by Robyn Crawford I met her when she was 16. It was at a summer job. I was working at a community center in East Orange, New Jersey, and she was working just like the rest of us. She was there to work. She introduced herself as “Whitney Elizabeth Houston,” and I knew right away she was special. Not a lot of people introduced themselves with their middle names back then. She had peachy colored skin and she didn’t look like anyone I’d ever met in East Orange, New Jersey.

She was nothing like the Whitney Houston she became but at…

What a gift she was. Watching her sing live is a sheer delight…….

From TMZ.com

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Just five days before her death, Whitney Houston was GETTIN’ DOWN to Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime show … singing and dancing to the music like her old self … and TMZ has the footage.

It all went down Feb. 5 at a bar inside the Regent Beverly Wilshire hotel…

Ray J: ‘The World Lost an Icon But I Lost My Close Friend”

Nearly a week after Whitney Houston passed away unexpectedly at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, her close friend, Ray J, is speaking out.

“Over the past few days I’ve tried to process the emptiness that I am experiencing. What my heart feels cannot be expressed in words,” said Ray J in a statement released to ESSENCE.com.

“The world lost an icon but I lost my close friend. Nippy, I miss you so much! You were so happy and full of love. Your smile will live in my heart…

Can’t wait to see this…..

Sparkle, the movie that could have been Whitney Houston‘s acting comeback, is going to be released earlier than the original August release date, because of the tragic death of the singer, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.

“Dates are being discussed, and it’s still early, but the reasoning is that Whitney’s fans will want to see her in this movie, in which she gives a remarkable performance,” a studio insider tells RadarOnline.com. “This absolutely isn’t being done to make money. The IMDB website for the Sparkle movie has received record traffic…

Since Whitney passed, I’ve been doing the same thing you’ve been doing: watching all her videos and performances from back in the day. Here are a few you may have missed:

Here is the original video for How Will I Know! Very DIY and old school, but fun. Whitney looks so cute doing her little dance.

Ah, this one is AMAZING. Listen to her sing and understand that NO ONE SINGS LIVE anymore. It’s a rarity. Whitney raised the bar. She looks gorgeous, too.

And, finally, Whitney at the Nelson…

*sigh* I am still really in shock over Whitney’s death. I’ve been scouring the internet for more info. Here are a few updates from TMZ.com: Enablers supplied her with alcohol

Whitney Houston was heavy into alcohol in the months before her death, and many of the people around her bent over backwards to accommodate her cravings for alcohol.

Sources who spent significant time with Whitney in the last few months tell us … Whitney drank virtually every day leading up to her death.

We’re told when she started shooting the movie “Sparkle” she was sober.  In fact,…

We cried, sang, and remembered Whitney Houston at the KBLX Brunch at Hotel Nikko today. Sergio Quintana of ABC 7 News stopped by to get reactions. Shout out to Wendy Wolfe, Jacque Rachal, Lisa Bautista, the Escovedos, Ron and his lovely wife Phyllis and all the wonderful brunch attendees at Anzu. Check out the video.

UPDATES FROM TMZ.COM

Bobby Brown  skips concert to be be with Bobbi Kristina

With the death of ex-wife Whitney Houston, and his daughter Bobbi Kristina in the hospital, sources close to Bobby Brown tell TMZ he is on his way to Los Angeles be with his daughter … and skipping a concert to do so.

According to our sources, Bobbi Kristina has not been alone since her mother passed — she’s had Bobby’s family by her side the entire time.

New Edition has a concert tonight in Nashville, but we’re told Bobby will skip the show so he can get to Los Angeles…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From www.eonline.com When Don Cornelius promised the “hottest jams and stars in the world,” he wasn’t messing around.

The creator and longtime face of Soul Train may be gone, but he made a lasting impact on pop culture with his R&B-championing song-and-dance show and subsequent Soul Train Music Awards.

Over the show’s 35 years on the air, some of the biggest names in music hit the stage that Cornelius built, from Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin to R. Kelly and T.I.. It’s pretty much impossible to narrow it down, but here are five other acts who boarded the…