Whitney Houston... just saying her name evokes emotion. Instantly you become reminiscent of the first time you heard "The Voice" or you may think of her past struggles and triumphs and now her untimely death. To many people, Whitney was an unstoppable survivor, to have come through so much and now to have such a tragic end.
One of my first Whitney memories was when I was around 9 or 10 years old singing with my Mother. We used to "battle" to see who could hold the final note of "Greatest Love of All" the longest. She would always be able to hold it the longest...but hey I was just a tike, my lungs where still getting stronger! From then on, I kept practicing this note and other famous Whitney melismas (adlibs, vocal stylings) throughout my vocal training over the years. This paid off in my High School glee club where I became the male featured vocalist and often had to sing Tenor solos. In fact my voice became so well trained I would even have to sing with the Sopranos on some songs. And I credit my love of music and tutelage of my musical progress to listening to Whitney Houston. I am no exception to singers learning at the footsteps or should I say vocal cords of Whitney. From Christina Aguilera to Deborah Cox, Brandy to Tevin Campbell, to a whole new generation of singers like Charice Pempengco and the list goes on and on... We all, male and female, Black, White, Hispanic or Asian wanted our piece of "The Voice"...
Rather than jump on the bandwagon and be one of the first racing to post about our Whitney, I decided to take a few days to contemplate my words and just let my feelings flow and so they have right now, flowing like those rich melodies of hers we have come to love. We will always love Whitney, we always cherish our memories, our laughter and tears, and most certainly the music. Whitney was more than just a singer, she was a talented actress, noted movie producer and philanthropist -- she also had this distinct personality that was all her own, she could be classy and command attention when she walked in a room and also take you back to the hood or just be the girl next door we first came to know her as such. Whitney is still leaving her mark even today, I know I like many other fans are waiting on pins and needles to see her final project, a now posthumous release of the remake of 70's film "Sparkle" that she executively produced which stars Jordan Sparks as the title character.
With that said, what more can I say than to give my condolences to her daughter Bobbi Kristina, her most loyal mother Cissy Houston who never gave up on her throughout her battles and to the rest of her extended family and friends. With a style and grace unlike another, throughout all of her ups and down, Whitney had that special hold on our hearts that we will always remember -- and that's how I choose to remember Whitney Houston...
PICTURE SOURCE: http://www.whitneyhouston.com/
1 comments:
Beautiful Tribute Justus..........<3
Post a Comment