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ARCHIVE NEWSFILE
AUGUST - DECEMBER 1997
Happy New Year to everyone who has been kind enough to visit this site over the past year. I'll take this opportunity to thank you all for your mails and kind words.
Here's to '98 and at least one new Whitney Houston album!
The best part of Christmas for me is being able to play Whitney's magical, timeless "Do You Hear What I Hear" and "Joy To The World" in the right season!
For those of you who celebrate, I wish you a great Christmas. For those of us who don't, it's a great four days off work!
The Whitney Land is a great new Whitney website just launched by Sam.
Check it out!
1997 has been a bumper year for Whitney Houston. She managed to maintain a very credable presence in the pop and R&B arenas whilst working a Gospel set. Whitney also performed with grace and style in her two ClassicWhitney shows in October and in November, she set new TV viewing figures for her "Cinderella" production in conjunction with Disney in which she portrayed the Fairy Godmother.
On the musical front, Whitney acheived her 4th US Platinum hit with "I Believe In You And Me" and her 16th Gold single with "Step By Step".
"The Preacher's Wife" soundtrack came in as the No.1 Gospel album of the year and the third most successful soundtrack of the year, outperforming the much hyped "Evita" soundrack
Here's a breakdown of the year-end honours Whitney has picked up in Billboard's end of year charts:
"The Preacher's Wife" - No.17 in the end of year pop album
chart of the year;
Whitney Houston - No.24 Hot100 Singles Artist of the year;
"I Believe In You And Me" - No.24 Hot 100 Single of the year;
Whitney Houston - No.6 Hot 100 Singles Artists - Female.
"I Believe In You And Me" - No.21 Hot 100 Singles Sales;
"The Preacher's Wife" - No.17 Top R&B Album of the year;
Whitney Houston - No.21 Hot R&B Singles Artist of the year;
"I Believe In You And Me"/"Somebody Bigger Than You And I" - No.29 Hot
R&B Single of the year;
"I Believe In You And Me"/"Somebody Bigger Than You And I" - No.30 Hot
R&B Singles Sales of the year;
"I Believe In You And Me" - No.44 Hot R&B Airplay of the year;
Whitney Houston - No.9 Hot Adult Contemporary Artist of the year;
"I Believe In You And Me" - No.11 Hot Adult Contemporary Single of the year;
"The Preacher's Wife" - No.3 Top Soundtrack of 1997;
"I Believe In You And Me" - No.5 Top Soundtrack Single of 1997;
"The Preacher's Wife" - No.1 Top Gospel Album of 1997.
Are you ready for 1998?
Whitney Houston's magical performance as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella can be seen tonight in the UK.
The film will air at 6pm on the Disney Channel.
If you'd like, you can Mail Me your reviews of the show which will be posted on this site.
Here's a review of what Whitney's been up to in 1997 as reported by MTV:
Hitting a stretch of pretty bad road this year has been veteran pop
diva Whitney Houston, for whom 1997 has been one baffling news blip after another.
Most recently, it was revealed that she'd signed up to sing at a mass wedding of followers
of the Korean Reverend Sun Myung Moon, whose Unification Church has not infrequently been
described by critics as a cult. It's just been that kind of year.
MTV: It's been an... interesting year for uber-diva Whitney
Houston.
First of all, she only managed to squeeze out one chart smash from "The Preacher's
Wife" soundtrack, a far cry from her hit-making heyday. In the spring, Houston
suddenly canceled an appearance at the Essence Awards, the first in a series of high
profile no-shows. Then, last summer, there were strangely conflicting reports from Houston
about how she came to have a slash across her face. At first, she claimed to have hit a
rock after diving off a yacht. But, a boat hand said she got the laceration on board.
Finally, Houston settled on the story that she had cut her face on a broken plate. Rumors
began to circulate that her husband, fading star Bobby Brown, was somehow implicated in
the injury. Brown denied this story and lamented having to deny such rumors to his
children.
BOBBY BROWN: It's hard for me to keep having to explain to them what the press is
talking about and what this is about and "No, I did not... you know I would never hit
Mom."
MTV: There was supposed to be a Whitney Houston
"Greatest Hits" album this year with a few new tracks thrown in, but even her
boss, Arista Records president Clive Davis couldn't make that happen.
WHITNEY HOUSTON: Oh, Clive is on my case about this greatest hits album. He's like,
Whitney, we have to do a greatest hits album, I mean you're far long overdue.
