The National Enquirer ran a cover story this week which implied that Whitney Houston was back on the drug train again. They didn't actually come out and say she was, but they kept using quotes like when she was on drugs before this was how she acted. I wrote it off to one bad concert in Seoul, but apparently Whitney is not doing well at all. After sounding like crap the first few shows of her Asia tour and canceling a couple in Australia she finally took to the stage in Brisbane and sounded awful. She couldn't make it through any songs without laboring. She had to rest every ten minutes and left the stage repeatedly. That is the same kind of behavior we saw from Whitney when she was on the crack pipe. Granted, maybe all that crack smoking just made her not the singer she used to be and maybe she is out of shape and out of practice and will get her strength back as the tour continues.
Whitney is not officially letting media into her shows. Obviously they are still going in and reporting, but it is YouTube videos that are making the strongest case there is something wrong with her. This is from the other night in Brisbane. The video below was considered her best song of the night and she still had to take breaks during the song.
OH HOW SAD....
ReplyDeleteThat was my first thought, how sad.
ReplyDeleteAt this point Whit, just lip synch, we all know you COULD SING once.
ReplyDeletewhat a shame...so much talent lost in the name of crack. heartbreaking, seriously.
ReplyDeleteI think she still owed Clive Davis a couple of albums so that's why she's making a "comeback". If it wasn't for her legal commitments she would probably retire. She continually states that she doesn't need money and from what I heard it's true due to her lucrative investment deals.
ReplyDeleteNothing about that says crack specifically to me, but I'm not much for serious singers, so it all sounds the same to me.
ReplyDeleteWhat Pookie said!
ReplyDeleteGo here:
ReplyDeletehttp://perezhilton.com/2010-02-23-promoters-defend-a-whacked-out-whitney
To see a closer-up version of this performance. What's with the part when her hands are all grasping at air and twitching when she stops singing? Weird.
It sounds like the prior crack use has damaged her voice permanently. What an absolute shame.
ReplyDeleteI made it through that video to 3 minutes. I couldn't take it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if she's back on the crack, but her voice sounds completely shot.
My parents saw her way back the day in Atlantic City and said she was TERRIBLE. She couldn't get through any of the songs. They were really upset by it. I think this was way before the public knew she had a drug prob.
I do root for her. She was amazing back in the 80s.
too bad she couldn't just do the albums and not tour...that way we can all still believe she was the Whitney from years ago. But I guess you must promote. I thought she went broke during the Bobby Brown era, was surprised to read here that she'd made some lucrative investments.
ReplyDeleteNo, all of this isn't true. The great majority of people (and her concert promoter) are all amazed at the bad press. I think part of the issue is that people's expectations are just way too high. She's 46, not 26 and has been out of the game for a long, long time and needs some patience and grace from people. As for canceling dates, again not Whitney's fault. Apparently, there was some conflict with other acts that were in Australia at the time and there weren't enough trucks to haul everyone's (AC/DC, Whit and another group I forget) equipment to different locations.
ReplyDeleteHere are the links so everyone can read for themselves:
1). Review from a reporter: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26761741-5012980,00.html
2). Andrew McManus defends Whitney:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/whitney-houston-struggles-during-brisbane-leg-of-nothing-but-love-tour/story-e6frf96f-1225833352912
3). Cancelled NZ dates link: http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/3332401/Houston-we-may-have-a-problem
Thanks for the links, Stacey. I did check them out and found another article in the Courier Mail titled "Whiteney Houston 'breathless and exausted' in Brisbane Concert". The article refers to a concert that took place monday evening down under.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26761993-5012980,00.html
I gather that it is not just bad press. If you go down to the comments section, you will read a few comments from those who intended, including the following:
"My husband went outside after 40 mins. The promoters should feel ashamed. We spent $195 each for that debacle. I am so saddened by what I witnessed. It is distressing that the people around her have let her go on stage. I never expected her to perform like she did 25 years ago but she spoke the words and struggled so much. I sincerely hope management somewhere does the right thing and sends her home to her family."
"I attended the Brisabne concert last night and walked away feeling disapointed and ripped off. $165 wasted. She had no voice, didnt have enough breath to speak more than 3 or 4 words togtehre, let alone sing! A true professional should have accepted defeat and not bothered. Wheather she really has no voice or if she was sick, either way she shouldn't have bothered."
People actually believed that the grace of God delivered her from crack? LOL.
ReplyDeleteI guess that kills folks' theories about Bobby Brown doing her in because she's doing a bang-up job of doing this all by herself.
