I was never a huge Whitney Houston fan. I appreciated her talent and enjoyed her in the movie The Preacher's Wife but her style of singing has never been my favorite. As anyone who has read this blog knows, Mariah and Celine leave me cold and their diva wanna bee imitators leave me colder. I will always love Dolly's version of *And I Will Always Love You* more than Whitney's version. But her death is sad for those people who knew her and loved her and for her fans. What a waste...she hooked up with Bobby Brown and was addicted to him as much as the drugs and she ruined her talent and what was left of her too short life. Her first album came out in 1985. She married Brown in 1992 the year the Bodyguard was released. She had seven years of career excellence and twenty years of decline.
That said, for the first time in a number of years, I watched the Grammy's tonight to see how they would handle honoring her and they did a good job with ONE HUGE notable exception. Diana Ross is a cold woman. Not only did she not mention Whitney she acted oblivious to her passing by saying *Aren't we all having FUNNN!*. I cannot remember but I hope she didn't get a standing ovation when she came out. I read that at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party on Saturday night, she did the did the same thing... while all the other performers were offering condolences and kind words, she came out and sang her song without a mention of Whitney's loss.
Jennifer Hudson was amazing. She didn't try to sing it like Whitney but her performance paid homage to Whitney. I cannot believe she lost Idol...to whom? Was it Taylor Hicks?
I enjoyed the show altogether with the exception of Chris Brown, the dance music segment, and the very talentless Nicki Minaj. Nicki Minaj is trying to outdo Gaga who has tried to outdo Madonna. Her song was ridiculous, her red riding hood gown was ridiculous and her date, dressed like the Pope was ridiculous.
I had not heard any of the new songs sung tonight (except for the Idol performer's butchering Rolling in The Deep) and I was surprised how much I liked them...even Bruno Mars and the Foo Fighters. Other than Hudson, the highlight of the show for me was Alicia Keyes and Bonnie Raitt honoring Etta James. Glen Campbell was poignant. And Taylor Swift was good too.
Adele seems like a nice person. I'm happy for her well-deserved success.
But Diana Ross can go back to her hotel room and shrivel away. I've read she has always been a mean person and she has probably turned worse with age.
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