Last night during the Whitney Houston tribute at the Grammy Awards, Jennifer Hudson had the incredibly daunting task of performing a song, “I Will Always Love You,” as a tribute to the woman so closely identified with it. But in this rarely-seen interview with Houston from 2010, she absolutely approved of the way Hudson handles the song and would have been proud of the performance last night. Hudson sang the song to Houston during the 2010 BET Honors and in the clip above, which is part of tonight’s VH1 News special Whitney Houston: Death Of A Diva, Houston discussed the guts it took for Hudson to even attempt it in her presence. (I highly recommend watching the full clip from the BET Honors just for Houston’s proud mama reaction to Hudson. It will choke you up.)
“I was totally impressed first of all,” Whitney says of the performance. “Jennifer comes…and sings ‘I Will Always Love You’ and nobody takes that song and takes a shot at it, nobody does. Everybody is scared of that song, not Jennifer, not Jennifer. She’s got the pipes for it. She’s got the pipes for it. She’s got that big sound. She’s got the gospel for it you know. I was very impressed and I was honored that she came out and sang for me and sang that particular song. Nobody I’ve never heard anybody take a shot at that song and do it.”
This clip and many others are a part of the Whitney Houston: Death Of A Diva special that will air tonight on VH1 at 8 p.m, 9:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. ET/PT. [click to continue…]
The news of Whitney Houston‘s tragic passing sent shockwaves through the music industry last night. Houston’s legacy as one of the greatest and most popular vocalists of all-time is undeniable, and it will be days, if not weeks, before we’re all able to fully process this awful news.
As a way to pay tribute to Houston’s singular talent, VH1 will be reshuffling our regularly scheduled programming over the next few days. Among the broadcasts, we will be airing the VH1 News special Whitney Houston: Death Of a Diva Monday night at 8 p.m. ET/PT (note that this is at a different time than we previously reported). Here’s a list of all of our coverage in honor of Houston:
VH1 will be airing a special, one-hour long block of Whitney’s best music videos from 10-11 a.m. and from 3-4 p.m. ET/PT today (Sunday, 2/12). You can also tune into VH1 Soul all weekend long to catch some of Whitney’s most memorable and iconic video moments.
Monday morning’s edition of Big Morning Buzz Live will provide updates on the tragedy and feature reactions of celebrities attending the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles this evening.
On Monday, February 13th at 8 p.m. ET/PT, VH1 will premiere a VH1 News special, Whitney Houston: Death Of a Diva, that honors the life and times of Whitney Houston. It will feature the latest updates on events surrounding her death, as well as reactions from attendees at her mentor music mogul Clive Davis’s annual pre-Grammy Awards music industry party, as well as tributes from officials, artists and executives and fans.
Our latest installment of The Greatest series, the 100 Greatest Women In Music, premieres Monday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. These specials will air each weeknight and will acknowledge the tremendous loss and salute Houston’s legacy and wide-ranging influence.
VH1 Classic will be airing a 3-hour A to Z Whitney Houston video retrospective on Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. ET/PT and again at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.
On Thursday, February 16th, VH1 will debut a new special celebrating Whitney Houston’s legacy, which included appearances on VH1 Divas in 1999 and 2003, as well as VH1 Honors in 1996.
Stay tuned to our new music blog, VH1 Tuner, for more updates on the life and passing of one of the all-time greats, Miss Whitney Houston.
Like almost everyone else, we were shocked and saddened to hear the news that Whitney Houstonpassed away today at the age of 48. TMZ reports that Houston’s body was discovered in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel this afternoon, and the cause of death has not yet been determined.
Her death has devastated the entertainment world (and the regular world, too) and though her life had been troubled at times, she left a legacy behind that affected countless people. Here’s a little snippet of that legacy, in the form of Houston’s performance from the 1999 VH1 DIVAS show. Our hearts go out to her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, and the rest of her family. She is gone but never, ever forgotten. [click to continue…]
“Pandora For Music Videos” Launches
Developer Casey Pugh created a Music Video Genome—”essentially Pandora for music videos (or a personalized MTV)”—for fun over the weekend. We suspect that this will irk someone’s copyright lawyer, but who knows? Plenty of other YouTube hacks (YooouuuTuuube, Endless YouTube, YouTube Doubler, TubeDubber) haven’t been shut down. [Casey Pugh]
After leaping from #19 to #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart last week, Adele’s “Someone Like You” might be gearing up to follow in the footsteps of her first single, “Rolling In The Deep.” And while we wait for the UK songbird to deliver what’s rumored to be a stunning music video for 21′s second single, we can sit back and watch as covers for the song start piling up. Whereas “Rolling in the Deep” got love from the likes of John Legend, Mike Posner, Gwyneth Paltrow (via Glee), and even a military band, it appears the only famous person to touch “Someone Like You” is the “Look At Me Now”-covering YouTube sensation Karmin, until now!
