whitney houston tour 2022

Whitney Houston Hologram Concerts Coming to North America (Exclusive)

Hailey bieber shows off sweet new 'mom' accessory after welcoming baby jack, 'the view' co-hosts on navigating heated political discussions on live tv and their new set, watch tim burton react to winona ryder and michael keaton's speeches at his walk of fame ceremony, travis kelce shares secret about his taylor swift performance on stage at eras tour, jennifer garner built a 'harry potter' room under her stairs for son samuel, ‘the secret lives of mormon wives’ jennifer on how she’s related to ben affleck (exclusive), 'wheel of fortune': ryan seacrest opens up about his first days on set (exclusive), nikki garcia reportedly looking for a divorce lawyer after husband artem chigvintsev’s arrest, tamra judge calls viral cosmetic procedures a ‘birthday present’ to herself (exclusive), brad pitt makes red carpet debut with girlfriend ines de ramon at venice film festival, ‘wheel of fortune’: ryan seacrest and vanna white show off major updates to their set, tim burton’s walk of fame ceremony: winona ryder and michael keaton show their support, elton john reveals eye infection left him partially blind, ‘the view’ staff reportedly ‘furious’ about money spent on studio makeover after recent layoffs, fatman scoop dead at 56: ciara, missy elliott and timbaland react to rapper's death, jennifer lopez enjoys a dance break on mall escalator amid ben affleck divorce, aubrey plaza reveals patti lupone did her laundry while living together (exclusive), elle macpherson reveals secret breast cancer battle and why she refused chemotherapy, amy adams transforms into a dog in 'nightbitch' trailer, 'the apprentice': watch sebastian stan give a shaky interview as donald trump, 'an evening with whitney' is making its north american debut with an extended engagement at flamingo las vegas..

More fans will soon get to witness the boundary-breaking concerts of  Whitney Houston 's hologram.

ET can exclusively confirm that An Evening With Whitney: The Whitney Houston Hologram Concert is making its North American debut with an extended engagement at Flamingo Las Vegas. Shows will kick off on April 14, and tickets go on sale March 6 at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET.

An Evening With Whitney first premiered in Europe during a 24-city run. The production is produced and created by BASE Hologram, in partnership with The Estate of Whitney E. Houston, and is presented through state-of-the-art, proprietary holographic technology. The hologram was created by using a body double of the late singer that's been digitized to look and emulate Houston. They then sync that up with a series of studio takes and live performances by Houston herself. 

The show takes fans on a walk down memory lane with the music icon's hologram, a live five-piece band, backup singers and dancers all set to digitally-remastered arrangements of Houston's biggest hits and fan favorites, including “I Will Always Love You," "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)," "The Greatest Love of All” and a cover of Steve Winwood’s "Higher Love."

"In 2011, Whitney and I discussed her idea of an intimate, unplugged concert tour. It was a project we called Whitney Unplugged  or An Evening With Whitney ," said Pat Houston, Houston’s sister-in-law, former manager and President and CEO of The Estate of Whitney E. Houston, in a statement. "While Whitney’s no longer with us, her voice and legacy will live on with us forever. An Evening With Whitney is another chance for us to relive and celebrate the talent that we were so lucky to receive for more than three decades and we’re excited to bring this cutting-edge musical experience to the fans who supported the pop culture phenomenon that was Whitney Houston, because they deserve nothing less."

Those behind the production include choreographer Fatima Robinson, who's worked with Rihanna, Kaye West and Mary J. Blige as well as Houston herself, musical director Keith Harris, a songwriter who's worked with John Legend, Christina Aguilera, Fergie, and Britney Spears, and costume designers Timothy Snell and Marc Bouwer, who both have a long list of celebrities they've dressed and collaborated with over the years. 

"There is a reason why it is so hard to cover a Whitney Houston track, she really was one-of-a-kind,” said Marty Tudor, BASE Hologram CEO of Production and Executive Producer of the show. "What we are doing with this show is celebrating her incredible life and to do that we have to get every detail right. It would be a disservice to her, her family and her fans if we weren’t anything other 100% authentic. We are privileged to have been entrusted with this responsibility and hope audiences are able to come, enjoy and get lost in the music of the industry’s most talented performers."

Houston  died  on Feb. 11, 2012, at 48 years old. She was posthumously honored at the 2012 GRAMMY Awards, NAACP Image Awards, BRIT Awards and many more. 

