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"I Have Nothing" on a 45 RPM vinyl

Thu, 17 May 2012 09:15:19 +0000

Okay, okay, how cool is THIS? I'm subscribed to this guy on YouTube, and this was one of his recent uploads:

Kim Burrell Shines Light on Whitney's Faith (Short clip of Whitney singing in Kim's church)

Thu, 17 May 2012 08:35:10 +0000

Video with Whitney singing in Kim's Church

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2012/May/Kim-Burrell-Whitney-Houstons-Faith-Cant-Be-Ignored/

Kim Burrell Shines Light on Whitney Houston's Faith

HOUSTON -- Whitney Houston's death continues to make headlines yet the media often ignores one part of the iconic star's life -- her faith.

Houston grew up in the church and is the daughter of the legendary singer and choir director Cissy Houston. Cissy Houston returned to the recording studio after her daughter's death to put the finishing touches on "Walk on By Faith," her newly released gospel CD.

Whitney Houston's faith is the side of the star that gospel singer Kim Burrell knew best. The longtime friends bonded the moment they met outside Houston's childhood church in Newark, N.J. The Houston family had invited Burrell to sing at Whitney's father's funeral.

The two talked nearly every week after that first meeting. Their last phone conversation was just hours before Houston died at hotel in California. Burrell was preparing to fly to Los Angeles to attend a Grammy party with Whitney and her daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

Burrell recalled some of the details of that conversation in an interview with CBN News at her offices in Houston, Texas.

"Bobbi Kristina listens to me every day in her iPod and so Bobbi Kris was on the phone saying, 'Aunty Kim, mommy is just trying to be too hard on me right now,' and I say 'It is going to be okay,'" she said.

"But that was our last conversation one on one. But of course, her voice is on my phone that day," she said.

Power Struggle

"She lost to struggle," Burrell said, recalling the moment she learned her best friend died. "Some people live with them for a long, long time. And at times, I am just so glad that she is out of that. I miss her calling to get advice and pray for it."

Cocaine use was a contributing cause to Whitney Houston's accidental drowning. The coroner's report was possibly the last public display of her battle to beat drug addiction.

Burrell was by Whitney's side after some of those early struggles. She even moved in with Houston in Atlanta following a stay in a rehabilitation facility.

Kim Burrell talks more about living with Whitney following a stay in rehab and their emotional night out at the movies. Click play to watch.

Burrell recalled being overwhelmed just walking through the door. The home was filled with flowers, well wishes, and an uncomfortable spirit.

"People were sending her stuff and I remember … even Sharon Osbourne had even sent her this extremely expensive ring that she thought was a spiritual thing for her," Burrell recalled.

"These people were trying to do whatever they believed in, for the spirits to make them better, they were sending [these] to her. So a lot of that was in the room," she said. "And I didn't even know it at the time."

"When I walked in, I could feel it. I said, 'Whitney, we need to pray. If I am going to stay here, I have got to pray,'" Burrell recalled. "She said, 'Okay.' And we got down on our knees and the Holy Ghost came hit me and I started speaking in tongues, I was holding her hand, and I felt her take her hand out of my hand."

"When I turned her hand lose she said, 'Kim, I didn't mean any harm, but I jerked my hand out because I felt electricity,'" she explained. "And I said, 'It's the power of God.'"

Whitney's Call to Preach

Burrell believes that power is what drew Whitney to her. Burrell is the founder and pastor of Love & Liberty Fellowship Church in Houston. Whitney Houston was there for the entire first week of services.

"The look on her face when I was preaching, it blew me away because she was so fixed. Whitney wanted this," Burrell said. "She wanted it. You better hear me: Whitney wanted it. She wanted to preach."

Whitney Houston more than just wanted to preach. Rev. Al Jones, the pastor of Revelation International Ministries in Norfolk, Va., prophesied to Houston that preaching was her calling. Jones was one of the ministers visiting Burrell's church during the week Houston was there.

