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Pop legend Whitney Houston, who died Saturday, inspired a generation of music fans with her soaring voice, before substance abuse plunged her into a downward spiral.

The 48-year-old Grammy-winner was a huge star in the 1980s and 90s, selling over 170 million albums with worldwide hits including "I Will Always Love You," before her career and personal life went off the rails.

In recent years she has battled to revive her career, and was reportedly due to perform at a pre-Grammys dinner Saturday when she was found dead in her room at the Beverly Hills hotel, where the event was to take place.

"She was a legend. These people don't come around often," British television host and producer Simon Cowell told CNN television. "No one could sell a song like Whitney."

She was a trailblazers who proved that a female artist could dominate the pop market, Cowell said.

With a ferociously powerful voice and a dazzling range, Houston achieved stardom as a pop-soul singer known as "the Voice" and the "Queen of Pop" in the 1980s and 1990s.

Her fantastic success -- and that of fellow pop icon Michael Jackson -- was propelled by a brand new device at the time: the pop music video.

Houston's trove of six Grammy awards included one for record of the year -- for a soaring cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," and another for album of the year for "The Bodyguard."

She later parlayed her stardom to acting success appearing in hit movies like "Waiting to Exhale" and "The Bodyguard," co-starring Kevin Costner.

From a musical family that included mother Cissy Houston, a gospel star, and Dionne Warwick, her cousin, Whitney Houston started out as a teen model and then made a dazzling segue to music.

Her hits included "How Will I Know," "Saving all My Love for You," and "I Will Always Love You," a Dolly Parton cover that Houston made her own megahit.

As a performer, Houston earned a reputation as a regal diva, but not without merit.

"She was entitled to be a diva .. when you've got that much talent," added star-spotter Cowell, of American Idol and Britain's Got Talent fame.

"She had that voice that could just turn a story, a melody into magical notes," added Lionel Richie, whose career spanned a similar timeframe to that of Houston.

She also was a trailblazing African-American beauty, a teen model who became the first black cover girl on "Seventeen" magazine.

Houston sold more than 170 million records worldwide but suffered a major career setback after admitting drug use during an abusive relationship with ex-husband Bobby Brown.

Her albums include: "Whitney Houston" (1985), "Whitney" (1987), "I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990), "My Love is Your Love (1998), "Just Whitney" (2002), "One Wish: The Holiday Album" (2003)

After several years out of the spotlight, she returned to the recording studio to make her last album, "I Look to You," released in 2009.

"I just took a break, which sometimes you have to," said Houston, cited by CNN. "You have to know when to slow that train down and kind of just sit back and relax for a minute."

And while her fans kept waiting for more recovery and a bigger comeback, Houston broke some hearts with her passing.

"I am absolutely devastated by this news. I'm so sad for her," said Cowell. "She was undoubtedly one of the greatest superstars of all times. One of the greatest voices, you know, in our lifetime we're likely to ever hear." - AFP

Publié le 12.02.2012

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