Before Mariah, there was Whitney. And just like any kid in the 80's who aspires to sing, Whitney's songs could very well be in his repertoire. I was one of those kids who triumphed in children's amateur singing contests, doing my best to imitate Whitney in The Greatest Love Of All. That song paved the way for me, discovering my voice and my ability to hit "medium high" notes, long before those were taken away by puberty. Since then, I looked to Whitney for possible killer songs that could knock the competition out. In school programs, I have performed Didn't We Almost Have It All, You're Still My Man (transposed to I'm Still Your Man for gender purposes) and One Moment In Time. By the time she released the soundtrack to The Bodyguard with the ultra-successful I Will Always Love You, my hormones took reins over my voice and I was in that awkward transitional phase, slowly replacing my soprano with tenor.
Whitney just released her newest album yesterday and was touted to have a huge comeback. I have heard the album and save for maybe 3-4 songs, I am not really in love with it. I don't know how huge this comeback is gonna be, but on the basis of radio airplay and Billboard position for the first single, I Look To You, it seems like it's not gonna be that easy. I love that single. It grew on me. I couldn't stop listening to it today in preparation for the Good Morning America taped performance by Whitney in Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. Taped because rumors say that Whitney refuses to wake up early to do GMA which usually starts the Summer Concert Series on their third hour at 8 AM.
I was in line around 10 AM and the line snaked its way from the entrance of the venue all the way to a good stretch of about more than a thousand people. The gates opened at 11 AM. The crowd, surprisingly, is of the mature variety. I hardly saw anyone in the Miley Cyrus tween categories. Of course, Whitney's gay appeal didn't leave out the gays and they were in full force for their favorite diva.
After taping introductions by Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts, Whitney came out around noon and performed Million Dollar Bill from the new album, a song co-written by Alicia Keys. Then she did My Love Is Your Love, which she claimed was impromptu and brought out daughter Bobbi Kristina to join towards the end. After that, she sang the title track, I Look To You, dedicating the song to her mom, Cissy, who was in the crowd. She struggled to finish that song and then explained that she did Oprah yesterday and used her voice too much and did a lot of talking. Of course, the fans clamored for more. At that point, she brought out Robin and Diane to perform I'm Every Woman with her. They swayed and nodded their heads in the background (not really danced) while Whitney took centerstage again, still having difficulty with her notes. And that was it.
Although I'm a little disappointed, I'm also relieved. People have criticized Mariah, especially during the Michael Jackson tribute, that she lost her vocal power but so does Whitney and she's even worse. Whitney's belting register is not what it used to be. Gone are the days of Superbowl Star Spangled Banner brilliance. Gone are the days of I Will Always Love You super-amazingness. She even asked the audience to "help me y'all" in one of the songs. I didn't expect much but I guess the hype for this comeback didn't prepare me for lackluster live performances. I don't know how Whitney could put up a full-on tour in the future. See for yourselves tomorrow on Good Morning America at 8 AM. There will be editing involved since the performances were taped so we will see if there were some "enhancements" made.
Anyway, I think I have come full circle in seeing all my favorite divas live - Mariah Carey, Madonna, Janet Jackson and now, Whitney. Woohoo!
Click here to see a sneak peek of tomorrow's show.
Whitney just released her newest album yesterday and was touted to have a huge comeback. I have heard the album and save for maybe 3-4 songs, I am not really in love with it. I don't know how huge this comeback is gonna be, but on the basis of radio airplay and Billboard position for the first single, I Look To You, it seems like it's not gonna be that easy. I love that single. It grew on me. I couldn't stop listening to it today in preparation for the Good Morning America taped performance by Whitney in Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. Taped because rumors say that Whitney refuses to wake up early to do GMA which usually starts the Summer Concert Series on their third hour at 8 AM.
I was in line around 10 AM and the line snaked its way from the entrance of the venue all the way to a good stretch of about more than a thousand people. The gates opened at 11 AM. The crowd, surprisingly, is of the mature variety. I hardly saw anyone in the Miley Cyrus tween categories. Of course, Whitney's gay appeal didn't leave out the gays and they were in full force for their favorite diva.
After taping introductions by Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts, Whitney came out around noon and performed Million Dollar Bill from the new album, a song co-written by Alicia Keys. Then she did My Love Is Your Love, which she claimed was impromptu and brought out daughter Bobbi Kristina to join towards the end. After that, she sang the title track, I Look To You, dedicating the song to her mom, Cissy, who was in the crowd. She struggled to finish that song and then explained that she did Oprah yesterday and used her voice too much and did a lot of talking. Of course, the fans clamored for more. At that point, she brought out Robin and Diane to perform I'm Every Woman with her. They swayed and nodded their heads in the background (not really danced) while Whitney took centerstage again, still having difficulty with her notes. And that was it.
Although I'm a little disappointed, I'm also relieved. People have criticized Mariah, especially during the Michael Jackson tribute, that she lost her vocal power but so does Whitney and she's even worse. Whitney's belting register is not what it used to be. Gone are the days of Superbowl Star Spangled Banner brilliance. Gone are the days of I Will Always Love You super-amazingness. She even asked the audience to "help me y'all" in one of the songs. I didn't expect much but I guess the hype for this comeback didn't prepare me for lackluster live performances. I don't know how Whitney could put up a full-on tour in the future. See for yourselves tomorrow on Good Morning America at 8 AM. There will be editing involved since the performances were taped so we will see if there were some "enhancements" made.
Anyway, I think I have come full circle in seeing all my favorite divas live - Mariah Carey, Madonna, Janet Jackson and now, Whitney. Woohoo!
Click here to see a sneak peek of tomorrow's show.
I Look to You
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2 comments:
Wow. I would have NEVER guessed that was Houston just by listening. She's lost some clarity in her voice.
I remember the 1984 Olympics and her One Moment in Time theme. I used to practice singing with her booming vocals coming from my little pink Sanyo tape player.
Aahhh...cassette tapes...those were the days...
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