"That voice is no longer for the world," Jones told the singer during the service. "That voice if for the kingdom … God said her total voice is coming back to preach."

Jones recalled that prophesy.

He said, "I believe that she awakened to her purpose. I saw it, along with you, how the Spirit of the Lord took her over, how even the gift of tongues, the anointing of the Holy Spirit overwhelmed her," Jones said.

"But when she left the hotel, got on the plane, and went home to face her world's reality. What happened, I don't know. You don't know," he said.

Burrell's Ongoing War

Whitney's life has touched people around the world. Her bond with Burrell has also left a door open for the pastor and gospel singer to reach out to other celebrities.

"They need God in a way that they can let him slow-drip, like an IV to get in their vein and work out sin," Burrell said. "I will keep on fighting. It's the war I am in."

Bobby Brown Breaks Silence; Says �I�m Not The Reason Whitney�s Gone�

Thu, 17 May 2012 06:35:20 +0000

Bobby Brown Breaks Silence; Says “I’m Not The Reason Whitney’s Gone”

It’s been almost three months since Whitney Houston tragically passed away. And, save for headlines generated at her funeral along with those from a drink-driving arrest, estranged ex Bobby Brown has maintained a notable silence. Until now.
Sitting down with Matt Lauer on the Today Show, Brown finally opened up about his former wife’s demise, being blamed for it, his relationship with daughter Bobbi Kristina, his relationship with her, and a whole lot more.
Set to air on Wednesday, you can peep interesting soundbites from the feature below …

Via Today Show:
When asked about the last time he saw Houston, a week or so before she died, Brown says the iconic singer “had this glow about her that was just, you know, incredible. I’m saying to myself, you know, ‘She must be … she must be doing really well,’ because she looked really well.”
Brown says Houston, to whom he was married for 15 years, “looked like she was in a good place.”
Lauer asks Brown how he took the news that cocaine was a likely contributor to the death of Houston, 48, who was found in a bathtub in a Beverly Hills hotel on Feb. 11.
“I was hurt. I was hurt … because, you know, me being off of narcotics for the last seven years, I felt that she was, you know, I didn’t know she was struggling with it still. But at the same time, you know, listen, it’s a hard fight. It’s a hard fight to, you know, maintain sobriety that way.”
Based on his own feelings and how she appeared when he last saw her, Brown theorizes that that one day of cocaine use — not the effects of longterm use — was enough to kill Houston. “It had to be that one, because that’s all it takes,” Brown said. “One hit, you know … it could definitely take your life away from you. And, unfortunately, that was it.”
Lauer pressed the 43-year-old R&B star on the talk after Houston’s death. “If I heard it once, I heard it a hundred times, and I know you heard it too,” Lauer said. “Fans, people who say they were close to Whitney, say her life went downhill when she met Bobby Brown. How does it make you feel when you hear it?”
“It makes me feel terrible,” Brown said. “But you know, I know differently. I think if anyone ever knew us, if anybody ever spent time around us instead of time lookin’ through the bubble, they would know how we felt about each other. They would know how happy we were together.”
Brown says the couple got a wakeup call from starring in the reality TV series “Being Bobby Brown.” “We looked at the bubble and saw ourselves. We was able to see what other people were saying about us, you know? We was able to see that our drug use had affected our relationship, had affected the love that we felt for each other.”
But when asked by Lauer about the popular perception that he is the one responsible for getting Houston hooked on drugs, Brown says, “not true.”
“I didn’t get high [on narcotics] before I met Whitney,” Brown said. “I smoked weed, I drank the beer, but no, I wasn’t the one that got Whitney on drugs at all.” He says drugs were a part of the singer’s life “way before” they got together.
“It’s just … it’s just unexplainable how one could, you know, [say that I] got her addicted to drugs. I’m not the reason she’s gone,” Brown said.
___________________

LaPrincia said on Facebook that this airs on Wednesday.

On Topic: Weekly Albums Chart Data (May 6, 2012)

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:57:54 +0000

I'm starting a new topic for the charts dated in May 2012. I'm only posting the charts that are relevant for Whitney.

