Whitney Houston: The Singer’s Legacy

How rich was Whitney Houston?

At least since the soundtrack I will always love you to the movie Bodyguard from 1992 Whitney Houston was one of the greatest singers of the past few decades. The exceptional talent was also active as a successful model at the beginning of her career. As early as the late 1990s, her alcohol and drug escapades became noticeable and Whitney’s wonderful voice began to suffer. With 411 awards, she is one of the most awarded artists worldwide. In 2012 she was found lifeless in a hotel bathtub. Whitney Houston left behind no fortune, but debts of 16 million euros.

Singing has always been part of the family

If the mother was part of Elvis Presley’s company, the godmother Aretha Franklin and the cousin Dionne Warwick, then the way into the music business is already paved. Whitney Houston made her first appearances at the age of 15 with her mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston. Also Whitney entered a gospel choir and performed as a background singer for the Michael Zager Band and Chaka Khan, among others.

In parallel, she was extremely successful as a model and was used for magazines like Vogue or Seventeen photographed. Whitney also stood as a model for greats from the photography scene such as David LaChapelle and Patrick Demarchelier.

Comet-like ascent from the mid-80s

Your Whitney signed his first record deal in 1983 with Arista Records, 1985 her debut album followed Whitney. In the USA alone, this album went over the counter over 13 million times. The first Grammy for best pop singer followed and the second album seamlessly continued the success of the debut.

In 1992 she played the main role in the film Bodyguard with Kevin Costner and Gary Kemp. the Film and the accompanying soundtrack I will always love you have been successful all over the world. In the same year she married R&B singer Bobby Brown. The relationship was overshadowed by drug excesses and physical abuse and pushed Whitney Houston to its limits, both physically and mentally. In 1995 and 1996 two more movies followed, Waiting to exhale and Rendezvous with an angel. She also contributed the complete soundtrack to the latter, The preachers wife is considered the most successful gospel album of all time.

Drug addiction takes its toll

Despite several rehab programs, she still couldn’t get off drugs, even after she divorced Bobby Brown in 2007. Only her daughter Bobbi Kristina, born in 1993, gave her support. Houston’s daughter died in 2015 under the same circumstances as Whitney Houston herself. The fifth studio album Just Whitney, which was released in 2002, did not even begin to reach the chart positions of the four previous albums.

Perpetual Drug and alcohol problems made her unique voice more and more fragile. Whitney himself appeared late or not at all for some concerts. In 2009 she tried a comeback, the album I look to you was able to keep up with the sensational successes of the past. The world tour brought in 26.1 million euros, but was largely negatively rated by the press, as her voice could in no way keep up with the level of the past.

Whitney Houston death & bequest

At the On February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston was found dead in the bathtub of her Beverly Hills hotel room. The cause of death was drowning, a heart defect and chronic cocaine addiction contributed to this.

Despite the over 200 million albums sold and the successful films, a mountain of debt remained in the end. When Whitney signed a $ 82 million deal with Arista in 2001, she was totally broke. However, she only got the money in partial payments and these were success-dependent. The land and property they owned was already mortgaged. To the At the time of her death, she owed her record label 16 million euros.

_{Image sources:
Cover picture: Asterio Tecson [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
public domain, via Wikimedia Commons}