Whitney On Tour WITH NEW STYLE, NEW ATTITUDE - singer Whitney Houston

Ebony, Sept, 1999 by Lynn Norment

WITH five-octave vocals, dazzling production and high-style dance and fashion, Whitney Houston is taking the music world by storm with her first concert tour in five years. No one is surprised by the success of the tour or the brilliance of Whitney's voice. But the divine diva is creating quite a stir around the world, and her concert tickets are in great demand.

Kicking off in Chicago, and going on to thrill sold-out audiences in Detroit, Boston, New York, Atlanta, Memphis, Los Angeles and other major U.S. cities, she and her entourage have crisscrossed the country and created glowing headlines in the process. She is about to take the spectacular show to Europe, where a ticket frenzy already is in motion. Whitney is delivering a great show and passionately demonstrating to fans that she still has what it takes to keep an audience enthralled. She is accompanied by four dancers, four backup singers and a six-piece band. Adding even more glitz to the glamour is Whitney's fabulous wardrobe from designers Dolce and Gabbana. Draped in furs and feathers, sequins and rhinestones, Houston is decked out in slinky, body-revealing gowns and catsuits, jeweled Capri pants, sheer blouses and overskirts, ornate hip-hugging belts, sexy stilettos and snakeskin boots.

The couture wardrobe flatters her slim figure but does not detract from the star of the show: The Voice. That wondrous instrument, along with Whitney's strong delivery and charismatic stage presence, enthralls and enthuses the packed audiences, inspiring thunderous applause, standing ovations and shouts of approval. That voice also has sold more than 100 million records around the world and earned Houston a pedestal on top of the pop music industry.

During a day off from the tour, Whitney spends a sunny afternoon at a Connecticut restaurant with husband Bobby Brown. With braided hair swept under a scarf, she is casually dressed in knit pants and feeling good after recovering from a throat ailment that caused the cancellation of her Washington, D.C., show. The previous night she gave a glorious performance in Boston and has a couple of days off before she goes on in Hartford.

While enjoying a meal of stuffed crab, lobster, baked potato, coleslaw and fried clams ("Oh, yes, we are throwing down!"), she reveals that she has mixed emotions about the tour. "I love performing; that's what I do," she says. "I love singing and I love it with my soul. The actual touring part is a strain. If you can just keep your focus on what you really love to do and what you're out here for, it can be a joyous thing. It can feel good to you. Because you get that love that you can't get from just being in a recording studio.

"You get that love from the people. It lets me know that all the madness I go through, all the stuff that the business has to offer with all its madness; it makes it worthwhile."

Whitney adds that this time out she wanted to do theaters rather than arenas; most of the venues have seating for 5,000 to 6,000 people. "I wanted to be closer to the people, more intimate," she explains. "I'm a singer and I'm an interpreter. I like for people to know what I've got on, to hear what I'm singing ... I wanted to play places where people could come and intimately hear me and see me. It's been a long time."

In fact, her last tour was five years ago in 1994. At that time she played large arenas, and had no problem filling them up. Since then she has toured overseas and performed at special events, in videos and on television, including several HBO specials and the recent VH1 Divas Live '99. This time out, Whitney's show is infused with hip-hop rhythms, and she appears to genuinely have fun stepping with her sassy dancers (one of whom is sister-in-law Carolyn Brown) and playfully interacting with the talented band and backup singers. From the stage she acknowledges that she is not a dancer--"I'm a singer; that's what I do best"--and she saves her energy for just that.

That energy and her vibrant personality shine through in each song--the hurt lover on "Heartbreak Hotel," the streetwise Sister-friend on "In My Business," the passionate diva on "I Will Always Love You," the megahit from The Bodyguard movie soundtrack, the biggest-selling soundtrack of all time. Throughout the two-hour, 20-song performance, Whitney sashays and struts, preaches and teaches, scolds and jokes.

About midway through the concert, she brings the audience to its feet with three gospel songs, including the exhilarating "The Rock" from The Preacher's Wife soundtrack, the bestselling gospel album in Billboard chart history, and it is clear that this artist grew up singing in the church. During U.S. concert dates, daughter Bobbi Kristina, age 6, joined her onstage for the reggae-flavored "My Love Is Your Love" (written and produced by Wyclef Jean), and the youngster performs her part by encouraging the audience to "clap your hands." After getting a kiss from mom, Krissy took her bows and left the stage as the proud mother exclaimed, "That's my baby, me and Bobby's baby!"