February 2000 Nippy News (Part II)

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The Whitney Weekday Request Campaign has been revamped again. The U.S. states have been divided by the letters of the alphabet. For example, if your last name begins with the letter "A," you can proceed to the row for "A" and call or e-mail any 3-5 radio stations in that section. The letters will change everyday. The goal for this new plan is to help ensure that each state gets votes everyday, without all of us voting in huge blocks. Check out the campaign list and you'll see how it works. Another Option For Anyone With E-mail that Includes a Line For BCC: (This does not apply to AOL users, who have to do this a different way.) If you try to send an e-mail message, you may notice that the window where you compose your message contains a line entitled "BCC." If you type a string of e-mail addresses, separated by commas, in this BCC line, you can send one message to any entire group of radio stations, and it will suppress the list of recipients. Therefore, the radio stations will not be able to see that you also sent the same message to other stations throughout the country. The only thing that they will notice is that they can't see who else received your message. If your e-mail software allows you to do this, check out this list of e-mail addresses from the Whitney Weekday Request Campaign. All you will have to do is write a message, and then copy and paste the e-mail addresses into your BCC line. DO NOT do this if your e-mail software does not provide a line called BCC!!! Since we don't want to look too suspicious, I'm also going to suggest that we do a mass BCC e-mail by the first letter of your last names. The letters will change everyday so we're not so obvious and over-bearing. We don't want to target these radio stations so heavily that they grow tired of us. If your last name begins with the letter "P," you can try this option today! Note: While the BCC method described above will be quite effective, it excludes many radio stations that do not provide direct e-mail addresses. Therefore, if you have five minutes, continue to check out the complete request list, because there are many links there that will take you to radio station web sites where you'll be able to send your e-mail message easily. Thanks!
2000/2/29
Song of the Week: Hear a very rare performance of Whitney singing the song "On The Far Side Of The Hill." This performance aired on Dutch TV in 1985 and was a duet with a TV show host. It's short and sweet! I've never heard this song before! (Thank you Jonathon Ashley) Be sure to listen to excerpts of Jonathon's new album at his web site! It's great! New Concert Audio! Listen to Whitney live in Vienna, Austria during her concert on October 22, 1999. The following songs are available to mailing list members only: Heartbreak Hotel - hear the ending of the song with the Jacksons' version. If I Told You That Saving All My Love For You - listen to what she does to "man's gonna do!" How Will I Know - some nice high notes! My Love Is Your Love - the reggae ending is very different! Vote for Whitney in this Brit Awards Poll for Best International Female Artist! You don't have to delete your cookies. It appears that the poll has been reset. In the magazine "CAPRICHO," they end our fantasies that Whitney might film the music video for "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" in Brazil with Enrique in March. Actually, the video Enrique is filming is "You're My #1." (Thanks Fernanda) I went to the Virgin music store on Monday and the "I Learned From The Best" single is No. 1 in San Francisco. Also, the "My Love Is Your Love" CD is back on the Top 50 Virgin charts at No. 48. (Thanks Cassell)
2000/2/28
Deborah Cox Speaks About Duet with Whitney: "By now you all have heard about the duet....... I am so elated and extremely excited at the idea. My Musical Director, Shep Crawford wrote the song. I will let you know more about it the closer we get to releasing it and as I write to you so I don't GIVE IT ALL UP!!!!! We will record it next week together." [This excerpt is from a new letter to Deborah Cox fans here.] (Thanks Rachel) According to VH-1, Whitney will be one of the presenters at this year's Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Class of 2000. It will air March 8th at 9/8 p.m. central time on VH-1. As we know, Arista Records' Clive Davis is one of the inductees. (Thanks Paula) After having the "Song Of The Year" in 1999 with INRBIO, Whitney gets back to the dance charts in Brazil, as "My Love Is Your Love" (Jonathan Peters Remix) is getting played a lot. At the dance clubs, they're now playing remixes of MLIYL, ILFTB and INRBIO (also, IWALY and HH, eventually). (Thanks Fernanda) Here's an old picture of Whitney and someone who is sadly no longer with us. The picture was taken several years ago. (Thanks Steve W.) Whitney is still No. 1 by far on France's Fun Radio "Fun List." This is amazing! Let's keep voting to let Whitney stay at No. 1 as long as possible! We can vote for her up to 5 times. (Thanks Julian S.) Let's vote for Whitney in this Favorite African American Actress poll! (Thanks Cynthia M.)
