Whitney Houston was once heralded as one of the best vocalists of our time but after years of drug abuse and smoking, the woman formerly known as The Voice is only a shell of her former self. Now, after years of supporting her talent, the man who guided Houston’s career, Clive Davis, has revealed his frustrations regarding the singer’s blatant disregard for her own talent.
Davis sat down with The New York Times for an extensive interview where he discussed his amazing career in the music industry and was asked to share his thoughts concerning Houston’s drug abuse. The media mogul was quite frank with his response to the question and noted that it was very “upsetting” to watch her squander her gifts. Yet, Davis remains hopeful that she would someday regain her former glory.
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There is no doubt that Davis’ frustrations with Houston have also been experienced by many of her fans. She had one of the most impressive voices in the history of recorded music and such a remarkable command of her instrument yet she carelessly threw it away as she fed her addictions.
Yes, most of the famed vocalists of the 1990s – Houston, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion, for instance – don’t have the ability to sing like they did during their primes but Houston’s downfall could only be described as catastrophic. Some people may not understand these comments so let me be perfectly clear: at her best, there were probably only less than ten other artists who could compete with Houston but she chose to do drugs; she chose to abuse her gift; and she chose abandon her craft to satisfy her own selfish desires.
Also, to those persons who claim that Carey drinks alcohol and that it damaged her voice, that may have been a factor in her gradual vocal decline but she could still deliver terrific performances and once she is rested, she sounds better than most singers out today. Moreover, to those people who say that Dion lip-syncs every single show, that is generally true but when she does sing live, she is still a force with which to be reckoned.
Houston, on the other hand, could barely hold a note in her current condition and her best showings of the last few years were of her singing ‘I Look To You’ and ‘Didn’t Know My Own Strength’, which are both incredibly simple songs for almost any act to handle. Thus, Davis and anyone with functioning ears are justified to feel upset or even disgusted. Let’s just pray that Houston rebounds to an acceptable singing standard or at least makes the decision to retire.
Click here to watch Davis talk about Houston’s drug abuse (at the 46:30 mark).
She was this beautiful swan who sung with elegance and passion but this is what happens when you allow people to dictate who you are. I remember when people thought she wasn’t “black” enough and then she decided to marry “bad boy” Bobby Brown and it went downhill from there. I blame Bobby… Yeah I said it.
trent you are such a hater. To use clive’s thoughts to fuel your hate and jealousy is sort of pathetic if not expected. BTW, she is still known as ‘the voice’ and why throw mariah in this but since you did, let’s not forget her trick tot he crazy house and her suicide attempt and her fondness for the alka, alka, alkahol!
substance abuse like mental abuse is a disease. I thank god whitney is still alive whether she sings another note or not.
I’d say mariah attempting to take her own life is equally selfish and the one sin that is not pardonable by god if she had succeeded so get down of your ‘mora’ high horse.
Clive said “It was upsetting to see someone with her gift go through what she went through”. He didn’t say he was upset with her.
Thanks for writing this trent because now everyone will see you protest too much when people call you a whitney hater. you stay pressed about her and this hateful, spiteful, non empathetic article says everything about you.
Whitney and mariah are peers and have never been at odds at each other. They both had ups and downs in their careers, bad men choices etc At the end of the day they still here like the poster said above.
Clive said it was upsetting to see not that he was upset with her. Lots of artists had personal problems whether criminal, substance or whatever but if they come out alive I’m happy. It’s there life. No one is perfect so we can’t judge and no one knows what they are feeling or going through.
For Mariah to attempt her life, I’m sure she was feeling some kinda way but you not gonna condemn her and call her selfish cuz you a stan, funny how that works.
Bless both Whitney and Mariah. 2 of the best that ever did it and shame on you Trenisha!
This article was posted at ClassicWhitney(fag).com, so expect the Whitney apologist to come out in full force. Whitney is a has been and while I still play her music and support her I will not be like the “girls” at ClassicWhitney and continue to call her “The Voice” because she has not been that since the 90′s.
The Muslim Queer Manish and women-hating LoverforLife can go suck a big egg along with skinny queer SpecialKev.
@Ni, I think it’s really easy for all of us as outsiders to blame Bobby for Whitney having an addiction because of Bobby’s “Bad Boy” persona/reputation. But at the same time, Whitney has to be accountable for the choices that she has made. Whether Bobby introduced her to drugs or not, she made the choice to continue.
Whitney had such an excellent voice and it’s shameful what happened to it. I have hope that she can get completely back on track but she has to make the commitment.
Whilst I’m not a fan of Celine’s I actually don’t think her voice has deteriorated at all. I also don’t believe she mimes in her shows. I seen her live and not one note was mimed. I think singing just comes easy to her.