A shame, too, because I've always been a fan of her music...
Perhaps it would have been wise to start her small, like in an unplugged setting.
ReplyDeleteIsn't she known for smoking cigarettes as well? That alone makes it hard to breathe, and touring is so physical. I know Whitney doesn't really dance like Beyonce, but I'm sure you need to go through major physical training and workouts to physically handle the demands of arena shows. Plus, let's be real, we've seen Whitney whittle away many of the past years sitting on her ass in her drug den wtih Bobby Brown.
Maybe her comeback could have been on an awards show or Divas, where she just sings one song or a medley.
I cant watch it, its heart breaking...
ReplyDeleteSadness. That's all - whether it's damage from prior crack or crack now. Sadness.
ReplyDeletei don't think she was ever really clean. i only saw her look good a couple of times since her 'comeback' and she clearly can't sing anymore.
ReplyDeletei'd say it's a good bet she's back on the pipe. is anyone surprised? looks like some of her fans are in denial----but as i recall, they were when she was really bad, too. SHE'S AN ADDICT!!!!
@Penelope. Thanks for sending the comments along. Again, I think that they (Aussies) were expecting Whitney from 20 years ago. She hadn't had a concert down under since 1988 after all. It does seem like the majority truly did enjoy the concert and a minority hated it. Of course, when there are 9500 concert-goers, even a small minority is a whopping number! Vocally, she's not where she was even 10 years ago, but she sings LIVE and none of these female r&b artists (except for Mariah, Mary J. Blige and Jennifer Hudson) half her age are doing that. I can cut her alot of slack simply for that. She's a real performer and person behind the personality.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless.
She would always have some perm damage to her singing from all the abuse but not like this. If she wasn't actively smoking, her lungs would rebound a bit unless she smoked herself into pulmonary disease already. She was also a pot smoker too so her lungs are prolly a bit fucked. Barring any active lung disease, I would put my money that she's back on the pipe again. Sucks.
ReplyDeleteAnd as far as the drug comments. Her legal team was looking into a way to sue the National Enquirer for slander. Unfortunately, when people see or hear her having an off day the immediately think she's back on drugs. She's travelling with her family. Her brother is her b/g singer, her sister-in-law is her co-manager and she's got her daughter she's responsible for. I think they wouldn't let her fall off the wagon for anything!! They're in it for love, not money.
ReplyDeleteGossipCop debunks NE story:
http://www.gossipcop.com/national-enquirer-sentences-whitney-houston-to-death/
And here's a review from a concert-goer. I just removed certain names for anonymity:
ReplyDelete""Also - could you tell everyone that I'm surprised at all the bad reviews... I was in the 6th row and didn't see people leaving "in droves" and certainly didn't hear any rude comments yelled at Whitney (apart from 1 or 2 yelling "hurry up and sing the Bodyguard song so we can go home!" to which she replied "We'll get to that one...")
The people who are complaining seem to be the ones who were right up at the back, because all the people at the front were having a great time! What the reviews say are correct though - she did leave to get a towel, she did keep walking to the back to do her makeup and drink water.. she did forget her band names.. but she was very charming and warm... It was a great concert!
Oh- but it is true that she sang MDB and IEW as her encore - she only sang 2 lines of IEW and then said in a very tired voice "thank you" and walked off...""
It's no secret that people who have seriously abused drugs like crack, smoking coke, etc. will have COPD before it's all over. I have a friend who has COPD because of all the coke she smoked years and years ago. She has to carry an oxygen tank with her everywhere. She has no lung capacity which is needed for a singer. Good luck to Whitney. I hope she's clean now.
ReplyDeletethis is whitney? Sounds like Macy gray...
ReplyDeleteYikes, Whitney- give me Dolly singing that song, any day!
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who attended a couple concerts in South Korea. He said she couldn't reach the high notes and was really cold even though it was hot in the arena. I don't know what that means - maybe she is just ill. Or is that wishful thinking?
ReplyDeleteSunrise TV: Whitney Houston Brisbane Concert:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJZVL8cv5_8&feature=youtu.be
I'm still all for Whitney as MV.
ReplyDeleteoh my goodness....her voice....sounds like she sprayed bug killer spray in her throat while smoking a pack of newport 100s at once..it sounds so strained! what a shame...a damn shame!
ReplyDeleteYes, her voice isn't quite what it used to be, but damn, she can still carry a tune. Give me this over crappy Taylor Swift any day!
ReplyDeleteOf course, like ellie, I'll take my fellow east TN'er Dolly ANY DAY!