Tag: Whitney Houston (1-10 of 20)

May 3 2013 03:25 PM ET

'Glee': Madonna! Stevie Wonder! The top ten tribute episodes -- ranked! VIDEO

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Image Credit: Michael Yarish/Fox

As anyone with even a passing familiarity with Glee — or iTunes charts — is aware, the show knows its way around a tribute episode, a.k.a. an episode where all of the music is from one artist or film. A ‘tribute episode’ also typically means there are seven or eight songs in the hour-long dramedy, as opposed to the usual standard of four. Great news for those of us who are watching the show for the karaoke! (I can’t be the only one dancing around my living room to Madonna or Lady Gaga Glee covers, right?)

Last night, Glee added Stevie Wonder to the diverse group of icons the show has celebrated, which got me thinking — where does Wonder fall among the Glee kids’ homages? Below, check out our rankings of the top ten tribute episodes Glee has undertaken in the past four seasons — along with some videos of the best performance from each musical-icon-filled hour.
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Jan 29 2013 01:01 PM ET

Whitney Houston's brother to Oprah: I gave Whitney drugs first -- VIDEO

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Whitney Houston’s mother Cissy and brother Michael sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a special Oprah’s Next Chapter as the first anniversary of the Whitney’s death draws near. The interview, which focused primarily on Cissy Houston, was at least in part promotion for Houston’s upcoming book, Remembering Whitney: My Story of Love, Loss, and the Night the Music Stopped. Among the many revelations in the chat, which aired in full last night on OWN, was Houston’s brother’s admission that it was he, not Bobby Brown, who originally introduced Whitney to drugs in the early 1980s, far before she ever met Brown.

Talking about the “demons” he struggled with since Whitney’s death last year, Michael discussed how close he always was with his younger sister. “I’m living, but I’m not alive without her,” he explained. “I feel responsible for her, I always have. I just felt like I should have taken better care of her,” and “Everything we did together growing up, when I started [using] drugs we did that together too. It just got out of hand.”

Watch below: READ FULL STORY »

Jan 28 2013 10:56 AM ET

Cissy Houston talks Whitney in emotional 'Today' interview -- VIDEO

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Warning: Watching the following segment will probably give you a serious case of the sads.

Gospel great Cissy Houston stopped by the Today show this morning to talk about her new book, Remembering Whitney: My Story of Love, Loss, and the Night the Music Stopped – and while the singer remained calm and composed even as Savannah Guthrie asked tough questions about her daughter’s drug abuse, Cissy’s quiet, stoic grief was somehow even more poignant than hysterics would have been.

The 79-year-old is still clearly in mourning — “I miss her so much I can’t even express it,” she said at one point. Cissy told Guthrie that she doesn’t blame Whitney’s ex-husband Bobby Brown for anything, and that sometimes tragedies are just inexplicable — “Good mothers and good fathers and good families don’t always have great children. Bad people have good children… It’s all their responsibility when they get to a certain age to choose their way. [Whitney] was taught, she knew the way.”

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Jan 23 2013 02:14 PM ET

Great moments in lip-synching, from The Beatles to Jennifer Hudson -- VIDEO

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Image Credit: George Rose/Getty Images

There’s a silver lining to yesterday’s whole Beyoncé lip-synching debacle: If Bey did, in fact, mouth the words to the national anthem at Monday’s inauguration, at least she’s in good company.

As Jennifer Lopez noted on The Daily Show last night, basically every major musician has relied on pre-recorded tracks at some point — even giants like The Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Whitney Houston. (Not to mention lesser beings like Ashlee Simpson and Milli Vanilli.) So in honor of the earpiece-removal that scandalized a nation, let’s look back at some of music history’s most memorable lip-synching moments — both famous and infamous.

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Dec 17 2012 10:09 AM ET

'VH1 Divas' Jordin Sparks, Melanie Fiona, and Ledisi celebrate Whitney Houston -- VIDEO

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Divas may not be known for playing well with others, but there’s one thing on which they can all agree: Whitney Houston was their queen. And at last night’s VH1 Divas concert, the grand dame of divadom got a fitting tribute from a trio of young upstarts. Of course, none of those ladies sounded quite as wonderful as Whitney in her prime — but the number was moving and groove-worthy all the same.

After an introduction courtesy of Brandy — who played the title character to Houston’s Fairy Godmother in 1997′s Cinderella — American Idol winner Jordin Sparks kicked things off with “I’m Every Woman.” As colored lights glinted on a giant, crystal-encrusted “WHITNEY” sign, the song bled into Grammy-winner Melanie Fiona’s joyous take on “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” which she sang while leading a crowd of dancers through a psyched-looking audience. Once she reached the stage, Fiona switched gears for a few verses of “It’s Not Right, But It’s Okay” — paving the way for the jazzy soul singer Ledisi, who couldn’t quite hit all of “How Will I Know”‘s punishing high notes.

