Entertainment For Lively Minds
if thinking of seeing whitney houston - beware
Australian tour report
WHITNEY Houston tried to rehabilitate her fading reputation as a singer last night amid growing criticism of her Australian tour.
The 46-year-old took to the stage at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena, where the top tickets cost $195, despite widespread claims that she could no longer live up to the demands of a world-class show.
It is Houston's first tour in a decade and her first to Australia in 22 years. In her early years, she made her name with a string of hits and the film The Bodyguard, winning a Grammy Award for the soundtrack.
But after her struggles with substance abuse and a failed marriage to Bobby Brown, Houston has battled to regain her glory.
Her imperfect singing, lack of stamina and poor health have all been under fire on this latest tour, which began in Brisbane last week before moving to Sydney then the Hunter Valley over the weekend.
In a comment that has been picked up by websites around the world, from The New York Times to blogs about music, one fan said Houston "couldn't entertain a dead rat". Even fans on her official website are debating whether Houston's magic has gone.
On Melbourne's 3AW yesterday, entertainment commentator Peter Ford was scathing of her weekend show.
"It was embarrassingly bad," he said. "My message to Whitney this morning is welcome to Melbourne and time to give it up, girl. Because this is just a sham tour that is not going to get any better."
Local promoter Andrew McManus went to ground yesterday, failing to return repeated phone calls and emails ahead of Houston's sold-out Melbourne concert. He has reportedly refused to refund tickets to upset fans.
Houston is due to play on Thursday in Adelaide before returning to Melbourne on Saturday for a concert where the top price is $285. Her tour then moves to Europe, with performances in Paris, Manchester, Glasgow and other cities.
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Full horror here
It's a car crash, a train wreck.
http://idontlikeyouinthatway.com/2010/02/whitney-houston-may-want-to-cal...
Ouch.
The real tragedy there is the gulf between the triumphant fiery rebirth Whitney believes we're experiencing, and what we're actually seeing, which is someone who can't sing any more.
All right, Mr De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up
Either that or just Late Garlandism at its judiest.
Shit
Looks like the GLW's christmas present is going to be a bit of a let down, cost me pretty much a 100 quid each as well!
The Wisdom of Olga Korbut
When your fame comes from gymnastics and gymnastics alone, there comes a day when it's time to put the parallel bars back in the box and stick them up in the attic.
Even the mighty Celine Dion - about whom many an unkind word has been spoken, without, as far as I'm aware, "crackhead" ever figuring among them - is no poulet de printemps these days. She's now said to rely on pre-recorded backing tracks for the Titanic jobby and her other showpieces, rather than risk not giving her audiences what they've paid big, big money to "hear".
To ensure that the punters don't feel completely hoodwinked, she saves all her energy for just one "signature" note every show - the one in Eric Carmen's "All By Myself". On a good night she manages to pull out the big one. On a not so good night she sounds like a garroted tomcat. (If you can get past the third one here, you're made of far sterner stuff than I.)
Whitney Houston is 46. Celine Dion is 41. Olga Korbut is 53.
"couldn't entertain a dead rat"
In fairness to Whitney, asking her to do that is a pretty tall order isn't it? She's a singer, not a rodental resurrectionist surely?
In my next career move
I want to be a rodental resurrectionist
I thought you
wanted to get out of the rat race?
Rodental Recurrectionists
"...and there'll be three more from them later."
Houston
She has a problem.
I know
a great story about W.H. imparted to me by a music biz type , apparently (snip,snip ......word lawyers)and the smell of fish hung heavily in the air.
Damn shame says I
- lord knows her music and I would never have got along - what she did to Rik Waller's I will Always Love You was a travesty - however I remember seeing her on The Word before it became a tip top music weekly and was merely a post-pub friday night car crash of a tellyprog. She was lovely. Funny, entertaining, down to earth. She gamely had a go at Terry Christian's Manc accent and seemed like she was genuinely having fun.
I hope she is on her way to better days.