RIP Whitney Houston

I watched Whitney Houston re-launch her career on the X Factor in 2009.

She rose onto the stage in a blaze of comeback glory - lavish sparkling gown,  lights, applause, she was after all a singing legend.

Everyone, myself included, hoped she had kicked the booze and the drugs, and was back with great music.

But within seconds it was very clear something was wrong.

It wasn’t as obvious as Amy Winehouse’s infamous performance in Belgrade, when, so incoherent she struggled to keep balance, forgot words, and was eventually booed off stage.

But anyone hoping to see a sharp, strong-voiced, polished delivery of her  new track Million Dollar Bill would have been disappointed.

The voice was there, but she seemed spaced-out unrehearsed, and uncomfortable. There was almost a complacency her status would carry off the performance.

The short interview with host Dermot O’Leary afterwards was just as uncomfortable to watch.

The news of her death broke in the UK in the early hours today, and I admit I jumped to the same conclusion I did with Amy last year.

There has been no post-mortem examination so the cause is yet to be revealed. But however it happened, it is tragic.

Not just because at 48 she was still a young woman, but because the world has lost another great talent.

It seems to be a hazard of being mega successful in Hollywood. 

The glory, money and attention robs superstars of their sense of reality.

Add into the mix a readily-available stream of alcohol and hard drugs, and the fresh-faced young star-to-be we fall in love with soon turns into a shades-wearing, diva, staggering out of a nightclub, with bodyguards shoving  cameras out of the way.

Ultra fame strips its victim of humility and replaces it with ego.

Whitney was born into pop royalty.

The daughter of legendary gospel singer Cissy Houston, her cousin was pop icon Dionne Warwick, and her godmother was Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin. 

At 15 she sang backup on Chaka Khan’s 1978 hit “I’m Every Woman”  and joined artists like Jermaine Jackson and Lou Rawls.

By the age of 25 she had turned out seven number-one hits,

She was responsible for classics including One Moment In Time, Didn’t We Almost Have It All, and Where Do Broken Hearts Go.

Whatever happened to the instantly-lovable Whitney who giggled her way through I wanna dance with somebody in 1987, there is no disputing she had a beautiful voice and released some brilliant music.

She had reportedly been due to make a comeback to the big screen in the musical drama “Sparkle” and there had been talk of her filling one of the judges seats on American X-Factor.

Her death is a huge blow to the world of music, and for my generation the loss of another childhood favourite.

RIP Whitney.