MTV: Houston canceled a Children's Defense Fund grant presentation just a few days
before her bizarre benefit performance for that same organization which aired on HBO, and
which saw the singer croaking her way through some hits and launching into long
discombobulated monologues between songs.
BOBBY BROWN: For the first time I had seen her perform, she was very nervous. Then
there were a lot of people trying to tell her you need to say this, and you need to say
that. And finally, she was like, just put a big monitor in the back with some words and
what y'all want me to say.
MTV: Houston got the bail-out bug again on October 30th, when she dropped out of
the Rosie O'Donnell show just 45 minutes before air-time, prompting the relentlessly nice
host to unloose such cracks as "I hope she's very ill" and re-working a Houston
classic into "I Will Always Hate You." To make matters worse, after that same
day, Houston was apparently well enough to join Bobby Brown for a performance on the David
Letterman show.
Given all these problems, Houston must have been extremely happy when a TV version of "Cinderella," a project for which she was the executive producer, scored major ratings for ABC when it aired in November.
But then, last weekend, Houston bagged out of another event --
although, perhaps more understandably this time, since she was said to have been only
sketchily informed about it. It was a mass wedding ceremony conducted by the
much-investigated Korean Reverend Sun Myung Moon; and in bowing out of it, Houston claimed
to have come down with a "sudden illness."
Houston has since reportedly returned her $1 million fee to the Unification Church.
"The Preacher's Wife" home video is now out on sale in the UK. Great timing with Christmas just around the corner.
It seems the true classic of the two Classic Whitney shows was the show that wasn't aired. Performed on 3rd October, the show was on HBO last night in the US.
Today saw the release of the tribute album to Diana, Princess Of Wales who was tragically killed in a Paris car crash three months ago.
All proceeds from the sale of the album will benefit the charities which Princess Diana worked so hard for.
The album features "Every Nation", a song that many of Whitney's fans have been talking about for the past ten months. There were many reports that Whitney would be singing on the track along with Mariah Carey but those stories prove to be unfounded. The song itself it a sweet mid-tempo jam. with an array of some great R&B voices including Monica, Lauryn Hill and Mary J Blige.
The album as a whole is a timeless piece of music and Whitney's "You Were Loved" fits perfectly along side songs which tell of the range of emotions felt throughout the world since Diana's untimely death.
Classic.
This is the MTV News report on Whitney's cancellation of performing for the mass wedding for the moonies:
Just an hour before she was due on stage, Whitney Houston canceled a
Saturday performance at a mass wedding ceremony conducted by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon.
Houston was given a reported $1 million appearance fee to be a part of the event, but
issued a statement saying she had a "sudden illness" that would keep her from
performing.
Houston's publicist had earlier claimed that the singer was unaware that she was singing
for Moon's followers, who have been called a cult by some. A spokesperson for Moon's
Unification church said it was impossible for Houston not to know, and that the singer did
indeed show up for a Friday rehearsal.
Several other big names, including former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed and former
Pakistani Prime Minister Benazhir Bhutto, also canceled their performances.
Houston's cancellation marks her fourth high-profile no show in the past year. Houston previously missed appearances at the Essence Awards, a Children's Defense Fund grant presentation, and "The Rosie O'Donnell Show."
Great news for Whitney fans in the UK - Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella will air on the Disney Channel on 21st December 1997 at 6pm.
The movie will air straight through with no interruptions by way of advertising!
You can find a great unplugged version of the Whitney classic "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" on the new Babyface "MTV Unplugged" album. The track features 'Face and Beverly Crowder.
I've finally seen "Cinderella" (Thanks Tony!) and have reviewed it. Click Here to read my review as well as some of the other reviews I have received.
Whitney has signed a contact for an undisclosed seven figure amount to perform for 45 minutes at a mass wedding ceremony for the religious cult the Moonies. The performance is due to occur at the end of the month.
Whitney has stated that she had no idea for whom she would be performing for until after signing the contract and has said she will be honouring the contract.
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December 1st sees the release of the
tribute album to Diana, Princess Of Wales. Click on the image of the cover of the album to go to the official site for the album. Click Here to go to my Diana tribute page. . |
Bobby Brown's album "Forever" debuts on the US Billboard 200 album chart at No.61 this week.
