Came to a heartbreaking end. Fans were always pulling for whitney, and in early 2012, it looked like she was making a comeback new man, new music and a new movie. The film was a remake of sparkle, and it marked a return to her roots, home to the church, back to the power and promise of gospel. Sparkle, you can have a gift. Its how you use it. Turner sparkle is a cult classic, especially in the africanamerican community. Be on the mark. Can i get an amen . Amen amen amen ame houston being born and raised in the gospel community, it was not new to me to sing gospel or to sing with a choir. Why should shadows shadows come . It is very natural to me in some ways, more natural than Popular Music because its where im rooted. Its where my foundation is. So it wasnt a new adventure. It was just coming back home. [ cheers and applause ] i remember sparkle, and i remember the great press that came around sparkle. Whitney looked great, and they were showing clips, and everyone was saying, oh, my gosh, shes back. Turner she was healthy and happy. Was she . We dont know. She looked like she was trying. She looked like she was winning the battle at that point. Lemon so everyone thought that this sparkle movie was going to be great and that it was going to be whitneys comeback and finally [exhales sharply] right . She could exhale. And then came the grammys. Hello. Im a. J. Hammer in new york, and this is a Special Edition of Showbiz Tonight showbiz the grammys. Whitney was there for grammy week. She had planned on making a comeback in the music business, but even before she boarded the plane to los angeles, she had reservations. Mun and people are calling it a comeback. Is that putting kind of pressure on you . Are you feeling nervous about the whole thing . Its not a comeback for me. Ive been here. Ive just been here. I just took a break. Ill be honest and say i didnt celebrate the comeback as maybe a lot of people did. I felt like, its too soon. I felt like, you know what . Whitney is not ready yet. Halperin whitney was erratic in the hotel, to say the least. She was found hanging out. Several media people spotted her at the bar, getting hammered. Cooper houston was seen skipping around a ballroom and doing handstands near the hotel pool. Whitney was partying. She was happy. She was sober, maybe a little tipsy because she had some champagne. There were reports of her having drugs delivered to her in the hotel. And then, yeah, she went into a gift shop. She saw a tabloid with a headline about her. She went ballistic. Things are bad, and theyre worse than they appeared. All i knew is, whatever is going on, its far worse than theyre letting us know. Halperin paramedics arrived. There was a lot of panic. They administered cpr. They were unable to resuscitate her. She was gone. Every once in a while you have to report something that you thought would be the worst thing that could happen and it was going to happen and now it has. Singer Whitney Houston, one of the greatest voices of our generation cnn has gotten confirmation from a representative has died. Moret you got the feeling that her body simply gave out. The real sadness is that she died alone and she died in pain not physical, perhaps, but emotional, clearly. Levy circumstances were. Bizarre and confusing. We are now getting some of these new details about the final days and the death of pop superstar Whitney Houston. We dont know, really, for sure exactly what killed her. She was found facedown in the bathtub facedown, very strange. Baldwin the singer was found facedown and was under water for as long as an hour. The most Surprising New information was this the water in the Hotel Bathtub where houston drowned was very, very hot. Im talking in excess of 93 degrees. Halperin i think thats the key point, was the Water Temperature at 93 degrees. Its highly suspicious, just the temperature of the water. There were two superficial abrasions to the left side of her forehead. There was a superficial abrasion to the left side and the bridge of her nose. When whitney died, right away, there were conspiracy theories. There was a lot of talk that perhaps foul play was involved. mom bringing in a new roommate to save money is that the plan . dad say hi to glen from work. mom yeah, i think i have a much better plan. We switch to myplan from verizon. dad that is a good plan. vo this week. New and current customers. Get a free Samsung Galaxy s23. Plus galaxy watch and tab. All on us. Offer ends soon. Its your verizon. Was also the first time you heard of a town named dinosaur, colorado. We just got an order from dinosaur, colorado. Start an easy to build, powerful website for free with a partner that always puts you first. Start for free at godaddy. 