"A lot of people
care about her,
and a lot of
people are
worried about
her."
--Whitney Houston
confidante
Houston, you don't have a problem, you have problems--as anyone who watched your live HBO special could attest.
It certainly wasn't hard to miss: Glistening in the spotlight at Washington's Constitution Hall, there you were, in all your gorgeous divinity. Unfortunately, the divine diva had the night off and was replaced by a crackly-voiced pretender whose pancake was sweating off faster than she was mispronouncing words.
According to your lazy lips, your celebrated cousin had her name changed to Dionne Wah-ick. "Music" became "moo-ic," etc.
(The spangly, white gown, however, was certainly nothing to moo--I mean boo--at.)
"It was awful," said a critic who attended the concert, which was rehearsed and taped on the Friday before it debuted live a few weeks ago. "No doubt HBO will be releasing the Friday version instead when it comes out on videotape."
(By the way, Ms. Houston: Please be advised that illicit tapes of your Sunday show are fast replacing the notorious Farrah-on-Letterman appearance as the entertainment bootleg.)
"Absolutely, the Friday version will be the one [HBO] will release," confided a Houston camper. "She went on too long Sunday. She rambled, and she kept breaking up."
Maybe the megatalented singer had a "stomach virus." You know, that thing she said she had when she canceled out on Rosie O'Donnell's talkie at the last minute (and the culprit, no doubt, behind the "unbelievably difficult" ways Houston exhibited during the filming of TV's Cinderella, the producers of which were "beside themselves" over her tantrums, according to colleagues of the producers who tried to console them).
But W.H.'s viruses are the instamatic kind, you realize, since she was, for example, able to attend a Letterman taping with hubby Bobby the very same day she blew off Rosie.
"We told her what a stupid thing that was to do," said Houston's confidante. Her flack would not comment. "But she won't listen. Honestly, I don't know how much more of this stuff--the lies, the behavior--we're all going to be able to put up with. Somebody's got to do something."
And, according to the Houston pal, nobody wants to be the one to confront the strong-willed performer on whatever demons are fueling her willful antics.
Shame. She's too big a talent (not to mention the mama of a little girl who needs her) to continue to shoop-shoop these embarrassments under the rug. And, baby, W.H. must have a pretty big carpet collection if she thinks discombobulated TV performances ain't gonna be noticed.
From Entertainment Online
Please E-mail any news to me.
E-mail Music Man
Get your own Free Home Page