whitney houston

“I decided a long time ago never to walk in anyone’s shadow; if I fail, or if I succeed at least I did as I believe.” ~ Whitney Houston

We have all heard the name ‘Whitney Houston’, and I’m sure we’ve all heard at least one of her songs. Whitney Houston was born on the 9th of August, 1963 in Newark, New Jersey, United States. She was born into a middle-class family to a mother who was a gospel singer and a father who was an ex-Army serviceman for New Jersey, she also had two older half-brothers. Her Aunt was Aretha Franklin and Whitney was only eight or nine when her mother first took her to a recording studio. A large part of Whitney’s teen life was meeting Robyn Crawford who was her roommate, best friend and executive assistant, who Whitney described as ‘the sister she never had’.

Whitney’s debut album simply titled, ‘Whitney Houston’ released in February 1985, only four years after she graduated high school. By 1986 Whitney Houston topped the Billboard 200 charts and stayed there for 14 consecutive weeks.

Whitney met R&B singer Bobby Brown in 1989 and married him on the 18th of July, 1992. On the 4th of March, 1993, Whitney gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown who sadly passed away on July 26, 2015.

The achievements and records Whitney achieved, will never cease to amaze me. Whitney holds the Guinness World Record as the most awarded female artist of all time, with more than 400 career awards. She has also won 6 GRAMMY awards and 22 American Music Awards.

Sadly, Whitney died on February 11, 2012 by accidental drowning with a heart disease and cocaine as a contributing factor too.

I am so saddened by the fact that Whitney is not alive today, because if she was, she would be topping all the charts around the world. I wish that she was still around so that I would have the chance to meet her like my Mum did back in 2010.

So, Whitney, wherever you are, I am hoping that you are happy, safe and doing what you love best: singing.

~ Selena ~