Well, I went to the Arista 25th Anniversary show and it was AWESOME!! Everyone gave excellent performances. Especially Whitney!!! At first I thought that Carlos Santana's act was going to be incredibly hard for Whitney to follow up, but boy was I wrong! My reasoning is because I had talked to her and Bobby after the first set of the show and when Natalie Cole interrupted our conversation (I'm a little bitter, LOL), Whitney said, "Hey Girl!" and her voice was raspy. I was a little worried, but kept my faith because she was in such high spirits and she and Bobby were SOOOO nice!!

She didn't have time to give me an autograph because she was going backstage to change and start warming up. I did, however, get Bobby's and Cissy's autograph. Bobby had originally walked Whitney backstage, but said that he'd "take care of me" when he came back. "Is that cool, partner?" he said. I told him yeah and once he came back, I walked up to him and he signed it and thanked me for coming back. He also said, "Thanks for supporting me and my wife."

Now...when Carlos Santana performed he brought the house down! And I mean really brought the house down! I was thinking how hard it was going to be for Whitney to follow that act, but she showed me and the rest of the audience! She had some initial problems with one of her amps, but this was prior to her entrance, so after the sound techs fixed it, the band wanted to test the sound real quick. Since Whitney knew the audience had seen her pacing back and forth impatiently for about 10 minutes, she decided to join the band from backstage, and when they started to play, she did some INCREDIBLE vocal acrobatics to re-warm up her voice. With that, the crowd went TOTALLY nuts and screamed and yelled for her. Finally Danny Glover came to the stage and announced her. When she took the stage is was total pandimonium!!!! Everyone rose to their feet and clapped and cheered!

Whitney looked and sounded fabulous as she belted out her #1 hits in the following order: "IWDWS," "HWIK," "Exhale"(in which Deborah Cox joined her onstage), "IBIYAM," a totally flooring rendition of "IWALY," and then "MLIYL" where Faith, Monica, Deborah Cox, another singer(I forget her name-she's new) joined her. Then for the finale of the performance, she ended it with the reggae version of "MLIYL" with Bobby doing the "nah nah nah nah nah nah nah - who dat? who dat?" It was awesome! Everyone stood forever applauding! I was so happy! Once again, our diva stole the show! So as for the negative media attention she's been getting -- we can all proudly "thumb our noses" and let the performance speak for itself! Also -- one more note -- Cissy and Whitney's sister in-law were on my flight back to Newark, NJ. I'm from NJ and our limos were parked next to each other. I saw them when I boarded the plane and I only sat 2 rows behind them. It was totally cool!!!!!

By Edna Gundersen and Michael Bondi, USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES - Apparently there's no spotlight too hot for Whitney Houston.

Despite mounting reports of erratic behavior and missed appearances, as well as suggestions of a drug problem, the diva turned in a sizzling set at Arista Records' 25 Years of No. 1 Hits concert Monday night in the Shrine Auditorium.

Her dazzling medley might not end speculation about substance abuse, but it certainly quashed doubts about her singing abilities and professionalism. The label's crown jewel, stunning in a clingy gold gown, stole the show from a roster touting Santana, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Sarah McLachlan, LFO, Toni Braxton, Kenny G, Annie Lennox and Aretha Franklin (the Queen of Soul, who refuses to fly, submitted a medley taped in New York).

Fans paid up to $500 each to attend the anniversary special, a taxing six-hour marathon that will be condensed into a two-hour special airing May 15 on NBC.

Houston took the stage nearly five hours after Jay Leno introduced opener Barry Manilow. As stagehands attended to technical glitches delaying her appearance, Houston could be heard vocalizing in the wings. After repeated chants of "Whitney!" and an introduction by actor Danny Glover, she strolled on stage and tripped on a loose cable. The stumble elicited gasps, but Houston recovered instantly, charging confidently into high-spirited versions of I Wanna Dance With Somebody and How Will I Know.

Her robust vocals and forceful delivery on I Will Always Love You brought a cheering crowd to its feet. Mid-song, Houston went silent, subtly signaled to stage right, summoning husband Bobby Brown with a glass of water. She sipped, they kissed, he blotted her brow with a towel. She brought the song to a stirring close, then enlisted Brown, Deborah Cox and Monica for Your Love Is My Love. Houston curtsied, blew the crowd a kiss and tossed an "I love you!" to mentor and Arista chief Clive Davis.

