www.classicwhitney.com - Newsfile Reports

Michael Jackson...

Time will publish a special commemorative issue on Michael Jackson to hit newsstands on Monday, the newsweekly has announced.

The issue, to sell for $5.99 (and to be available in addition to the magazine's regular edition), will contain interviews with John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Sheryl Crow, Tina Turner, Nancy Reagan, Lenny Kravitz and others speaking about the late pop legend.

The Jackson issue is the first such commemorative special from Time since its 9/11 edition in 2001. Stories from the Jackson issue will appear on Time.com starting Sunday.

Whitney Houston's Tribute to Michael Jackson...

whitneyhouston.com: Whitney Shares Her Thoughts On Michael Jackson's Passing

"It is so hard to express in words what Michael Jackson meant to me. He was my friend. He was one of the reasons I got into the music business. He inspired me. He taught me. He laughed with me. He paved the way for African American artists to be played on MTV which was huge. My heart is full of grief for his family and his children and I pray that they take solace in the incredible legacy of his music and art."

NEWSFILE: 28 JUNE 2009

Michael Jackson: 1958 - 2009

Whitney Houston - New Album Title Confirmed: I Look To You...

whitneyhouston.com: BREAKING NEWS: Whitney's New Album Title Announced!

We're excited to announce that Whitney's highly-anticipated new album, set for September 1, 2009 worldwide release on Arista Records, will be titled I Look To You.

Akon's 2 Songs For Whitney...

Rap-Up.com: Akon on Whitney: She's Straight 'Hood

She may have sold over 170 million albums, singles, and videos worldwide, but Whitney Houston hasn’t lost her roots, according to Akon.

“That’s my girl right there,” the “Beautiful” singer tells Rap-Up in the Summer 2009 issue. “She’s straight ’hood, but at the same time she can switch it up.”

He expressed his admiration for the 45-year-old singer. “I love Whitney, man. She’s really down-to-earth. That I can say. She hasn’t lost her roots.”

Akon recorded two songs with the diva, but it’s unknown if any will make her new album. One of those songs, “Like I Never Left,” leaked to the Internet last year. “After that song leaked, they pulled that back. That was officially supposed to be a single for her as well. But we’ll see what happens.”

Find out if Akon’s contributions made the cut when Whitney Houston releases her seventh studio album, I Look to You, on Sept. 1.

Akon talks about working with another musical legend, Michael Jackson, in the Summer 2009 issue of Rap-Up, on sale now.

NEWSFILE: 25 JUNE 2009

Dionne...

New York Daily News: WHITNEY HOUSTON IS KEEPING HER NEW ALBUM TOP SECRET — even from her family! “I haven’t heard anything from it yet,” the diva’s cousin Dionne Warwick confided at a Friars Foundation event. “Whitney has been saying, ‘You’re going to hear it when everyone else does.’ It’s killing me!” As for a future duet, Warwick said, “Absolutely. It’s inevitable.”

Alicia's Million Dollar Bill...

Showbiz411.com: Whitney, Santana, Alicia, Leona, Manilow All Set for Fall

Clive Davis may have been “kicked upstairs” last year at Sony/BMG/Whatever Music but that doesn’t mean he’s gone gently into that dark night.

Quite the opposite. He’s more like the Dark Knight.

Davis, who’s in his mid 70s, looks like he will have the hottest fourth quarter in the music biz. Maybe ever.

His team at Arista/J Records is getting ready to unleash a barrage of releases by Davis’s biggest names all at once between September and Christmas.

First up is Whitney Houston’s comeback album, set for September 1st. The first single, written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster, is said to bring listeners to tears — in a good way. The album also contains a hot single written and produced by Alicia Keys called “Million Dollar Bill.”

But then comes an avalanche of Davis’s big guns: Alicia has a new album herself, follow up to her monster hit, “As I Am.” Leona Lewis has her second American album, after “Bleeding Love” made her a superstar. Add to that new CDs from Carlos Santana and Barry Manilow.

Davis has been busy with some non Arista/J projects, too. Over at Sony Music, which is part of the conglom he’s now part of. Davis has exec produced Harry Connick, Jr.’s new album, which is said to be a breakthrough for the New Orleans actor-singer. “He’s going to be the new Frank Sinatra after this,” says a source.

In his spare time: wait, what spare time?

NEWSFILE: 19 JUNE 2009

Announcement...

Guardian: Whitney Houston comeback album announced

The troubled diva's first album in six years is rumoured to be titled Undefeated and will feature contributions from Will.I.Am, Sean Garrett, R Kelly and Swizz Beatz

Sean Michaels guardian.co.uk, Friday 5 June 2009 10.03 BST

Whitney Houston's long-awaited comeback album will be released this September, her label has announced. Six years since her last record, it seems the troubled singer will at last find out whether her audience aaaaaa-a-always loves her.

With more than 140m albums sold worldwide, Houston is one of the bestselling artists of all time – just not recently. Her last album was 2003's One Wish: The Holiday Album, preceded by the not-so-Yuletide 2002 release Just Whitney. She has spent the past five years chased by drug and domestic abuse allegations, culminating in a divorce from Bobby Brown in 2007. Houston received custody of daughter Bobbi Kristina.