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Oct 11 2012 01:09 PM ET

Whitney Houston's teenage daughter is engaged -- UPDATE

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Seven years after Being Bobby Brown fascinated and horrified TV audiences, a new reality show about Whitney Houston’s family is coming to cable. Lifetime’s The Houstons: On Our Own follows the late star’s relatives — including her mother, Cissy, her brother, Gary, and her sister-in-law and manager, Pat — as they try to keep their family together in the wake of Whitney’s sudden death.

But show’s main focus is 19-year-old Bobbi Kristina, Whitney’s daughter with ex-husband Bobby Brown — who is apparently engaged to Nick Gordon, a 22-year-old who was informally adopted by Houston 10 years ago. And as this preview clip shows, Bobbi Kristina’s family isn’t exactly thrilled when they hear the news:

UPDATE: A rep for Bobbi Kristina tells CNN that the two aren’t engaged, but adds, “You have to watch the show!!!!”

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Aug 27 2012 08:30 PM ET

Spontaneous subway dance party! What song would get you moving?

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The greatest love of all may be the fondness Americans share for peak-era Whitney Houston. Want proof? Check out the following video — courtesy of Gothamist — which shows what happens when a pair of buskers start performing “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” on a Brooklyn subway platform:

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Aug 17 2012 05:36 PM ET

Whitney Houston in 'Sparkle': How will she rank among these posthumous performers?

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Image Credit: Alicia Gbur

Nobody wants to join the list of actors whose last movies were released after they died — but you’ve got to admit that the company is good. And as of today, that unfortunate club has another illustrious member: Whitney Houston, star of the Jordin Sparks vehicle Sparkle. (Not to be confused with Marian Carey’s Glitter, though both are lustrous tales of up-and-coming singers.)

EW’s Owen Gleiberman wasn’t a huge fan of Sparkle; he gave the film a B- in EW this week, calling it “an overheated mediocrity.” He does, however, praise Houston, applauding her “gravelly conviction” in his review. “This could have been the first step not merely in a comeback but in a major re-invention,” he continues. “She had the instincts of a superb character actress.”

So Whitney’s last movie isn’t exactly Oscar material — but could she still enter the pantheon of stars who gave especially memorable posthumous performances? Let’s take a look at some of her competition:

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Apr 10 2012 01:25 PM ET

Newark mayor responds to high cost of Whitney Houston funeral. But what is the price of mourning?

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Whitney Houston’s death continues to generate headaches for New Jersey’s leading politicans. First, Governor Chris Christie was criticized for lowering the flags at state government buildings to half-staff to honor the late singer. Now, some Newark residents are unhappy that Whitney Houston’s February funeral cost the city more than $187,000 in police overtime. The figure equals roughly 5 percent of Newark’s annual police overtime budget ($4 million), reports CBS New York.

EW reached out to Newark mayor Cory Booker’s office, who said, though no formal complaint has been lodged, it’s incumbent upon him to exercise caution at such ceremonies. “As with any major event, and Ms. Houston’s funeral was an international event, our police department’s priority is to keep both citizens and visitors alike safe when they come to our city,” said Booker’s communication director Anne Torres.

Democratic councilwoman Mildred Crump agreed, telling CBS, “I was able to be witness to the thousands upon thousands of people who were desperate to attend [Houston's] service but held back by barriers and officers of the law. If they had not been there someone may have been trampled, seriously hurt.”

Indeed, for such a large-scale event as Houston’s funeral, the costs (beyond what the celebrity’s estate covers*) quickly move from intangible — crowd control, safety, security — to tangible, life-threatening even. It’s hardly the first time a departed celebrity has cost a city some cash. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 8 2012 10:54 AM ET

Dionne Warwick's final conversation with Whitney Houston: 'She had everything in the world to live for.'

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Image Credit: Jochen Luebke/Getty Images

It’s been almost one month since the sad passing of Whitney Houston, and now the legendary singer’s family is beginning to open up. While Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina (who, as its been reported, was left everything in her mother’s will) and her brother Gary Houston and sister-in-law Patricia Houston sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a chat on Oprah’s Next Chapter (the episode airs on OWN this Sunday), the Grammy-winner’s cousin, singer Dionne Warwick talked to Good Morning America on Thursday.

“I spoke to Whitney the day that she passed,” Warwick revealed during her interview, “I spoke to her that morning.” The 71-year-old said that Houston asked if she’d be at Clive Davis’ Grammys party, which Houston was also going to attend. Warwick told GMA, “She said, ‘You’re here, aren’t you? You’re coming to the party, aren’t you?’  I said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to be there’ and she said, ‘Thank you, I want you to be here. You’ve got to be here for me.’” (Tragically, Houston was found dead in a bathroom at Los Angeles’ Beverly Hilton Hotel, hours before the pre-Grammy celebration.)
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