ホイットニー・ヒューストン死去

映画「ボディガード」の歌手で女優のホイットニー・エリザベス・ヒューストンが昨日48歳で死去した。

救急隊員はロサンゼルスのビバリーヒルズにあるビバリー・ヒルトン・ホテルで彼女の遺体を発見したが、最愛の女性歌手を蘇生させるための20分間の努力は失敗に終わった。正確な死因はまだ発表されていないが、警察は彼女が亡くなった場所に犯罪の痕跡を発見しなかった。

ホイットニー・ヒューストンとマイケル・ジャクソンは、アフリカ系アメリカ人コミュニティから立ち上がり、人種差別に囚われていた男女として、人気と成功の頂点に達しました。この 2 人のアーティストの類似点の 1 つは、記録的な受賞歴です。ヒューストンは女性歌手の中で最も多くの音楽賞を受賞した記録を保持しており、マイケル・ジャクソンはあらゆる時代の男女アーティストの中でこのような功績を残しています。

彼女はまた、マイケル・ジャクソンとともに、一夜に8つのアメリカン・ミュージック・アワードを受賞した功績を共有しています。

3年前、彼女はマイケルの死を衝撃的だと述べた, and now, on the eve of the Clive Davis celebration—an event she had been invited to, where her work would be honored—other artists in mourning are turning the celebration, which is held every year the night before the Grammy Awards, into a memorial for her.

After Michael’s death, Houston had said:

“I am filled with sadness and grief.It is hard to express, with my words, the value that マイケル・ジャクソン had for me. He was my friend. He was one of the reasons I turned to music. He was my inspiration. He taught me. He laughed with me. He opened the way for Black artists to expand their music through MTV, which was a tremendous achievement. I empathize with his family and children, and my heart is full of pain. I hope that the musical and artistic legacy he left behind will be a comfort to them.”

In her performances after Michael’s death, Whitney paid tribute to him and sang some of his songs at her concerts.

The photo above is from the 44th annual dinner celebration of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) at the Sheraton Hotel in New York on March 10, 1988. That night, Michael received the Frederick D. Patterson Award and an honorary doctoral degree from Fisk University for his human and humanitarian services and his financial contributions to this foundation. Of the group present in this photo, only Lisa Minelli remains with us.

In the 1980s, MTV refused to play songs by Black artists, and Michael broke through this racial barrier with his music for artists who came after him. Whitney was among the first Black female artists whose songs were played on MTV. After Whitney, Janet—Michael’s sister—is considered one of the most successful Black female artists.

Whitney Houston had one of the best voices among singers, and in MTV’s rankings she became the third-best voice.

She began her career in 1977 at the age of 14 as a backup singer for Michael’s single Life’s a Party, and in the late 1980s she achieved global success—something that, after マイケル・ジャクソン, has not been seen in any other artist.

I Will Always Love You, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Greatest Love of All are three of her best works.

Houston has sold more than 170 million album copies and is the fourth best-selling female artist in the United States. マイケル・ジャクソン, with more than 1 billion albums, is the best-selling artist of all time.

In the final years of her life, Houston struggled with drug addiction, including marijuana and cocaine.

In 2001, she was one of the guests at the 30th anniversary celebration of マイケル・ジャクソン’s solo career (マイケル・ジャクソン 30th Anniversary) at Madison Square Garden, and on the first night she performed Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ on stage with Usher and Mýa. Her very thin appearance fueled rumors of drug addiction, and her performance on the second night was canceled due to her illness. She was supposed to sing One Day in Your Life.

In 2009, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, she said that she and her husband Bobby Brown, an R&B singer, used drugs. They married in 1992 and a year later had a daughter named Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown. In 2007, Whitney divorced him following his mistreatment and violence, and she gained full custody rights to their daughter.

Whitney also appeared in the documentary film “Life of a Believer” made by David Gest about マイケル・ジャクソン. In this film, she talks about a memory of her time on Michael’s ranch. David Gest said the following about it:

“He was having dinner in Neverland with Michael when suddenly his dinner knife fell under the table. Michael went under the table to get the knife. At that moment, Whitney feels that her big toe is being sucked. She says: ‘Michael, is that you? Keep going. It feels good.’ Suddenly Michael pulls his head out from under the table, but Whitney’s toe is still being sucked. She realizes it’s Bubbles, Michael’s pet chimpanzee. Michael brings Bubbles out and tells Whitney that she needs to be more careful.”

Whitney Houston’s latest film, Sparkle, will be released in theaters this August, and she will not be on the red carpet for the opening of her film.

May her memory be honored and her soul rest in peace.

Source: eMJey.com / Wikipedia