The late six-time GRAMMY winner will also be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on May 2. 

For more information and tickets for An Evening With Whitney , visit online at WhitneyVegas.com or Ticketmaster.

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The Music of Whitney Houston

About this concert.

The world will always love Whitney Houston! Celebrate the most-awarded female artist of all time when incredible vocalist Rashidra Scott joins the Symphony for this one-night-only event. From power ballads to dance-friendly pop favorites, hear all your favorite Whitney hits, including “Saving All My Love for You,” “How Will I Know,” “Where Do Broken Hearts Go?,” “I Will Always Love You,” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”

HOBBY CENTER PERFORMANCE This performance will take place at Sarofim Hall in the Hobby Center. View venue information

Watch a concert preview:

Select concert date:.

Berklee-trained arranger/conductor Brent Havens has written music for orchestras, feature films, and virtually every aspect of television. His TV work includes movies for networks ABC, CBS, and ABC Family Channel Network; commercials; sports music for networks such as ESPN; and even cartoons. He recently completed the score for the film Quo Vadis, a Premier Pictures remake of the 1956 gladiator film.

Brent worked with the Doobie Brothers and the Milwaukee Symphony, arranging and conducting the combined group for Harley Davidson’s 100thAnniversary Birthday Party Finale attended by more than150,000 fans. In 2013, he joined with the Baltimore Symphony and the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens to arrange and produce the music for the Thanksgiving Day halftime show between the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, adapting both classical music and rock songs into a single four-minute show.

He has collaborated with some of the world’s greatest orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London; the CBSO in Birmingham, England; the Malaysian Philharmonic; Orchestra of Opera North in Leeds, England; orchestras in Houston, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Nashville; and countless others.

Brent is arranger/guest conductor for all of the symphonic rock programs for Windborne Music.

Rashidra Scott is ecstatic her musical voyage has led to this opportunity. As a four-year-old singing, “The Greatest Love of All,” she was known as “the little girl with the big voice.” From community musical theatre to church music ministry, she was constantly in demand for civic and social performances at local and national events.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in music with a concentration in music business/management from Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Rashidra spent four years as a featured vocalist on Disney Cruise Line and Tarzan Rocks! at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The highlight was being a proud member of the opening team of Hong Kong Disneyland as Nala in “The Festival of The Lion King.” After Hong Kong, Rashidra moved to New York, the best “nudge” she could have followed.

In 10 years of being in New York, her most recent project was Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations. She has performed on Broadway in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical(and was featured on the Grammy award-winning cast album), Sister Act, Hair, Finian’s Rainbow, and Avenue Q. Rashidra co-wrote and created Ambassador of Love, honoring the legacy of Pearl Bailey, which was conceived with the support of Goodspeed Opera House. She sang background vocalist for renowned singer Patti Austin’s Beboper Ella! tour in conjunction with the release of Austin’s Ella Fitzgerald tribute album, For Ella.

Her current Broadway project is the revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s beloved musical Company.

Rashidra’s television appearances include Violet (the singing nurse) on Sony/FOX’s Rescue Me, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Dancing with The Stars, the 2011 and 2014 Tony Awards, The View, Good Morning America, The Today Show, Wendy Williams, the Walt Disney World Christmas Parade, and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

She is committed to Oprah Winfrey’s advice, “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.

guitar and vocalist

bass and vocalist

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Water Works Pops The Music of Whitney Houston

• Ticket Price Free
• Duration 2hrs One intermission
• Saturday, September 3, 2022 7:30PM — Lauridsen Amphitheater at Water Works Park

The Music of Whitney Houston

The world will always love whitney houston broadway sensation rashidra scott joins the symphony to celebrate the most-awarded female artist of all time..

She released seven albums and every one went gold, platinum or multi-platinum. She was the only artist to chart seven consecutive Billboard #1 hits. And her mega-hit “I Will Always Love You” is the biggest selling single of all time by a female artist. For one night only, Broadway sensation Rashidra Scott joins the Symphony in the Lauridsen Amphitheater at Water Works Park to celebrate the extraordinary music of Whitney Houston.

From power ballads to dance-friendly pop favorites, hear all your favorite Whitney hits, including “Saving All My Love for You,” “How Will I Know,” “Where Do Broken Hearts Go?,” “I Will Always Love You,” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” Celebrate the legendary Whitney Houston at Water Works Park with the Symphony!