2000/2/27
Arista Responds: I sent an e-mail to Arista questioning the time release of Whitney's Greatest Hits and the ILFTB single. I received two responses: "From my understanding, and please keep in mind I am just the New Media person, we plan to release this single and have many remixes made available. In fact one song on the Greatest Hits will be a remix of ILFTB. We do not want to slow down the success of MLIYL, but we do want to get the Greatest Hits package out before the summer and close to the 25th Anniversary of the label. Here is some more info for you: The Top 40 Remix of ILFTB will be on the Greatest Hits album. Urban is out with the ballad as is AC. We impact Feb 28." (Thank you Danny) Here is Part 2 of the GLOA remix by DJ Amanda that combines the original piano version and the later strings version over each other. It's similar to the GLOA Club 69 remix, but the harmony of the two versions is completely new. Very interesting! (Thank you Rachel) U.K. Chart News Update...
2000/2/26
Let's vote for Whitney in this Brit Awards Poll for Best International Female Artist! You don't have to delete your cookies. (Thanks Storm) The Platinum Club is selling a videotape called "The Making of My Love Is Your Love." It sounds like it may be the same short video featuring Whitney and the album's producers that we first saw when the album was released in 1998. (Thanks Julian S.)
2000/2/25
Additional Grammy Notes: The other day on the Rosie O'Donnell Show, clips of Whitney's rehearsal for the Grammys were shown, as well as she and Rosie clowning around. Whitney also interviewed herself for Rosie, stating that 'NSYNC was supposed to be there doing it but they were late. She talked about the Grammy party she attended hosted by Arista. On MTV's pre-Grammy show, John Norris interviewed Monica, who said she was looking forward to seeing all her labelmates win, namely Santana, TLC and Whitney. Right after, Britney Spears joined and when asked who she was looking forward to see perform, she said it had to be Whitney because she has such an amazing voice. On Grammy night, when Will Smith opened the show with his single "Freakin' It," he added a new line to the song. While performing, he pointed at Whitney and said, "Yo Whitney, I'm about to freak this." Note that Whitney's name does not appear in the actual song. He improvised and it sounded cool. On yesterday's Inside Edition program, they wondered if a feud was growing between Whitney and Rosie O'Donnell. When Rosie made a joke about Whitney, the diva's hand went up in the air but the camera didn't get a shot of Whitney's hand itself. An eye witness who was near Whitney said that it was only her folded fist. Sources from both camps deny that there is any bad blood between them. E! News Daily also reported the same story. On CBS This Morning, reporter Mark McEwen was backstage at the Grammys and interviewed Whitney. He congratulated her on winning and commended her on her dress. He asked her how she keeps up in this new millenium since she basically ruled the 90's. She said that Bobby and Bobbi Kristina are her biggest cheerleaders and that her daughter is a fan of Lil' Kim, 'NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys and those sort of people, so therefore she has to know how to keep up and she knows just how to do that. (Thank you Carolyn) I listen to KIIS-FM (102.7 FM) in Los Angeles. The other day, MLIYL was the No. 1 requested song of the day. A couple of weeks ago it was at No. 2, so it's really hanging around. It has been beating 'NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys. Hopefully they'll start playing ILFTB as soon as we all start requesting it! (Thanks Ralph M.) Last night, Tom Jones was interviewed on Cadena 40 Spain. They asked him about sexy women today, and he said that Whitney Houston is a very sexy woman, but her sexuality comes from her voice, and she doesn't need to move to show it, only sing. (Thanks Pablo J.)
