Archive for the 'whitney houston' Category

Early Bird Special: Norwegian Recycling (born Frans Peter Bull Enger) does his part to honor the memory of the late Whitney Houston with a six-track mashup appropriately entitled “Whitney.”

Grab the MP3 here.

[roflrazzi.]

Dancing Granny of the Day: Adam’s 90-year-old dancing granny pays tribute to the late Whitney Houston.

[newslite.]

Westboro Baptist Troll of the Day: When Margie Phelps, prominent member of the stridently anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, tweeted a manipulated photo alleging to show church protesters picketing the funeral service of Whitney Houston, many in the media rushed to the conclusion that WBC was trying to pull a fast one by pretending to be somewhere they were not.

But in their rush to call out Westboro for being predictably awful, the finger-pointers inadvertently gave the Phelps clan as much, if not more publicity than they would have received by physically showing up.

After hundreds of outlets republished the church’s hateful shop, Phelps posted a tweet thanking the media for doing her legwork.

“Multiple media outlets publish”Whitney in Hell,”while whining Westboro didn’t picket ,” Phelps tweeted. She followed that up with another tweet noting that Raw Story had tweeted the fake Whitney protest photo to its 19,500 followers, subtly referencing the subterfuge with the hashtag “#SoManyWays2Picket.”

Before the media began voluntarily advertising the WBC’s message, Margie Phelps’ tweet of the photoshopped photo received all of 8 retweets. Now it’s been seen by millions. Instead of embarrassing the church, the media emboldened them. Now they know they can get front page coverage without ever leaving the compound.

[nj / @margiejphelps.]

In Memoriam of the Day: Friends and family of the late Whitney Houston gathered this afternoon at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark to bid farewell to the hometown girl who got her start singing in that church’s choir.

“We are here today, hearts broken but yet with God’s strength we celebrate the life of Whitney Houston,” said Rev. Joe A. Carter at the opening of the four-hour ceremony.

Moving “expressions” from Tyler Perry, Kevin Costner, and Clive Davis followed, punctuated later by emotional performances by Alicia Keys and Stevie Wonder.

Aretha Franklin, who was scheduled to perform as well, cancelled earlier today due to leg spasms. At her Radio City Music Hall concert last night, Franklin asked the crown to remember Houston hits and “forget the misses.”

Considering the rocky life she led, it was somehow fitting for her “homegoing” ceremony to encounter a few bumps.

Ex-husband Bobby Brown left the church early after allegedly being asked to leave. It was reported that Brown arrived with an entourage of nine people despite being asked to bring no more than two people along. His request to sit with his nine companions in the family section near his daughter, Bobbi Kristina, is said to have elicited negative reactions from other family members, and he was ultimately asked to exit the building.

Flip through the memorial program here, and watch Kevin Costner memorialize his Bodyguard co-star below:

Click to see more… »

Lovely Liquid Choreography of the Day: Dubai pays homage to the late Whitney Houston by synchronizing the world-renowned Dubai Fountain to “I Will Always Love You.”

[vvc.]

Deathxploitation of the Day: Sony Music and Apple are being criticised today for capitalizing on the death of Whitney Houston by raising the price of her Ultimate Collection by nearly five dollars.

The Guardian reports that news of the singer’s demise led Sony Music to raise the wholesale price of the 1997 hits compilation, prompting Apple to increase the iTunes retail price from £4.99 (~$7.90) to £7.99 (~$12.60).

The original price has since been restored.

Some have referred to Sony’s decision to profit from Houston’s untimely death as “cynical,” while others expressed anger toward Apple for “cashing in.” Though Sony’s increase of the wholesale price automatically raised the retail price on iTunes, The Guardian points out that “Apple is responsible setting the price paid by music fans.”

Ultimate Collection remains in the number two spot on Apple’s iTunes sales chart, just below Adele’s 21.

[guardian / digitalspy.]

Grammys: Jennifer Hudson pays tribute to Whitney Houston with a stirring cover of “I Will Always Love You.” 

[mwp.]

Follow Up of the Day: A security hold has been placed on the results of Whitney Houston’s autopsy pending toxicology results and “further testing,” meaning it could be several weeks before an official cause of death is released.

A coroner’s office spokesperson did confirm an earlier report by the Beverly Hills Police Department that Houston was found in her hotel room’s bathtub, but would not comment on the possibility that the singer drowned. Law enforcement sources familiar with the autopsy results told TMZ water was indeed found in Houston’s lungs.

According to TMZ’s sources, Houston, who was allegedly taking Xanax to deal with anxiety, may have fallen asleep in the tub while under the influence of the drug, as well as alcohol. A variety of prescription pill were found in the hotel room.

Earlier it was reported that Houston was found unconscious, fully submerged in water, by her hairdresser.

The unnamed woman had grown concerned when she realized that Houston had been in the bathroom a long time, and would be late for Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy party. Houston’s bodyguard pulled her out of the tub and attempted to perform CPR, but to no avail.

Paramedics arrived shortly thereafter and administered CPR for another 10 minutes before pronouncing Houston dead at 3:55 PM.

[eonline / tmz / photo: getty.]

Grammys: A look back at Whitney Houston’s six Grammy wins.

[yardie.]

Swan Song of the Day: Whitney Houston’s final performance took place Thursday night at R&B recording artist Kelly Price’s pre-Grammy party in Hollywood.

The late singer stepped on stage at Tru Hollywood to join Price in performing a cover of the gospel standard “Yes, Jesus Loves Me.”

Watch the duet above.

Below: Widely considered one of Houston’s most memorable performances: Singing the national anthem at Super bowl XXV.

Click to see more… »