Wednesday, September 02, 2009

WHITNEY HOUSTON, AND "I LOOK TO YOU".

WHITNEY HOUSTON, AND "I LOOK TO YOU".
Okay, I'm usually a kind person, and I always say kindness as an attribute is far under-rated as a positive trait to possess. But I admit my intentions for turning on "Good Morning America" on ABC this morning, were less than kind. The truth is, I was looking forward to seeing a "performance" I felt sure would be--if not credible-- at least terribly amusing.
The woman known for years as the "train wreck", the woman suffering from terrible addictions and tremendously poor decision making, the woman everyone laughed at, not with: Whitney Houston, was going to sing, live, in Central Park.

The audience gathered was enormous, and the expectations seemed as high as, well, Whitney & Bobby Brown used to be.
But when she walked onstage to an adoring, cheering crowd, she looked radiant. Much heavier than her "crack" days, but still slender and once-again beautiful, I was now suddenly encouraged, but by no means, convinced.
Then she offered to sing the title track from her new CD, "I Look To You", noting that "You" referred to "all of you...", as she gestured towards the crowd, adding "...and to..." as she paused, quietly--reverently--and thrust her arms gently towards the sky.
And then, she sang. Her voice is back, and more splendid than I remembered("I Wanna Dance With Somebody", 1987)more powerful("I Will Always Love You", 1992)and more tender than anything in my memory(though Judy Garland's iconic "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" leaps to mind).
For all you Michael Jackson fans out there, who feel cheated out of a "comeback", I'd urge you to give Whitney a listen. She was a huge voice in the 1980's and 1990's, and was silenced by her own addictions and disorders. But this time, kids, there's a happy ending.
To heck with YouTube, I'm headed to the store to get the CD.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

You've convinced me to try to find this performance on Youtube, at the very least. I never thought it would be even remotely possible for Whitney to come back the way she seems to have been able to do.

Lisa Nanette Allender said...

Keith--Hi there. Thanks, the pleasure is all mine. If I can find a video of today's performance, I'll definitely post it here!
I'm going to start calling Whitney "Ms. Phoenix", I think.

steven boss said...

I like her alot and she is getting better as she go hello she's older her voice changed over the years you people who talking crap get a life.

steven boss said...

I like her alot and she is getting better as she go hello she's older her voice changed over the years you people who talking crap get a life.

Collin Kelley said...

I'm glad she's trying to regain her career.

P.S. Why are you double posting your headlines? You only need to put it once in the header field. A friendly blogging tip. :)

Lisa Nanette Allender said...

Steven Boss--No one here is "talking crap"--if you read my post, I was very pleasantly surprised by her comeback. A "Phoenix" is one who rises from ashes...
Collin Kelley--Me, too.
I don't know why I always write the title a second time. I did it awhile back, and just kept doing it.I'll stop.

jmsjoin said...

I would be lying if I said I ever listened to her but i heard this being discussed and I heard she disappointed.

Unknown said...

I caught that performance. Although I was pleased she didn't totally flop, I felt her performance was less than stellar. Speaking as a musician, I would say she was on par with your average nightclub act.

Lisa Nanette Allender said...

Average Patriot--Thanks for stopping in.
I hear that's what the buzz is; that she "disappointed", but I stand by my observations.
Peace yo.
Brother Tim--I'm not a musician, but I've performed onstage countless times. It truly seemed to me she's (once again!) in her element.
I thoroughly enjoyed her performance.
Peace,bro.

Amy said...

She has an amazing voice.

Harnett-Hargrove said...

Lisa, this is a great post. And something I would not heard about unless I heard it here...

Would you post a plee on your site? Go to my blog and follow Klimpt's Athena...to Attika SOS....I also put it up on Facebook (which I hardly ever use)...
Please,if you will, write whatever you see fit for Manya and the Greek community.
xo J

Lisa Nanette Allender said...

Amy--Yep, great voice!
Jayne Harnett-Hargrove--Thanks, honey.
I'm headed to your blog right now!
Need to do a lot of catching up this weekend(I'll be hitting the DBF(Decatur Book Fest) this weekend, so I won't be caught up with all your posts, until around Tuesday!)

Larry said...

I missed the performance but like many wondered if she would escape her days of Brown and drugs.

Lisa Nanette Allender said...

Larry--Hi! Despite all the nay-sayers(including at one time, me!), Whitney's new CD is headed to Number 1 status, and she appears to be very healthy! ;)

Anonymous said...

I am really glad to hear this. Whatever anyone thinks about Whitney, the truth is that gal can sing. And then some. It's good news that she's back!

Lisa Nanette Allender said...

Selma--Hi there, thanks for stopping in. She's definitely back--and she's moving forward!
Oprah is doing a two-part interview with her, beginning on Monday, Sept. 14th.

California Girl said...

that's a nice tribute. she's never interested me as I always found her music to be over-produced (too much fiddling with bass and background) and wondered what she'd sound like w/o all the electronic help. I don't relate very well to addicts so her downhill slide was sad but familiar. It's nice to hear positive things about someone who is, after all, a talent. Judy Garland is an example of one who never overcame her demons. Yet I greatly admire her fabulous voice and emotional delivery.

Apparently Whitney Houston has Oprah on her side as well. The gods must be smiling.

Lisa Nanette Allender said...

California Girl--I think Whitney is going to have do a "cover" of an ol' disco-hit. You know, "I Will Survive"....
Thanks for stopping in! ;)