2000/2/24
New Screen Captures! Check out pictures of Whitney at Arista's pre-Grammy party, and at the Grammy Awards! ABC News aired a story about Arista's pre-Grammy celebration. After the party, Rodney Jerkins was interviewed. He said the lead single to spearhead Whitney's Greatest Hits package will be a remake of her great "If I Told You That" song from MLIYL. It will be a duet with George Michael, with some new mixes. (Thanks Kevin A.) From entertainment trade paper Variety: "Producer/songwriter Rodney Jerkins has a busy schedule in the next several weeks. He will be producing... a duet between Whitney Houston and George Michael." (Thanks Dave W.) On the Charts: ILFTB remains at NUMBER ONE on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, but suffers a decline in airplay. We should see a chart increase as sales for the new U.S. single start to impact the song's chart position. However, it's very important that we keep requesting the song! Also check out chart news from France... Listen to this great new remix, known as "Whitney's Got The Groove!" It combines "It's Not Right But It's Okay" with the 1999 house anthem, "Got the Groove" to create a new remix. It just came out and the response in the clubs here has been phenomenal. It's breathed new life into both songs at once it seems. (Thank you Rachel) Here are some additional press photos of Whitney at Grammy events: Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3, Picture 4 , Picture 5, Picture 6, Picture 7, Picture 8, Picture 9 (Thanks Ruben, Emanuel R.) Here's a nice picture of Whitney and Bobby at the Arista Grammy party from USA Today. (Thanks Paula) Let's vote for Whitney in the following polls! Fave Female Solo Singer Fave Solo Artists Fave Song Another Fave Song poll Favorite Artist Another Favorite Artist poll (Thanks Francis L.)
2000/2/23
Whitney wins her sixth Grammy Award, this time for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "It's Not Right But It's Okay!" New RealAudio and RealVideo! Whitney's medley of "It's Not Right But It's Okay" and "I Learned From The Best" has been divided into two parts to allow for better video quality. Click here for the following: It's Not Right But It's Okay - Grammy Awards RealVideo I Learned From The Best - Grammy Awards RealVideo INRBIO/ILFTB - Grammy Awards RealAudio Click here for additional RealVideo and RealAudio: Whitney's Acceptance Speech - RealVideo and RealAudio Arista's Pre-Grammy Party - RealVideo (See Whitney sing "This Will Be" with Natalie Cole!) Grammy Awards Screen Captures coming soon! Many thanks to BET: Whitney-fan.com was mentioned on BET today when they played Whitney's music video for "Heartbreak Hotel!" (Thanks Tony L.) Last night, NBC's Later show featured Clive Davis who spoke candidly on Whitney and his career, among other issues. The show also showed a clip of Whitney performing at the 1983 Songwriters showcase in LA, after which she was signed. Clive had the following to say about Whitney: When I saw her singing with her mom's act, I signed her. Right after signing her, I was given the opportunity to bring her to a national TV show. I introduced her as someone for the next generation, who would have the fiery gospel feel and talent of an Aretha Franklin but be able to add to it her own unique blend of the sultry elegance and lyric-praising of Lena Horne. So that is what Whitney Houston has become! Because in our musical world, not withstanding what you read or hear, when you ask a producer or songwriter who is the best contemporary singer of the world today, it is really Whitney Houston. She has come back from all her movie roles to show everybody else how it's done. (Thanks John G.) It turns out that USA Today was incorrect earlier today when it reported that Whitney would appear "in a Wizard of Oz motif that opens in Kansas and ends in a big production number." That performance was actually by Britney Spears. Here are Grammy rehearsal pictures of Whitney from the official awards web site:
Picture 1 Picture 2 Picture 3	Picture 4 Picture 5 Picture 6
At the Grammys web site, you also can download a video clip of Whitney's Grammy performance of "Greatest Love Of All!" (Thanks Eddy VB)
2000/2/22
According to Wall of Sound and "Los 40 Principales," the largest radio station in Spain, Whitney will perform a medley of "It's Not Right But It's Okay/I Learned From the Best" at the Grammy Awards tomorrow night! Wall of Sound also says that Whitney will be the sixth performer that evening following Will Smith, the Dixie Chicks, Marc Anthony, Buena Vista Social Club and Ricky Martin. (Thank you Laura) This is the cover to the U.S. single of "I Learned From The Best," which was released today! The tracklisting is written below from earlier reports. Here's an article from USA Today about Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy party, which is always a huge event. Whitney is scheduled to perform at the party tonight. Be on the look-out for entertainment news coverage of this party tomorrow on TV. Tomorrow's Grammy TV schedule: VH-1 (6-8 p.m. EST) - "Live At the Grammys" will cover arrivals, preparations and award presentations that won't be televised during the main show. CBS-TV (7-8 p.m. EST) - One hour pre-show before the official ceremony begins. It won't air throughout the U.S., so check your local listings if you're interested. E! - (6-8 p.m. EST) - This pre-show will cover arrivals. MTV - (7 p.m. EST) - MTV News' "Backstage At The Grammys." For fans who can't watch the Grammy Awards on TV: You can try watching the webcast here tomorrow night. The Grammy Awards begin at 8 p.m. EST. According to Billboard's The Rhythm & The Blues column, the NAACP Image Awards will air on April 8th on FOX-TV at 8 p.m. EST. As we know, Whitney won the award for Outstanding Female Artist. (Thanks Ralph M.)
