Whitney Houston: The Rise and Fall of "America's Sweetheart"
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 พ.ย. 2024
- Whitney Houston: The Rise and Fall of "America's Sweetheart" - Whitney Houston has one of the most recognizable voices in the history of pop music. With a career spanning over two decades, from her rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner to The Bodyguard, she was able to establish herself as a diva known globally for her unique vocal talent. But beyond the voice, the evolution of her persona as an African-American artist enjoying international fame remains very intriguing. Whitney Houston’s experience as a music artist in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s tells a lot about what minority artists reaching fame were authorized, forbidden, and compelled to do at different points in time in order to be palatable to the largest audience possible. What did Whitney Houston’s persona and artistry represent in American culture? And how did her prominence as a minority artist affect her personally? A decade after her death, her career reveals a great deal about America and how it’s envisioned itself over the past 30 years. And it tells just as much if not more about how much minority artists seeking global stardom had to sacrifice to be promoted on a grand scale and be embraced by the masses.
The year 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of Whitney Houston's passing and the month of February is black history month: so nothing seemed more relevant than to make a video about Whitney Houston's career through the lens of African-American history! The video deals extensively with Whitney's evolution through the years. But be on the lookout for bits of Black American history scattered throughout the video ;)
Love your content & videos. Honestly this has become one of my favorite channels on TH-cam. Would love to see you do a whole video breakdown on Beyoncé’s 2016 super bowl halftime show & the controversy and backlash that followed. Also how white mainstream wanted her to perform her regular songs with no political agenda involved.
Hi, good research... but @ or near @23:00 marker, *her* dear friend #RobynCrawford told Jada on her #RTT that [that allegation] was untrue. She added had [It] been 'true', she would have told her. Robyn & Nippy were that close!
The fact that her legacy is solely associated with her personal struggles is a shame because she was so much more to music and so many fans.
Exactly! I'm like "So this is how yall want to remember her???? THAT'S the tragedy!"
It’s honestly like that with a lot of artist who passed sadly. They always have personal struggle or situations that cloud their career. Think about it AALIYAH (Rkelly) Amy whinehouse(alcohol) Marilyn Monroe (scandals) Mac miller (drugs) and many other music innovators
@@alanamcmillian5810 Her death made it hard to remember the great performances. There were so many stories of her problems; they overshadowed her work.
Sorry, the bad outweighed the good.
@@michellekirkendall818 If that's how you want to remember her, then that's on you. I got nothing to do with that. Have a great day!
Whitney Houston was one of the greatest singers of her generation. Truly a golden voice.
Ten years of success, ten years of bad press; cockiness, refusing to address her problems, a jealous sister-in-law who used drugs with Miss Houston, yet outed her in the press. Leola Brown sold pictures to the National Enquirer. One, most notable, was the drug paraphernalia in the bathroom.
She got trashy, erratic in public, in total denial.
I am sure her addiction wasn't an easy thing to kick, but it would have been great to see her get better (as Natalie Cole did).
Houston's out-of-control behavior also impacted, and eventually killed her daughter.
I wish Miss Houston had succeeded in getting on the road to recovery, restoring her voice, and actually, saving her life.
I
So many people were envious of Whitney's success and her great musical gift. Her legacy will outlive them.
Yes, there was probably some level of jealousy in the backlash she received in the late 80s
Exactly they were just jealous
What surprises and still surprises me-is that her bodyguard album is recognized as her's and she even beat madonna /janet with number of records sold. It's really amazing and shows how powerful and fun she was!
@@rvegas81 you must be pretty young; if you were alive during the 80's and 90's then you would know that she consistently outsold the artist you mentioned prior to her even doing "The Bodyguard"!
Facts her Father & Bobby Brown failed her smh
The downfall of this artistic genius hurt in a level that still reigns deep
I agree. On the tastes like music channel did a debate and discussion on whitney's career. Alot of viewers commented that her life was cut so short. It's sad. I wish she were still hear today. I would have laughed for her to do an techo type like she did struggle trying to decide-ballads or hiphop. It was really interesting.
