On February 11, 2012, the American singer Whitney Houston was found unconscious, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, submerged in the bathtub. She was pronounced dead later that day. The cause of her death was not immediately known; local police said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent". On March 22, 2012, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office reported that Houston's death was an accidental drowning caused by the "effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use".
Houston's death coincided with the 2012 Grammy Awards, which took place the day following her death. The February 11, 2012 Clive Davis pre-Grammy party that Houston had been expected to attend, which featured many of the biggest names in music and film, went on as scheduled and it was turned into a tribute to Houston. Further tributes followed from many celebrities and Houston's death was covered internationally in the media, along with her memorial service. Following her death, Houston's music resurged in popularity, and numerous posthumous albums and songs by Houston have been released since, including the international hit single "Higher Love". Her life has been the subject of several documentaries and biopics, including the 2022 biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody.
Houston reportedly appeared "disheveled" and "erratic" in the days before her death.[1] On February 9, 2012, Houston visited singers Brandy and Monica, together with Clive Davis, at their rehearsals for Davis's pre-Grammy Awards party at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.[2][3] That same day, she made her last public performance when she joined Kelly Price on stage in Hollywood, California, and sang "Jesus Loves Me".[4][5]
Two days later, on February 11, Houston was found unconscious in Suite 434 at the Beverly Hilton, submerged in the bathtub.[6][7] Beverly Hills paramedics arrived about 3:30 pm, found Houston unresponsive, and performed CPR. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 pm PST.[8][9] The cause of death was not immediately known;[10][8] local police said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent".[11]
The performances were interspersed with hymns by the church choir and remarks by Clive Davis, Houston's record producer; Kevin Costner; Rickey Minor, her music director; Dionne Warwick, her cousin; and Ray Watson, her security guard for the last 11 years. Aretha Franklin was listed on the program, and was expected to sing, but was unable to attend the service.[13][14] Bobby Brown departed shortly after the service began.[15] Houston was buried on February 19, 2012, in Fairview Cemetery, in Westfield, New Jersey, next to her father, John Russell Houston, who had died in 2003.[16]
The February 11, 2012 Clive Davis pre-Grammy party that Houston had been expected to attend, which featured many of the biggest names in music and film, went on as scheduled – although it was quickly turned into a tribute to Houston. Davis spoke about Houston's death at the evening's start:
By now you have all learned of the unspeakably tragic news of our beloved Whitney's passing. I don't have to mask my emotion in front of a room full of so many dear friends. I am personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years. Whitney was so full of life. She was so looking forward to tonight even though she wasn't scheduled to perform. Whitney was a beautiful person and a talent beyond compare. She graced this stage with her regal presence and gave so many memorable performances here over the years. Simply put, Whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we carry on.[22]
Tony Bennett spoke of Houston's death before performing at Davis's party. He said, "First, it was Michael Jackson, then Amy Winehouse, now, the magnificent Whitney Houston." Bennett sang "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" and said of Houston: "When I first heard her, I called Clive Davis and said, 'You finally found the greatest singer I've ever heard in my life.'"[23]
Some celebrities opposed Davis's decision to continue with the party while a police investigation was being conducted in Houston's hotel room and her body was still in the building. Chaka Khan, in an interview with CNN's Piers Morgan on February 13, 2012, shared that she felt the party should have been canceled, saying: "I thought that was complete insanity. And knowing Whitney I don't believe that she would have said 'the show must go on.' She's the kind of woman that would've said 'Stop everything! Un-unh. I'm not going to be there.'"[24]
Sharon Osbourne condemned the Davis party, declaring: "I think it was disgraceful that the party went on. I don't want to be in a hotel room when there's someone you admire who's tragically lost their life four floors up. I'm not interested in being in that environment and I think when you grieve someone, you do it privately, you do it with people who understand you. I thought it was so wrong."[25]
Further reaction and tributes
Flowers near the Beverly Hilton Hotel
