TonyVanDam said:

And that is EXACTLY the reason why Phyllis Hyman rebelled against him.....

The man doesn't cater to music,,,,he caters to statistics. Although, if we're gonna be fair, thats the way of most record label CEOS.

The only thing that looks cheap/cheesy is the stripes on the bg. She looks fantastic

It looks like the front of a brochure for some type of motivational seminar.



That being said, Mariah doesn't have album covers nearly as nice....as a motivational brochure front cover that is.

Imago said:

CalhounSq said:

I think she looks great in the picture. I think the design of the cover is a little bland though. And there's a bit of a pained look on her face. Like she's slightly gassy or something.

Harlepolis said:

1. I miss Phyllis. She was one of the best altos ever.

2. And I also think it's ashame that Clive failed to understand that the only reason why Phyllis couldn't have crossover success is because (to her credit) she was just too soulful. Phyllis was never a person to settle for selling weak-ass tracks in the name of entering the Billboard Hot 100 USA Singles Charts.

Here she is waiting nervously outside the door at the listening party.

jiorjios said:

It's not even that much. She sounds like she's guesting on the track. He does most of the lead vocal.

I like the photo, even though it clearly shows tension in her face, sadness and fear and/or worry in her eyes. I think she is a great talent, and I think it is good for her to show her fears/worry about the comeback and I hope it is a success.
I thought the duet w/ akon was weak, she doesnt need to duet w/ anyone. Her voice is no doubt never going to be what is use to be- no way if got that bad on crack- smoking all day and all night will hurt her lung power and vocals, but even a diminished Whitney is far better than most. She should just sing alone, and stick to what she has done all along which has always been easy adult oriented rnb/soul.

micknme said:

Thats just how a lot of us old people look

umm...why is there a picture of Star Jones there?

Photoshopped or not (whose pics aren't now a days) Whitney looks fantastic. I cannot wait for her comeback cd.

The Official Track List
07/21/09


The official tracklisting for Whitney Houston's forthcoming album "I Look to You" has just been revealed.

Featuring eleven songs, including the Dianne Warren assisted "I Didn't Know My Own Strength," Houston's "I Look to You" will arrive packed with a who's who of today's top producers and artists.

Among those confirmed to appear is Akon. The "Beautiful' singer appears on Houston's "Like I Never Left," a song that leaked months ahead of the albums intended release.

The Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz assisted "Million Dollar Bill" is also confirmed for the album.

"I Look To You," Houston's first studio-album release in over six years is due in stores September 1.

Tracks:

1. Million Dollar Bill
2. Nothin' But Love
3. Call You Tonight
4. I Look To You
5. Like I Never Left (feat. Akon)
6. A Song For You
7. I Didn't Know My Own Strength
8. Worth It
9. For The Lovers
10. I Got You
11. Salute


http://www.singersroom.co...-Tracklist

Copycat said:

I hope this samples the line from "I Want To Pay You Back" by the Chi-Lites.

..anna big black pearl for a !

why is everyone fawning over this pic? i hate it

badujunkie said:

CalhounSq said:

No fawning here. It's all apart of the planned makeover.

It promotes class and dignity, something that her lifestyle and reality television show certainly did not.

And she looks like a real person all made up for a photo shoot, rather than some rubber blowup thing someone stashes under their bed.

Awww...I hope her comeback goes well! It's nice to see a legendary singer on the road back from the brink! Never was a huge fan, but still....Go 'head, Whitney!

Brendan said:

Exactly.

I have seen recent pics of Whitney Houston out in public and they look VERY crackish,

Oh Please let it be old ones, because she looked under the influence of drugs.

Chic35 said:

Show me the receipts, er, pics.

Timmy84 said:

Chic35 said:

It's hard to tell but she was probably making an "ugly face" at the paparazzi. You can look at it in two ways tho, lol.

Timmy84 said:

Oh please let it just be that! We are already hurting for good music from an artist that can actually sing!

Chic35 said:

She's gonna be performing on Good Morning America in September so we shall see. Clive and 'em seem confident.