She deserved so much better. She is and will forever be the Queen and a legend. She was a complex person with struggles like everyone. She will always be respected and revered in my book. RIP to Whitney 😇
To me she’s the most important female singer in modern pop culture. She helped modernized pop divas
Exactly. She is the mother of all modern and contemporary pop divas.
I would say both Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey are more influential than her when thinking about modern female pop artists. Whitney is an amazing vocalist with some classic tunes but just not as versatile as those two. A lot of her music sounds dated now unlike Janet and Mariah
@@enterthecringe7552 Not all, Whitney was famous before Mariah and Janet’s prime the style was kind of different. But the essence was the same especially with Mariah. Mariah said she was influenced by Whitney.
@@enterthecringe7552 first of all, the modern iteration of the pop diva, was modeled after Whitney Houston, THE BLUEPRINT'S career! Tommy Mottola signed Mariah in response to Whitney's success; Mariah's whole sound, the clean pop R&b vocals displayed throughout her career, was predicated upon what WHITNEY made popular; therefore, Mariah's influence is null and void! I will, however, agree with you in reference to Janet; her dance music and videos were equally influential on subsequent generations of performers. But not Mariah; there was NOTHING innovative about Mariah's sound. I know a lot of Mariah Carey fans like to cite her as the creator of the hip hop/r&b collab, which is completely false! Artists like TLC, Mary J Blige, SWV, Jody Watley, and even Janet were already incorporating hip hop artists in their music years prior to the release of Fantasy! I'm so sick of the willfully obtuse nature of Mariah's vapid, delusional, and racially biased fanbase.
This was excellent! I love a Whitney Houston documentary! But what made this one special was that it told the story including the impact of racism. A lot of people only like to mention that she was booed at the soul train awards by her own people, but conveniently leave out the White racism that precipitated and produced that climate of racial animosity. I love how you broke it down. Explaining how her voice was seen as a “possession”, like Black bodies have been seen as a possession from the very beginning of the Black experience in America. Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!
Thank you very much!
Yes I have to agree with you. I was annoyed by that statement Oprah read to her as if she belonged to someone or something. The woman was a human being and humans make mistakes she wasn't perfect. That's the problem with certain celebrities we make them out to be something there aren't. Whitney was just a girl from Jersey who had an incredible voice that's all but something inside me tells me she didn't die all alone in that hotel room. Someone knows what really happened. Just my personal opinion. RIP Whitney 💕🙏💕
Absolutely nobody captivated and sang like Whitney before or ever again. It was so sad we didn’t appreciate her enough while she was still with us. I knew she was a good singer but it wasn’t until her early death that I You Tubed her live performances for the first time and it wasn’t until then I realised how incomparable a singer she actually was. Rest In Power Queen ❤️
Absolutely! Her studio recordings are great but some of her live performances (especially the non-televised, more obscure ones) are absolutely incredible!
Whitney was criticized for being a "not black enough" and an "Oreo" (black on the outside, but white on the inside), while Mariah was criticized for being a "white girl trying to sing black". These two great vocalists unfortunately were and are still unappreciated for all their tremendous talent.
Self hatred. Before the drug addiction and antics became public, Whitney conducted herself with class and earned respect. She was America’s sweetheart. Blacks thought she needed to act ghetto and make a fool of herself to be “authentic”. Black “culture” is so toxic.
Under appreciated 🤔 look at their 90's sales history
Her rendition of I am Changing being spliced throughout this video was literally so perfect and gave me the chillssssss
Great video. And i couldnt agree more with you....the media didnt care about her addiction in the sense of a fear that Whitney would no longer be with us as an automonous being. It was all about her voice and the fear that we would no longer be able to hear it. her voice was no longer hers. They never wanted nippy - they wanted whitney, THE VOICE!
Thank you for watching!
Whitney was 48 when she passed! 48! We never got to see her get old nor Michael it’s so sad🥺
We love you Whitney!!!! I cannot believe it's been over 10 years since they sacrificed her. That "look to you album" was heavily slept on. She will never be forgotten because her voice, talent and contributions live on. They don't make superstars like this anymore.
She was a tremendous force and her vocal ability was a blessing. We miss u Whitney.
