With over 200 million combined album, singles and videos sold worldwide during her career with Arista Records, Whitney Houston has established a benchmark for superstardom that will quite simply never be eclipsed in the modern era. She is a singer’s singer who has influenced countless other vocalists female and male.
Whitney began her singing career in New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, NJ. Following in the footsteps of family members who had successful vocal careers, by her late teens she had been discovered as a talented singer and model, and released her debut album at 22 years old. By 1986 she won a GRAMMY (the first of six total out of 25 nominations), and her career took off. Songs like "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and a cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" soared on charts, and her collaboration with Mariah Carey in the animated film The Prince of Egypt for the song "When You Believe" won her an Academy Award. She also performed as an actor and enjoyed producing movies, like The Bodyguard and Disney's version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella.
Whitney holds the Guinness World Record for the most awarded female artist of all time, with an amazing tally of 411 awards (as of 2006).
While she tragically passed in February 2012, in 2019 Whitney achieved her first posthumous Billboard Hot 100 hit with “Higher Love,” released as a single with producer and DJ Kygo. The song hit #1 on two Billboard dance charts and reached #2 on the U.K. Official Singles chart.
Whitney’s contributions continue to touch the hearts and souls of millions of fans the world over.
How has this artist impacted your life?
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