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• Linda and Tom Koehn
• Joseph Giunta Conductor Bio
• Rashidra Scott vocalist Bio

How to Get There

Parking for our Water Works Pops concerts is free! Lots will open at 5:00PM. Follow the signage to enter Water Works Park from Fleur Drive; an attendant will direct you to our free parking lots. You can view a full map of the concert grounds, including parking locations,  here.

Those requiring accessible parking may park to the south of the stage. For those who would like additional assistance reaching the concert grounds, a golf cart will shuttle between the ADA lot and the concert grounds to transport up to five people at a time.

Want to ride the trails to the concert? A free bicycle valet service will be available starting at 5:00PM. 

What to Bring

Blankets and lawn chairs are welcome on the lawn – no beach umbrellas or tents, please, as they may obstruct others’ view of the concert. 

You are welcome to bring a picnic basket or a cooler to Water Works Pops. Wine and beer can be consumed on park grounds, but please take any trash with you when you leave. There will also be a wide variety of food trucks onsite selling treats.

Joseph Giunta Conductor

One of America’s most distinguished, versatile and dynamic conductors, Joseph Giunta is a musician of international acclaim. He is recognized as an important American conductor for his innovative programming and for his compelling interpretations of traditional and new music. His musical depth combined with his boundless energy and contagious enthusiasm makes him one of the most respected and successful orchestra leaders in the United States.

Learn More About Maestro Giunta

Rashidra Scott vocalist

Rashidra Scott is ecstatic her musical voyage has led to this opportunity. As a four-year-old singing, “The Greatest Love of All,” she was known as “the little girl with the big voice.” From community musical theatre to church music ministry, she was constantly in demand for civic and social performances at local and national events.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in music with a concentration in music business/management from Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Rashidra spent four years as a featured vocalist on Disney Cruise Line and Tarzan Rocks! at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The highlight was being a proud member of the opening team of Hong Kong Disneyland as Nala in “The Festival of The Lion King.” After Hong Kong, Rashidra moved to New York, the best “nudge” she could have followed.

In 10 years of being in New York, her most recent project was Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations. She has performed on Broadway in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (and was featured on the Grammy award-winning cast album), Sister Act, Hair, Finian’s Rainbow, and Avenue Q. Rashidra co-wrote and created Ambassador of Love, honoring the legacy of Pearl Bailey, which was conceived with the support of Goodspeed Opera House. She sang background vocalist for renowned singer Patti Austin’s Beboper Ella! tour in conjunction with the release of Austin’s Ella Fitzgerald tribute album, For Ella .

Her current Broadway project is the revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s beloved musical Company.

Rashidra’s television appearances include Violet (the singing nurse) on Sony/FOX’s Rescue Me, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Dancing with The Stars, the 2011 and 2014 Tony Awards, The View, Good Morning America, The Today Show, Wendy Williams, the Walt Disney World Christmas Parade, and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

She is committed to Oprah Winfrey’s advice, “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.

Meet The Maestro

Get to know Joseph Giunta, one of America’s most distinguished, versatile and dynamic conductors.

Meet Joseph

Support The Symphony

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Through the generosity of our donors, the Des Moines Symphony will continue to play great music and touch lives for years to come. Please consider a contribution today so that we are able to resume live performances when it is safe to do so again.

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

A joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, one of the greatest female R&B pop vocalists of all time, tracking her journey from obscurity to musi... Read all A joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, one of the greatest female R&B pop vocalists of all time, tracking her journey from obscurity to musical super stardom. A joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, one of the greatest female R&B pop vocalists of all time, tracking her journey from obscurity to musical super stardom.

• Kasi Lemmons
• Anthony McCarten
• Naomi Ackie
• Stanley Tucci
• Ashton Sanders
• 216 User reviews
• 127 Critic reviews
• 51 Metascore
• 1 win & 7 nominations

Top cast 99+

• Whitney Houston

• Clive Davis

• Bobby Brown

• Cissy Houston

• Robyn Crawford

• John Houston

• Gary Houston

• Bobbi Kristina (8-11 Years Old)

• Bobbi Kristina (16-19 Years Old)

• Michael Houston

• Pat Houston

• Rickey Minor

• (as Kelvin Coffey)

• Gerry Griffith

• Policeman (ATL)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Whitney Houston 's voice is used for 95% of the singing.