Now THIS is a documentary. Great job! Whitney, more than any other black artist before her, sacrificed a whole lot for what we now see dominating pop music today. The careers of Beyoncé and Rihanna were not possible before Whitney. May she rest in peace.
Whitney is excellent but many black artists before her already opened up many doors with their success.
@@Sttephy30 but MJ and Whitney took it to an entire different level.
MJ AND WHITNEY WERE ABLE TO TAKE IT THERE BECAUSE OF THE BLACK ARTIST THAT CAME BEFORE THEM! PEOPLE HATE TO GIVE SHINE TO THOSE THAT CAME BEFORE AND MADE IT POSSIBLE! ACKNOWLEDGING THIS DOES NOT TAKE AWAY FROM WHITNEY AND MJS AMAZING TALENT AND AMAZING ACCOMPLISHMENTS!
@@dianabryan7421 I don’t deny that but they expanded it on in areas where those that came before them didn’t go so…
@@timmy841212 exactly I agree that they expanded it that is what you do when people before you worked so hard which prince mj and Whitney knew and is why they took what they did so seriously and so well! They also had more resources than the ones that cane before them all I was saying is that without the work done and laid down before hand whitney mj or prince would not been able to expand so far! Which all of them frequently acknowledged!! That is why I ended my previous comment the way that i did by saying that acknowledging the ones that came before them does not take away from their amazing talent and amazing accomplishments we can do both!
❗️THIS is what should have aired following her immediate death not any of the garbage that was broadcasted. Her accomplishments simply out-shunned her life’s battles.
The way you gather and deliver in-depth FACTS, precise storytelling, and add your own humanly flare to the art of documentaries leaves me captivated every single time. Especially hitting on how black are fetishized and then demoralized because it’s what “they” expected all of along. 🤯😮💨👏🏾
Thank you very much for your kind words!
@TalkALott Media Co - There couldn't have been anyone out there who didn't know of her great talent!
It didn't matter how many beautiful documentaries were shown, her private life, which became very public, killed her!
A "good documentary" will not erase the fact that she had a drug problem, and needed rehabilitation.
I am pretty sure that her addiction was hard to kick. And it also seemed that she was quite cocky and nasty spirited when confronted with this problem.
I wish she had gotten the help she needed. Her addiction destroyed her beauty and her enormous talent.
The greatest female singer of all time fight me
I really love how people will never forget the amazing talent that is Whitney , people can say what they want about her but you can't deny that Miss Houston was one of the greatest vocalists
May Whitney Elizabeth Houston the Voice rest in peace ❤
True. Everyone still misses Houston's voice
The BEST analysis and commentary on Whitney Houston’s legacy I’ve seen on TH-cam. As a die hard Whitney Houston fan, thank you from the bottom of my heart. This memoir of the force that was Whitney Houston is how she should be remembered 🤍🤍🤍
They build you up high so they can tear you down and have a harder fall.
I just found out as of recently that Reverend Al Sharpton was responsible for leading the Whitney “Whitey” Houston movement back when she gaining mainstream success after I believe her second album. It’s crazy how the Black community was quick to try to their back to Whitney because she was garnering so much success. This was also misogynoir at its finest.
I also want to say that Clive Davis was always controlling to me. If you signed to Arista records, you was bound to be a pop star. I’m still not over how he sabotaged the possibility of Whitney and Michael Jackson working on a song together.
Yet she went out of her way to prove herself to the black community, even with the clear envy the culture had for her.
It was just jealousy because she wasn’t the only black artist who sing pop and ballads. I agreed with you about Clive.
Clive also stopped her from recording gospel music for years until The Preacher’s Wife and even then she had to compromise by recording some R&B material, which sabotaged its potential to be nominated for a Best Gospel Album Grammy so she was mad with the Grammys AND Clive so much that she boycotted Clive’s pre-Grammy party in 1998.
@@timmy841212 wow I didn't know that. He was so controlling smhd. Now she's gone, her record label decides to release her gospel songs. They should have done it when she was alive, she would have been happy!
@@Thegazelle1000 She sure would.