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Introducing new Buttermilk Biscuits in sweet and savory flavors. So, everyone can have their perfect biscuit. Or add one on the side. Get a breakfast biscuit sandwich with a side for just Seven Dollars for a limited time. The case is still pending. Were waiting for toxicology, and the investigation is ongoing. On saturday, the 11th, at approximately 3 55 p. M. , Whitney Houston was pronounced dead at the Beverly Hilton hotel. Velezmitchell i happened to be just 15 minutes from the Beverly Hilton, so i went over there and just stood around and started seeing people just pull up and get out of cars. Behind me there are fans singing a medley of Whitney Houston songs in tribute to her. They cant take away my dignity man everyone velezmitchell they were lighting candles and lighting their cigarette lighters. It was a very emotional scene to be there. It reminded me of the real Whitney Houston. Its almost like the postcards or stamps on your life, when you heard certain whitney songs, and you remember exactly where you were and exactly what you were doing. I remember the first time i heard the greatest love of all. The greatest love turner i was a young girl, and i this voice, and it was just absolutely so beautiful. To achieve it was a hallmark of pop in the 80s, and it was a Hallmark Of Whitney at the start. You couldnt turn on any Radio Station and get away from it, and at a certain point for me, it was, i want to dance with somebody you just say, like, i give up. This is pretty great. Oh, i want to dance with somebody this person can sing. I want to feel the heat with somebody early on, both the music and the image are immaculate. You know, theres a lot of luxury, not just to the image, but to the sound of that music, a lot of aspiration, despite the fact that she might say, from time to time, im a jersey girl. Halperin whitney grew up in new jersey, and she came from a family that was deeply embedded in show business. I think out of anyone, Whitney Houston definitely has a pedigree. You look at her mother, cissy. You look at her cousin, dionne warwick, both classic, iconic voices. Halperin her mother sang in the church. Her cousin sang in the church, and Young Whitney was put in the church choir. Turner whitney was grounded in the Church Family and in the church home, and so thats thats. Who she was and where she came from. So when she was 11, she got up and sang a solo, just a little talk with jesus, and people were just in awe. Hell send a light down from heaven if you let it shine i know that what i have has been godgiven, and i know its a blessing. Has your mother told you how proud she is of you . Oh, every day. When i said i wanted to be a singer and be in the business, she said, do you really . I said, yeah, i think so. She said, okay, this is it. It almost seems predestined that Whitney Houston is to go into the music business, to become a singer, and to become a star. Woman Whitney Houston, 21yearold daughter of singer Cissy Houston and cousin of dionne warwick, is tuning up her club act at sweetwaters in new york city. Halperin she used to perform at the sweetwater club, and thats when clive davis first really got his initiation into whitneys voice. Moret clive davis was a brilliant record man. He was mr. Music. If he signed you and he signed whitney you were going to be big. You look for a great interpreter of song, and its not easy to come by. Theres only one of a generation. You hear all of these stories about how he really, really groomed her and prepared her for the industry and worked really closely because he saw he saw the potential. Clive davis signs her and then molds her into this, you know, person, and she did the rest with her talent. [ applause ] velezmitchell Whitney Made HerTelevision Debut on the merv griffin show. Halperin merv griffin was the most influential person in television back in the day, with his talk show. He was like the oprah winfrey, and when Young Whitney went on his show and sang the song home, it just made waves. My world has gone and changed its face but i know i know where im going what i remember very vividly is the album cover where she has the white oneshoulder gown on and her hair is slicked back, and i remember that because she looked so glamorous. Whitney houstons first album was Whitney Houston, selftitled, huge smash hit, millions and millions of copies, wins a grammy. Her second album, two years later, just called, whitney. By then she just needed one name, whitney. That tells you how big she was. Everybody loved whitney when she came out. Do you remember the album cover . It was sex appeal but girl next door, appealing to black, white, and everyone in between, and the world loved her. Woman arriving straight from her smashing Debut Concert at Carnegie Hall to a party at new york citys palladium, celebrating her success. Hammer so whitney is now on this wild ride, and, of course, as she became more and more famous, people became more and more interested in her personal