Whitney Houston performed the Freemasons remix of her latest new single ‘Million Dollar Bill’ on the Italian X-Factor Tuesday night (Oct 20th). This was also the same remix she performed on the UK X-Factor this past Sunday. Whitney stepped it up because her last X Factor performance was horrible. Check out the new performance below:

Massive step up. Rather than depend on her backing singers to do the more trickier vocal runs, she managed to do those on her own. Whit was also close to pitch perfection and she did not look or sound a hot ass mess in contrast to Sunday’s performance. Obviously, somebody must have sat her down and showed her the clip of her looking a straight up fool in front of fourteen million people. In regards to the last Whitney post, it was wrong of me to imply she might be back on the crack. Deep down, I know she is drug free but she looked like she was under the influence (too much drinks perhaps?). Even the British media picked up on it so I was not wrong in my analysis about Whit not having a clear head that day.

Earlier tonight, Whitney Houston performed a raved up version of her latest new single ‘Million Dollar Bill’. It had been her first televised UK performance in over a decade, so Whitney appearing on the show was sort of a big deal. However, her performance was full of shocks here and there, and evidently, it looked like the once-upon-a-time powerhouse was back on that crack once again. Whitney was a complete trainwreck and the performance was really messy. Watch it below:

I don’t even know where to start. The only good thing I could say about it was that it was an energetic performance. Although Whitney pranced around and jumped and shook the hell out of that wig (which looked really crazy on her head), most of the energy was generated from her strong-set of dancers. Then she spent a considerate amount of time trying to fix her dress strap which came apart. 90% of the singing and main vocal runs were done by her backing singers and she was very breathless, only adding the odd occasional vocals here and there. She was clearly very nervous which probably added to the stress of not being able to put on a good vocal performance.

When Dermot was interviewing her, she seemed really spaced out and totally out of it. Plus, it’s certainly not a good look for any overseas comeback when your first major UK performance was bad. Ironically, Whitney used the moment to let viewers know about her UK tour in April. But, if you’re wanting people to attend your tour, wouldn’t you be doing everything in your power to show people WHY they should buy tickets for your tour? The X-Factor is the biggest show in the UK, meaning, millions of people watched her performance tonight. This was therefore the biggest platform to promote herself as the worldclass diva she truly is. Did she achieve that? Certainly not.

Sadly, performances like this may deter some people (like myself) from even wanting to see Whitney live in concert. I know I would be sceptical to spend my hard earned cash on a Whitney show after watching tonight’s performance, and that was just ONE performance. How would she cope with a full set on several UK tour dates? Sadly for Whit, this performance did not have the ‘comeback’ stamp that could have been, but more like the ‘crack is back’.

Whitney Houston is embarking on a world tour next April, and her first leg will take place in the UK, if reports are to be believed. This will be Whit’s first major UK tour in more than a decade. The legendary diva will play five arena dates at Manchester’s MEN Arena on April 8th before taking in Glasgow, Birmingham, Newcastle and London’s O2 on April 25th…

“This is my first full tour since 1999. I cannot wait to perform songs from my new album along with favourites” ~ Whitney

Don’t blame me for being unenthusiastic about a Whitney tour, but my scepticism boils down to her recent live performances. If Whitney’s voice can crack after singing just four songs and if she has to solely rely on her backing singers, I am just wondering how she will be able to pull off a full setlist of songs for a full blown tour. It does not work in her favour that she is still a smoker, and how would the fans feel if her voice was to give out halfway through the show? Clearly, Whit may not be able to hit the stunning notes back in her heyday, but vocally, she can still hold her own. I’m just a little concerned that she may not be able to pull it off, but hey, the whole point of doing something is to prove the naysayers wrong, and if she does pull it off, I will gladly eat my words.

Yesterday (Oct 6th), Whitney Houston pressed ahead with her European promotional tour by performing new single ‘Million Dollar Bill’. Fresh from her performance on the Wetten Dass show in Germany, Ms Whitney is now in France and performed the track on popular French show Le Grand Journal. Peep the performance below:

This performance was nowhere near as good as Whitney looked and by far, a stark contrast to the performance she delivered back in Germany. No such effort was put into the flat performance. As a matter of fact, Whit left most of the more vocal theatrics to her backing singers (who were on F-I-Y-A-H). How much physical contact did Whitney’s lips even have with the mic? A lot of it was spent pointing it at the direction of the audience. Certainly not the ‘million dollar’ performance we know Whitney is capable of.

With her comeback album, I Look To You, doing really well on the Billboard charts, Whitney Houston made her way all the to Germany to further promote her album. On the show she performed her title track ‘I Look To You’ as well as gave a nice little interview.

Though not up to normal Whitney standards, this was a really nice performance. A couple falty notes here or there but Whitney’s runs are AMAZING! And the ending just blew me away. The best performance she’s given this era! I applaud her!