Whitney Houston was a genius, one of the greatest singers of all the time. It’s a shame how some people of the black community tried to reject her because she was singing pop and ballads. As I know she wasn’t the only black artist who was singing pop and ballads:l. Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross (the two first black diva of pop), Lionel Richie, Tina Turner ( who wore a blonde straight wig and sing rock and roll), Michael Jackson (the king of pop) and others. I don’t remember black people tell them that they were not black enough. Despite her struggles, she was a beautiful person inside and out. Her music was able to unite people from different cultures and different countries. May she rest in peace!
I think Mj was definitely questioned and ridiculed by the black community as well. It's a shame artists have to go through trials and tribulations that were created by their very own people.
What kills after the janet documentary. Alot of kids thought Madonna was the only one. Nope there were two other greats.
@@rvegas81 Janet really isn’t given her flowers enough for me! She’s too humble and always left out of the top entertainers list.
Robin Crawford's book A Song For You: My Life With Whitney Houston paints the most vivid portrait of Whitney Houston as just a human being. This documentary does a brilliant job of contextualizing her celebrity, but if you want to get insight into who she was a person, I highly recommend that book.
In it one will see that even "Nippy" was an identity that didn't entirely belong to her. To understand Bobby Brown is to understand Cissy Houston's role in her life, and see that Whitney Houston had been bullied and intimidated her whole life.
You should do donna summers i think ppl forget her impact.
It's just utterly devasting, 10yrs on or any year.That Whitney Houston is no longer here.
There are many things I could write, in a positive ✨️ light about her. RIP ❤️ Queen, you are missed, by so many ⭐️🎶⭐️🙏
I’m glad you showed what she was up against regarding pleasing everyone in the world with being perfect but also wanting to be herself. That is a lot of pressure. Great video about a great woman.
I’ve loved her since I was a little little girl and her voice brings me to tears every time. She’s pure magic. There will never be another Whitney Houston. ❤
Whitney felt like family to me having grown up with a family full of singers and many who have sang with prominent Gospel artists/watched her career even if it may have been around the time where her image/personhood was questioned. It's bittersweet that we can still never be seen as fully human but I'm praying that changes. It is now but there's still so many strides to go. Excellent video as usual 💥
It’s so hard to see past the darkness of it all. If only time had been kind and she made it through her storms. Just legendary.
Great documentary but I wish you would’ve included the importance of Whitney producing Cinderella!
Or pushing to do gospel when Clive Davis thought it would affect her record sales.
@@timmy841212 Yeah…. However Clive was somewhat right since gospel is a limited market but TPW was still a great moment that we love and cherish.
@@JustTheLonelyTalk That is true.
It was so tragic what happened to Whitney. She was so beautiful and talented. May she rest in peace. 🙏🏿
This is an amazing documentary so far. I was a teenager when Whitney Huston debuted in the 80's it had a profound impact on me as a young white girl. She had so much class and was a strong woman role model for so many of us. I see so much "propaganda" from that time now that I am a full grown adult. Still, I owe my dignity to Whitney Huston. It did help to bridge the gap between back and white. Living Color. Cosby. Oprah. Dave Chappelle the list goes on. These artists created an entire generation of people who believe in fairness, equality. That humans are just humans and race means nothing Rythem Nation. Free Your Mind. Everything from
Soul 2 Soul. The impact these artists, human beings , living in public view. Although the public not always being told the truth. It shaped the woman I became forever. When things get difficult I still sing the theme song to A Different World quietly to my self, sometimes through tears, and every time it gives me the strength to "focus on goal." The 80s 90s are such a complicated misunderstood time.
Finally, I understand it is up to each new generation to push the needle forward, test the boundaries and upset the apple cart so that society can move forward as a civilized people. I simply humbly request this current #Woke #activist generation would kindly acknowledge They are NOT starting from scratch. Not for me, but in honor of Whitney, Michael & Prince who gave their lives for people to come together in love. May you each who see these words know deeply The Greatest Love Of All.
☮️❤️😊☯️
When I watch old footage of Whitney I can not stop crying. It always amazing me how much I can miss someone I never knew IRL.
Thank you very much for your kind comment!