Clive Davis : Would you be willing to postpone your wedding to make a movie?

[Hands over a script]

Whitney Houston : The Bodyguard ? What's it about ?

Clive Davis : A world-famous singer and her difficult relationship with her bodyguard.

Whitney Houston : [Tosses script into a trash bin, then pauses] Who's the bodyguard ?

Clive Davis : Kevin Costner.

[Whitney Houston quickly reaches down and retrieves the script]

• Connections Featured in The Graham Norton Show: Tom Hanks/Naomi Ackie/Suranne Jones/Richard Osman/Rina Sawayama (2022)
• Soundtracks I Believe in You and Me Written by Sandy Linzer & David Wolfert Performed by Whitney Houston Courtesy of Arista Records By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment

User reviews 216

• ethanbresnett
• Jan 10, 2023
• How long is Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody? Powered by Alexa
• December 23, 2022 (United States)
• United States
• Official site
• Roku (United States)
• Nữ Danh Ca Huyền Thoại
• Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Compelling Pictures
• Black Label Media
• Dimension Studio
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $45,000,000 (estimated)
• $23,708,080
• Dec 25, 2022
• $59,806,881

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 24 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Where to watch.

Watch Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody with a subscription on Netflix, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Another wiki-biopic for posterity's sake, the relatively watchable I Wanna Dance with Somebody leaves you feeling like you were on stage with Whitney Houston, but didn't really get to dance with her.

Naomi Ackie does an outstanding job as Whitney Houston in I Wanna Dance with Somebody , and even longtime fans might learn a few things about the singer's life.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Kasi Lemmons

Naomi Ackie

Whitney Houston

Stanley Tucci

Clive Davis

Nafessa Williams

Robyn Crawford

Tamara Tunie

Cissy Houston

Clarke Peters

John Houston

Movie Clips

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• Entertainment
• Fact-Checking the New Whitney Houston Biopic <i>I Wanna Dance With Somebody</i>

Fact-Checking the New Whitney Houston Biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody

I n the years since her death in 2012 , the life and legacy of Whitney Houston have invoked an almost obsessive curiosity about the real person behind the larger-than-life persona of one of the world’s most talented musical artists. Her undeniable gift and glittering career catapulted her to fame, but it’s been the details of her personal life—her complicated relationship with her parents, her sexuality, her forays into marriage and parenthood, her struggles with substance abuse—that have been the focus of the many narratives, documentaries, and series about the six-time Grammy winner.

Both Houston’s outsized career and her complex interior life take center stage in Kasi Lemmons ’ I Wanna Dance With Somebody , a biopic about the singer which releases on Dec. 23. While other projects about Houston have had a morbid , sometimes exploitative fascination with the struggles and tragedy of her life, the film takes care with the story of Whitney (Naomi Ackie), imbuing her life both on and off the stage with nuance in an effort to offer an authentic re-telling. This may be due in part to the involvement of Clive Davis, the record producer and Whitney’s mentor, who served as an executive producer on the film, with the blessing of Pat Houston, her sister-in-law and the administrator of her estate. That’s not to say that the film doesn’t take some creative liberties, however. Below, we’ve done a fact check of some of the major points of I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

Was Houston discovered by Clive Davis while singing back-up for her mother in a club?

Early in the film, Houston is discovered by Clive Davis (Stanley Tucci), who, at the urging of A&R Gerry Griffith, watches her perform at the Manhattan nightclub Sweetwater’s, where she’s singing backup for her mother, Cissy Houston (Tamara Tunie). Upon seeing Davis in the audience, the elder Houston feigns throat trouble and urges her daughter to sing lead, including the song, “The Greatest Love of All,” impressing Davis so much that he later offers her a record deal.

This scenario aligns mostly with reality; in an interview for Conversations With Whitney Houston and Clive Davis , Davis divulged that the first time he saw Houston sing was at Sweetwater’s, where she was singing backup for her mother, but performed two solo songs, one of which was “The Greatest Love of All.”

“It was sung with such verve, such natural vocal gifts, with such passion that I was stunned,” he said. “I knew right then and there that this was a very special talent.” Davis signed a 19-year-old Houston to a record deal in 1983, beginning a musical partnership what would last 29 years, until her death in 2012.

