RIP Whitney Houston

At her peak, Whitney Houston, was by some distance, the best female singer of all time. Blessed with a gorgeous powerful voice, an unbelievable vocal range and a beautiful sincere face, she was packaged for super stardom. Moreover, she was versatile - adapt to gospel, R&B, pop and most importantly, ballads. She was born to perform.

Whitney burst onto the global stage in her early 20s with her debut album in 1985, "Whitney", an album which produced three number ones songs - "Saving All My Love for You", "How Will I Know" and "The Greatest Love of All", a record for a debut album. Three years later, she released "Whitney Houston", an album that would smash all records. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 charts, the first for a female artist. It remained at number one for eleven consecutive weeks, another record. The first four singles, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" all hit number one, making her the first female artist to achieve that feat. With the three number ones from her first album, Whitney Houston remains the only female artist to have seven consecutive number ones on the Billboard 100 chart. She remains the most awarded female artist of all time with 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards. In 1988, she sang "One Moment in Time" for the Summer Olympics, which remains for me, the defining song for the Olympic movement. Her pinnacle was her powerhouse version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You", where she sings unaccompanied for a full 45 seconds without once going off key, and then displaying her powerful vocals throughout the song. It became her best selling single of all time.

Whitney Houston defined the late 80s and early 90s and like many, she was part of my growing up years. I owned both vinyl copies of "Whitney" and "Whitney Houston" and remembered dancing, studying, eating, and sleeping to her music. I was not alone. Sony Walkman's were filled with cassettes playing her songs.

But at an age where Madonna was just getting started, and with her best years were ahead of her, the world started to say goodbye to Whitney. In her late 20s, Whitney married Bobby Brown and she entered into a world of drugs and abuse. And although she has tried multiple comebacks since, Whitney was never the same again.

On 12 Frb 2012, at the age of 48, she tragically passed away and will not be seen again. Fondly remembered and a loss to the world. RIP Whitney.