The line-up of artists contributing to the "Every Nation" song from the Diana, Princess Of Wales Tribute album has been confirmed by the executors of Diana's will. The all star performers include Mary J Blige, Lauryn Hill, Gerald Levert, Monica, Tony Rich, SWV with additional vocals by 112, Case, Faith Evans, Dru Hill, Montell Jordan, Curtis Mayfield, Mona Lisa, Monifah, Total and Zhane. Whitney is not featured on this track as early indications suggested.
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Cinderella Reviews...Now that Cinderella has been and gone, please Mail Me with your reviews of the show. I'll be posting all the reviews on the Cinderella page. |
"You Were Loved" is confirmed as Whitney's contribution to the tribute album to Diana, Princess Of Wales.
Further confirmation of Whitney's appearance on the "Every Nation" track is yet to happen. A recent Press Release By Columbia Records did not mention Whitney or Mariah Carey who were originally cited as featured vocalists on the track.
Diana, Princess Of Wales - A Tribute.
Whitney Houston's "You Were Loved" has been unofficially announced as one the the featured tracks on the "Diana, Princess Of Wales - A Tribute" album which is released 1st December 1997.
I have set up a special Diana page now which also links into my Tribute to Diana. You will find exclusive details there along with the press release from Columbia Records and Billboard about the album.
The hotly anticipated "Every Nation" track which was originally recorded for the Red Hot & R&B CD is now to appear on the Diana tribute album. It is not clear as to whether Whitney and Mariah are on this song as the Columbia press release mentions the other artists but not Whitney or Mariah.
My new page, Diana, Princess Of Wales is launched today.
Cinderella airs tomorrow night in the US on ABC from 7pm to 9pm. If you're lucky enough to see it, please Mail Me with your review of the show. The show will be aired in the UK before Christmas on the Disney Channel.
Billboard Magazine have published an article reviewing Cinderella. You can read the full review here.
If you're a die-hard Whitney fan or just looking for a track that
you've not been able to locate, you have to pay a visit to Ret's Music Gallery -
There's a ton of stuff here that Rhett is selling.
He needs Whitney fans to buy from him so that he can get a lot more rare stuff - just
check it out.
Please note: If you are ordering from Rhett, please do so only from his website and not from any other source and make sure the item you want is in stock before sending your money. It makes it easy on you and Rhett.
Two days before it's UK release and ten days before it's US release,
I have a copy of the new Bobby Brown album "Forever."
The intro of "Nobody Does It Better" featuring Whitney is proof enough that you
don't get much better than Whitney when it comes to singing. Bobby is also featured in the
intro but his part is limited to a soft backing vocal and he speaks through it. The album
itself is quite different from what we've heard of Bobby so far. The highlights of the CD
include "She's All I Need" a track dedicated to Whitney; "It's Still My
Thang" and the first single "Feelin'' Inside". Also hot is "Give It
Up", "Been Around The World"...
"Forever" is actually a very good set. Well Done Bobby!
I've finally seen Classic Whitney and loved the show. I'm in the process of writing my own review of the show.
Thanks for taping it Tony!
It's hard to believe how popular this
Whitney Houston site has been. During this week, the site will attain it's 50,000th
visitor. I'm amazed!! I have to thank everyone who's visited the site - the many people
who keep coming back and the friends I have made along the way. Thanks also go to the
other WebMasters who provided links back to the site and the guys at MTV for that special
link!
The counter has been with me since March 1996, a month after this site was launched as the
first ever Whitney Houston fan site. It's figure is collated from hits to the main
homepage only and doesn't allow multiple hits from a single source ensuring it's accuracy
and ensuring that I get a realistic picture of the site's popularity.
Thank you all for contributing to this very successful site.
Manish.
Bobby Brown's first solo project since 1992's "Bobby" is
on it's way. The new album is entitled "Forever" and begins with a 52 second
"intro" featuring Whitney singing a rendition of "Nobody Does It
Better" ending it with "Bobby, You're The Best".
The first single from the project is "Feeling Inside" which will be serviced
with remixes by K-Klass, Marley Marl, Jodeci's Dalvin DeGrate and Dinky Bingham.
The single will not see commercial release in the US but will be released in the UK and Europe. The album is released 27th October in the UK and 4th November in the US.
Whitney will feature in a duet with Faith Evans on Faith's new album
"Keep The Faith" due to drop November 18.
Details of the duet as still under wraps and the album will be out before the first
single.