When she left after a 25-minute set of dramatic ballads and spunky dance-pop hits, much of the audience poured toward the exits.

In between cheesy dated videos and lengthy set changes, singers provided a diverse menu, from punk goddess Patti Smith's bellowing Because the Night to Dionne Warwick's classy I'll Never Love This Way Again to Puff Daddy's bloated I'll Be Missing You, a eulogy to slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. that incorporated Faith Evans, vocal group 112, bursts of flame, fireworks, break dancers and the 80-member First A.M.E Church Choir.

Presenters Carole King, Melissa Etheridge and Natalie Cole joined the Arista stable onstage for the finale, That's What Friends Are For.

The press room buzzed about Houston, who was fired from the Oscars after flubbing a rehearsal and raised eyebrows with a Jane magazine interview that described her as "extremely unfocused, had trouble keeping her eyes open and kept singing and playing an imaginary piano on the table."

Warwick, Houston's cousin, refused to "dignify" such gossip, saying, "We're human; we have frailties." Cox, noting that artists are prone to "exhaustion," said the public lacks the full facts.

And Etheridge cryptically expressed hope that Houston "can find her truth and not worry about what the world thinks of her."

Whitney Houston back on stage after missing Oscars

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop diva Whitney Houston, a no-show at last month's Academy Awards presentations where she had been scheduled to sing, belted out a medley of six songs Monday night in her first on-stage appearance since missing the Oscars.

Houston, the focus of a number of recent magazine articles that have pointed to a number of missed performances, enthralled a private audience with numbers like "I Will Always Love You'' and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody.''

The occasion was the 25th anniversary party for Arista Records at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Houston was joined on stage by singer Deborah Cox for a rendition of ``Shoop Shoop,'' and by Faith Evans and Monica for ''My Love is Your Love.''

She also sang "How Well I Know'' and "I Believe in You and Me.'' She displayed none of the throat problems that apparently kept her from singing at the Oscars, though she did beckon for a glass of water half way through her medley.

When not on stage, Houston sat in the front row of the audience with her husband, singer Bobby Brown, and Clive Davis, head of Arista. She also danced with Brown and Davis.

The event, which was televised for showing on NBC on May 15, was a showcase for some of Arista's leading stars, including Toni Braxton, Brooks & Dunn, Aretha Franklin, Kenny G, Alan Jackson, Annie Lennox, LFO, Barry Manilow, Sarah McLachlan, Puff Daddy, Santana and Patti Smith.

Whitney Houston Returns To Stage, With Husband's Help

Struggles through 20-minute set at same venue where she missed Academy Awards performance.

Staff Writer Teri vanHorn reports:

LOS ANGELES - Amid intense scrutiny, pop diva Whitney Houston struggled but persevered through a 20-minute medley of six of her hits, at Arista Records' 25th anniversary concert here Monday night.

Clad in a long, champagne-colored dress, the singer smiled and seemed surprisingly carefree as she delivered renditions of such tunes as "How Will I Know" and "My Love Is Your Love" at the Shrine Auditorium - the same building where, two weeks earlier, she canceled an appearance at the Academy Awards, citing throat problems.

Houston's health and career status have been the subject of much speculation, following a string of no-shows (which her representatives have blamed on throat problems), a disturbing interview with Jane magazine and reports that in January she walked away from security officers at a Hawaii airport after they seized a bag allegedly containing half an ounce of marijuana.

The 36-year-old star held a handkerchief throughout her performance, occasionally using it to dab sweat from her face and chest. At times she noticeably struggled with her voice, opting to speak-sing some lyrics and stopping just before the climax of her 1992 megahit "I Will Always Love You," to request that her husband, R&B singer Bobby Brown, bring her a glass of water.

Brown quickly obliged his wife, walking onstage to hand her a glass, dab sweat from her face and kiss her on her lips. Houston then proceeded to belt out the final chorus of the song.

Brown rejoined Houston during the medley's final tune, "My Love Is Your Love," as did singers Deborah Cox, Monica, Angie Stone and Faith Evans.

"The record's not over yet, remember," Houston said cryptically before leaving the stage. "God bless you. I love you."

