I have a confession to make, readers. I'm late for mine this morning.
"Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies" by Nekesa Mumbi Moody | associated press, February 12, 2012
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.
She was declared dead in her room at the hotel about 4 p.m. after paramedics from the Beverly Hills Fire Department spent close to 30 minutes trying to revive her, the Times reported citing authorities. There was no immediate word on the cause of her death....
But during these career and personal highs, she was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009, she said by the time “The Preacher’s Wife’’ was released, “(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. . . . I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. . . . I wasn’t happy by that point in time.’’
In the interview, Ms. Houston blamed her rocky marriage to Brown, which included a charge of domestic abuse against Brown in 1993. They divorced in 2007.
Ms. Houston would go to rehab twice before she would declare herself drug-free to Winfrey in 2010. But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns.
Her behavior and jittery appearance on Brown’s reality show on Bravo, “Being Bobby Brown,’’ was an example of her decline. Her infamous 2002 interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, where she declared “crack is whack,’’ was often parodied. She dropped out of the spotlight for a time.
Ms. Houston staged what seemed to be a successful comeback with the 2009 album “I Look To You.’’ The album debuted on the top of the charts, and would eventually go platinum.
Things soon fell apart. A concert to promote the album on “Good Morning America’’ went awry as Ms. Houston’s voice sounded ragged and off-key. She blamed an interview with Winfrey for straining her voice.
And why did the web version cut this:
A tour launched overseas, however, only confirmed suspicions Ms. Houston had lost her treasured gift, as she failed to hit notes and left fans unimpressed.
Really ran her down at the end there, didn't they?
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