Read more: ‘Anything Good in This Country Has Had to Be Wrestled Free.’ What Whitney Houston’s Rendition of the National Anthem Taught Me About America

What was Houston’s relationship to Robyn Crawford?

In the film, one of Houston’s most important relationships begins when she meets Robyn Crawford (played by Nafessa Williams) at a community center as a high school student. The two develop a deep friendship, which takes a romantic turn and leads to them moving in together. While the love between Crawford and Houston is real, disapproval from Whitney’s family, particularly her father, takes a toll on their relationship. Likewise, as Houston’s singing career begins to gain momentum, pressure begins to mount to keep their relationship secret to protect Houston’s public image as a pop princess.

After Houston has a brief fling with Jermaine Jackson, she insinuates to Crawford that because she wants a family in the future, she will ultimately end up in a straight relationship. While their romantic interlude ends early on in Houston’s career, Crawford becomes her assistant and creative director. Later, when Houston pursues a relationship with Bobby Brown, in a seeming effort to quell rumors about her sexuality, as well as critiques of her not being “Black enough,” it strains her friendship with Crawford, who has ongoing tensions with Brown. Things finally come to a head when Crawford unsuccessfully tries to have an intervention for Houston’s substance abuse issue, leading her to break ties with the singer.

In real life, Crawford and Houston really did meet at a community center in East Orange, N.J. in 1980 when the singer was in high school and Crawford, a basketball player, was home from college. They became fast friends, striking up a deep connection that would last two decades. While there was always speculation about the nature of their relationship, it wasn’t confirmed by Crawford until she wrote her 2019 memoir, A Song For You: My Life With Whitney Houston ; in the book, Crawford details how they shared their first kiss weeks after meeting and soon became physically intimate, although it was their immediate emotional connection that she remembered most about that time:

You could tell Whitney and I were tight. It wasn’t all about our sleeping together. We could be naked. We could be bare and didn’t have to hide. We could trust each other with our secrets, our feelings, and who we were. We were friends. We were lovers. We were everything to each other. We weren’t falling in love. We just were. We had each other. We were one: That’s how it felt…We never talked labels, like lesbian or gay. We just lived our lives, and I hoped it could go on that way forever.

According to Crawford, her and Houston’s romantic relationship was discouraged by Houston’s parents and disparaged by Houston herself; Brown alleged in his 2016 memoir, Every Little Step , that both the Houston family and Clive Davis disapproved of even the suggestion of a relationship between Houston and Crawford: “They couldn’t let Whitney live the life she wanted to live; they insisted that she be perfect, that she be someone she wasn’t,” he wrote. “That’s why they wanted Robyn out.”

It was a sentiment that he echoed in an interview from the same year with Us Weekly, noting that the pressure on Houston to appear a certain way played a role in her decline: “I really feel that if Robyn was accepted into Whitney’s life, Whitney would still be alive today,” he said. “She didn’t have close friends with her anymore.”

As in the film, Crawford and Houston lived together, but in real life, during this time, they were just roommates, sharing space platonically in Woodbridge, N.J. In addition to being her closest friend, Crawford was also her assistant, before becoming her creative director. However, as Houston began dating high-profile men like Jermaine Jackson, Eddie Murphy, and eventually her future husband Brown, Crawford shared that it was hard to reckon with the changing nature of their relationship.

“The physical part of our friendship was no longer, but the intimacy…our friendship was intimate on all levels, that’s how deep it was,” she wrote . “I wanted her to call me and say, ‘Guess what, this is happening [with Jermaine].’ And she wasn’t doing that, and that hurt more than anything. It didn’t feel like she was cheating on me—it felt more like she was leaving me out.”

In a 2019 Essence interview, Crawford addressed the rumored tensions between her and Brown, admitting that she was often annoyed by him and his antics, as well as his jealousy of her close relationship with Houston; after Brown and Houston married, her relationship with the singer deteriorated due to Houston’s tumultuous marriage and drug use. By 2000, eight years after Houston got married, Crawford had reached her breaking point professionally with the singer, resigning as her creative director. The end of their professional relationship also led to distance in their friendship, with no real reunion between the two before Houston’s death.

Did she push back at the suggestion she wasn’t “Black enough” in a radio interview?

