sit his ass DOWN and STFU. Whitney was the real deal.

I thought she would "make it" because Whitney projected a lot of strength and dynamism in her songs. It's Not Right But it's OK is the most obvious example, but even the full-on love ballads like IWALY seemed to transform and strengthen Whitney-the-performer by their very message of love and transcendence. She was infinitely more fragile, isolated and vulnerable than her singing persona projected. Very early on in her pop career there was criticism that she couldn't dance, that she was too square. We forget how accessible, inclusive, simple and iconic those songs and her voice really were. How fun they were. NEVER "Look at me, I'm so edgy and now I'm going to flash my vajayjay at you." Whitney didn't need all that stuff to distract from her talent. Today her songs really show up a lot of current "artists" with the exception of, say, Adele.

Fragile too because there was speculation that she was closeted, that her BFF Robin who went everywhere with her may have been more than that, that her family and her faith prevented her from "coming out," that Bobby Brown's bad boy attitude attracted her, that she married him to also appease doubts within herself... I don't know if it's true or not, I don't care, but what people close to her say is that the day she met Brown was the day the downward spiral began.

The cause of her death will take time, I think, because it could be an Amy Winehouse situation where no drugs were found in her system but her body was just so worn out by the years of drink and drug abuse that it just gave out. I'd like to think that her death won't overshadow her incredible body of work or her talent. We won't hear the likes of that voice again.

Edited February 13, 2012 by Cat

[Cheap21]

No its not and FYI, he just landed in LA at the time of your post

Edited February 13, 2012 by Cheap21

[dragonflies]

Yeah it really it, he should have been at her side the second he found out instead of doing a stupid concert. His daughter is near suicidal and he's just not getting there? What a douchebag

[Cheap21]

She is in LA...he was on the east coast. Do you know exactly when he found out about Whitney? Assuming it was late Saturday night like the rest of us, it takes time to get a ticket last minute to fly out there. Its about 6 hours on a straight flight to LA from Nashville and at least 8 hours if he had to take a connecting flight (which is is possible considering this was all last minute). He arrived in LA around 11pm the next day which means he left for a 3-5 pm flight (add to that the 1-2 hours reccommended to be at an airport before departure). I dont think its fair to criticize and bash him, not knowing his situation. Its not like the guy was an hours drive away. The guy has other kids, including a toddler. Maybe he needed to get some sh-t together before he left? He loved and was married to Whitney for years. He most likely was extremely devasted by this and needed some time to get himself together before he could see Bobbi Kristina bc he'd be no good to her if he wasnt strong but was a mess himself.

Edited February 13, 2012 by Cheap21

[Angela]

I can't agree with this. Almost every Live performance I've watched from her after the damage sounds similar to this and for all their WTFCareness, a lot of the young stars today sound better than this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI2-DoRqSCA

But before the damage, NOBODY could touch that voice. NOBODY.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Whitney clearly lost her voice after 2000 or so, when the drug use became more and more apparent and more out of control.

You could tell that not only did she not take care of it, but she had lost all passion for signing.

Edited February 13, 2012 by Y&RWorldTurner

[Cat]

I guess. I'm thinking of the Dolla Bill sing written by Alicia Keyes, but I guess Autotune may have played a part there.

[DRW50]

I really wonder whether either of Bobbi's parents were ever there for her, especially with the drug headlines last year.

I first read about the Whitney Houston lesbian rumors in a Pamela des Barres book, or somewhere. I didn't remember they even mentioned them in that Diane Sawyer interview.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Many have alleged over the years that Robyn is the love of Whitney's life, and that she only married Bobby to prove her "street credibility" and her "straightness."

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Let's not forget there was a huge backlash against Whitney in the late 80's within the black community/urban radio.

Starting with her sophomore album, Whitney's songs were exclusively promoted to top 40/pop formats, not R&B radio. In fact, her sound had become entirely pop-based on her sophomore album and Whitney would only go to pop outlets to promote it.

They tried to bridge the gap with her I'm Your Baby Tonight album with very mixed results.

Hence, why this travesty was released as a single (and flopped hard):

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/r6qsoP75y4Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Edited February 14, 2012 by Y&RWorldTurner

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Given Wendy and Whitney's complicated history, I thought I'd share...

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1jtGLFTrIiE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[DRW50]

At first I thought this might just be a way to get attention but you can see how much it means to her.

I'd forgotten about the Wendy/Whitney confrontation. That was the first time I'd heard of Wendy.

That woman looking confused and smacking her gum as she holds a Whitney fan cracks me up.

[Cheap21]

This nearly made me cry

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Edited to add: just saw Y&RWorldTurner posted it

Edited February 13, 2012 by Cheap21