Many celebrities responded to Houston's death. Darlene Love, her godmother, said: "It felt like I had been struck by a lightning bolt in my gut."[26]Dolly Parton, whose song "I Will Always Love You" was covered by Houston, said, "I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.'" Aretha Franklin said, "It's so stunning and unbelievable." Others, including Mariah Carey, Quincy Jones, and Oprah Winfrey, also paid tribute.[27][28]
ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, BBC News, and Sky News interrupted their programming to cover Houston's death, featuring interviews with those who knew her. Saturday Night Live displayed a photo of a smiling Houston from her 1996 appearance.[29][30] MTV and VH1 aired many of her classic videos with news segments and celebrity reactions. Coverage of Houston's death was ranked as the most memorable entertainment event in television history by a study from Sony Electronics and Nielsen Media Research.[31]
The first hour after the news of her death saw 2,481,652 tweets. Her ex-husband, Bobby Brown, was "in and out of crying fits" but did not cancel a scheduled performance, tearfully saying, "I love you, Whitney."[32]
Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the 54th Grammy Awards, announced that Jennifer Hudson would perform a tribute to Houston at the February 12, 2012 ceremony, citing her as an appropriate choice given her Grammy history and contributions to music. At the start of the ceremony, a prayer was read by host LL Cool J after footage of Houston performing "I Will Always Love You" at the 1994 Grammys. Hudson later performed the song in tribute.[33][34] The tribute was credited for the Grammys' second-highest ratings in history.[35]
Houston was honored with various tributes at the 43rd NAACP Image Awards on February 17. An image montage of Houston and important black figures who died in 2011 was followed by video footage from the 1994 ceremony. Yolanda Adams performed "I Love the Lord" from The Preacher's Wife Soundtrack, and Kirk Franklin and the Family started their performance with "The Greatest Love of All".[36]
In June 2012, the year's McDonald's Gospelfest in Newark was dedicated as a tribute to Houston.[41]Beyoncé performed a tribute to Houston during her revue Revel Presents: Beyoncé Live in May 2012 at the Revel resort by performing the first verse and chorus of "I Will Always Love You".[42][43] Houston topped the list of Google searches in 2012, both globally and in the United States, according to Google's Annual Zeitgeist most-popular searches list.[44] Her death was ranked as the most memorable entertainment event in television history, according to a study by Sony Electronics and the Nielsen Television Research Company.[31]
Posthumous sales
According to representatives from Houston's record label, Houston sold 8 million records worldwide in the first 10 months of the year she died.[45] With just 24 hours passing between news of Houston's death and Nielsen SoundScan tabulating the weekly album charts, Whitney: The Greatest Hits climbed into the Top 10 with 64,000 copies sold; it was a 10,419 percent gain compared to the previous week.[46] 43 of the top 100 most-downloaded tracks on iTunes were Houston songs, including "I Will Always Love You" from The Bodyguard at number one. Two other Houston classics, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and "Greatest Love of All", were in the top 10.[47] As fans of Houston rushed to rediscover the singer's music, single digital track sales of the artist's music rose to more than 887,000 paid song downloads in 24 hours in the US alone.[48]
The single "I Will Always Love You" returned to the Billboard Hot 100 after almost 20 years, peaking at number three and becoming a posthumous top-10 single for Houston, the first one since 2001. Two other Houston songs also jumped back on the Hot 100: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" at 25 and "Greatest Love of All" at 36.[49] Her death on February 11 ignited an incredible drive to her YouTube and Vevo pages. She went from 868,000 views in the week prior to her death to 40,200,000 views in the week following her death, a 45-fold increase.[50]
On February 29, 2012, Houston became the first female artist and first posthumous artist in history ever to place three or more albums in the top 10 of the US Billboard 200 simultaneously, with Whitney: The Greatest Hits at number two, The Bodyguard at number six and Whitney Houston at number nine.[51] On March 7, 2012, Houston claimed two more additional feats on the US Billboard charts: she became the first female act to place nine albums within the top 100[52] (with Whitney: The Greatest Hits at number two, The Bodyguard at number five, Whitney Houston at number 10, I Look to You at number 13, Triple Feature at number 21, My Love Is Your Love at number 31, I'm Your Baby Tonight at number 32, Just Whitney at number 50 and The Preacher's Wife at number 80);[53][54] in addition, other Houston albums were also on the US Billboard Top 200 Album Chart at this time. Houston also became the second female act, after Adele, to place two albums in the top five of the US Billboard Top 200, with Whitney: The Greatest Hits at number 2 and The Bodyguard at number 5. In addition, Houston set a Guinness World Record by being the first female artist to place the most albums inside the Billboard 200 simultaneously by a female artist with ten.[55] In October 2023, Houston made the list of the top 10 highest-earning posthumous celebrities on Forbes earning $30 million, later winning Houston a posthumous Guinness World Records entry as the highest-earning posthumous female celebrity, her record 30th.[56][57]
