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Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9 , 1963 ) is an American Pop and R&B singer, Actress , Film Producer , and former Model . She is well-known for her powerful vocals, Melismatic style, her expansive vocal range and her agile Coloratura . Houston is one of a few African-American artists to receive heavy rotation on behind Barbra Streisand , Madonna , and Mariah Carey ,http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblTopArt and she has sold over 170 million records worldwide.http://www.whitneyhouston.com/bio.html Rumors of Spousal Abuse , and Drug Abuse stifled her album sales during the early 2000s. She entered into drug rehabilitation twice. After a successful second program in 2006, Houston divorced her husband Bobby Brown and gained custody of their daughter. She has since been working on her 7th studio album with music mogul and close friend Clive Davis . {Link without Title} EARLY LIFE Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey , and is the third and youngest child of John and Cissy Houston . She was raised a Baptist , but was also exposed to the Pentecostal church. As a teenager, she attended a Roman Catholic single-sex high school, Mount Saint Dominic Academy. Houston’s mother Cissy, her first cousin ( Dionne Warwick ), and godmother ( Aretha Franklin ) are all notable figures in the Gospel Music , Rhythm And Blues and Soul Music genres. 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. MUSIC CAREER Early career: 1977-1986 In and Martin Bisi on an album they were spearheading called ''One Down'', which was credited to the group Material . For that project, Houston contributed the ballad “Memories” (composed by Hugh Hopper , lyrics by Robert Wyatt ), which received favorable reviews from '' The Village Voice '' when the album was released. Houston had been offered several recordings contracts (from Michael Zager in 1980 , and Elektra Records in 1981 ) when, in 1983 , an A&R representative from Arista Records saw her performing with her mother in a New York City night club. Clive Davis , Arista's label head, later saw her perform and offered her a worldwide contract, which Houston signed. Later in the year, Whitney made her national televised debut alongside Davis on the '' The Merv Griffin Show .'' While recording her debut album, Houston recorded a duet with Teddy Pendergrass titled “Hold Me,” which appeared on his album, ''Love Language''. The single peaked in the top fifty on the U.S. pop chart and became a top five R&B hit, and would later be featured on her debut album as well. Released in February award for ‘Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female’ for “Saving All My Love For You”; two American Music Awards for ‘Favorite Soul/ R&B Video’ and ‘Favorite Soul/ R&B Single’ for “Saving All My Love” and “You Give Good Love” respectively; and a MTV Video Music Award for ‘Best Female Video of the Year’ (“How Will I Know”) 1987-1988: ''Whitney'' Houston’s second album, '',” “ Didn't We Almost Have It All ,” “ So Emotional ,” and “ Where Do Broken Hearts Go ” all peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100—which brought her a total of seven consecutive Hot 100 number-one hits; breaking the record of six previously shared by The Beatles and The Bee Gees . The album's fifth, and final single, “ Love Will Save The Day ” peaked at number nine on the Hot 100. The ''Whitney'' album was certified nine times platinum in the America, and sold approximately 20 million worldwide. Houston won her second Grammy in 1988 , for ‘Best Female Pop Vocal Performance’ (“I Wanna Dance With Somebody”) and embarked on the worldwide ''The Moment of Truth'' tour. The same year, she recorded a song for NBC's coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics , “ One Moment In Time ,” which peaked at number five in the U.S., while reaching number one in the UK and Germany. '',” and “ My Name Is Not Susan ” peaked at numbers nine and twenty—the fifth single, "I Belong To You", peaked in the top 10 on the R&B charts, while yet another single, a duet with Stevie Wonder entitled "We Didn't Know", made the R&B Top 20. Whitney performed “ The Star Spangled Banner ” at Super Bowl XXV in January 1991 . Her recording on the song was released as a commercial single, reaching the top twenty on the U.S. Hot 100; making her the only artist to turn the national anthem into a chart hit (ten years later, the song was re-released after the September 11, 2001 Attacks , this time peaking at number six.) Houston donated her share of the proceeds to the American Red Cross . The performance was prerecorded in a studio before the actual event. Houston wanted to do this because of the fact that the acoustics in the stadium were not that good. This performance of the national anthem was named number one in the NFL ’s 2003 list of Top 25 greatest moments in NFL history. In 1991, Houston embarked ''I’m Your Baby Tonight Tour'', which ''Rolling Stone'' poll voters voted “Worst Tour of the Year.”''Rolling Stone'', December 1991 year-end issue. International success: 1992 - 1998 In November ” and “ I Have Nothing ” also peaked in the top five. The album won ''Album of the Year'' and ''Record of the Year'' at the Grammy Awards. Following the success of the film, Houston embarked on an expansive worldwide tour in 1993 , which concluded in 1994 with a televised concert in South Africa . During this time, Whitney also recorded “ Something In Common ,” a duet with new husband Bobby Brown . In December ” and “ Count On Me ” peaked at number one and eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart respectively; the third, “ Why Does It Hurt So Bad ” peaked at number twenty-six. The album, which in addition to Houston featured a bevy of contemporary R&B female recording artists, was certified seven times platinum in America, and sold thirteen million worldwide, according to Whitney's official site. In late ; scoring a US top five pop hit with “ I Believe In You And Me ,” and as well “ Step By Step ”, a Top 10 hit in Germany and a Top 20 success in the US and the UK. The soundtrack became the largest selling contemporary gospel album of all time. After spending much of the 1990s working on films, with their adjacent soundtrack albums as primarily the only outlet to issue new Houston music, Arista Records released Houston’s fourth album ''” (which featured Faith Evans and Kelly Price ), “ It's Not Right But It's Okay ” (which won Houston her sixth Grammy award), and “ My Love Is Your Love ” all reached the U.S. pop top five. The title track "My love is your love" became the biggest european hit from the album by reaching #2 in both, the UK and Germany. Also featured on the album was the Academy Award -winning “ When You Believe ,” a duet with Mariah Carey , recorded for the soundtrack to 1998s '' The Prince Of Egypt '', which became a Top 10 hit in Germany, France and the UK as well as a Top 20 entry in the US. The albums final single, " I Learned From The Best ," peaked inside the US top forty, at number twenty-seven. ''My Love Is Your Love'' went on to be certified four times platinum in the US, with worldwide sales of ten million. In 1999 , Houston participated in '' VH-1’s Divas’ Live ‘99 '', alongside Mary J. Blige , Tina Turner , Cher , Brandy and Chaka Khan . The same year, Whitney hit the road with her ''My Love Is Your Love'' tour. In April ” (a duet with Enrique Iglesias ), “ Same Script, Different Cast ” (a duet with Deborah Cox ), “ If I Told You That ” (a duet with George Michael), and “ Fine .” Along with the album, an accompanying DVD was also released of the music videos to Houston’s greatest hits. The album was certified triple platinum, with worldwide sales of ten million. The same year, Houston performed on the televised special commemorating Arista Records twenty-fifth anniversary. In August ''. 2002-2004: ''Just Whitney'' In December '', a holiday album of traditional Christmas songs, was released in late 2003 . It too sold poorly, shifting approximately 348,000 copies in North America; becoming the first album in Houston’s recorded career to not achieve at least Gold -status. In 2004 , Whitney embarked on an international tour, the ''Soul Divas tour'' with Natalie Cole and cousin Dionne Warwick in Europe, before embarking on solo dates in the Middle East , Russia , and Asia. In September 2004, she gave a surprise performance at the World Music Awards , in tribute to long time friend and mentor Clive Davis. Houston received a thunderous standing ovation for her performance. 2006-present: Current career activity Whitney Houston attended the Carousel of Hope Ball in October 2006 , where Katharine McPhee dedicated a performance of Houston’s “I Have Nothing” to her. There, Clive Davis confirmed that he and Houston were again collaborating on the singers next album. In 2007 , Houston recorded “Family First,” a song for the soundtrack of the film '' Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls ''. The song also featured Houston’s mother Cissy, her cousin Dionne Warwick, and daughter Bobbi Kristina. The release date for the album is expected to be around Nov - Dec 2007 FILM AND TELEVISION CAREER
Of late, Houston has served as executive producer of the ''. PERSONAL LIFE Marriage to Bobby Brown Houston met R&B singer Bobby Brown at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards . After a three year courtship, the two were married on July 18 , 1992. On March 4 , 1993 she gave birth to their child, daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown. During the course of their marriage, rumors of Brown’s infidelity and allegations of domestic violence became consistent tabloid fodder. Though the two vehemently denied both charges, in December 2003 Brown was arrested and charged with battery after an altercation with Whitney. http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/10/brown.charged/index.html In September 2006, the couple legally separated. The following month, on October 16 , 2006 , Houston filed for divorce from Brown.2 On February 1 , 2007 Whitney asked the court to Fast Track their divorce.3 The divorce became finalized on April 24 , 2007 , with Houston granted custody of the couples daughter. On April 26 , 2007 , Brown filed court papers with the Orange County Superior Court to set aside the divorce judgment that ended his marriage to Houston. In the filing, he claims the marriage was ended under false pretenses and sought Child Support , possible Spousal Support , and a change in the judgment that gave full custody of their daughter to Whitney. The papers also claim that Brown was essentially homeless at one point and severely depressed during that time. A court hearing has been set for June 2007.4 Drug and health issues On January 11, 2000, airport security discovered Marijuana in the luggage of both Houston’s and husband Bobby Brown’s luggage at a Hawaiian airport. Despite being detained for questioning, the two boarded the plane and departed before the authorities could arrive. Though charges were later dropped against her and Brown, rumors of drug usage ran rampant; with the media and public speculating the cause of Houston’s sometimes erratic behavior. In late 2002, Houston was interviewed by Diane Sawyer during a prime time special. Throughout the discussion, the singer spoke of various allegations; from rumored drug abuse to her tumultuous marriage to Brown. Houston entered drug rehabilitation facilities in March 2004 and again in March 2005 . In 2006, Bobby Brown’s sister, Tina Brown, took a photo of what she claimed was Houston’s bathroom and said, Quote: "That Bitch is on crack!" The National Enquirer . It displayed images of drug paraphernalia. In the interview, Ms. Brown (herself a known drug abuser) claimed that Houston spent days locked in her bedroom doing drugs.5 John Houston dispute In 2002, Houston became involved in a legal dispute with her father, and one-time manager, John Houston. Houston sued his daughter for $100 million (but lost); stating that she owed his company previously unpaid compensation for helping to guide her career, as well as for helping to manage the various controversies that had surrounded it in recent years. "'Celebrity Justice' Producer Discusses Whitney Houston Trial" , CNN, December 5, 2002. Both of them appeared on television and disputed the other's claims. Transcript of ''Primetime Live'' feature , ABC, December 4, 2002; hosted at fan site Whitney-Fan.com John Houston died in February 2003. The lawsuit was dismissed on April 5, 2004, after Kevin Skinner, the man who claimed to own John Houston Entertainment, failed to participate in pre-trial discovery.[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20040415/ai_n12546267] Purported financial troubles On reported on that same date that Houston was “being forced to sell off clothes, instruments and sound equipment to pay a debt to a warehouse storing the items” and that the sale “has been ordered by the New Jersey Superior Courts.”http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=peopleNews&storyID=2007-01-03T221146Z_01_N03276278_RTRIDST_0_PEOPLE-HOUSTON-AUCTION-DC.XML On November 16 , 2006, the Associated Press reported that Houston’s mansion in Mendham, New Jersey , currently assessed at $5.6 million, was due to be sold at a Sheriff's Sale . Her attorney, however, later claimed that Houston owns the house free and clear. http://news.aol.com/entertainment/music/articles/_a/houston-faces-mansion-foreclosure/20061116071909990001?cid=9 18 Currently, Houston has her Atlanta home up for sale at $1.3 million, which if sold, would not make a profit. http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007000393,00.html Houston also currently owns a home in Laguna Beach , California . AWARDS DISCOGRAPHY See Also: Whitney Houston discography Studio albums:
Soundtrack albums:
Compilations:
VIDEOGRAPHY Home videos:
Feature Films:
NUMBER-ONE SONGS The following songs entered the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 :
The following songs reached number-one on the UK singles chart”
The following songs reached number-one on the U.S. Dance chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the Canadian singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the German singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the French singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the Dutch singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the Belgium singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the Swiss singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the Swedish singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the Spanish singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the Australian singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the New Zealand singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the South African singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the Zimbabwe singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the Austrian singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the Finnish singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the Norway singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the Irish singles chart:
The following songs reached number-one on the Italian singles chart:
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