A particularly loaded moment in the film takes place when a radio host asks Houston how she would respond to critiques that she didn’t act or sing “Black enough” as the reigning pop star of her generation. In response, Houston shuts down her naysayers: “That’s just bull,” she says in the movie. “And it makes me angry, actually. It’s hateful and uninformed. My whole life, ‘She ain’t Black enough, she ain’t white enough.’ Music is not a color to me. It has no boundaries. I sing what I want to sing, be how I want to be, and reach as big an audience I can.”

While this specific situation does not appear to have happened in real life, many scenarios like it happened to Houston early on in her career, especially because her music had a distinctly pop sound that differed from the soul and R&B sound that many people associated with Black artists, including her mother and her first cousin, Dionne Warwick. While Houston was one of the first Black female artists to successfully conquer the white mainstream market, appealing to a broader audience came at a cost. Houston’s racial identity and how she performed it was under constant scrutiny, from both Black and non-Black music fans, with some Black critics questioning whether she was “Black enough.” The Rev. Al Sharpton notoriously dubbed her “Whiteny Houston,” while some Black radio stations and DJs refused to play her pop-infused records. As depicted in the movie, one of the most noteworthy example of the immense pressure that she faced in real life was the 1988 and 1989 Soul Train Awards, where she was booed by the audience .

Houston addressed the jeers in a 1991 interview with Ebony : “[Some people in the audience] had just gotten sick of me and just didn’t want me to win another award,” she said. “No, it does not make you feel good. I don’t like it and I don’t appreciate it, but I just kind of write it off as ignorance.” She elaborated on her feelings about the critiques of her musical style and its place in the cultural landscape in a 1996 interview with Katie Couric : “You’re not Black enough for them,” she explained to Katie Couric in a 1996 interview. “You’re not R&B enough. You’re very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them.”

Was it really Kevin Costner who suggested she sing “I Will Always Love You” for The Bodyguard ?

In I Wanna Dance With Somebody , Davis appears on the set of The Bodyguard with a Walkman loaded with Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” for Houston to consider for the film’s soundtrack, citing that her co-star Kevin Costner suggested it. In real life, Costner really was the driving force behind Houston covering “I Will Always Love You.”

While she was originally set to record a cover of Jimmy Ruffin’s “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” for the soundtrack’s lead single, after discovering that the song would be featured prominently in Fried Green Tomatoes , Houston went on a search for a new song. During an interview in 2011 for CMT’s 40 Greatest Love Songs , Parton, who originally wrote the song in 1973 after dissolving her professional partnership with her mentor Porter Wagoner, said that Costner and his secretary were fans of the song and were the ones who reached out to her about using it.

“Kevin Costner and his secretary are the ones that loved the song,” Parton said. “They had another song that was going to go in that place, and someone had recorded the song they were going to use. They were just in a panic at the last minute. And so they asked me about the song. I sent it. I didn’t hear anything more.”

In the movie, Houston immediately takes to the song. In real life, Costner had to work hard to persuade Houston and Davis that covering “I Will Always Love You” was a good idea. In a 2008 interview with CMT.com , Costner revealed that it was a tough sell to Davis and other Arista executives.

“When I said to Whitney, ‘You’re gonna sing “I Will Always Love You,”’ the ground shook,” Costner said. “Clive Davis and those guys were going, ‘What?!’ I said, ‘This is a very important song in this movie.’ I didn’t care if it was ever on the radio. I didn’t care.” While the original country version by Parton didn’t compel Whitney to think the song could be a hit, another listen with a 1975 cover by Linda Ronstadt convinced her.

Costner was also responsible for one of the most memorable stylings of Houston’s soulful 1992 arrangement of the song: the a capella intro.

“I said, ‘We’re also going to do this a cappella at the beginning,” Costner told CMT.com . “I need it to be a cappella because it shows a measure of how much she digs this guy—that she sings without music.'”

The Bodyguard soundtrack still holds the record for being the no. 1 best-selling movie soundtrack of all time, making it into the Guinness Book of World Records and selling 45 million copies around the world. The track later went on to become diamond certified and has become one of the most popular and beloved songs in Houston’s discography.

Read more: 4 Things We Learned From the New Documentary About Whitney Houston

What was the significance of Houston’s concerts in South Africa?

In a scene from the film, Houston performs in front of an adoring audience in Johannesburg, South Africa to celebrate the election of Nelson Mandela; the reception is a marked contrast to the attitudes toward her in the U.S., where a few years earlier, she was critiqued by music fans as pandering to white audiences.

