Whitney Houston, Bio, New Single, Pictures, Lyrics

MAIN Art & ... Pop Culture Pop Music Whitney Houston

On the comeback trail with a new single after years of drug addition and financial troubles, pop diva Whitney Houston was born Whitney Elizabeth Houston on August 9, 1963, growing up in a singing dynasty in East Orange, New Jersey.

From day one, young Whitney was predisposed to becoming a worldwide singing sensation.

She was born the daughter of singer Cissy Houston, and the first cousin to multi-octave Dionne Warwick. Shortly after her birth, she was christened in a local church with "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin presiding as godmother.

Houston's early experience began in a Baptist church in Newark, New Jersey where, she reportedly often brought the congregation to tears with a soulful rendition of a popular gospel hymn.

Whitney Houston featuring Akon -
"Like I Never Left" (2008)
by buzznews101

It was not long before the teenager was accompanying her mom at singing engagements & concerts, and playing background singer to other major soul & R&B acts, including Lou Rawls and Chaka Khan.

Houston finally made her own debut onto the pop music scene in 1987. Exhibiting a well-developed and emotionally soaring vocal range, her first album climbed to the top of the charts, and spun off three No. 1 single hits - "How Will I Know", "Saving All My Love for You", and "The Greatest Love of All."

Throughout the rest of the decade and into the 1990's, Houston often became a leading nominee and/or winner at the annual Grammy Awards. And with her first foray into Hollywood in 1992 she starred in The Bodyguard (opposite Kevin Costner) from which the anthem, I Will Always Love You, became a worldwide megahit.

That same year she married singer Bobby Brown and, since then, sporadic successes have checkered Houston's once-solid career, which finally descended into a much-publicized battle with drug addiction first reported in 2004 when she was admitted to a drug rehabilitation center.

She was later re-admitted for treatment in 2005, the same year she appeared with Brown in the reality TV hit Being Bobby Brown, chronicling the life of her husband's homelife and career.

Whitney's ex,
Bobby Brown.

It was Whitney, however, who everyone watched - as the ravages of suspected use of crack and cocaine appeared to take their toll on her, and by default upon 12-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

Of late, former pop diva has made only brief guest appearances at concerts or benefits, and most recently was an executive producer of the Disney Channel original movies "The Cheetah Girls" and "The Cheetah Girls 2."

In 2006, Houston was inadvertenly back in the tabloids in August when it was reported that a Sudanese writer claimed that Al-Qaeda leader, Ossama bin Laden, once expressed a desire to do away with Bobby Brown, and marry Houston saying that "Whitney Houston was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen."

A month later, the much-rumored breakup of Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston was confirmed by a spokesman who announced that Houston had filed for divorce on September 13, 2006. The divorce was finalized in April 2007 with custody of their teenage child, Bobbi Kristina, awarded to Whitney.

Her long-awaited comeback finally arrived in 2008 with fan excitment spilling over onto the Internet as her appropriately titled new single, "Like I Never Left" - her first since 2003 - was leaked onto the Web.

Whitney Houston - Wikipedia coverage includes a complete biography, career highlights including discography & filmography plus publicity photos, album & CD covers, related links.

Whitney Houston - The official site with news & career updates, biography, online chat & discussion boards, related links to Whitney Houston fan sites.

Whitney-Fan.com - Busy online community with fan message boards, biography, pictures, links to related sites with more on her music & movie career.

Whitney Houston Lyrics - Complete lyrics in a huge catalog of Whitney Houston hits including I Wanna Dance with Somebody, How Will I Know, The Great Love of All, Saving All My Love for You, I Will Always Love You, Run to You, and more.

All Whitney Houston - Fan site with extensive picture collection by year, bio, career chronology & professional accomplishments, chart history & sales statistics.

Classic Whitney Houston - Online tribute to Houston at her career height, featuring picture galleries of album & CD covers, magazine scans & publicity photos, audio & video clips, bio, movie & music reviews, related discussion forum.