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Post by nikkib on Feb 13, 2012 20:26:06 GMT 1
Celine Dion: “Drugs Killed Whitney”In the 90s, Celine Dion and Whitney Houston were two out of a troupe of mega divas ruling the charts in tandem. Today, following the latter’s untimely passing, Dion has spoken on the situation, telling ABC’s Robin Roberts what she thinks caused Whitney’s death. Her comments below… ThatGrapeJuice
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Post by nikkib on Feb 14, 2012 17:36:16 GMT 1
Cissy Houston Readies Whitney’s FuneralLast night, Cissy Houston- mother of Pop force Whitney Houston- was snapped at New Jersey’s Whingham Funeral Home, in preparation for the latter’s funeral. Greeted by hoards of fans as she entered the building, the 78 year old belter’s sighting comes hours after Whitney’s body was flown to the state for burial. This follows reports of a dispute within the family over the star’s burial spot, with some members citing Georgia as the more appropriate location, with it being the home of her Dutch and Native American ancestors. However, as the above confirms, Whitney will be laid to rest in her place of birth this Saturday. ThatGrapeJuice
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Post by nikkib on Feb 14, 2012 17:45:13 GMT 1
Watch: Aretha Franklin Performs Musical Tribute To Whitney HoustonTo the world, Whitney Houston was an icon, but to Aretha Franklin she was her God-Daughter. As such, it was inevitable that the Queen of Soul would pay musical homage to Houston, who tragically passed away last Saturday (February 11th). Check out Franklin’s emotional tribute to the star she has guided since childhood at a private concert in Charlotte, North Carolina last night… A truly spirited performance; one we wish was given under happier circumstances. ThatGrapeJuice
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Post by nikkib on Feb 15, 2012 17:52:17 GMT 1
I was in my bedroom and went on the Internet and saw this and was like, "What? Is this true?" And then my sister comes in and says that "Whitney died." I wasn't sure if this was all true or not, and turn on CNN and saw it was...and then I was in shock.
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Post by nikkib on Feb 15, 2012 20:18:28 GMT 1
Whitney Houston Funeral Set for Saturday Whitney Houston's funeral will be held Saturday in the church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child. The owner of the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark said Tuesday that the funeral will be held at noon at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. The funeral home said that no wake would be held and that there would be no public memorial at Newark's Prudential Center, the sports arena that the family had discussed as a possible venue. The funeral service will be by invitation only, Carolyn Whigham said, reflecting the family's desire to keep the memorial more personal. "They have shared her for 30 some years with the city, with the state, with the world. This is their time now for their farewell," she said. "The family thanks all the fans, the friends and the media, but this time is their private time," she said. Source
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Post by nikkib on Feb 15, 2012 20:53:33 GMT 1
Whitney Houston's Medical Records Sought by Investigators Following the death of Whitney Houston, investigators are looking into the singer's medical history. Confirming to PEOPLE that "prescription medication was recovered from the scene" of where Houston, 48, was found unresponsive in her Beverly Hilton hotel room, L.A. Coroner Asst. Chief Ed Winter says, "We are trying to locate some of her doctors to get all possible medical records." Winter declined to comment on what drugs were found in Houston's room, but he does say investigating the records "is normal procedure for us." Asked if the case appears to be similar to the Dr. Conrad Murray investigation, he says, "It doesn't appear so." Source
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Post by nikkib on Feb 15, 2012 20:57:46 GMT 1
Following the death of Whitney Houston on Saturday, Feb. 11th, the DIVA's "Whitney: The Greatest Hits" album re-enters the Billboard 200 chart at No. 6. It sold 64,000 copies in the U.S. in the tracking week that ended on Feb. 12 -- reflecting only one full day of sales after her passing. Houston also returns to the list with her 1986 debut "Whitney Houston" (No. 72 with 8,000; up 3,901%), "The Bodyguard" soundtrack (No. 80 with 8,000; up 5,213%), her last studio album "I Look To You" (No. 118 with 5,000; up 3,901%), 1987's "Whitney" (No. 122 with 5,000; up 2,274%) and "The Preacher's Wife" soundtrack (No. 183 with 4,000; up 3,913%). There were more Houston albums purchased in the last week (101,000 - up 5,994% from 2,000 the week previous) than had been sold in all of 2011 and 2012 combined until her death (97,000). Source