While it’s hard to say if the reality of the audience reception was as stark a contrast as the film depicts, her 1994 performance was a momentous one. She was the first international star to perform in post-apartheid South Africa, after the presidential election of Mandela, which she commemorated with a three-night concert series in honor of the president; all proceeds from the concerts went to South African charities, including children’s museums, the President’s Trust Fund, the Kagiso Foundation, and various orphanages.

Did Whitney’s father mismanage her finances, leading to estrangement?

In one of the most sobering moments in I Wanna Dance With Somebody , Houston discovers that her father, John, has been mismanaging her funds, leading to her breaking ties with him both professionally and personally, while he’s sick in the hospital. While there’s no way of confirming that her father, a talent manager who managed the career of her mother, Cissy, before managing her own career, was mismanaging her earnings, Houston’s company was sued by her father’s company, John Houston Entertainment, in 2002 for $100 million for breach of contract . The suit, which sought compensation for helping to get a 2000 marijuana charge against her dismissed and for securing her a new record contract, was thrown out by a N.J. judge in 2004 , but resulted in public tension between father and daughter that continued until John’s death in 2003.

Their conflict came to a head after Houston’s infamous 2002 Primetime interview with Diane Sawyer when she shared that she was deeply hurt by her father’s suit against her and claimed that she had never hired them.

“It hurts. They’ll never get $100 million out of me. I know that,” she said, adding later: “The bad part about it is that it’s about money, and that really sucks. That hurts more than anything.”

A day after the Primetime interview aired, John responded with an on-air interview of his own on the syndicated TV show, Celebrity Justice , where he demanded that Houston “pay me the money that you owe me,” from a hospital bed.

“You get your act together, honey, and you pay me the money that you owe me,” he said. “If you do that, you haven’t got a lawsuit…At my age, I haven’t got that long. Now if you think I got that long, you think about it. You step into my shoes. I would like to spend the last years of my life on a boat some place.”

When John died in 2003, it was reported that Houston did not attend the funeral (as in the movie), but she addressed the rumors during a 2009 interview with Oprah, stating that she had a private memorial the day before so she could grieve privately. (The film, on the other hand, depicts her as too strung out to attend.) During the interview, she also shared that she had forgiven him for the lawsuit and their differences.

“I love my dad, and I knew he was sickly. People were trying to get money from him. Distract me from him,” she said. “There were years we didn’t speak at all, but when he got sickly, I went to the hospital and I said, ‘let’s end this right now.’”

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Write to Cady Lang at [email protected]

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Whitney - Queen of the Night

Mon 1 Jan 0001 - Sun 6 Mar 2022 , Meres Leisure Centre local events

Direct from The West End, experience the ultimate Whitney Houston tribute show as it tours across the UK performing over 100 concerts every year!

 ‘Due to the precautionary measures taken by the UK Government it will not be possible to move forward with Whitney – Queen of the Night . The show will be rescheduled to  Sunday 6th March 2022. Please be assured that the safety and health of artists, staff and fans is our main priority. Hang on to your ticket - it will be valid for the new date’

 Direct from The West End, experience the ultimate Whitney Houston tribute show as it tours across the UK performing over 100 concerts every year! Whitney - Queen of the Night is a stunning celebration of the music and life of one of the greatest singers of our time.

This phenomenal production consistently delivers an outstanding concert that has been described as “a powerhouse performance that delivers on every level…” Taking audiences on a magical rollercoaster ride through three decades of nostalgic hits that include: I Wanna Dance With Somebody, One Moment In Time, I’m Every Woman, I Will Always Love You, My Love Is Your Love, So Emotional Baby, Run to You, Saving All My Love, How Will I Know, Million Dollar Bill, The Greatest Love Of All, and many more...

Join us for an unmissable evening as we pay homage to the Queen of Pop with a sensational cast and a stunning live band.

Book Tickets

Important Information

Venue: The Meres Live Auditorium, Trent Road, Grantham

Price: £25 / £23 concs / 1 in 10 go free

Running time: 2hrs 15mins including interval + meet and greet at end of show

Price includes £1 booking fee per ticket

This event was postponed due to covid19, if your booking was transferred to the new date your old tickets will still be valid. Please email [email protected] should you have any queries.

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