Bobbi Kristina Brown, the 17-year-old daughter of Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston took to the interwebs on Saturday to record her own version of Adele’s emotional, longing-laced ballad. Singing a capella, the teenager showed that she comes from good, talented stock by not butchering the song—it’s virtually impossible to come close to meeting Adele’s vocals—but Bobbi Kristina demonstrated both solid breath control and a sweet smile from what appears to be her somewhat-messy bedroom. By no means is this version sonically mind-blowing, but it’s nice to know that, even amidst her mother’s rehab-related turmoil, young B.K. isn’t afraid to show that the good qualities of the apple don’t fall too incredibly far from the tree. That being said, we’re still somewhat partial to Adele’s Unplugged version of the song, and obviously look forward to seeing who’s next to hop on this one!
It’s easy to think about the months following September 11, 2001 as a rude awakening from an imagined bliss (doubly fictitious, in that the peace only ever appeared to exist, and that it wasn’t that blissful to begin with). Nevertheless, the events of that day had a dramatic—and traumatic—effect on Americans, not least through our consumption of popular culture. But before the slew of original compositions responding directly to the event (of which Sound of the City has compiled what, in their estimation, were the nine worst), many listeners were already looking to music for comfort, guidance, or other emotional needs, while rejecting other music that flew in the face of those needs. Here’s what people especially did—and did not—want to hear.
In the second full chart week after 9/11, Houston’s 1991 rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” re-entered the Hot 100 at #50, and Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” debuted at #16 (in 1984, the song had hit the country charts but never crossed over). In a pattern that would be reversed once digital sales became common, the songs had two chart peaks—the first when radio’s support was strongest, and the second when physical singles were re-released. Sales of “God Bless the USA” were strong enough to keep it on the chart, but not to match its debut. “The Star-Spangled Banner,” on the other hand, hit #6 on the strength of sales (and continuing radio support). [click to continue…]
So much Bobby Brown news, so little time! Let’s break this down nice and easy.
1. Bobby’s claiming Usher ripped him off.
In his new autobiography, the New Edition star accuses Usher of stealing his style. “I’ve always considered myself ‘The King of Stage.’ To this very day, I still don’t think anyone can get with me on the stage. I own the stage,” the ego-less Brown writes. “I watched one of Usher’s shows and he basically did my whole show. It was as if it was me on stage. The thing about it is, I love seeing that. It’s a compliment to me as a performer.”
2. Bobby’s son Landon says Whitney was a “nightmare” to grow up with, and that he replaced Kevin Coster as her bodyguard. Not only did Whit alleged force Landon to sleep in a guest house and kept him away from his half-sister Bobbi Kristina, she treated him more like staff than family. He says, “She decided to turn me into one of her security personnel. I was a teenager but I was walking around dressed up in all black with a Security shirt and she’d have me work for her. I was just another one of her staff.”
3. When not protecting Whitney, Landon boned Lindsay Lohan in a bathroom stall.
We’re sure this was exciting for the younger Brown, but let’s be real – who hasn’t been with LiLo on a toilet? He claims: “Me and Lindsay got really, really close. She followed me to the bathroom during a private party, and, well, we basically got together. I think she knew who I was when she first saw me. We were just staring at each other and she walked by. I walked into the bathroom and she followed me in.”
We don’t quite buy the claim that Lindsay knew who Landon was when she saw him (he’s got the same ego as his Pops!), but we bet she does now!
As Whitney Houston works toward a comeback in her career, the men in her life are blabbing about their time with Whit – and each other. Ray J drops a little TMI in his new song “All I Feel” which sends a message to Bobby Brown about what it was like making love to his ex-wife. In it, he sings: “Is that your wife, is that your shorty, well I’m her boyfriend . . . I think the problem is you don’t beat it right . . . Making love is cool, just pull her hair sometimes.”Yep, we definitely didn’t need to know any of that.
Meanwhile, Bobby attempts to define the love triangle in his new autobiography, entitled Being Bobby Brown: The Whole Truth and Nothin’ But. “For those of you who want to know, I’m aware of the fact that Whitney had been seeing Ray J, a very young R&B artist who is most famous for being the little brother of Brandy, the multi-platinum singing artist and TV star,” he writes in the book. “Their relationship doesn’t bother me. She’s open to see whoever she wants to see, just like I can see who I want to see. I know the age difference between her and the little guy is 20 years, but to each his own. The only concern I had was how our daughter felt about the age difference. As long as she’s cool with it, it’s fine by me.”
And there you have it, the whole truth – though we’d argue that Ray J is most famous for getting raunchy with our main girl Kim Kardashian on tape. Now the only person left to hear from is Whitney herself. Think she should weigh in on her love drama or stay silent? [NY Post]
- Vivica A. Fox‘s purported sex tape leaks. So when she denied it, was that b.s. coming out of her mouth, or was it a penis? [Crunk + Disorderly]
- Mariah Carey trolls St. Bart looking like a hooker. Or, are hookers trolling St. Bart looking like Mariah? The eternal debate rages on. [Dlisted]
- Jennifer Aniston‘s ass…wait, Jennifer Aniston has an ass? That’s even bigger news than that whole Britney thing. [CityRag]
- Both Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown fail to show up in court for their divorce hearing. Aw! They’re having as hard of a time dealing with their split as I am. [Bossip]
- A “midget rodeo” hits TV and it’s…not on VH1. The universe is collapsing. [Best Week Ever]
- Vivica A. Fox‘s purported sex tape leaks. So when she denied it, was that b.s. coming out of her mouth, or was it a penis? [