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Post by nikkib on Feb 15, 2012 21:12:16 GMT 1
Whitney Houston Covers Latest Issue of People Magazine Before she was a six-time Grammy winner, before she became a glamorous pop DIVA who influenced generations of power-voiced belters and shattered sales records in the music industry, Whitney Houston was a shy, slight girl known as "Nippy" to her family in Newark, N.J. "She was everyone's dream daughter. She was sweet. She sang in church," photographer Bette Marshall, who shot Whitney as a teenager, tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story, which chronicles the life of the troubled singer. Houston died at 48 on Feb. 11th. "And you knew she’d be a superstar." But Houston's ascent to superstardom was often rocky, and she struggled with her public image as America's Singing Sweetheart. "She was in pain from living almost a double life," says a record exec who worked with Houston for many years. " She wanted to be down with her community. That’s who she really was. But because of her career, she also had to portray this pure pop princess in gorgeous gowns, singing songs the white community adored."For much more on the life and tragic early death of Whitney Houston, including her marriage to Bobby Brown and her erratic final days, pick up this week's PEOPLESource
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Post by nikkib on Feb 16, 2012 19:30:46 GMT 1
Monica's Whitney Houston Tribute in Hartford
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Post by nikkib on Feb 16, 2012 19:37:22 GMT 1
Whitney Houston Returns to Hot 100 Top 10 With "I Will Always Love You"Whitney Houston returns to the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 this week as her signature hit from 1992, it reigned for 14 weeks, "I Will Always Love You" re-enters at No. 7, fueled by an enormous resurgence in digital sales (195,000, up 6723%, according to Nielsen SoundScan) and radio airplay (18 million audience impressions, up 915%, according to Nielsen BDS). Houston places two other former No. 1s on the chart: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (from 1987) at No. 35 and "Greatest Love of All" (1986) at No. 41. While historically, catalog or recurrent songs have not been eligible for inclusion on the Hot 100, this is not the first time Billboard has charted such activity. "As the digital age has progressed," says Billboard director of charts Silvio Pietroluongo, "with the immediacy it provides, the line has blurred between the relevancy of new and older recordings, which are for the most part equally accessible from one's home computer."Source
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Post by nikkib on Feb 16, 2012 22:35:01 GMT 1
Whitney Houston Covers Latest Entertainment WeeklyWhitney Houston‘s catalog have logged a 10,000% increase in sales since the singer’s untimely passing last Saturday. In such, Billboard reports that the singer’s ‘Greatest Hits’ package lands on this week’s No.6 spot. However, fans should be mindful that such information is representative of only one day of official sales reports. News has now surfaced the singer has moved a whopping 1 million units of singles and albums in less than a week. According to industry insiders, the full effect of Houston’s posthumous sales will come into effect next week as reports now indicate she has moved over 1 million units (of singles and albums combined) since her death. The magazine reported that more Houston albums were purchased in the last week — over 101,000 — than had been sold in all of 2011 and 2012 to date. In all, there were 887,000 downloads over the past week. The biggest gainer was, of course, her signature song, “I Will Always Love You,” which moved 195,000 units. Source
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Post by nikkib on Feb 16, 2012 22:46:34 GMT 1