Waiting To Exhale

"The tension was pretty thick in there," one attendee, 26-year-old Latiah Janise Warren, said after the show. "Everyone was just waiting. She kept you on the edge of your seat, and there were [moments] when you thought it could go real wrong, real fast, but she pulled it off. God bless her."

The performance began and ended with standing ovations from a crowd that included many of Houston's label mates, including veteran rockers Carlos Santana and Patti Smith and singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan, and Arista chief Clive Davis, whom the event was a tribute to.

Backstage, Davis - who discovered and signed Houston to Arista when she was 19 - deflected a question about a report in Newsweek that he had approached Houston's family to do a drug intervention. "She and I have a professional relationship," Davis said. "She made everyone's jaw drop at rehearsals yesterday. ... I think when you see her tonight, you'll see an artist at the top of her form."

In March, Houston was scheduled to help induct Davis into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but bowed out, citing throat problems. That cancellation and her absence at the Oscars three weeks later compounded speculation that began in January, when security officers in Hawaii said they found marijuana in Houston's bag. The star left the airport before police arrived and has not been charged on any counts.

Houston Has No Problem, Says Cousin

On Monday, both Dionne Warwick, who is Houston's cousin, and Cox said the press had stirred unfounded rumors. "That's the way it is - when you guys don't know something, you make it up," Warwick said backstage. She denied a report, in the current issue of People magazine, that she and Natalie Cole planned to talk to Houston about her alleged drug problem.

"I read it like you did; I don't know where that came from," Warwick said. "There's no need for intervention."

Warwick said Houston "looks fabulous, and I'm certain she's going to sound fabulous."

Cox, who recently recorded a duet with Houston titled "Same Script, Different Cast," slated to appear on Houston's greatest-hits album as well as Cox's third LP, said the singer has fallen victim to "a lot of rumors and a lot of fragmented information."

"Instead of badgering and making up stories, we should be supportive of her condition," said Cox, claiming to be referring to Houston's throat problems.

Montell Jordan, who produced Houston and Cox's collaboration, said Houston is a "wonderful person who has the same difficulties that people with normal lives have, except that we don't have microscopes following us around all day."

Enjoying The Festivities

Houston sat in the audience between Brown and Davis and sang along as pop singer/songwriter Barry Manilow performed "I Write the Songs." She and Brown later jumped up to dance during multiple Grammy winner Santana's performance, a medley that included "(Da Le) Yaleo," "Maria Maria" (with the Product G&B) and "Smooth."

During her own performance, she was backed by a seven-piece band, 14-piece string section and four background singers. "We all need to exhale sometimes," she said before singing "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)."

Rocker Melissa Etheridge, who appeared at the ceremony even though Davis had passed over her demo tape in the '80s, said she hoped Houston would "find her own truth" as she "comes in here to be an entertainer and do her job."

The show, which also featured performances by Cox, McLachlan, Smith, R&B star Toni Braxton, and boy group LFO, is scheduled to air May 15 on NBC.

Finally some positive props from VH1. On today's "Daily One" program, Rebecca Rankin interviewed VH1 producer Aliza Rosen by phone. She attended the Arista concert and said Whitney did not come down the red carpet and was not in the press box. When she spotted Clive Davis, she asked him about Whitney and he said that he does not question the diva or discuss her personal life. Since NBC was taping the show to air later on, no other cameras were allowed in. Here comes the good part: Rosen said Whitney gave a GREAT performance, very soulful. She added that Whitney looked beautiful in her dress, which was very long and caused her to keep stepping on it. She said the audience loved every minute but the only thing was while singing IWALY, she paused and Bobby came onstage with a glass of water for her. Not knowing whether it was a prank, the audience clapped and the song went on. She also said that everyone who they spoke to had only MUCH LOVE for Whitney. Lastly, on Access Hollywood, Missy Elliott was backstage at Divas 2000 and she said that no one can bring Whitney Houston down. Whitney is a strong woman and would be around for a long time to come.

Tonight on Access Hollywood, a People Magazine assistant bureau chief admitted that Whitney "was fabulous" at the Arista event. He also said he didn't notice when she reportedly tripped onstage, noting she "may have done a little two-step" when she stepped on her very long gown. He added that after her performance finished, much of the audience left because she was all they wanted to see, even though there were 5 acts following her in the show.