Though Houston was seen as a "good girl" with a perfect image in the 1980s and early 1990s, her behavior had changed by 1999 and 2000. She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals, she canceled concerts and talk-show appearances and there were reports of erratic behavior. Missed performances and weight loss led to rumors about Houston using drugs with her husband. On January 11, 2000, while traveling with Brown, airport security guards discovered half an ounce of marijuana in Houston's handbag at Keahole-Kona International Airport in Hawaii, but she departed before authorities could arrive. Charges against her were later dropped, but rumors of drug usage by Houston and Brown would continue to surface. Two months later, Clive Davis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Houston had been scheduled to perform at the event, but was a no-show.
Shortly thereafter, Houston was scheduled to perform at the Academy Awards, but was fired from the event by musical director and longtime friend Burt Bacharach. Her publicist cited throat problems as the reason for the cancellation. In his book The Big Show: High Times and Dirty Dealings Backstage at the Academy Awards, author Steve Pond revealed that "Houston's voice was shaky, she seemed distracted and jittery and her attitude was casual, almost defiant" and that while Houston was supposed to perform "Over the Rainbow", she would start singing a different song during rehearsals. Houston later admitted to having been fired.
In May 2000, Houston's longtime executive assistant and friend, Robyn Crawford, resigned from Houston's management company; in 2019, Crawford asserted that she had left Houston's employ after Houston declined to seek help for her drug dependency. The following month, Rolling Stone published a story stating that Cissy Houston and others had held a July 1999 intervention in which they unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Whitney to obtain drug treatment.
In August 2001, Houston signed one of the biggest record deals in music history, with Arista/BMG. She renewed her contract for $100 million to release six new albums, for which she would also earn royalties. She later made an appearance on Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special, where her extremely thin frame further spurred rumors of drug use. Her publicist stated, "Whitney has been under stress due to family matters and when she is under stress she doesn't eat."(In a 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Houston acknowledged that drug use had been the reason for her weight loss.) She was scheduled for a second performance the following night, but canceled it. Within weeks, Houston's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" would be re-released after the September 11 attacks, with the proceeds donated to the New York Firefighters 9/11 Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Fraternal Order of Police. The song peaked at No. 6 this time on the US Hot 100, topping its previous position.
In 2002, Houston became embroiled in a legal dispute with John Houston Enterprise. Although the company was started by her father to manage her career, it was actually run by company president Kevin Skinner. Skinner filed a breach of contract lawsuit and sued for $100 million (but lost), stating that Houston owed the company previously unpaid compensation for helping to negotiate her $100 million contract with Arista Records and for sorting out legal matters. Houston stated that her 81-year-old father had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Although Skinner tried to claim otherwise, John Houston never appeared in court. Houston's father later died in February 2003. The lawsuit was dismissed on April 5, 2004 and Skinner was awarded nothing.
Also in 2002, Houston gave an interview with Diane Sawyer to promote her then-upcoming album. During the primetime special, she spoke about her drug use and marriage, among other topics. Addressing the ongoing drug rumors, she said, "First of all, let's get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. Okay? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is wack. "The crack is wack" line was drawn from a mural that Keith Haring painted in 1986 on the handball court at 128th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan. Houston did, however, admit to using alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and pills; she also acknowledged that her mother had urged her to seek help regarding her drug use. She also denied having an eating disorder and that her very thin appearance was connected to drug use. She further stated that Bobby Brown had never hit her, but acknowledged that she had hit him.
In December 2002, Houston released her fifth studio album, Just Whitney. The album included productions from then-husband Bobby Brown, as well as Missy Elliott and Babyface and marked the first time that Houston did not produce with Clive Davis as Davis had been released by top management at BMG. Upon its release, Just Whitney received mixed reviews. The album debuted at number 9 on the Billboard 200 chart and it had the highest first week sales of any album Houston had ever released. The four singles released from the album did not fare well on the Billboard Hot 100, but became dance chart hits. Just Whitney was certified platinum in the United States and sold approximately two million worldwide.
In late 2003, Houston released her first Christmas album One Wish: The Holiday Album, with a collection of traditional holiday songs. Houston produced the album with Mervyn Warren and Gordon Chambers. A single titled "One Wish (for Christmas)" reached the Top 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart and the album was certified gold in the US.
In December 2003, Brown was charged with battery following an altercation during which he threatened to beat Houston and then assaulted her. Police reported that Houston had visible injuries to her face.
Having always been a touring artist, Houston spent most of 2004 touring and performing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Russia. In September 2004, she gave a surprise performance at the World Music Awards in a tribute to long-time friend Clive Davis. After the show, Davis and Houston announced plans to go into the studio to work on her new album.
In early 2004, husband Bobby Brown starred in his own reality TV program, Being Bobby Brown, on Bravo. The show provided a view of the domestic goings-on in the Brown household. Though it was Brown's vehicle, Houston was a prominent figure throughout the show, receiving as much screen time as Brown. The series aired in 2005 and featured Houston in unflattering moments. Years later, The Guardian opined that through her participation in the show, Houston had lost "the last remnants of her dignity". The Hollywood Reporter said that the show was "undoubtedly the most disgusting and execrable series ever to ooze its way onto television". Despite the perceived train-wreck nature of the show, the series gave Bravo its highest ratings in its time slot and continued Houston's successful forays into film and television. The show was not renewed for a second season after Houston stated that she would no longer appear in it and Brown and Bravo could not come to an agreement for another season.
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Whitney Houston |LIFE|
No FicciónWhitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer and actress. She is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Her singing style, which was strongly inspired by gospel music, had an inno...