I'll be sure to keep you posted on developments.
Follow This Link To Read Reviews Of "Classic Whitney".
Whitney Houston will perform her Classic Whitney show across the US on HBO. I've already had a Review from Friday's first show.
If you would like to review tonight's show for this WebSite, please E-Mail Me! I look forward to hearing about the show as London doesn't get the show just yet.
Elton John's tribute song to the late Diana, Princess Of Wales has captured the No.1 spot on the US Hot 100 Singles Chart, shattering all previous sales records.
The single sold an amazing 3,440,000 copies last week alone besting the previous record holder, "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston which held the title for the past five years with a weekly tally from December 1992 at 632,000 copies.
The single also registers itself as the fastest selling music title in US history too as it's one week sum outsold the previous record holder by a ratio of more than three to one.
Who was that previous record holder? Whitney Houston's "The Bodyguard" at over a Million copies in December 1992.
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The Guys at HBO have set up a small - but great - Whitney site in
order to promote her live US TV concert performance entitled "Classic
Whitney". Click on the image of Whitney to go to the site which has a couple of great new photo's of Whitney! |
Thanks for pointing the way Tom.
A great way to get the latest news on Whitney is to visit MTV News' Whitney Site which includes all the latest official Whitney info.
You can also visit MTV's Whitney Biorhythms Site which includes a link back to this site. It's the only link to a Whitney fan site that the guys at MTV choose to provide.
Thanks MTV!
Whitney will perform on Sunday 28th September at The 3rd Annual International Achievements In Arts Awards which will honour Gregory Peck, Celine Dion, Smokey Robinson, and Diane Warren amongst others. The event will benefit the Whitney Houston Foundation For Children, Inc. and The Michael Bolton Foundation.
Also performing on the night will be En Vogue, Monica, Dionne Warwick, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, The Four Tops, Celine Dion, Shirley Caesar and Michael Bolton.
The event will be backed by a 72 piece Orchestra & Choir & a 150 Member Gospel Choir.
September 10 [10:00 EDT] -- Madonna read a poem, and Elton John, Whitney Houston and Jon Bon Jovi each sang a song Monday night, at a private memorial for fashion designer Gianni Versace, in New York City. Courtney Love and Lisa Marie Presley were also there, at the Egyptian temple of Dendur in the Metropolitan Museum Of Art. The untitled poem that Madonna read was written by an unnamed Native American, and was given to her by new age author Deepak Chopra.
Whitney is to sing "Nobody Does It Better" on the new Bobby Brown album. It is not clear as to whether the song will feature as a solo, or intro or a duet with Bobby as yet.
The song was originally a No.2 1977 hit for Carly Simon, who is also signed to Arista Records and featured in the James Bond movie "The Spy Who Loved Me".
From Music Man.
The death of Diana, Princess Of Wales has had the world of Media running around in a frenzy as they were all indirectly responsible for the death of the Princess. Certainly it will be argued that the driver was drunk and that these Paparazzi were the lower end of the media, but one fact remains true - Diana was "hunted" by them for any story they could get. They sold their pictures and stories to the world's tabloid press for thousands, sometimes millions.
What does this have to do with us, the Webmasters? It's simple. We can all identify the intrusions into Whitney's life from the media over the years, some of whom Whitney herself has described as "Demons out to eat my flesh".
In recent months I have seen these "demons" appear on many of the Whitney Web Sites that are around now. In order to print something about Whitney, there will be stories extracted from certain "cyber" tabloids or otherwise about Whitney and Bobby and after publishing these stories, the Webmaster will state "Don't Read Or Buy This Rubbish". Is there hypocrisy in these words? I think so.
If we all really want to see an end to the evils of the tabloid press and avoid another death or injury because of it, we all have to play a part. So with that, I urge all you Webmasters - It doesn't matter which Artist you represent, don't regurgitate the rumours and lies or the hearsay ("Whitney was spotted shopping / eating....Bobby was seen..."). Let's keep it relevant - about the music and the movies. About Whitney the artist. If we're printing personal facts - get them from a statement issued by Whitney/Bobby, Arista, Nippy Inc (An Official source!!).
If we're to condemn the tabloid press and the paparazzi, lets not accept the stories they generate. Ignore it.
We can't bring back the dead, but we can help in some small way to keep the living alive.
Manish. 10th September 1997.
