By Roger Friedman


Contrary to reports otherwise, Whitney Houston's shows in Atlantic City last weekend were a huge success. Some news stories indicated that Houston - who has been the subject of endless gossip about a purported drug problem - stopped in the middle of one song, sang cover versions of other people's hits and didn't know what she was doing.

Wouldn't it be great if that had been the case?

But a sharp-eyed fan of Whitney's who runs a Web site all about the star warned me yesterday that none of this happened.

Indeed, Houston played three days at Caesars Palace. Her sets included all her hits like "I Will Always Love You" and "Saving All My Love for You." She never stopped in the middle of "I Want to Dance With Somebody." Her voice was strong and clear. She did not appear disoriented.

Frankly, I have to say that the many times I've seen Whitney Houston perform during the last couple of years she's been nothing but professional in her appearance and absolutely sensational in concert. This doesn't mean she hasn't had problems - she did at the Oscars and Grammys - but what the problems are exactly is still unclear, no matter what the National Enquirer reports.

More importantly, fans say that at one of Whitney's shows she dedicated "I Believe in You and Me" to L.A. Reid, the new head of Arista Records. It was only a short time ago that Houston was dedicating that song to Clive Davis, her mentor and now former head of Arista. Does it mean anything? Will Houston stay with Reid or jump to the new Davis Entertainment? Or does she just dedicate that song to anyone important who's in the audience?

Listen, I give her credit just for making the Caesars dates. Her husband, Bobby Brown, has been a Florida jail and was only just released Friday. That would make anyone want to stay in bed all day, not perform for a bunch of drunk gamblers.