2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, 55 million certified albums sold in the US alone, over 200 million albums and singles worldwide, the Guinness World Record for most awarded female artist of all time.
“I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” “Greatest Love of All,” “I Have Nothing,” “Saving All My Love For You,” “I Will Always Love You.”
“The Bodyguard,” “The Preacher’s Wife,” “Waiting to Exhale.”
With numbers, hits and accomplishments like that, we can only be talking about one person: Whitney Houston.
We all know by now that the world lost perhaps one of the greatest voices of all time when Whitney Houston passed away this past Saturday at the age of 48.
Her official cause of death is not yet known. But according to the Los Angeles County Coroner, Ms. Houston was a guest at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills and was running late to prepare for the annual Clive Davis pre-Grammy Awards party being hosted in the hotel. Her stylist and bodyguard became concerned when Ms. Houston had been in the bathroom for over an hour, so they knocked on the door but did not get a response. A female hairdresser entered the bathroom to check on the singer and screamed at the discovery of Ms. Houston reportedly drowned in the bathtub. A bodyguard came in and quickly pulled her out of the tub and attempted to perform CPR before alerting hotel security. Beverly Hills paramedics arrived shortly thereafter and found the singer unresponsive and performed CPR for an additional 20 minutes. They were unsuccessful in attempts to revive her and she was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. PST. According to local police there were “no obvious signs of criminal intent” and no illegal drugs were found, although a half dozen pill bottles were removed from the scene including Xanax. Authorities speculate that a combination of Xanax and alcohol may have fatally sedated Ms. Houston and she may have fallen asleep or lapsed into unconsciousness in the bathtub and drowned. An autopsy was performed yesterday and the results have been deferred pending a toxicology report.
For music fans, we all remember 2 versions of Whitney Houston — the woman known as “The Voice” who could send chills up your spine with one of the most incredible vocal gifts ever; and the troubled woman who battled drug and alcohol addiction in later years, lost her amazing voice and struggled to reclaim her relevance and financial stability in a career she loved so much. It’s far too easy to focus on the 2nd and more troubled Whitney Houston. Instead, OK WASSUP! will leave that to the other media outlets and celebrate the unbelievable life and career of the incomparable singer who moved mountains as arguably one of the greatest female artists of all time.
Take a look at some of her greatest accomplishments. Then take a listen to the Whitney Houston we all fell in love with. As we mourn her passing and pray for her daughter, mother and family, we celebrate you Whitney. Sleep in peace.
• Most American Music Awards of any single artist
• VH1’s list of “50 Greatest Women of the Video Era”
• VH1’s “Top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time”
• VH1’s “200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons of All Time”
• Billboard’s Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists
• Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (her first album)
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Definitive 200 list
• First ever recipient of BET Lifetime Achievement Award
• A total of 415 career awards
<span>Another sad and tragic story, involving the American music industry. I wasn't a fan of Whitney Houston but I recognized, and respected, her talent. Upon hearing this news, Saturday night, my immediate thought was of her daughter and the impact Whitney's death would have on her. I pray there is someone who that child can truly lean on and trust(?) because she's going to need every bit of genuine love and support she can get. Whatever the reason(?)..Whitney could not find Peace in this life. Hopefully. she's found it now. And may she Rest in Peace. </span>