Whitney's 1997 rendition of her 1988 Olympic styled classic "One Moment In Time" was simply stunning at last night's opening ceremony for the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Singing the song live, Whitney's anthem was very apt in honouring the Tennis greats of the past fifty years and in particular Arthur Ashe. Vocally, Whitney kept to singing the song the way she feels it now and not just the way it was recorded nine years back. Her voice was in good form as she sang to the capacity crowd (23,000) choosing not to indulge in the vocal acrobatics which were the signature of the original version.
It's great to see an artist of Whitney's calibre perform for an event without it being a marketing tool for her latest release. No other singer - or song - would have done.
"One Moment In Time" was No.1 for two weeks on the UK chart in October 1988 and US No.5 hit.
The man who produced Whitney's most successful commercial single ever - David Foster - has signed a new deal with Warner Music group stating that he will concentrate his talents as a writer & producer for artists who fall under the umbrella of this music group.
This new deal means that we are now unlikely to hear Whitney sing David Foster produced songs although Warner Music Group have stated that there will be few exceptions allowed.
Whitney's HBO Concert "Classic Whitney" does not appear to be scheduled for UK TV. A way to get the show's demand going is to ring Sky and request they televise the event. The number to ring is 0171 705 3000 and speak to Customer Relations.
Whitney is expected to make an appearance at the 1997 Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards to be held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 5th September 1997.
The show will honour Janet Jackson with the 1997 Lena Horne Award for Outstanding Career Achievements in the field Of Entertainment where it is expected that Janet will launch her new album "The Velvet Rope." Also being honoured is Queen Latifah with the 1997 Aretha Franklin Award as "Entertainer Of The Year."
It is not know what Whitney's role will be or whether she will perform at the ceremony.
On August 25, Whitney will perform "One Moment In Time" after the first match of the US Open Tennis Match. The performance, as well as the game, will be broadcast live on USA Network TV at approximately 8:30 PM EST (depending of course on how long the first match runs). Whitney's involvement is due to the rededication of the stadium to Arthur Ashe.
Whitney's "The Preacher's Wife" Soundtrack was cited by Billboard Magazine as the No.1 Gospel album so far of 1997, spending six months at the top of the Gospel Album Chart.
Whitney celebrates her 34th Birthday today.
Whitney's Fan Club has a special offer for fans to see Whitney
perform live just two days before her HBO show on 5th October 1997.
You can find all the details on the Official Fan Club Site.
Whitney is to perform a show on US pay-per-view channel HBO. The
show is reportedly titled "Classic Whitney" and will be a live concert show from
Washington. Further details about the show are not yet know.
The concert may be the prelude to the launch of Whitney's imminent Greatest Hits project
and "Classic Whitney" may the the title of that album although this is
not confirm.
Arista have said nothing this year about the release of a Greatest Hits project for this
year although their own web site did cite a "Multi-CD package" for the Greatest
Hits some time ago.
Watch This Space...
In an article for Billboard Magazine, BMG reported that WorldWide sales of "The Preacher's Wife" Soundtrack stand at 3.4 Million copies so far.
Whitney Houston says it was clumsiness that led to a deep cut on her
face and caused her to abruptly end her Mediterranean yachting trip with husband Bobby
Brown.
"I feel like a klutz," Houston told the New York Daily News through her
publicist, Lois Smith. You'll recall that police on the island of Capri investigated the
incident after receiving conflicting stories as to how it happened. Police initially said
Houston told doctors on the island that she cut her face swimming after falling on some
rocks, but a crew member said that the injury occurred while the diva was still on board
the 120-foot ship. On Tuesday, Houston's publicist said that the accident actually did
happen aboard the yacht. "They were having lunch, and she slipped in the dining
room," said Smith. "She thinks she cut herself on a dinner plate that broke when
she was trying to break her fall. [Houston] said, 'It was a dumb thing.'" Smith said
Houston is now back at home with Brown, and she dismisses reports hinting that Houston's
trouble-prone husband may have somehow caused the wound: "Believe me, he wouldn't be
there if he did." In other Houston news, the songstress was a no-show at Disneyland
on Monday, where ABC previewed Cinderella for the press. Houston not only produced the
movie, but co-stars, playing fairy godmother to Brandy's title character. She finished up
her role last week and immediately jetted off to take her ill-fated cruise.
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© 1996 - 2000 Manish
www.classicwhitney.com
- Disclaimer.