Thank you for shedding a light on her true story. Whitney's dedication to her craft, authentic spirit, and legacy will forever live on.
Thank you very much for watching!
The fan made projects are always so much better than what these industry people and production companies come up with. This is well made♥️
Wow - thanks for this video. Somehow her story is the universal story of sacrifice/assimiation mechanism.
Yes! As a black French citizen, I deeply relate to her experience
Why do my people get madd when one of us moves up or crosses over to other audiences? Why is it that we label our own people as sellouts or take their “black card”
Because they succeed. Black artists seem to always want To cross over but white artists who start off being marketed to the masses, want to do R&B ( Timberlake, Mars, Aguilera, etc). If anyone reading this has an intelligent and thoughtful answer, I’d love to read it.
Haven’t clicked so fast in a long time !
Whitney was the greatest as a live performer when she had the freedom to bring out her soulful gospel side.
Will never forget her, I always get goosebumps . Thank you for your videos ✨✨
Thank you for watching!
I miss Whitney. I love her
Today we see celebrities getting more and more famous and praise the more they brag about smoking weed, drugs. Etc. But she gets condemned??? This society is wicked and hypocritical as fuck.
She brought herself down. Sure, it's hard to kick addictions, but sometimes her spirit showed unwillingness to change, it's as if she didn't realize how bad off she was.
Too bad she got caught up like that. To me, the bad press overshadowed the great talent.
She should have been the one that avoided the addictions....she was worse than many others.
Wasted beauty and talent.
I just finished the video. So sad that she had two separate who she was. I loved nippy and whitney. So sad... use them up, discard them, and when they are gone....go against what they truly wanted to be a whole person worthy of love!
Whitney Houston was a beautiful woman. Her nose didnt need to be too wide, or her butt too big, or skin too dark. She didnt make you think about race , aesthetics or even singing style. Her presence and voice could stop your heart even if you couldn't see her. That was rare in a youth obsessed image driven business .
I really like the contrast between what we see and what She sings. It says it all.
This analysis is a masterpiece. 👏🏽👏🏽 Thank you for this. 🙏🏾 Happy Black History Month, everyone.
Thank you for watching!
GREAT VIDEO AS USUALLY, SHE IS MY FAVOURITE ARTIST. FINALLY SOMEONE IS DISCUSSING THE REMOVAL OF HER HUMANITY BY JUST CALLING HER THE VOICE. SO DEGRADING TO SOMEONE SO SPECIAL.
PROTECT BLACK WOMEN
Yes! Calling her "The Voice" is a compliment but it has definitely contributed to erasing her personhood as well
14:04 I never see the full video of Whitney looking at Bobby's performance at the Soul train. She was really into it 😄😄😄
She was getting down!!! 😎😎😎
She loved him so much, and he didn't love her back. Sad.
Yes!! Cannot wait to watch this, I know it will be good! 👏
This video was beautifully executed. You showed a prowess of knowledge and made a very informed, intelligent video about Whitney and her career. This was a true video essay and the thesis was masterfully followed. Although the topic is the vocalist that was Whitney Houston, I wanted to ensure that you get your flowers too! Thank you for a sharing this awesome analysis of a video.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
I have always thought it was SO weird that because a person is a certain race they have to wear that race like an identity all the time or else they have sold out. As a Black woman myself I believe in individuality more so than anything else. ‘Cause like a comment I read not all skinfolk are kinfolk. Surround yourself with likeminded, kind people and treat others how you want to be treated
The exploitation of her image for profit after death by Pat Garland is particularly disturbing to me. At least her soul is at rest.
I dont know why they wont just let her memory rest. She left them enough money. Her daughter and only heir is now also past. Cissy is an old lady ,so eventually Pat and her greedy brothers will inherit everything. Something about that makes my blood boil.
Lovely documentary
Thank you for this wonderful video. I went to go listen to my love is your love after the video and started crying. I’m so saddened our great talents like her, MJ and Prince were lost to mental health and addiction.
Thank you for watching!
Yah! From the 🇵🇭 here. Ive first learned about Whitney because of The Bodyguard.
Subscribed! Your channel is great!
