“As I lay me down, heaven hear me now. I’m lost without a cause, after giving it my all. Winter storms have come, and darkened my sun. After all that I’ve been through, who on earth can I turn to? I look to you,” quoted from the song “I Look to You” by Whitney Houston. Whitney Houston came out with this song after she got out of rehab, making it seem like it was her recovery song or letting her world of fans know she was back. Everyone always has a “rough patch” in life whether they want to or not, even celebrities. Whitney also called “Nippy” was born on August 9, 1963 in Newark, New Jersey. Whitney is an American recording artist, actress, and former fashion model. Whitney began singing in her church choir wanting nothing more than to become a backup singer like her mother. But by the time she was eleven, she refuse to be in the background any longer and desired to take center stage one evening to sing a solo (“Whitney Houston Biography”) I entered this because I thought it would show how she desired singing and wanted her voice to be acknowledged. This was only the beginning of Whitney’s classic life into stardom. This essay should prove that anyone can make mistakes and still be remembered as great. People should know that she made mistakes but she took her mistakes and made it her testimony.

As the daughter of Cissy Houston, a successful rhythm-and-blues backup singer, Whitney grew up around music. Whitney wanted to be a singer because she watched her mother sing daily and she wanted to do nothing more than to become just like her. Whitney was dedicated to music. Whitney was one of the most admired and successful singers in the 1980s and 1990s (Whitney) I added this in this paragraph to acknowledge the fact that her growing up around music paid off. Whitney began performing along with her mother at night clubs in the New York City area. When Whitney took center stage one evening to sing a solo at her church, the power of her performance motivated many in the congregation to tears. “I was aware of people staring at me. No one moved. They seemed almost in trance. I just stared at the clock in the center of the church. When I finished, everyone clapped and started crying,” said Whitney. Houston’s combination of exceptional church-inflected high-pitched voice placed her into the spotlight. After a while, Whitney went into teen modeling and graced the cover of many magazines such as Seventeen and Glamour. At the same time, she went into acting and dancing, appeared in television commercials and sitcoms, and made many singing dates. But all of these events were warm-up exercises for the singing career she was destined for. Often in preparation for her predictable rise to global pop stardom was a concern of her and her family. Weeks after her 18th birthday she signed a management contract with Gene Harvey. Under his assistance, she continued modeling, took more dancing and acting classes, and she also worked on her voice. Houston loved to give to the community. She was charitable bent, making significant contributions to the United Negro College Fund, the Children’s Diabetes Fund, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and several AIDS-related organizations, and she established the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children, Inc., a nonprofit organization whose work assists homeless children and children with cancer and AIDS (Biography) this is important because it gives information on what type of person Houston is. Whitney didn’t mind giving to the community but she was determined to become a singer and share her gift with the world through music.

From the moment Whitney opened her mouth to sing, it was obvious that she was destined for greatness. Houston first put her talent to use professionally as a teenager by singing backup for Chaka Khan, an American singer, and Lou Rawls, a contemporary singer. Whitney spent many years developing her vocals and making calls to different industries soon Houston was ready for the epic time of her life. In 1985, she signed with Artista Records, because its president, Clive Davis, had proven track record of picking hits for his singers, not to mention a reputation for letting artists take their time to mature (Whitney Houston) this is important information because this was basically the start of her career as a solo artist. Two years had passed before her debut LP was released, and in the interim, Houston increased her profile by performing for her industry bigwigs, appearing on television shows, and helping her advisers select songs for her album. Applying a fast technique to R&B, soul, and disco arrangements, Houston eponymous debut spun off three number 1 singles they were “Saving All My Love for You,” “How Will I Know,” and “The Greatest Love of All.” She also sold more than 13 million copies to become the best-selling debut of all time by a female solo artist. Not only was it the first album by a female to enter the charts at number one, but she became the first artist in history to score seven consecutive number one hits, surpassing milestones set by the Beatles and the Bee Gees. “Saving All My Love for You” earned Houston her first Grammy award and she spent the next two years touring in the support of her album (“Whitney Houston Biography”) this is important because this explains all of her accomplishments as a female solo artist. Whitney worked hard on her album and it was now time to take a break.

After five years of constant touring Houston decided to take some time off to acquaint herself with the palatial, $11 million Mendham, N.J., mansion she had purchased. Houston’s down time allowed her a chance to get her personal life in order. After being romantically linked with Jermaine Jackson, Eddie Murphy, and quarterback Randall Cunningham, Houston took up with bad-boy rhythm-and-blues artist Bobby Brown. In 1992, she then got married to Bobby Brown and then later gave birth to their daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, on March 4, 1993. During her marriage to Brown in the late 90’s her behavior changed. She was hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals, and canceling concerts and talk-show appearances often. Brown brought a certain amount of baggage into the marriage like three out-of-wedlock children by two women, for starters but despite all the couple’s highly publicized contretemps since the wedding day, Houston continues to profess her love for Brown (“Whitney Houston Biography”) this is important because this is when Whitney began her life away from music and this leads to her “down” part of life. With the missed performances and weight loss, rumors about Houston using drugs with her husband circulated. On January 11, 2000, airport security guards discovered marijuana in both Houston’s and husband Bobby Brown’s luggage at a Hawaiian airport, but the two boarded the plane and departed before authorities could arrive. Charges were later dropped against her and Brown, but rumors of drug usage among the couple would continue to surface. Whitney was interviewed by Diane Sawyer and she was asked about the rumors of drug usage and her marriage and replied, “First of all, let’s get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let’s get that straight. Okay? We don’t do crack. We don’t do that. Crack is wack.” In 2002, Houston admitted in a television interview to abusing cocaine, marijuana, and various other drugs. She also said she had stop using the illegal drugs, but was seemingly making this admission to address the rumors about her lifestyle. After fourteen years of marriage, Whitney and Bobby divorced in April 24, 2007 and Whitney granted custody of the couple’s daughter. In 2004, Whitney entered herself into rehab seeking treatment for drug and alcohol addiction (Whitney Houston) this is important because this shows where Whitney had went through a hard time in her life and she chose to go about the situation and better herself by entering rehab. Whitney then came out with a song titled “I Look to You” and did her first performance in seven years with Kim Burrell at the BET’s Celebration of Gospel in January of 2011 and she moved a lot of people.

People should know that she made mistakes but she took her mistakes and made it her testimony. Whitney has been through a lot as a celebrity and as a person. Whitney has changed a lot of people’s life with her experience and her struggles. Whitney is the perfect example of a person making many mistakes but still being remembered as a great woman. Whitney used her voice to help people in their lives. Like any other child she desired nothing more than to be like her mother or even greater. Whitney has helped a lot of people through her struggles and her accomplishments. Even though a lot of people judged her after her marriage to Bobby Brown and judged her even more after she started to use drugs, she still remained positive and did nothing but try to better herself by entering herself into rehab and that shows what kind of person she is and it shows that she cares about herself and fans. Whitney will always be remembered as a great singer, actress, and person because of her life story and her phenomenal voice.