Archive for the ‘Arts and Entertainment’ Category
Grammy award-winning singer Whitney Houston will be buried Sunday in her home state of New Jersey.
Authorities say security will be tight in and around the cemetery, in anticipation of fans flocking to the area to pay their finals respects.
Houston will be laid to rest next to her father, John Russell Houston Jr., at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield.
The burial will be private, unlike her funeral Saturday, which the family shared via the Internet and TV broadcast.
Celebrities, including music greats, joined the final public tribute Saturday at her childhood church New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, where Houston sang in the choir as a child. Fans showed their love with hundreds of balloons, flowers and cards piled outside the church.
The service for the 48-year-old six-time Grammy award winner and actress took place a week after she was found unresponsive in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel in California.
A gold-painted hearse transported Houston’s casket to the church early Saturday, a day after her family attended a private viewing of her body at a Newark funeral home.
Her mother, Cissy Houston, and daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, were joined at the viewing Friday by a host of relatives, including singer Dionne Warwick, Houston’s cousin. Her mentor, music executive Clive Davis, also was there.
During Saturday’s service, Warwick introduced a host of soul, gospel and pop music greats from the past and present, including Alicia Keys who performed the song Prelude to a Kiss.
Houston’s mentor, Clive Davis told mourners, “You wait for a voice like that for a lifetime,” while her co-star in the movie, The Bodyguard, Kevin Costner, asked mourners to “remember the sweet miracle of Whitney.”
Music legend Stevie Wonder was among the performers at Saturday’s invitation-only service. Houston’s ex-husband, singer Bobby Brown, put in a brief appearance at the service but close family friend, Aretha Franklin, was unable to attend because of health issues.
After the nearly four-hour-long service ended, Houston’s casket was carried out as the haunting ballad that she once sang, I Will Always Love You, played over loudspeakers.
The cause of her death is not expected to be known for several weeks, pending toxicology results.
Houston sold more than 170 million albums, singles and videos, making her one of the world’s best-selling artists.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
Whitney Houston, who died one week ago, is being laid to rest Saturday in her home state of New Jersey. In California, aspiring musicians are remembering the singer for her musical mastery and powerful voice. Students at the University of Southern California say Houston remains an inspiration.
Singer songwriter Brienne Moore, a second year student at USC, says the first record she ever owned was by Whitney Houston, and the music was always playing in her home.
“I just grew up listening to her. My parents always had her playing all the time, and she was a major, major influence,” said Houston.
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Vocal student Lara Johnston said she is still overwhelmed when she thinks of Whitney Houston’s voice.
“She has such an incredible [vocal] instrument, like she had this stunning power that would shock you, but she also had this real sweetness and gentle delicacy to her voice that her control was incredible,” said Johnston.
Lilliana de los Reyes is also studying voice. She said she was inspired by Houston’s mastery on stage.
“The tone in her voice, she could take it to a whisper, and thousands of people were just silent, totally silent. So she could totally command a stage, and I admire her for that,” said de los Reyes.
But with fame came pressure, and Houston struggled with drug abuse. The cause of her death is still uncertain pending the results of toxicology tests. But those who knew her in her prime recall a consummate artist who was down-to-earth and a joy to work with.
Peter Baron worked at Arista Records for the legendary music producer Clive Davis. He oversaw production on Houston’s early music videos.
“She was thrown into this world and thrown into the space of music videos and the space of being famous, and she just handled it like a total pro, sweet and nice. And I had never worked with an artist like that before,” said Baron.
The pressures on big stars can be unrelenting, said USC’s Associate Dean For Popular Music Chris Sampson.
“The pressure of maintaining success, of really thinking about how you’re going to continue to keep your audience, is extraordinary. And I do know that people feel that pressure and a lot of times, insecurities creep in and that’s part of something that has to be managed,” said Sampson.
But Houston’s admirers, like Baron, say she created a legacy as a towering talent.
“I call her the greatest voice of all. It really, truly was.”
Student Brienne Moore keeps practicing one of her favorite Houston songs.
For many in this new generation of music students, Whitney Houston remains an icon who set a new standard for entertainers.
The Grammy Awards ceremony began Sunday on a somber note as host LL Cool J offered a prayer for Whitney Houston, the iconic singer who was found dead one night earlier.
After introducing footage of Houston singing, “I Will Always Love You,” one of her most well-known songs, at a previous Grammy ceremony, LL Cool J told the audience, “Whitney, we will always love you.”
The 48-year-old singer and actress was a six-time Grammy award winner. Police say they are still investigating the cause of her death, but said there was no evidence of criminal involvement.
Jennifer Hudson, who starred in “Dreamgirls,” about the evolution of R&B music, was slated to sing a medley of Houston’s songs later in the show.
The musical tributes continued with a rendition of an Etta James classic “A Sunday Kind of Love” by singers Bonnie Raitt and Alicia Keys. The 73-year-old American blues singer James died last month.
The first award of the broadcast, for Best Pop Solo Performance, went to British R&B singer, Adele, for her hit song “Rolling in the Deep.” Adele’s performance later in the ceremony has been highly anticipated. It is her first since she underwent surgery to remove a polyp on her vocal chords.
Before the broadcast, Adele won two additional awards. She is nominated for six.
These are the 54th Grammy Awards.