life, particularly her relationship with robyn crawford. Halperin before whitney hit it big, she met robyn crawford, who had a very big impact in her life. Robyn crawford became her personal assistant, and they were inseparable. There were constant rumors, perhaps, of them having an affair. We saw the allegations on the cover of every Tabloid Magazine for a very long time. Im not gay, and im not lesbian. Im a mother. Im a wife. Im a daughter. Lesbian and gay, i am not two titles i cant claim. Im sorry. I just cant, you know . Who knows . But guess what who really cares . I dont really care if Whitney Houston was gay, straight, bisexual, whatever. I just cared that she could sing her ass off. Moret you know, if you look at her trajectory, you can chart her fall directly to her meeting and falling in love with bobby brown. There was a toxic mix into which mr. Brown was not helpful. jim heres some Straight Talk for yause your loved ones to save money on wireless you could add your favorite son you could add your ex add grandma, but dont tell her about the unlimited talk part vo more lines mean more savings, with Straight Talk. Get unlimited data, talk and text for 25 dollars a line. psst psst ahhh with flonase, allergies dont have to be scary. Spray Flonase Sensimist daily for nondrowsy long lasting relief in a scent free, gentle mist. Flonase all good. Also, try our Allergy Headache and nighttime pills. upbeat music woah. Constant Contact delivers the Marketing Tools your Small Business needs to keep up, excel, and grow. Constant contact. 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Whitney houston [ cheers and applause ] hammer Whitney Houston was the belle of the annual ball, and at times, she seemed almost overcome with her good fortune. I dont know what to say. Thank you. I love you. Thank you. The 80s undeniably belonged to Whitney Houston, so imagine her shock when she gets booed at the 1989 soul train awards. The nominees for Best R B Urban Contemporary Single By A Female are. Ohhhhh, oh, ohohoh. Where do broken hearts go, Whitney Houston. Velezmitchell at the 1989 soul train awards, Whitney Houston was booed because some critics were saying she didnt sound black enough. She had given away her roots. Its horrible, and its kind of funny. You go, are they booing me . [ chuckles ] and they say, yeah. You go, oh, how nice. You know, youre not black enough for them. You know . I dont know. Youre not r b enough. Youre very pop. The white audience have taken you away from them. Whalum to be rejected by ones family is the ultimate rejection, and you could say that black people, in a way, are her family, and so when they didnt receive her and accept her gift as belonging to this community, we all sensed the profound hurt that whitney dealt with. That wasnt the only thing that happened to whitney at that awards show. Thats where she met bobby brown. Its the 1989 soul train awards, and bobby brown is very charismatic, and Whitney Houston notices that, and she happens to be sitting, at one point, behind him and sort of flirts with him by punching him in the back of the head, you know, tapping him, and he looks at her like, you better not do that again. Now, she said that she was intrigued by that, a man who wasnt impressed with her, a man who didnt roll over because she was the Whitney Houston. Moret you know, if you look at her trajectory, you can chart her fall directly to her meeting and falling in love with bobby brown. She loved him. She actually loved him. What she liked about him was he was just bobby. He wasnt pretentious. She could just relax and just be herself. She didnt have to be a perfect, you know, beautiful queen, princess whitney with him. Bobby brown was the bad boy. Their princess was being tarnished. Lemon i did not like bobby brown. I liked his music, but i did not want him for my whitney. When bobby came on the scene, i can tell you categorically that we in the band. Were incredulous. For us, we saw him as a distraction. She definitely wanted to squash the rumors that she was a lesbian, and by getting married, that would silence the people who wanted to out her. I had the most beautiful wedding that i had ever been to, and i was married. [ chuckles ] i was in it. And it was mine. And it was mine 1992 was just a huge year for Whitney Houston because its not only the year that she and bobby brown got married, 92 is also when the bodyguard came out. The bodyguard was probably the height of her career, especially with I Will Always Love You. And I Will Always Love You and the scene in the end, where they run to each other and the airplane is going, its like, you know, the its like casablanca, and you come on. You have to cry on that movie. I remember the first day of shooting, i was so nervous. I was so nervous, you know . And i have to tell you because kevin was the best. It was groundbreaking in the sen