whitney houston (19 posts)

She may not have known her own strength, but Whitney Houston clearly overestimated the tenacity of her wardrobe Sunday night.

The comeback queen nearly turned the X Factor into the XXX Factor when she suffered a wardrobe malfunction halfway through her performance on the Simon Cowell-fronted reality show.

While performing her new single, "Million Dollar Bill," on Britain's Idol-esque series—her first U.K. performance, incidentally, in more than 12 years—the back strap of her form-fitting, floor-length gown gave way, and spent the remainder of the song flapping at her sides.

Seasoned pro that she is, she remained unfazed by the clothes call, which, luckily, didn't result in any more skin than usual being exposed.

"I sang myself out of my clothes," she said after her performance.

Houston, who pulled double-duty as the contestants' mentor this week, was later praised by the Ryan Seacrest-alike host, Dermot O'Leary, for her pull-no-punches (think less constructive, more criticism) advice to the wannabes.

"Is that why you call me 'Lippy'?" she asked Cowell. "Simon calls me 'Lippy.' I say what's on my mind just like he does."

For his part, the judge clearly doesn't mind a little sass, deeming her performance "incredible."

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Check out other sartorial scandals with a flip through our Fashion Police gallery.

Tonight marks the return of VH1's Divas Live featuring Miley Cyrus, Adele, Jennifer Hudson, Leona Lewis, Kelly Clarkson and Jordin Sparks.

So it's perfect timing that Whitney Houston releases her new music video for "Million Dollar Bill" just to show those girls what a true diva is—gorgeous gowns, sparkly things and fierce 'tude backed up with a big voice. Basically, it's all about pure glamour. And no one does it like Whitney.

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Get more glamour in our Fashion Week gallery.

Yesterday, Whitney Houston came clean on the drugs and her relationshop. Today, she opened up about Michael Jackson.

In part two of what Oprah Winfrey has touted as her Greatest. Interview. Ever., the Grammy-winning diva says Jackson's death was "devastating," revealing that she was very close to the King of Pop—and scared that she might have wound up with a similar fate.

"I had so many good memories of spending time with him," Houston said. "I've known his family for so many years. I thought it can't be true...I knew he was on painkillers at one time. I didn't know how far or how deep it was."

She recounted her appearance M.J.'s 30th Anniversary concert in 2001 where she shocked fans with her bone-thin appearance.

"I just remember doing the 30th anniversary special and remember looking at Michael and remember looking at myself...I was getting scared," she said. "I didn't want to go down that road."

Houston said the last time she and Jackson spoke had been during his 2005 trial on child molestation charges for which he was eventually acquitted.

"By that time, he cut out a lot of people...he spoke to me on the phone but didn't want me to see him," she said. "To have it end like that saddens me."

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Wanna relive Whitney's raspy  performance on GMA last week with daughter Bobbi Kristina? Get it here.

Not talking crack would've been wack.

Unlike certain other artists who shall remain nameless, Whitney Houston has what you would call room awareness. As a result, the comeback kid woman shared exactly what people wanted to hear on the first of her two-day Greatest. Interview. Ever. with Oprah Winfrey, talking drugs, Bobb-ay, and more.

The interview started—as, seemingly, did Houston's troubles—with Bobby Brown.

"He was my drug," she said. "I didn't do anything without him. I wasn't getting high by myself. It was me and him together. We were partners."

On at least one occasion, physically abusive partners.

While Houston herself stopped short of categorizing her husband as an abuser, she said that he did at times cross the line of physical contact.

Houston said Brown "slapped me once but he got hit on the head three times by me." Another time, she said, he "spit on me, in my face."

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Fame Pictures, Inc

Whitney Houston, The Beatles and Jay-Z ought to step aside. Susan Boyle is the new queen bee of the album charts.

Too bad no one will get to hear her record until Nov. 24.

Britain's Got Talent's undeniable breakout star—whether she won the grand prize or not—is nearly three months from the release of her debut album, yet, thanks to presales, stands at the very top of Amazon.com's bestseller list.

Houston's comeback album, reissues of the Fab Four's classics, Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 and even the soundtrack for New Moon are eating her dust.

Talk about dreaming a dream!

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It's hard to believe that even performing on Good Morning America or taking long walks with Oprah aren't enough to be a chart-topper.

It's not just their fashion sense that's similar. Madonna and Whitney Houston apparently also share the same parenting style. The same pushy, awkward stage mother parenting style, that is.

While there are no doubt plenty of perks associated with being the daughter of a pop diva, this week brought into stark focus that no matter how famous your parents are, there's no escaping embarrassment at their hands—particularly when those hands are working overtime in front of a crowd of YouTube-enabled masses.

Lourdes and Bobbi Kristina both gamely appeared at their respective mothers' sides in concert this week, the former with Madonna during her tour stop in Tel Aviv, the latter alongside the Comeback Kid on Good Morning America.

Both appeared to be enjoying the spotlight, albeit in a slightly out of their element kind of way—though while Lourdes suffered through what appeared to be an accidental headlock at the hands of her mama, B.K., after Houston ordered a minion to produce an extra microphone, stat, did manage to get out a few words.

One of which, miraculously, was not Mo-oooom.

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Someone get Whitney Houston a lozenge.

It's a good thing Good Morning America didn't choose to go live with the songbird's Central Park performance Monday. She arrived with a case of hoarseness verging on laryngitis. Thankfully, not airing the appearance until today bought the ABC morning show a little time to spread the word that the comeback show's weakness was Oprah Winfrey's fault.

According to the New York Daily News, Whitney apologized for all the vocal cracking, adding, "I'm so sorry. I did Oprah. I've been talking for so long."

Still, she pushed through, although the performances themselves were not without a dash of strangeness.

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Our long national musical nightmare is over. Mariah Carey's, on the other hand, is just beginning.

After years of promised but undelivered singles, career-derailing reconciliations with Bobby Brown and, most recently, a string of potential-filled high-profile public appearances with Clive Davis, Whitney Houston has finally made good on her vow for a comeback, setting a Sept. 1 release date for her couldn't-be-more-anticipated new album.

"The wait is over," an announcement on the six-time Grammy winner's official website reads, as it ticks down the days (89 to go), hours, minutes and seconds until fans can get their hands on a copy of the still untitled record (it was previously referred to as Undefeated), the seventh studio album of her career.

Houston's first single, the Diane Warren-penned "I Didn't Know My Own Strength," is expected to be in radio rotation by the summer. No track listing has been released, though it's been rumored for months that the album, may also include a duet with R. Kelly.

Houston's last album of original material, Just Whitney, was released in 2002.

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