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Featured Celebrity: Whitney Houston

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9, 1963, Newark, New Jersey) is an American pop, R&B and soul singer and actress. She was one of the most popular and successful singers of the 1980s and 1990s.

Early Years
Houston is a singer who grew up in a musical family: Her mother is Grammy award winning gospel/R&B singer Cissy Houston, and her cousin is Grammy Award winning singer Dionne Warwick. By age 11, Houston was performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist church in Newark. As a teenager, she began accompanying her mother in concert (as well as on her 1978 album Think It Over).

Whitney Houston
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She was a backing singer with established acts, such as Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson, and Lou Rawls, as well as the lead vocalist on the Michael Zager Band's single "Life's A Party".

Somewhat bizarrely, Houston's first recording as a featured vocalist was with Bill Laswell's experimental jazz-funk ensemble Material; their 1982 album One Down placed Houston alongside such avant-gardists as Luther Vandross, Archie Shepp and Fred Frith. She also appeared as a model in various magazines, appearing on the cover of Seventeen magazine. (Steve Huey, All Music Guide)

The Greatest Hits
In 2000, Houston got into trouble as she was found with marijuana at an airport in Hawaii and she skipped out on a performance at the Oscars (Faith Hill was a last minute replacement for Houston). Nevertheless, in 2000, Arista released, Whitney: The Greatest Hits, a two CD compilation of Houston's biggest hits. Disc One- Cool Down featured a collection of her ballads as well as two new tracks, "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (a duet with Enrique Iglesias) and "Same Script, Different Cast" (a duet with Deborah Cox). Both songs received considerable airplay in the U.S. Disc Two- Throw Down, is a collection of her dance songs and remixes. It also featured two new songs, "Fine" and "If I Told You That" (a duet with George Michael). Neither song made a splash in the U.S., however they were hits internationally.

The Greatest Hits has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. In 2001, Houston and Arista Records agreed to re-release her version of the Star Spangled Banner to benefit the families of police officers and firefighters killed during the tragic events of September 11, 2001. It sold more than 300,000 copies, raised more than $1 million, and earned Whitney yet another Top 10 single as it peaked at #6.

Controversy and A New Beginning
In the year 2000 Houston's public image became tarnished when it was revealed that she had been battling spousal abuse with her husband. Additionally she had clearly lost a great deal of weight and this, coupled with shaky (if not cancelled) public performances gave way to rumours of cocaine addiction. Many thought that her vocals sounded strained and that her voice was wearing down on her.

2001 brought Houston her first major producing assignment: the hit teen Disney comedy The Princess Diaries starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews. She also produced two other major assignments for Disney company: the 2003 TV movie The Cheetah Girls, about the tribulations of an all-girl pop group starring Raven-Symone, and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). Although these efforts were successful, Houston was criticized by her fans for producing "bubble-gum pop-ish" material.

In 2002, Houston admitted in a television interview to abusing cocaine, marijuana, and various other drugs. She claimed to have stopped using illegal drugs, but was seemingly making this admission to address the rumours circulating about her lifestyle. During said interview, Houston's comment about having never used crack cocaine because it was "for poor people," caused a new uproar. In March of 2004, Houston entered a drug rehab program in California. Over the spring and summer of 2004 Houston performed at a few concerts in Europe (the Soul Divas Tour with Natalie Cole) and her own concert tour in Asia. In September of 2004 she made a surprise appearance at the World Music Awards to sing for Clive Davis. They announced that they would soon commence working on a new album for Houston to be released in 2005, in which a duet with Alicia Keys is rumored to be featured. In March of 2005, Whitney's chances at a comeback appeared slim when she entered rehab for the second time. However, Whitney finished rehab in May of 2005. In an interview with Access Hollywood, mogul music producer Clive Davis announced that he was returning to the studio with Whitney to finish the album they had begun before Whitney entered rehab.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia Article: Whitney Houston

Avril Lavigne

Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1970 in Huntington, New York) is an American popular music singer, songwriter, record producer, music video director, and actress, who rose to prominence in the 1990s. Carey's music has been influenced by rhythm and blues, pop, gospel, hip hop, and rock and roll. She is credited as having a five-octave vocal range, possibly the greatest range of any popular singer. She makes lavish use of melisma; her vocal swoops and trills are an easily recognized feature of her sound.

Avril Lavigne (born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was one of the most popular new pop punk artists of 2002, when she released her first album, and is well-known for her "skater punk" persona. Born in Belleville, Ontario to conservative parents, Lavigne grew up in Napanee singing country music and in a church choir and taught herself guitar. She was discovered by her first professional manager while singing country covers at a Chapters bookstore in Kingston, Ontario. By the age of sixteen, she was signed by Arista Records head L.A. Reid, and she subsequently moved to New York City to work on her first album.

Britney Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American pop music singer. Her career encompasses chart-topping records, high-profile advertising and a foray into both acting and reality television. She is considered an American cultural icon recognized throughout the world, but has also been the subject of controversy surrounding the sexuality of her music and image.

Christina Aguilera (born December 18, 1980, in Staten Island, New York) is an American popular music singer and songwriter. She is most often recognized by her superior vocal ability and unorthodox fashion sense. Her vocal skills have been compared to those of singers such as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, making her one of the most prominent recording artists of her generation. She has achieved four No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, as well as two Top Five albums and four Grammy Awards in the United States.

Hilary Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American film actress and pop music singer. Duff was born in Houston, Texas, the second child of Bob Duff, owner of a chain of convenience stores, and his wife Susan, a homemaker. After her mother encouraged her to take an acting class alongside her older sister, Haylie Duff, both girls won parts in various local theatre productions.

Jennifer López (also known as J. Lo, born July 24, 1969) is a well-known Puerto Rican-American actress, singer, fashion designer, dancer, and all-around cultural icon.

Jessica Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American pop singer who rose to fame during the late 1990s. She has starred with her husband Nick Lachey in the MTV reality show Newlyweds, released her own line of beauty products called Dessert and has also started a career as an actress.

Kylie Minogue (born May 28, 1968) is an Australian singer and actress. She rose to prominence in the late 1980s as a result of her role in the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing her career as a pop singer and recording artist.

Lindsay Lohan (born July 2, 1986) is an American actress and singer of Italian and Irish heritage. Lohan is currently pursuing a pop music career concurrent with her career in films, and performed her song "Ultimate" in Freaky Friday. In mid-2004 Lohan signed a recording contract with Casablanca Records. Her album, Speak, was issued on December 7, 2004, and reached number two on the Billboard charts. The first single off the album was "Rumors", followed by "Over".

Whitney Houston (born August 9, 1963, Newark, New Jersey) is an American pop, R&B and soul singer and actress. She was one of the most popular and successful singers of the 1980s and 1990s.