2000/2/21
According to commercials on CBS-TV, Whitney will perform during the first hour of the Grammy Awards. In addition, Access Hollywood reported today that Will Smith will open the show, so we should expect Whitney at some point relatively soon afterward. Arista's weekly newsletter adds to the Greatest Hits promotion by further spreading the news that Whitney's Greatest Hits album will be released in May. And as reported yesterday, Arista also will release a Greatest Hits video and DVD! (Thanks Nimer) Arista has begun promoting Whitney's Greatest Hits via giant posters in record stores, such as the Virgin Megastore in New York City's Times Square and in front of BMG's nearby building. This picture (without the text, of course) is being used for the poster, and is it absolutely not an indication of what the Greatest Hits cover may look like. The poster says Whitney's Greatest Hits will be released this Spring on CD, VHS and DVD. (Thank you Julian S.) Release Reminder! As we know, the ILFTB U.S. single will be released tomorrow. It's time to go shopping! ILFTB has finally been listed at MTV's Total Request Live page, so let's get our votes in! Just remember to delete your cookies! While we're at it, let's remember to vote in the following important polls, which will both be televised: Blockbuster Entertainment Awards MTV Total Request Live Grammy Poll All Whitney polls are here! Let's vote for Whitney's MLIYL as Best R&B Album in Access Hollywood's Grammy poll! Just be sure to delete your cookies! The show will likely televise the results of the poll. (Thanks JC)
2000/2/20
I was able to get a copy of the maxi CD single of "I Learned From The Best" coming out this Tuesday and the cover is different than previous releases. The cover is a color still from the music video of Whitney holding out her hand singing into the microphone. It does not look like this promo. But most importantly, the back says at the bottom: "Look for Whitney's Greatest Hits Album, VHS, & DVD coming Spring 2000." The tracklisting is: 1) HQ2 Uptempo Radio Mix 4:19 2) Jr Vasquez Disco Radio Mix 4:22 3) HQ2 Club Mix 10:25 4) Jr Vasquez USA Millennium Mix 11:24 5) Jr Vasquez Disco Club Mix 9:18 6) HQ2 Dub 8:45 7) Jr Vasquez UK Radio Mix 4:50 8) Original Version 4:09 (Thank you Joe) New RealVideo: See Whitney's performance of "Home" from the Merv Griffen Show in 1983. You can also listen to the already-existing RealAudio file. (Many thanks Eddy VB) U.K. Chart News Update... Let's vote for Whitney at these two new polls: Best Vocal Skills (R&B Female) Favorite Whitney Song (Thanks Cynthia)
2000/2/19
Here is RealVideo of a brief interview with Whitney regarding her Grammy nominations this year. The clip aired today on the "Grammy Countdown" show on CBS-TV. According to Amazon.com, this is the track listing for the U.S. single for "I Learned From The Best": 1. I Learned From The Best - (original version) 2. I Learned From The Best - (HQ2 Uptempo Remix) 3. I Learned From The Best - (Junior Vasquez Disco Mix) (Thanks Dan L.) CDNOW lists the U.S. ILFTB maxi 12" single as a DOUBLE vinyl set. From Top50 Online: Whitney's MLIYL album is about to be certified Diamond for 1 million units in France. It was at more than 700,000 units sold at the end of October, and became the 12th best-selling album in France for 1999. Whitney is only one of 6 artists who stayed on the Top 75 Albums chart all year with one album. French artists represent 41.8% of the chart's sales, which proves that Whitney's No. 12 positon is especially good for an international artist. Albums don't usually stay more than 10 weeks on the albums chart, but Whitney has stayed there for 66 weeks now! In addition, the MLIYL single ranked at No. 33, WYB at No. 64 and HH at No. 65 among the 491 singles that entered the French charts in 1999. WYB was certified Gold (250,000). (Thank you Julian S.) Here are some Whitney items at the Yahoo! auction site: Dancin' Special remix CD IWALY 3-track CD single "My Heart Is Calling" CD single