Posthumous releases
Houston's first posthumous greatest hits album, I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston, was released on November 13, 2012, by RCA Records. It features the remastered versions of her number-one hits, an unreleased song titled "Never Give Up" and a duet version of "I Look to You" with R. Kelly.[58] The album won two NAACP Image Awards for 'Outstanding Album' and 'Outstanding Song' ("I Look to You"). It was certified Gold by the RIAA in 2020.[59] In October 2021, the album was reissued on vinyl and included Houston's first posthumous hit, "Higher Love". Since its release, it has spent more than 200 weeks on the Billboard 200, making it one of the longest-charting compilations in chart history,[60] and the longest by a female artist. On the week of May 27, 2023, it replaced Madonna's The Immaculate Collection as the longest charting greatest hits album by a woman in the history of the Billboard 200 after it notched 149 weeks on the chart.[61]
A 2019 remake of "Higher Love" by Norwegian DJ Kygo, featuring Houston's vocals, reached the top 10 in several countries, including number-two on the UK Singles Chart.
On December 16, 2022, RCA released the soundtrack album to Houston's featured film biopic, titled, I Wanna Dance with Somebody (The Movie: Whitney New, Classic and Reimagined), to every digital download platform all over the world.[81] The soundtrack includes reimagined remixes of some of Houston's classics and several newly discovered songs such as Houston's cover of CeCe Winans' "Don't Cry" (labeled as "Don't Cry for Me" on Houston's soundtrack) at the Commitment to Life AIDS benefit concert in Los Angeles in January 1994, remixed by house producer Sam Feldt.
In March 2023, Arista, Legacy Recordings and Gaither Music Group released Houston's first gospel compilation, I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston. The album included three 1981 demo recordings recorded when Houston was 17, including "Testimony" and "He Can Use Me", while also featuring unearthed live recordings of Houston performing the gospel standards, "This Day", "He/I Believe" and, with CeCe Winans, an inspired rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water", recorded live at the second annual VH1 Honors in 1995 as well as previous recordings from The Bodyguard, The Preacher's Wife, and Sparkle. The album debuted at number two on Billboard'sTop Gospel Albums chart, marking her first new entry on the chart since 1996.[82][83] The album earned Houston a posthumous Billboard Music Award nomination for Top Gospel Album.[84] On October 23 and 27, 2024, a film of Houston's then-unseen performance at Durban's Kings Park Stadium from November 1994 was shown at more than 900 international theaters, then followed by a live album released on November 8, to commemorate Houston's 30th anniversary of her landmark performances at South Africa after Nelson Mandela's historic presidential election win.[85]
Documentaries and portrayals
Documentaries
Since Houston's sudden death in 2012, her life, career and death have been the subject of many documentaries and specials. A television documentary film entitled Whitney: Can I Be Me aired on Showtime on August 25, 2017.[86] The film was directed by Nick Broomfield.[87]
On April 27, 2016, it was announced that Kevin Macdonald would work with the film production team Altitude, producers of the Amy Winehouse documentary film Amy (2015), on a new documentary film based on Houston's life and death. It is the first documentary authorized by Houston's estate.[88] That film, entitled Whitney, premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and was released internationally in theaters on July 6, 2018.[89]
Lifetime released the documentary Whitney Houston & Bobbi Kristina: Didn't We Almost Have It All in 2021, which The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called "...less an exposé and more a loving tribute to these two women".[90] On the tenth anniversary of her death, ESPN ran a 30-minute documentary of Houston's acclaimed performance of The Star Spangled Banner at Super Bowl XXV in 1991 titled Whitney's Anthem.[91]
^Whitney: Tribute to a Music Legend. Boca Raton, Florida: American Media. 2012. (one-time newsstand collector's publication) Pg. 37: "434: The room number at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles in which she was found dead on Feb 11, 2012."
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