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Whitney Houston Dies At Age 48
LOS ANGELES—Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.
Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.
At her peak, Houston the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.
Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like "The Bodyguard" and "Waiting to Exhale."
She had the he 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 came out 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, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.
"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.
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. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin.
Comment
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Comment by Michael Brown on February 14, 2012 at 10:14am
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You're right DJ Freeze, She had enough people around her to say to her 'STOP' get some help. Was she doing drugs when she died, we don't know. But years of heavy drug use can do harm to the body that may effect you later. R.I.P. Whitney, you will be missed.
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Comment by DJ FREEZE on February 14, 2012 at 6:15am
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The bigger question is why do people continuously go down this road of self destruction especially after we see example after example of what the end result is? The average person can only dream to attain the celebrity, status and success of a Whitney and a Michael…. yet they met the same alleged demise at the hand of drug abuse. In their circles are countless lives filled with excess, accessibility, financial means and enablers willing to do anything to associate. Sure drugs can give you an escape, a release & a temporary high but no one ever thinks about the depths that drugs can take you to. Even for the few that beat it, the toll that it takes on your mind, body and your life.... you still can’t get the years back fighting that. Wake up people, is it really worth it???
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@ LaShonda:
Let's not blame Bobby.... "cocaine is a hellava drug...."- Rick James. My question is where was Ray J?
RIP Whitney, definitely gone far too soon. Whitney was a grown woman (drug addiction aside) and was responsible for her own actions. That said, what would a 48 year old woman of her celebrity & status want with a bottom feeding z lister that is at least 16 years younger than her? Then factor in the whole drug thing and Ray J (& Brandy) looks like he (they) smoke every tree in the woods. That relationship seemed suspect to me from the jump. He was an enabler plain & simple, just as much as Bobby was when he & Whitney were married. And don’t get it twisted, Whitney was addicted to drugs long before Bobby came into her life. Together they were toxic because neither of them could say no. The difference is that Ray J has little to no celebrity, no status, no (real) money, no career. He’s Brandy’s brother, PERIOD. He has been riding coat tails his whole life trying to parlay sex tapes, reality shows and anything else he can leech off of into some kind of career for himself. Whitney was just his latest victim. He’s worse than a parasite. If the relationship was so healthy then why couldn’t he reach her when she needed him the most? Instead he played the boy toy and used what little celebrity and fringe benefit that Whitney had left to the very end. Bottom feeder.
Read more: http://straightfromthea.com/2012/02/12/brandy-supports-distraught-b...
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Comment by Dawn Davis on February 12, 2012 at 1:53am
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What a great loss , R.I.P Whitney ,thanks for graceing us with your beautiful talent !
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Comment by Yolander Jackson on February 11, 2012 at 9:47pm
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Got Essence Mag in the mail today.It has a photo of Whitney (looking great) stated Whitney In the Spotlight Again for the remake of Sparkle.Then the text from 92Q about her death.Sad,another reminder how precious life is and death comes in an instant.My thoughts to her family and all of us fans.Be at peace Whitney.
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so sad what a lost of hearing of Whitney Houston passing may she rest in peace and my heart goes out to her family with prayer
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Its so sad to hear about Whitney RIP All this happening on the eve of the Grammys & The New Edition concert simply devestating.
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Comment by Ernest B. Murray on February 11, 2012 at 8:11pm
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We love you Whitney, Rest in peace.
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Comment by LaShonda Bracey on February 11, 2012 at 8:04pm
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Lord why! I was really hoping that Whitney would finally get her life together. I wonder where she would be in life or where her life might have gone if she had never gotten involved with Bobby Brown.
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Comment by Kraziekat on February 11, 2012 at 8:02pm
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R.I.P. Whitney Houston.
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