If the rumours are to be believed, Houston's comeback album will have the appropriately tenacious title Undefeated. And it will feature songwriting credits by artists like Will.I.Am, Sean Garrett, R Kelly and Swizz Beatz. But not even Houston's duet with Akon, which leaked to the internet last year, has been confirmed for this release. In other words – details remain scarce.

"[Whitney's] voice is there," Akon promised in 2007. "I don't think anyone could ever take that from her. As long as we apply that voice to hit records, she'll be right back where she left off."

The singer's last performance was at mogul Clive Davis's Grammys party in February – where she apparently blew the roof off. "You don't [make a comeback album] by going into a computer," Davis said in his introduction. "You wait for the material to justify a new album."

The album will be released by Arista on 1 September.

Photo Shoot Video...

whitneyhouston.com: Watch Video Of Whitney's Photo Shoot

Go to ExtraTV.com to watch raw footage of Whitney at her recent photo shoot.

NEWSFILE: 5 JUNE 2009

Album Release Date Announced...

whitneyhouston.com: Whitney Houston's New Album Set For Release September 1, 2009

Whitney Houston's new album will be released worldwide September 1, 2009 on Arista Records. This is Whitney's 7th studio album. Since her 1985 self-titled debut, she has built an illustrious career that has generated over 170 million combined worldwide sales of albums, singles and videos.

Cited by the Guinness Book of World Records as music's "most awarded female artist of all time," with an unsurpassed tally of 411 awards, inclusive of 6 Grammy Awards, 2 Emmy Awards, 23 American Music Awards and 16 Billboard Music Awards... Whitney remains a singular force in music today.

Be sure to visit www.whitneyhouston.com regularly for up-to-date album information, exclusive photos and more exciting news!

New Photo...

Arista Records have issued a new Whitney Houston photograph as part of today's announcement confirming the release of her new album. The photo was taken by Patrick Demarchelier during a shoot for Whitney's new album cover.

[Click image to see larger photo]

Comeback Countdown...

Billboard.com: Whitney Houston Comeback Album Due Sept. 1

June 04, 2009 09:40 AM ET

Mariel Concepcion, N.Y.

The wait is over -- Whitney Houston is finally making her comeback on Sept. 1 with an as-yet-untitled album on Arista Records. For her return, the label has set up a countdown on the New Jersey-bred artist's official site, WhitneyHouston.com, which will also preview selected tracks slated to appear on the album in coming weeks.

Producers and songwriters said to aid with the set include will.i.am, Sean Garrett and Akon, although there is no confirmation on whether a duet with Akon, "Like I Never Left," which leaked last year, will make the cut.

"The voice is there; I don't think anyone could ever take that from her. As long as we apply that voice to hit records, she'll be right back where she left off," Akon told Billboard.com back in 2007.

Houston made her first high-profile public appearance at her mentor Clive Davis' pre-Grammy gala back in February, where she performed a four-song set that included brief renditions of "I Will Always Love You" and "I Believe in You and Me" plus a tent revival-style take on "I'm Every Woman."

Houston has been dogged in recent years by drug and health issues -- including rehab stints in 2004 and 2005 -- a legal dispute with her father, John Houston, rumored financial problems and a troubled marriage to fellow singer Bobby Brown that ended in divorce.

Houston's last album was 2002's "Just Whitney," which sold 737,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The Wait Is Over...

Rolling Stone: Whitney Houston’s Long-Awaited Comeback LP Due in September

“The Wait Is Over!” shouted the official press release this morning: After a six-year absence from the studio, Whitney Houston will return with a new album on September 1st, 2009. The as-yet-untitled Arista release will be Houston’s seventh studio record since she made her debut in 1985 with a self-titled album stocked with Number One hits including “Greatest Love of All,” “How Will I Know” and “Saving All My Love for You.” Her last album of original studio recordings was 2002’s Just Whitney, which was followed in 2003 by a Christmas record titled One Wish: The Holiday Album and a greatest-hits compilation. During the ensuing years, Houston became known more for her bizarre antics with then-husband Bobby Brown on their reality show Being Bobby Brown and rumors about a drug problem she had addressed in a special edition of ABC’s Primetime with Diane Sawyer.

Houston’s most recent public performance came at her mentor Clive Davis’ annual Grammy party in February of this year. Before the event, Davis announced Houston was ready for her comeback: “The same way her debut album took a while to put together, you just don’t do it by going into a computer. You wait for the material to justify a new album.” While there’s no word on the track list for Whitney’s September record, Davis had mentioned she was stepping into the studio with R. Kelly to record a song titled “I Look to You” and spoke about a Diane Warren-penned ballad producer by David Foster called “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength.” Swizz Beatz told Rap-Up he produced an uptempo titled “Mill Dollar Bill” for the LP, and an Akon duet called “Like I Never Left” leaked last year.

When Houston took the stage at Davis’ party in a tight leopard-print dress, stars like Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Hudson bolted for the front row for a close look at the diva’s performance of “I Believe In You and Me,” “It’s Not Right, But It’s Okay” and “I’m Every Woman.” Houston’s last tour of the U.S. was 1999’s “My Love Is Your Love World Tour,” which supported the 1998 album of the same name. In October 2006 Houston filed for divorce from Brown, and in February 2007 their split was finalized, with Houston receiving custody of daughter Bobbi Kristina.

NEWSFILE: 4 JUNE 2009