We all know that Whitney’s voice has suffered severe damage over the years. There is no changing that. With that said, I find this blog to be so ridiculous biased when it comes to Whitney. Twisting words and meanings is a CHEAP trick that suits this cheap site. You know very well what Clive said and what he meant. Shame on you.
this is why folks always bring mariah up whenever Trent shows bias to others. What does a comparison to mariah or Celine have to do with Whitney’s vocal decline? instead of keeping the article about Whitney you somehow had to try to praise mariah to TRY and make her look better.
and lets keep it real in Whitney’s prime NO ONE could rival her and Mariah hasn’t given a decent 100% LIVE vocal in years even though 90% of her catalog since 95 have been simple songs an act could handle.
Bobby was a horrible husband. So let’s not act like he had nothing to do with Whitney’s state. There are court documents and a police report testifying to his physical abuse of her. On their trip on a boat she suffered a mysterious cut to her face after arguing with Bobby that had to be patched by plastic surgeous. He cheated on her multiple times throughout 14years of marriage and she nver cheated. she supported his kids and family and paid his child support so yeah, Bobby is a piece of crap for how he treated her and shares some responsibility for her state. Only a saint could have put up with his bi-polar ass!
This is about Whitney, so let’s stick to subject. Trent knew people were going to bring up Mariah anyway (I’ve seen it all the time).
Mariah NEVER attempted suicide. She respects life way too much. The media made that story up along with countless others.
What’s even sicker is how some people would just love that to be true, so they automatically believe it. Since it’s false, as per Mariah’s very own mother, it thus nullifies attempts to point out supposed hypocrisy in Trent’s article.
Anyway, I wish Whitney the best.
mariah did attempt suicide and was very incoherent and not of her right mind, listen to the tape , that’s why she was admitted to a pysche center for care but you right, this not but mariah even though trent made her a topic when he attempted to shade whitney again and bring mariah in it to make her look better as if as a human she didn’t have issues either or made poor choises.
I think the poster was right as are the others pointing out Trent hypocrisy and long standing history of shading whitney.
THANK YOU for being real Trent!! I have been saying these things FOR YEARS!
People need to stop making excuses for Whitney. She threw away her talent and didn’t give a fuck about anybody else except herself.
Trent brought up Mariah & Celine because EVERY SINGLE TIME he does an article people attack Mariah even when he doesn’t mention her! Just read the Jay-Z post!
Whitney stans are predictable with their excuses and Trent shut the RIGHT UP with this! GGREAT WORK!
Clive Davis have several f*cking seats thank you! Why is he bad mouthing her all of a sudden? She is both starring in and producing the remake of “Sparkle”. She has had many personal issues mainly centered around her now ex-husband but is trying to move forward. Shut Up Clive!
Trent is lying for hits. Clive Davis never said he was upset with Whitney, he said it was upsetting to see , big difference. At the end of the day, Whitney is still ‘The Voice’ and all of the other divas besides Aretha and Diana sit at her feet including Mariah, Celine, Beyonce, Christina and Jennifer and yed Trent you will continue to deal and be pressed!
This is an incredibly ignorant and naive view on addiction. Addiction is a disease, you talk about her getting into drugs like she was taking up Yoga.
Celine, Mariah and Whitney are the vocal Trilogy its obvious that they are going to be compared and mentioned in the same sentence.
“you talk about her getting into drugs like she was taking up Yoga.” HAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA
@TheMan4u incorrect.
Mariahs live performances of I Want To know What Love Is from the Memoirs era were incredible.
People should just accept facts.
Forget about the other divas, stans should really care about the person who’s been struggling with this horrible addiction for years. Mariah can’t sing? She tried to kill herself? Celine mimes or not? Bottom line: Who cares?!
This is about Whitney and what Trent wrote is true: she chose drugs over her career. Stop the excuses.
The least of things an addict needs is more excuses.
the last thing ad addict needs is to be talked abut as a non human, trashed and demeaned. The last thing a ‘credible’ blogger needs is to misquote Clive Davis. The other divas are being talked about because Trent introduced them into the topic not because people are finding excuses. He’s on twitter trashing whitney again that her stans are mad because she is not making music when she has been working for the last 2 years to get Sparkle into production and has just worked 8wks in Detroit starring, executive producing and promoting Sparkle but of course he wouldn’t mention that would he?
Same as can be said Mariah chose drinking over her voice as it is clear her voice has declined and there are youtubes all over the world of her drunk, tipsy, or with alcohol in her hand so yep, tell the truth but tell all of it.
@DomoDotScore I understand I and the public shouldn’t fault Bobby because ultimately it was her choice and I do wish/hope that she will regain the heavenly voice back. I know deep down inside she regrets choices that where made. I believe we all at times think we a invincible. Just sad.
Clive isn’t upset with Whitney personally. He’s upset with her drug addiction/vocal decline. More like a Father who is disappointed in some of their child’s life choices, but still loves them no matter what. Trent, Whitney doesn’t owe you or her fans anything. Her voice is hers, it’s her choice if she wants to abuse it by continuing to smoke. And it’s her choice if she wants to still sing professionally. She still has fans who buy her work, her last album did better than a lot of her 80s/90s peers (Janet, Mariah, Mary, Prince, Madonna). It was better than most of them too.