Stepping Out

Look who's sparkling! Whitney Houston gets a hand while walking to set to reportedly film a music video in New York City on Monday, Aug 24.

The singer is scheduled to release her new album I Look to You on Aug. 31 followed by an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Sept. 14. (Creidt: People.com)

She's been given a wonderful opportunity. Hope she holds it together, she looks amazing.

Album Review
August 26
by Ann Powers
Los Angeles Times
Rating: Three Stars

Certain voices stand like monuments upon the landscape of 20th century pop, defining the architecture of their times, sheltering the dreams of millions and inspiring the climbing careers of countless imitators. Whitney Houston owns one of those voices.

When she was at her best, nothing could match her huge, clean, cool mezzo-soprano -- not Madonna's canny chirp, not Bono's stone church wail nor Bruce Springsteen's ramshackle growl. No, it was Houston who best embodied the feminine but gym-toned, black-inspired but aspirationally post-racial sound of global crossover pop. Like a Trump skyscraper, Houston the singer was as showily dominant as corporate capitalism itself.

Then, like many a glorious edifice, Houston's voice fell into disrepair. Drug abuse and a rocky marriage to New Jack jerk Bobby Brown made her a tabloid staple. More tragically (for listeners, at least), her excesses trashed her instrument, which age and normal wear and tear would have imperiled anyway.

The pain and, frankly, disgust that so many pop fans felt during Houston's decline was caused not so much by her personal distress as by her seemingly careless treatment of the national treasure that happened to reside within her.

"I Look to You," the singer's comeback after nearly a decade of ignominy, is a costly renovation overseen by her mentor, Clive Davis, and enacted by the best craftspeople money can buy, including the producers Akon, Stargate and Nate "Danja" Hills and the songwriters Diane Warren and Alicia Keys. It's not unsuccessful: This is a habitable set of songs. But there's a limit to what Houston can accomplish, and operating within limits becomes the album's overriding theme.


This happens beneath the music's surface, which balances inspirational balladry with bubblicious club pop, as Houston's music always has done. Houston's songwriters and producers provide her with top-notch tools; she wields them cautiously and almost humbly, never falling because she never reaches too high.

The best giant ballad is the Warren-penned, David Foster-produced "I Didn't Know My Own Strength," an exhibition of battle scars that's richer for the weary, injury-protecting quality of Houston's vocal. If she does earn the Grammy she's virtually been promised for a song from this set, it should be for this one.

R. Kelly's contributions -- the megachurchy title track and "Salute," a sort of rewrite of Rihanna's "Take a Bow" -- are less convincing, mostly because Houston can't muster the giant ego that's made similar songs golden for Kells himself.

On most of the album, platinum beats overshadow any vocal pyrotechnics, and Houston interacts with her backing tracks with the muscle memory of a dance-floor veteran. It's rewarding when she really settles into her rougher midlife tone, especially on the Danja-produced "Nothin' But Love," perhaps the most pugnacious thank-you note ever recorded.

When she aims for sweet, as in the hooky "Worth It," or spirited, as on the disco-fab climax of the Leon Russell cover "A Song for You," she gets there with effort.

But should we begrudge the fact that Whitney Houston now has to work at singing? It's all to her credit. What's hard to give up is the dream of painless perfection that the young Houston represented, back in the yuppie era, when her voice sounded like the easy money that was flowing everywhere. Of course, that didn't turn out so well for anyone else, either.

Though "I Look to You" doesn't soar like the old days, it's fine to hear Houston working on her own recovery plan.

Her latest promotional photo.

Copycat said:

Thank you SO much for sharing all these articles, Copycat!

I couldn't be more happy & joyous about what I'm reading, wishing I would have been in London to witness all of this live!






Magnificent album cover! Superb, sophisticated elegancy.
Looking simply gorgeous and beautiful. I like every song I heard so far.


All the LOVE in the world for you Whitney Houston!
Many many Blessings on Your Path!
... You GO Whitney!!!