Whitney Houston has premiered her second music video for ‘Million Dollar Bill’. The track samples Loleatta Holloway’s 1976 single ‘We’re Getting Stronger’, and was co-written and produced by Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz. It is the second offering to be lifted from Whitney’s comeback album ‘I Look to You’. Watch the Melina-directed video below:

With a million dollar song comes a million dollar look and a million dollar video. Whitney looked absolutely f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c! Ms Houston was working the hell out of those dresses and those heels. Her stage charisma at the club was sexy and brimmed with hordes of confidence. Not to mention that her fierce little walk at the end was bonafide professional diva-ism. Loved it!

The second part of Whitney Houston’s in-depth interview with Oprah aired last night (Sept 15th). At the personal request of Oprah, Whitney performed her buzz track ‘I Didn’t Know My Own Strength’. Watch the performance below:

Whitney’s voice was deep, soulful and very husky but she sang that. It was definetely a better and more superior contrast to the disastrous performance she delivered on Good Morning America. It was like watching a woman in church preaching all her heart and soul to God. As we all know, Whitney may not be able to hit the notes she did back in her heyday and in parts, it wasn’t perfect. However, as with few of the legendary powerhouses, that can be expected. Age and drugs can all have a profound effect on ones vocals. Clearly, she can still do her runs and I thought it was really touching how she gave all her believers a personal shout-out. I think that last note at the end is the closest we’re going to get to hearing hints of Whitney’s heyday vocals. That said, an outstanding performance throughout.

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Whitney Houston poured her heart out to chat show queen Oprah Winfrey in the first part of her tell-all interview and no stone was left unturned. The first segment premiered last night (Sept 14th) in which Whitney confesses that her drug addiction started to get out of control after she made the 1992 film ‘The Bodyguard’. Whitney - who has sold more than 140 million albums worldwide - also opened up about the pressures of being an icon as well as her turbulant marriage to ex-husband Bobby Brown. After 14 years of marriage, the couple split in 2006 and were divorced in 2007. Whitney also has full custody of their 16-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina. Check out Whitney’s most candid interview below:

Some of it was really shocking because she really did go into indepth detail about the extent of her drug abuse. She also opens up about the domestic abuse which plaqued the more intense years of her marriage. I was also shocked at how much emotional and physical abuse she put up with before deciding to leave. Love is definetely blind because Whitney’s judgement became really clouded and she obviously felt obligated to make the marriage work. She says Bobby was also jealous of her fame which also contributed to their marital problems. Insightful interview. The second part of the interview will air later tonight.

Whitney Houston premiered her new music video for latest single ‘I Look to You’. The song, as we all know (unless you’ve been living under a rock) is taken from her current No1 album of the same name. It’s not understood why she is releasing music videos at THIS point. Isn’t it suppose to be radio airplay, music video and THEN album release? To answer my question, this IS Whitney gotdamn Houston so of course she can change the dynamics and get away with it. Watch the Chris Robinson-directed video below:

This was a very classy, elegant and simplistic video. The message of the song was conveyed very well. However, I have to be honest and admit that the video itself was bordering on being a little cheesy. I was expecting some angels, doves and rainbows to appear or for Whitney to grow some wings and fly off into a dusky sunset. Overall, it was a nice video for what it was.

Whitney Houston is doing it big this week. Without the aid of a music video and very little promotion (aside from a poor vocal performance on GMA), the diva has sold an impressive 301K of her new album ‘I Look To You’. Her impressive first week sales has secured her the top #1 position on the Billboard 200…

Whit’s new album is not my cup of tea, but this latest success could not have happened to a more deserving person. Bear in mind that her interview with OPRAH has yet to air so just imagine how her sales will soar some more once the 2-part interview hits the silver screen next week (Sept 14th & 15th). Then we also have new video premieres for ‘I Look To You’ (tomorrow on Sept 10th) and ‘Million Dollar Bill’ (next week on Sept 16th). It’s all about to pop off.

That Grape Juice got the official word from Whitney Houston’s team regarding the debut of her two new videos: ‘I Look To You’ (Sept 12th) and ‘Million Dollar Bill’ (Sept 16th). You can also expect a performance of ‘I Didn’t Know My Own Strength’ on The Oprah Winfrey Show next week.

With the disastrous vocal performances she put on this week, I’m not sure how much more my delicate ears can take. Having said that, I do anticipate the music videos and the overall interview. Everybody loves an emotional tale from time to time.

Whitney Houston spoke with Oprah this week as she opens up in one of her most indepth interview ever. The iconic singer talks about her latest comeback to the music scene and her past traumas (her drug addiction and divorce to Bobby Brown). The interview will air over a 2-day period - September 14th and 15th. Both showings will be full one hour episodes. Here is a sneak peak:

No topic off limits. And of course her album sales will sour. Whit’s new album ‘I Look To You’ is already predicted to sell in the 250-275k range. The interview is going to be an emotional rollercoaster so folk better stack up on those tissues.