FOR much of the decade Whitney Houston has been out of the spotlight, fighting to get her once charmed life back under control.
But as she arrived in Britain Tuesday night, it seemed the tide has turned for the soul singer who was back to her dazzling best.
Her gaunt and ravaged look has gone and the polished professional who won millions of fans with songs such as I Will Always Love You was back with a big smile.The 45-year-old launched I Look To You, her first studio CD in seven years, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in London’s Knightsbridge.Tracks have already been leaked on the internet, where they have met with a mixed response —— the most critical claiming her voice has been ruined. But music mogul Clive Davis, who discovered the soul diva 25 years ago, disagrees.“You won’t forget it after you hear it,” he said, calling the album a labour of love for all involved. In 2001, Houston shocked fans with her gaunt appearance at a Michael Jackson tribute concert in New York.In December 2002, she admitted she had experimented with drugs and alcohol during an interview with American broadcaster Diane Swayer.But since splitting from ex-husband Bobby Brown in 2006 and winning custody of their daughter Bobbi Kristina, Houston has been steadily planning her comeback with the help of J Records boss Davis. She is the only artist ever to have had seven consecutive multi-platinum albums, beating even the Beatles.Worldwide she has sold 140 million albums and 50 million singles, with I Will Always Love You, released in 1993, becoming one of the biggest selling records of all time. —— Dailymail.
