Recently, Whitney Houston passed away. The cause of her death is still unknown. But everyone knew what an impact she made on the music world and what an amazing voice she had.
Over her lifetime, she had 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards. She was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis. Houston released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification.
Whitney Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits including "Saving All My Love for You"; "How Will I Know"; "Greatest Love of All"; "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"; "Didn't We Almost Have It All"; "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go".
Houston was a mezzo-soprano, and was commonly referred to as "The Voice" in reference to her incredible vocal talent. Her vocal range extended from G below middle C (G3) to high B-flat (B♭5. She was third in MTV's list of 22 Greatest Voices, and sixth on Online Magazine COVE's list of the 100 Best Pop Vocalists with a score of 48.5/50. In 2008, Rolling Stone listed Houston as the thirty-fourth of the 100 greatest singers of all time, stating, "Her voice is a mammoth, coruscating cry: Few vocalists could get away with opening a song with 45 unaccompanied seconds of singing, but Houston's powerhouse version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" is a tour de force."
Whitney Houston's vocal styling has had a significant impact on the music industry. She has been called the "Queen of Pop" for her influence during the 1990s, becoming a rival to Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. Stephen Holden from The New York Times, in his review of Houston's Radio City Music Hall concert on July 20, 1993, praised her attitude as a singer highly, writing "Whitney Houston is one of the few contemporary pop stars of whom it might be said: the voice suffices. While almost every performer whose albums sell in the millions calls upon an entertainer's bag of tricks, from telling jokes to dancing to circus pyrotechnics, Ms. Houston would rather just stand there and sing."
Not only did Whitney influence people with her voice, but also with her ability to break down racial barriers. During the 1980s, MTV was becoming popular and received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by black artists. With Michael Jackson breaking down the color barrier for black male artists, Houston did the same for black female artists. She became one of the few black female artists to receive heavy rotation on the network following the success of the "How Will I Know" video. Following Houston's breakthrough, other African-American female artists, such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker, were successful in popular music. Baker stated that "Because of what Whitney and Sade did, there was an opening for me... For radio stations, black women singers aren't taboo anymore.”
It is obvious that Whitney had a substantial impact on the music world. Her voice was unlike anyone else’s and no one could quite match her talent. She was beautiful and sang to an almost perfection. Although I myself haven’t really listened to her as much as some other, from what I have heard, she’s unbelievably talented. Nowadays, we don’t see these kinds of voices, the kinds of voices that move you and hit all the right notes.
Whitney may have passed, but her legend will live on for being such an important part to great music.
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