R&B singer, portrayed as 'extremely unfocused' in magazine article, scheduled to sing Monday at Los Angeles show.

Contributing Editor Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen reports:


Singer Whitney Houston is set to return to Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium for her first public performance since she canceled an appearance there at the Oscars last month.

That cancellation - the latest in a string of no-shows the singer blamed on throat problems - along with a highly publicized cover story in Jane magazine, has caused speculation about Houston's health and career status.

Houston will join Carlos Santana, Puff Daddy and other R&B, rock, pop and country performers in honor of Arista Records' 25th anniversary Monday, according to a release from the label. A spokesperson for Arista said the label is expecting Houston to perform.

Houston canceled her scheduled performance at the Academy Awards ceremony March 26, as well as a March 6 performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, claiming throat problems. Houston's publicist said Wednesday that the singer is in good health and that she is scheduled to sing at Monday night's show.

The 36-year-old singer is the subject of a cover story in the May issue of Jane, in which she's described as showing up for a photo shoot four hours late. The article's author, Tony Romando, writes that observers at the photo shoot said Houston was "extremely unfocused, had trouble keeping her eyes open and kept singing and playing an imaginary piano." Houston said she was late for the shoot because she had to go to the dentist for a cracked tooth.

In the article, Houston also addressed January reports that she was stopped at a Hawaii airport when security officers allegedly found marijuana in one of her bags. Houston left the airport before police arrived and has not been charged on any counts.

"It wasn't anything like it went down [in the press]," Houston told the magazine. "It's like in here [points to her heart]. I want to get it out, but I can't because it's gonna cause a lot of sh--."

Houston's publicist did not return a response to questions about the magazine article or the singer's recurring health problems. Houston canceled concerts in Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tenn., and Concord, Calif., in July and August, citing throat problems.

Mark Campana of concert promotion firm SFX Entertainment in Detroit said such cancellations could have an effect on the singer's ability to book shows in the future.

"When an artist has a history of missing shows, you have to evaluate the risk versus reward [rationale] of booking that artist," Campana said. "A preponderance of absenteeism is one of the variables that figures into the decision."

Quincy McCoy, the senior editor for urban formats at the radio trade publication Gavin, said an artist's personal troubles have little effect on airplay. "All radio guys are concerned about is how popular she is," McCoy said. "She'd have to kill [somebody] to lose radio interest. That's how big she is."

Houston's latest album, 1999's My Love Is Your Love, yielded the hit singles "It's Not Right But It's Okay" and "I Learned From the Best," which is #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, down from #28 last week.