I love your channel. This vid is everything. Thank you
Brilliant piece! Congrats! 👏🏽 🙌🏽
Beautifully done 👍🏾
Thank you!
RIP Our Whitney. 😍
I'm obsessed with this channel hopefully you will do a video on Usher 💕
Awesome video, you made some great points! Especially about the separation of Whitney and Nippy ❤ Gone too soon. Also- those holograms are so eerie and I highly doubt Whitney would be ok with that!
Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Your English is so good! Great vocabulary, almost flawless. So many native speakers mix up 'comprise' and 'compose'. I only heard two errors (mistaking 'or' for 'and' and using 'plethora of' for a singular rather than plural subject). Otherwise lovely. And much better than my French 😂. Great content as always - just thought I'd give you a different type of compliment this time.
People need to talk about her music more. It’s so sad how people want to call her names even when she’s dead. She’s a one of a kind vocalist nobody before or after sang like her (they tried 😂)
Thank you.
THE Voice!
her story really makes me sad. 😕😞
The holograms are scary lol
Wow this was a really great video and very eye opening, the research and the layers. I love the many perspectives and I’m so glad you highlighted her very black experience in a still racist societal archetype…..
great work and Rest In Peace to the outstanding, talented, and blessing to the world that was and forever will be Whitney “Nippy” Houston ❤️❤️
He was the very worst thing that could've ever happened to her but she loved Bobby for the bad boy antics that fueled her excitement at life despite all his shortcomings and character flaws.
P.S. - I don't have anything against Bobby.
Haven’t clicked sooo fast !!!!
I love that nigerian accent
Please do a piece on Donna Summer.
my queen
Diana Ross. You have no idea what seeing The Wiz in a movie theater 1978 Clairton, PA I was 7. My parents were divorced by then but my daddy was a young father of 26 & he took me to see Michael Jackson dance in a movie. We were the only 2 white people in the place & all I saw was smiling people who were laughing and putting me on their shoulder to dance. Many documentary can be made about the evils of government. But the impact it makes on an individual soul is the hidden gems & stories that never get told. Thank you so much for this documentary. This was such a fundamental time in my existence on this Planet, I apologize in advance if I leave too many comments. I do greatly appreciate the opportunity to share with you how much that decade means to me. The good, the bad the ugly. We got through it together. I think it was the last time we all felt like many different people in one country. Then the government went and f*cked it all up with their stupid Coruption 🤬🤬🤬
It just breaks me that her lineage has died with her daughter and her…it is unfortunate to say the least.
The rough and toughness of the black culture at that time did take her out. Ngl
Hologram performances make my skin crawl. So disrespectful to the person.
💖💖💖
near 32:01 are there Ppl that actually pay$$ to see [That?]
'Can see 'how' Robyn Crawford's facial expression sat when Wendy Williams asked 'her opinion' regarding holo'gram performances...?
When other late greats #TammiTerrell & #MarvinGaye sung to Us... "Ain't Nothing like the *Real* Thing," they (those that pay for holo'graph concerts) may have not heard that tune's lyrics. Shout-Out to yet another late great: Nick Ashford... and Ms. Valerie Simpson.
per nutritionists #Organicfruits are way more Healthier than G M O s.
R.i.P. #Nippy!
Whitney 🐐ston
Back then when USA acknowledged GOD almighty, and things were going fine
I don't even believe that Whitney Houston is really DEAD. It's my undying BELIEF that she's still ALIVE and HAPPILY MARRIED to her TRUE ICONIC EQUAL, Michael Jackson in RETIREMENT!
Not black enough. I don't get that..I saw Spike Lee Skool days so I get it a little bit. But not really if I'm being honest. But I was born in 1971 to hippy parents. And when my racist uncle came around my mom said to "just ignore him" he has "problems"
Just a tragedy in so many ways.
That was a weirdly long intro
Her downfall was spectacular
I disagree with the whole premise that race (and racism) played a huge part on her ascension and downfall. Drugs, which you largely left aside, were the main problem, like always.
race definitely had a huge role...especially her being a black woman in particular
@@archivesunset4214 this makes no sense
Whitney 🐐ston
Back then when USA acknowledged GOD almighty, and things were going fine