Teachers dance behind students in prank video set to Whitney Houston song

Wed, 16 May 2012 23:27:29 +0000

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/teachers-dance-behind-students-prank-video-set-whitney-202944093.html

HAHAHA!!

Houston family reality show starring Bobbi Kristina and Cissy

Wed, 16 May 2012 23:02:48 +0000

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/reality-show-featuring-houston-family-including-bobby-kristina-is-planned/2012/05/11/gIQAcjjNIU_story.html

Whitney To Be Honored in Next VH1 Divas Tribute

Wed, 16 May 2012 19:58:23 +0000

Hi Everyone this is my first thread I hope it hasn't already been posted I got this from CW I can't wait to see it!!!

As part of a renewed focus on music, the network will tape the performance in Los Angeles in December, with Houston's longtime musical director Rickey Minor on board as executive producer.

VH1 will pay tribute to Whitney Houston for its next installment of VH1 Divas, Billboard has learned. The network will tape the performance in Los Angeles in December, with Houston's longtime musical director Rickey Minor on board as executive producer. No artists have been confirmed for the tribute to Houston, a three-time performer on "Divas" in 1999, 2002 and 2003.

The tribute has already received the blessing of Houston's family and her label partners at Sony. "We all felt that if any show could pay tribute to Whitney's music, it would be Divas, VH1 president Tom Calderone tells Billboard. "December felt like enough time where it wouldn't be sad anymore, you'd want to celebrate her music."

Since debuting in 1998, "Divas" has become one of VH1's most-watched and best known franchises. Previous performers include Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Diana Ross, Cher, Tina Turner, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Adele and Kelly Clarkson. The 2011 installment, VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul, attracted 1.3 million total viewers and doubled the previous year's average rating, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Houston's Divas tribute will cap off a year of renewed investment in music programming for VH1, which has been talking up its 2012-13 "upfront" slate to advertisers and agencies since January in private presentations (the network did not hold a formal upfront event this year, unlike Viacom sibling MTV). Calderone says music accounts for about 33% of the network's airtime, including re-energized franchises Storytellers, Unplugged (a partnership with MTV), Behind The Music and Pop Up Video as well as newer programs like The Greatest and weekday talk show Big Morning Buzz Live. VH1 is expected to debut a new take on a "Where Are They Now?"-style series later this summer.

Online, VH1 has amped up its music coverage via a new blog, Tuner, dedicated to premiering new VH1 music content as well as music news that has no correlation to on-air programming. Since debuting to 202,000 unique visitors in November, the blog saw significant gains in February (715,000) and March (318,000), according to Omniture. Calderone calls it a "concierge"-like service to VH1's music fans. "They go to maybe three or four shows a year, and if Coldplay is the band they want to see, who else might they like? Through Tuner and 'You Oughta Know,' now we can introduce them to bands like Gotye who's kind of like Peter Gabriel meets Coldplay and create a really cool, immersive experience with music."

Emerging-artist platform "You Oughta Know" continues to spotlight new talent through on-air promos and featured synchs with VH1 programming. Current artists featured include Gotye, Scars on 45, Ed Sheeran, K'Naan, Graffiti 6 and Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings.

Music also factors into VH1 reality programs like T.I. and Tiny, starring the "Bring 'Em Out" rapper, and Couples Therapy, which co-stars DMX, as well as scripted drama Single Ladies, produced by Queen Latifah and set to co-star T.I., Eve, Romeo and Latifah during its second season.

The renewed focus on music seems to have paired well with reality series like Mob Wives and Basketball Wives -- the network was up 33% year-over-year among adults 18 to 49 in the first quarter of 2012, according to Nielsen Media Research, and just finished April with another 33% increase in the demo. Episodes of Behind The Music featuring Aaliyah, Brandy and Nas helped fuel the ratings growth, as did specials like Whitney Houston: Death of a Diva and The 100 Greatest Women In Music.