Whitney Houston's Death Certificate & Last Recording Session Everyone keeps wondering what Whitney Houston's cause of death is, so now that it has been made public, we can all see that her cause of death is STILL TO BE DETERMINED!? Like we discussed before, Whitney will be laid to rest at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, NJ next to her father's burial plot. Before her death Whitney hit the recording studio in North Hollywood on the evening of Feb. 7th. Whitney Houston was all smiles and feeling "really positive," producer Harvey Mason Jr. tells PEOPLE. "We stood around and joked, listened to music, and we got her this throat coat tea she likes," says Mason, who worked with the singer on her last recording of the up-tempo record "Celebrate," a duet with Jordin Sparks for the soundtrack of the upcoming film 'Sparkle.' "Then she got in the booth, started her vocal session with a prayer as she always did, and worked for about three to four hours. We ended the session dancing around the control room while she said 'Turn it up! Turn it up!' She was so fun-loving."Houston and Sparks didn't record the duet together. But Houston, who'd recorded the song over a few sessions in the past couple of weeks, "wanted to make sure Jordin had enough time to shine on the song," says Mason. "She loved all of the female singers coming up." Mason adds that in the studio Houston gave a great performance. "She said 'Don't make anything less than perfect.'" Asked if Houston could have been putting too much pressure on herself during her final days, Mason says, " She was excited, not overworked. I've been around her when she is overworked. She comes into the studio and is kind of down and quiet and just wants to get in and out. This was not like that. Whitney was worried about her fans, but there was no undue pressure." In fact Houston was bursting with optimism. "She talked about Sparkle, Waiting to Exhale and working on her new solo record," says Mason. "And she was excited for Clive [Davis's] party." It is yet to be determined if Mason will release "Celebrate" because Houston had another session before the song would be finalized. But he assures, "she sounded really good."
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Post by nikkib on Feb 17, 2012 18:44:31 GMT 1
Britney Spears: “Whitney’s Death Is Devastating”On Saturday night, those on their way to Clive Davis‘ pre-Grammy party learned of Whitney Houston‘s death upon reaching the event. Quizzed on her death while on the Beverly Hilton red carpet, Britney Spears shared her thoughts on the tragic news, revealing how much of an influence the late star was on her own career. Hit the 1.07 mark: With Davis now under fire for going on with the party,despite Whitney’s body still being in the hotel, we want to know: Do you think it should have been cancelled?
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Post by nikkib on Feb 17, 2012 18:47:50 GMT 1
Ray J On Whitney Houston : “I Lost My Close Friend”As one of Whitney Houston‘s closest friends, the world has waited to see how R&B star Ray J would respond to her untimely passing now. Today, he has released an official statement with pertains to her passing. Get into it below… He confessed: Over the past few days, I’ve tried to process the emptiness that I am experiencing. What my heart feels cannot be expressed in words. The world lost an icon, but I lost my close friend. Nippy, I miss you so much! Nippy was a nickname Whitney’s dad gave her. You were so happy and full of love. Your smile will live in my heart forever. With Ray cited as being one of Houston’s ‘bad influences’, we’re sure his statement will strike up heavy debate. For, while some will see it as a heartfelt message to a woman he truly cared for, there are those who question if Ray really had Whitney’s best interests at heart, and if he used her for his own attention seeking ploys. ThatGrapeJuice
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Post by nikkib on Feb 17, 2012 22:11:31 GMT 1
Aretha Franklin & Stevie Wonder to Sing at Whitney Houston FuneralAretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder will sing at the private funeral of Whitney Houston on Saturday in what promises to be a very musical service. Publicist Kristen Foster also confirms that invitations went out to Houston's ex-husband, Bobby Brown, her co-star in "The Bodyguard," Kevin Costner, Beyonce, and Oprah Winfrey. Houston's longtime musical mentor, Clive Davis, will speak at the funeral. The eulogy will be given by gospel singer and longtime family friend Marvin Winans. The Queen of Soul was a close family friend and considered Houston her goddaughter; she said in an email Thursday that Houston used to call her "Aunt Ree."Organizers were getting the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark ready Thursday for the funeral. Drums and speakers, which were to be part of the musical service, were in the aisles. Source
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