Nissan to lay off thousands of workers as sales drop    Trump picks Susan Wiles as White House chief of staff    Three charged in connection with Liam Payne's death    Israel passes law to deport relatives of attackers, including citizens    Monkey mayhem in South Carolina after 43 primates escape research facility    Russian anti-war teenager faces five years in jail after failed appeal    Uproar in Ghana after president unveils his own statue    BD and INS partner to elevate standards of infusion care in MENAT    Qassim emir launches 52 health projects costing a total of SR456 million    Dubai Design Week launches its 10th edition, celebrating creativity and innovation    Fakeeh Care Group reports 9M-2024 net profit of SR195.3 million, up 49% y-o-y driven by solid revenue growth and robust profitability    GASTAT: Passengers of public transport bus and train soar 176% and 33% respectively in 2023    HRT does not impact life expectancy — UK health body    Liam Payne's body to be flown back to the UK    Arab leaders and heads of state congratulate US President-elect Donald Trump    Neymar suffers muscle tear, out for 4-6 weeks    Suspect arrested for banking fraud totaling SR493 million as Nazaha pursues corruption charges    Al Nassr secures 5-1 victory over Al Ain to edge closer to knockout stage    Al Ahli extends perfect start with 5-1 victory over Al Shorta    Mitrovic's hat-trick leads Al Hilal to 3-0 victory over Esteghlal    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Muted Eid celebrations for millions of Nigerian Muslims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Whitney Houston: A brilliant and tragic life
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 13 - 02 - 2012

Whitney Houston, who was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel room Saturday, rose from a gospel church choir in New Jersey to become one of the best-selling and most-admired female singers of all time.
With hits like “I Will Always Love You” — the theme song of what was her film acting debut in “The Bodyguard” opposite Kevin Costner in 1992 - and “The Greatest Love of All,” Houston won six Grammys and more than 400 other awards in a 25-year career.
Her soaring voice influenced singers ranging from Beyonce and Alicia Keys to Mariah Carey and Celine Dion — and inspired thousands of copy-cat performers on TV talent shows.
Her early successes also made her one of the first black artists, along with Michael Jackson, to find success on MTV. She later became the kind of singer and actress who could cross international barriers as well as ethnic ones.
“She had everything, beauty, a magnificent voice. How sad her gifts could not bring her the same happiness they brought us,” singing legend Barbra Streisand said in a statement.
Critics hailed the range of her voice and the passion behind her performances.
But behind closed doors, her life was far from the romantic dreams she captured so brilliantly in her singing. She struggled for years with drug and alcohol problems, entering rehab again as recently as May 2011.
And Saturday, her sudden death shocked the world as much as Jackson's passing from an overdose of sedatives and a powerful anesthetic in June 2009, at age 50. She joins a short list of brilliant singers — Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse and Jackson — whose lives were cut short by personal problems and drug abuse.
Houston died on the eve of the Grammy Awards, and just hours before she was due to attend the annual pre-Grammy party thrown by record producer Clive Davis — the man who discovered her in a nightclub in the early 1980s and who guided her career through its many ups and downs.
Her death came just over two years after a 2009 comeback following the end of a turbulent 14-year marriage to singer Bobby Brown. She is survived by their daughter, Bobbi Kris.
Battling drugs, making music
Houston brought a painful and public honesty to her personal struggles, admitting in a 2002 TV interview that she had used marijuana, cocaine, alcohol and prescription drugs.
By 2009, as she released her first (and last) studio album in seven years with “I Look to You,” she told talk show host Oprah Winfrey that her and Brown's drug of choice was marijuana mixed with cocaine.
She also described how when the two were high, he would break glass objects and at one point he painted what she called “evil eyes” on the walls of their home.
Her mother forced her into rehab, telling Houston “I'm not losing you to Satan,” the singer told Winfrey.
The pair divorced in 2007 and Houston declared that she was clean. But a comeback tour of Europe was dogged by poor performances, bizarre behavior, and repeated denials that she was back on drugs.
It was all a far cry from the days when Houston began singing in a gospel choir in New Jersey at the age of 11, and later accompanied her mother, the rhythm and blues singer Cissy Houston, in concerts and on an album.
Houston, whose cousin was singer Dionne Warwick and whose godmother was Aretha Franklin, did some modeling and started singing on jazz albums in the early 1980s before Davis heard her and offered her a record contract.
Her self-titled debut album was released in 1985 and produced the hit singles “Saving All My Love For You,” “How Will I Know” and “The Greatest Love of All.”
At more than 13 million copies, it was the best-selling debut album ever by a female artist.
Houston's global appeal survived the ups and downs of her career and personal life: her last album, “I Look to You,” debuted at No. 1 in the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, and was her first No. 1 since “The Bodyguard.”


Clic here to read the story from its source.