Whitney’s in a good place right now, I’m just happy she’s alive, not selling out and still releasing something new every 2-3 years. Her voice is okay imo. I still hope it’ll improve though. I don’t know why this is being brought up AGAIN. And for the people saying drug addiction is the same as mental illness (mariah) it’s NOT. Mental health is a disease, drug addiction is a choice.
Know what’s funny! Trent is a huge mariah stan and yet Whitney posts stay the most commented on, lol! No matter what state she is in, interest in her remain high. Can’t wait for ‘Sparkle’ movie to hit this August!
@FaReal and thats another thing that burns him up, o matter how much he dogs her out she still trumps his fav.
@FaReal these posts only get many comments because idiots spend more time defending Whitney than actually addressing the issue. If you pay attention you would notice that the same Whitney fans comment over and over
Am I the only Whitney fan who agrees with Trent? I love her talent but not her actions
@kris i still see more posters for whitney than mariah no matter how much he shades whitney and lifts mariah. even when whitney has some positive press still more posts for her than for his fav, now what!
not that people have to come here to defend whitney but more that trent is obsessed with whitney read his twitter, lots of random disses on whitney out of the blue, he’s a hater but he can’t stay away from whitney, lol. watch when sparkle roles around he won’t be able to stand it especially as whitney has always done well in movies
Whitney is human, who are we to judge her? Yeah she made mistakes, but who are we to put all these expectations on her? She has given us plenty of music to refer back to, that should be enough. Leave her be. No one is perfect.
Whitney Houston needs a vocal coach, a larynxologist and better care and she will be back. Clive dont need to worry.
Whitney fans are funny. Mariah has given many great performances. Don’t be angry with her because she can still deliver. Mariah has even improved on certain parts of her singing. Even when Mariah isn’t in an article Whitney fans are bitter and try to put her in it, to the idiot that said that Mariah was by Whitney’s feet stop playing with yourself, for that is a bold face lie….
I wish Whitney could still sing but she can’t. She smoked her career away so why are we mad at Trent for simply stating the facts?
UGH! Nothing can take away Whitney’s past “glory” performances. On their BEST day Mariah and Celine couldn’t stand downwind of Whitney’s farts. Mariah NEVER had any stage presence, she is ALWAYS wooden, stiff as a board, like a deer in headlights and time hasn’t mellowed that. She always cared more about her appearance than her sound. Whitney’s last album went number one around the world and she has TWO (possibly 3) high profile movies in the works. None of these women will ever match their former glory nor will they have sales like hey once did. Who cares. Whitney was never dropped by a record label (fired!), let alone TWO and never had a CD be cancelled. There is a reason Mariah never had a movie career.
Did this LAMB stan really just diss “I Look To You” and “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength”? Don’t make me laugh. I’m sure Whitney was really SAD that she couldn’t record “Obsessed”. To the author of the article, is is the weed or the E, why you so obsessed w/Whitney??? Poor Mariah, she should name her next fragrance “Desperation”, cause that’s how she comes off at this point. Sorry, but true.
Wow…maybe Whitney should retire. She really can’t sing anymore. I want to see Sparkle though!
WHITNEY HOUSTON is a CRACKHEAD who threw her gift away. Whitney stans come off as idiots trying to agrue anything other the the obvious, she is the poorest of all the divas and she can no longer sing.
Well said, I guess you would know better than me but I still think MC is good now as she was back then…shrugs shoulders
and yeah mariah is a drunk and easy go went from man to man,had eminem skeet on her, went to a crazy home, dropped from label and had cd cancelled and what! they both don’t have perfect lives. have compassion for both and focus on their careers not their personal life.
p.s. bt that poster is right for calling trent out, how hard is obsessed,lol and those lyrics to some of her songs are highschool no strike middle school musings,
get up out my face, wtf! what kind of lyrics are those?
Thank u for posting this, Trent. People need to know how Mariah chaned the game! The lessor stans will never understand
Clive Davis killed Whitney. Behinde the music industry is the Devil. Yes. He is Real. Him and Clive are good friends. Too many people associated with this man have died under strange circumstanses. Check me and do the research. Janis Joplin,Jenifer Hudson Family, Notorious B.I.G.(Clive is the real head of Bad Boy), Tupac(He tried to tell us
Puffy was behind his NY shooting), Left Eye(pulled gun on him and signed to Laface Records also headed by your boy ,yep Clive) . These devils have infiltrated black music and they think we stupid. Janis Joplin died almost identically the same way Whitney did. And all the money from her music is going to Clive Davis. Not Bobbi Christina. Dont believe what the media is saying. There job is to misinform. We are living in the last days yaw. We need to stand up and wake up. Get off of Facebook and do some research. All the info is right at our fingertips, and it might not be there for long thanks to our “brother” Obama!!!!