2000/2/18
MTV's Total Request Live debuted Whitney's ILFTB video today. They played the remix video, which was re-edited to suit the uptempo music. But it was still Whitney standing and singing in front of an audience, although the new editing makes it appear more active than the original version. The audience clapping was included as well. Whitney herself did not make a live appearance on the show. Since the ILFTB video has now made its official MTV TRL debut, we should request the song as much as possible to get it played regularly. Just remember to delete your cookies! From Hollywood Reporter: Before CBS' live telecast of the Grammy Awards, there will be a simulcast of "Live at the Grammys" on 16 CBS stations and VH1. The show will cover arrivals, backstage preparations and the presentation of awards that have not previously been part of the annual broadcast. "Live at the Grammys" coverage will air from 6-8 p.m. EST on VH1, 4-5 p.m. and 6:30-8 p.m. on KCBS in Los Angeles and as one-hour or half-hour specials on other CBS stations. Check Your Local Listings: There is a show called "Grammy Countdown" that will air tomorrow (February 19th) at 7 p.m. EST on CBS-TV. The host, singer Gloria Estefan, will present interviews with this year's Grammy nominees. Whitney is one of the artists listed. If you miss it, TV Guide's web site says it will air again on February 23rd at 1:35 a.m. EST. (Thanks Rita)
2000/2/17
Important Greatest Hits News From MTV: The GHP is now scheduled for release sometime in May, and will include a duet with Deborah Cox. In addition, it will include a song written by Q-Tip and Raphael Saadiq. Read the full story here... Whitney will be named Female Artist of the Decade at the Soul Train Music Awards! Here's the full article! On the Charts: ILFTB remains at NUMBER ONE on the Hot Dance Music Club/Play chart as the song holds steady and waits for a commercial single to be released next week. Read the complete statistics... Note to Whitney Collectors: A new Divas Live/99 DVD will be released on April 4th. The show will be remastered for the DVD, which will include discographies, filmographies and soundbites from Whitney and the rest of the divas. Streaming clips also will be offered at CDNOW. Read the details... There is a special Music.com "Eastpak Grammy Contest" where you can win a "Whitney Houston Special Edition Grammy package." Check it out! (Thanks Julian S.) Arista's Davis talking with BMG, other labels... MTV has a poll asking who we think made the best singer-actor transition. Some of the choices include Whitney, Brandy and Will Smith. Let's vote for Whitney! (Thanks Terrance)
2000/2/16
According to a BMG press release, Whitney will attend the BMG Grammy after-party on February 23rd. As reported earlier, Whitney also will attend Arista's pre-Grammy bash on February 22nd. French Chart News Update... Let's vote for Whitney at the Wall of Sound Grammy poll! As of tonight, Whitney is ranked at third place for Best R&B Album. Let's get her to the top! (Thanks Nic) And don't forget to vote for Whitney in these other polls, particularly the first two polls (Blockbuster Awards and MTV TRL Grammy Edition) at the top of the list! Our voting will actually make an impact because the first two polls involve televised events. According to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, one of Sweden's biggest radio stations (P3) has made a list of last year's most-played songs. Whitney hit No. 3 with "My Love Is Your Love." (Thanks Pontus) If you missed the earlier Nippy News, use the News Archive or the news log.