As VH1 narrows its focus on an audience it calls "adultsters," or older millennials in the 26-to-30-year-old age group, expect more music-themed programming geared toward late-90s nostalgia hitting the network's prime-time and online platforms. "As fans want to learn more about the stories the artists have, and maybe they can't maintain a full hour of Behind The Music or another one of our programs, you can imagine how Tuner would be a nice complement," Calderone says.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/whitney-houston-vh1-divas-tribute-321682

Celebrity Tributes to Whitney Houston

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:37:15 +0000

Alicia Keys - I Wanna Dance With Somebody & Speech

Aretha Franklin

Kim Burrell

LL Cool J

Clive Davis

McDonald's Gospel Fest 2012 - Cissy & Gary Houston to perform Whitney tribute (May 12)

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:12:22 +0000

Tomorrow!

Gospelfest salutes Whitney Houston

Some fans of the late Whitney Houston felt a bit of a void during the closed-to-the-public funeral for the singer in February.

That void will be filled at the 29th annual McDonald’s Gospelfest at the Prudential Center in Newark as the evening will feature a tribute to the late Houston. It will be a moment for fans to show their love for Houston, a Newark native and former resident of Mendham, and her family.

“It will be a moment in history,” said A. Curtis Farrow, producer of the Gospelfest who also helped organize Houston’s funeral service in February. “We, especially us who are from New Jersey and live in New Jersey, we’re proud of our fellow New Jerseyans. We’re going to celebrate the life of Whitney Elizabeth Houston, our sister.”

And daughter. The day will see the first public performance of Whitney’s mom, Cissy Houston, since Whitney’s passing. Houston’s brother, Gary Houston, will lead the tribute, which will be attended by the entire Houston family, including daughter Bobbi Kristina, Farrow said.

“It’s her first professional performance since losing her baby daughter,” said Farrow of Cissy’s appearance. “She’s doing two songs and then there’s a video tribute. The New Hope Baptist Church with Gary Houston will sing ‘Let The Church Say Amen,’ which is the last song Marvin Winans sang before (Whitney’s) ‘I Will Always Love You’ was played (at the funeral).”

In February, the experience of standing outside the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where he funeral was held, or watching and listening the proceedings on TV, radio and online, was too remote for some grieving fans. The service was rumored to have been held in the Prudential Center at the time.

“We’re not sure how that got out but it was never going to be there,” Farrow said. “It was always going to be at New Hope Baptist Church where Cissy Houston has been minister of music for over 60 years.”

“She wanted to send her baby home the way she wanted to.”

The theme of Gospelfest this year is “Honor Thy Mother” and Shirley Caesar, Donnie McClurkin, Mary Mary, Fred Hammond, Vickie Winans and Steve Harvey will also perform.

There will also be a Gospelfest at Gospelfest, and this year crop of talent features a large sampling of Central Jersey and Jersey Shore participants, including the Greater Central Jersey Community Choir of Plainfield in the adult choir field; Brielle and Sauniq of Rahway in the group field; Keith Bellamy, Asbury Park; Jimmy Frage, Avenel and Naziyah Walton, Neptune in junior; Kingdom Disciples, Plainfield and Calvary Baptist Praise Dancers, Lake Como in praise solo-trio; Darryl Gates, aka “SY-1,” Long Branch, in rap; Reginald Cain, Hillside; Sharmane Gilliam, aka “Quint Essence,” Asbury Park; Diella Thomas, Jackson and Zal Walton, Neptune in solo and the 100 Voices of Hillside, Hillside and the Macedonia Youth Choir, Neptune in the youth choir category.

They’ll go up against talent from the Tri-State area.

“New Jersey is a hotbed for gospel,” Farrow said. “It’s a gospel state.”

http://www.mycentral...&nclick_check=1

BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS doing a tribute to our Whitney!

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:11:13 +0000

Got This From CW:

I just saw a commercial on ABC that the Billboard Music Awards is planning a tribute to Whitney! It airs on Sunday, May 20th!