Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9, 1963) is an American pop and R&B singer, actress, film producer, record producer, songwriter, and former fashion model. Her crossover success opened doors for other African Americans, particularly women, to find success in pop music. She has been frequentely referred to as "The Voice". She is known mainly for her "powerful, penetrating pop-gospel voice."
During the 1980s, Houston was one the first black artists to receive regular rotation on MTV in the network's early years during a white male rock dominated time. Her debut album became the biggest selling debut album of all time for a solo artist (a record that has since been broken), her follow up album became the first album by a female artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200, and she had a record seven consecutive #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Houston continued her success into Hollywood in the 1990s, starting with the box office hit The Bodyguard. The soundtrack would become the best selling soundtrack of all time, and the single "I Will Always Love You" the best selling single by a female artist and 6th best selling song in history of music. She continued the decade with other successful and culturally significant projects before returning to the studio. Houston is the fourth best-selling female recording artist according to the Recording Industry Association of America and is the "The Most Awarded Female Artist of All Time" according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
After Houston married former R&B singer Bobby Brown at the height of her career, rumors of drug and spousal abuse started to affect her career. This led to a decline in her public image and her album sales dropped during the 2000s. Her personal troubles and erratic behavior would be talked about more than any of her music, regularly appearing in the tabloid press. Houston underwent two drug rehab programs in 2005 and 2006. After a successful second program in 2006, Houston divorced Brown and gained custody of their only daughter. She has since been working on her 7th studio album with music mogul and close friend and mentor Clive Davis, who confirmed that the album will be released in November 2008.
