Whitney Houston: News About Her Death, Tributes, Apple iTunes Controversy, and Oprah Winfrey Confusion

Whitney Houston Found Dead in Hotel Bathtub

Coroners confirmed that Whitney Houston was found dead in her Beverly Hills hotel bathtub, but the cause of death is not yet known (via Yahoo). There were no signs of trauma or foul play, so the rubber ducky is off the hook.

Strangely, Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown’s daughter, 18 year old Bobbi Kristina Brown was also taken to the hospital the next day. Apparently she was suffering from anxiety, which can be understood, given the sudden death of her mom. I wonder if Whitney feels like she got the raw deal, with the name of her daughter favouring that of the dad, and not the mom.

Whitney’s Dominance of the Billboard Charts

We all know Whitney Houston had quite an accomplished career, albeit one that ended too young at 48. Billboard highlights some of her stunning achievements.

The Whitney Houston-based soundtrack to “The Bodyguard” is the longest-reigning album by a woman in the 56-year history of the survey. Houston is the only woman to have have albums on the charts more than 10 weeks with multiple albums, as outlined below.

Weeks at No. 1, Title, Artist, Year Reached No. 1
20 weeks, “The Bodyguard” soundtrack/Whitney Houston, 1992
19 weeks, “21,” Adele, 2011 (*currently at No. 1)
15 weeks, “Tapestry,” Carole King, 1971
14 weeks, “Whitney Houston,” Whitney Houston, 1986
13 weeks, “Judy at Carnegie Hall,” Judy Garland, 1961
12 weeks, “Jagged Little Pill,” Alanis Morissette, 1995
12 weeks, “Fearless, ” Taylor Swift, 2008
11 weeks, “Mariah Carey,” Mariah Carey, 1991
11 weeks, “Whitney,” Whitney Houston, 1986
10 weeks, “Forever Your Girl,” Paula Abdul, 1989
10 weeks, “The Singing Nun,” the Singing Nun, 1963

Whitney also holds the Billboard Hot 100 record for most consecutive No. 1 singles, with a massive seven in-a-row, which occurred from 1985 through 1988.

Whitney Houston Tributes

Dozens, if not hundreds, of artists and celebrities have commented on the untimely death of Whitney Houston. One of the more notable comments has come from South African Nelson Mandela (via Telegraph). “Ms Houston sang for Mr Nelson Mandela at a White House dinner in his honour in October 1994. She dedicated to him her rendition of the song ‘Greatest Love of All’. May she rest in peace,” said Sello Hatang, spokesman for the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory.

The recently thin Jennifer Hudson also paid tribute to the singer, by singing her classic I Will Always Look You last night at the Grammys. You can watch her version below.

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Apple Raises the Price of Whitney Houston’s Ultimate Collection – Brilliant or Just Plain Wrong?

As most people know, and as PeteHatesMusic has pointed out before, death is one of the best things that can happen for an artist’s album sales. This was evident last year, when Amy Winehouse shot up the charts, years after her album releases. As opportunists do, if there is cash to be made, set it up. This is seemingly what Apple did, having raised the price of Whitney Houston’s 2007 Ultimate Collection from $4.70 to $12.60 (via Gigwise). Is this a smart business move by Apple, or is it wrong to capitalize on the death of an artist? I know this isn’t an apples to apples comparison, but when the Olympics are in London this summer, the hotel and food prices will increase. The demand will be there, so the business owners would be fools NOT to cash in. But if death is involved, is it wrong?

People Seriously Think Whitney Houston Looks Like Oprah Winfrey?

When celebrities or people that society admire – so basically, celebrities – tributes pour out on social networks. People have been posting on their Facebook, including pictures of Whitney Houston. The trouble is, the pictures they included weren’t Whitney Houston but Oprah Winfrey! A few people doing this, maybe I could understand. Dozens? We have a learning problem in our society. Although if they’re doing math instead of learning what Whitney Houston looks like, they are forgiven.