Whitney Houston

That night Whitney went on stage quite agitated. The day before, she again quarreled with her husband - Bobby came home heavily intoxicated, and he again smelled of other people's perfume ... And most importantly, the words that he awarded her in response to the question: "Where have you been, honey?" .... In short, Whitney was not to sing. However, thousands of eyes were looking at her from the auditorium, and she had to pull herself together. The superstar without any inspiration worked the program, it remained only to perform in the final famous hit from "The Bodyguard" - "I Will Always Love You" ("I Will Love You Forever") .... The hall was anticipating Whitney's "signature" chant for five octaves, but at the most crucial moment, which requires special vocal virtuosity, Houston suddenly fell silent. Thank God, the brother - Gary Houston (he has long worked for Whitney in the team of backing singers) caught up in time. He whispered: "Let's get it on!" And the backup singers screamed at full throttle... Backstage, Gary flew up to his sister: "What's wrong, Whitney?" "I don't know," she barely whispered. She was scared to death - for it was the first time she had ever lost her voice. Whitney rushed to the doctors, but they found no abnormality of the vocal cords ... The reason - in chronic stress, said the medical verdict.

It happened in 1994, two years after her marriage to Bobby Brown and four years after meeting him. The famous rap artist struck then the heart of 27-year-old Whitney as the first bully in school strikes the heart of a quiet excellent girl. And after all, Houston was considered the official bride of Eddie Murphy - charming, rich, talented, famous, and most importantly - very decent behavior towards her, Whitney ... "In our relationship with Eddie was much more mutual friendship than real passion," - admitted Houston after the engagement was dissolved. The thing is, it was the calm and smooth relationship that she feared more than anything else in the world.

Her parents - John Huston and Emily Drinkard - for many years lived in full marital harmony. In Whitney's memory, there was no case that parents quarreled or at least disagreed on any issue, whether it was buying a new car or raising children. All Whitney ever heard from them was: "You're right, honey, do it your way!" - "I'll do it your way, honey!" Just as unanimously, they also made the... the decision to divorce. Calm and friendly smiles did not leave their faces, even when they announced to their children their intention to part. But 15-year-old Whitney lost the ability to smile for a long time. Her life system was collapsing: it seemed to her that they had an ideal family, but in fact her parents were connected by nothing more than a friendly feeling and a common love for children. It turned out that the mother - a successful vocalist (Emily was able to sing along even Elvis Presley himself) - on tour in vain time is not wasted and spun a novel after a novel ... That the father, which kept the household, between cooking dinners and laundry had time to visit the mistress ... "To hell with it! - Whitney decided then. - Never will I marry a man about whom there will be nothing to say, except that he is calm and reasonable."

Bobby Brown was the least like a calm and judicious man ... He had a bad reputation: alcoholism, countless arrests for hooliganism, finally, three children out of wedlock from different women .... Choosing in a life partner brawler and womanizer Brown, Whitney challenged all. "Bobby is good already that he can not be found secret vices," - joked Whitney in response to the warnings of friends. It was just that when she saw Bobby, she decided at once: whoever sent her this man - God or the devil himself - but Bobby is the one she needs, and only with him she can be happy. He likes to get handsy? Well, he's a man, damn it! You never know if Bobby's gonna come home tonight or not, do you? Well, he's a man you can't get bored with. And the fact that Bobby is not as famous and talented as she is, and, finally, he is five years younger than her, - it does not matter at all.

Their marriage in 1992 was called "the wedding of the decade". Eight hundred guests, ten thousand roses, a three-meter plume on the bride's dress ... All this was like a fairy tale, but only further romantic fairy tale slowly began to turn into a real thriller ...

Between the engagement and the wedding would not have passed a year, if not for the role of Whitney in "Bodyguard". And after all, she terribly did not want to shoot ... Costner, who acted among other things and as a producer of the movie, had to spend a lot of words to convince Whitney to sign the contract. Houston dissuaded by the fact that the heroine she does not like at all: "capricious, silly diva! In fact, Whitney just did not want to part with Bobby for a minute, and shooting - a case of grueling and long ... But Brown and himself persuaded her to try her luck in the movie. "You are so beautiful, old lady! It will be just great to see you on the movie screen! Men will go crazy that I managed to pick up such a great girl!" - Bobby said, choosing the arguments that seemed most natural to him.

The movie brought her worldwide fame and a fee of several million dollars, but... After the release of "The Bodyguard," Bobby went berserk. He had a way of messing with his wife. And she could not, and did not want to believe that he is just jealous of her fame, because now Whitney soared to an unattainable height for him ...

Whitney was pregnant, and her beloved husband cheated on her left and right. The birth of Bobby's daughter Christina didn't change much either. Bobby was unwilling to settle down, and he was still more often seen at the police station than at home with his family. Once he beat up a tourist who talked to a stranger Bobby himself had his eye on. Another time he pounced with fists on the security officer of a hotel in Los Angeles, who dared to ask Mr. Brown not to make so much noise - it was late at night, and in Bobby's apartment continued to raging party.

In time, Whitney herself experienced her husband's frenzied temper. They were on their way to Bobby's concert in Salt Lake City. Three-year-old Bobbi Kristina was sitting in Whitney's arms, when another quarrel broke out between her parents. The father of the family demanded that the driver stop the bus, and in front of the astonished musicians threw his wife and child out the door. The concert bus went on, and Whitney and the girl were left to "vote" - at night on a deserted highway!

A few months later, Whitney went to the clinic..... with a laceration on her face. She and Bobby were sailing on a yacht in the Mediterranean, experiencing another honeymoon (periods of passionate love happen in this couple every time after no less passionate quarrel). Houston tried to excuse that, diving, hurt herself on the rocks, but it was clear to everyone that the wound, which left on her face ugly scar (until now the singer has to carefully makeup), - the case of Bobby. Brown condemned all but Whitney herself. Her passionate soul was unexpectedly close to the Russian wisdom: "Beats - means, loves.

Five years of married life went to endless clarification of relations, quarrels, fights and altercations. Whitney even had no time to engage in their own career: during this time she did not have a single album! She forgave her husband everything, even three miscarriages, which occurred on nervous ground. She tried to justify and protect him, no matter what he did. She tried to explain to herself that such and should be crazy love, the only and for life, not like the feelings and life of boring and indifferent people ...

One day, however, these explanations finally failed. Whitney declared to Bob that everything between them is over. That was in 1997. A year later, Whitney has already released a new solo album - after an eight-year break! The voice problems that had plagued her since her marriage had stopped! Music critics said Whitney had never been in as good shape as she was now. But then the restless Brown realized that the world without Whitney to him is not sweet. To give him credit, he did everything to get his wife back: gave resignation to all his girlfriends, took a course of treatment in an anti-alcohol clinic ... And most importantly - he again began to touchingly care for Whitney: invited her on dates, gave flowers, as if there were not these seven years! And Houston's heart melted again ...

And again began one and a half hours late for rehearsals, disruption of filming, refusal of concerts under the pretext of sudden illness ... In August of this year in Concord, California, literally 15 minutes before the beginning of Houston announced that the stage will not go out and the penalty of 100 thousand dollars she does not care ... Now - disruption of concerts in Moscow ... They say that the singer, unable to withstand the constant stress of family life, got into drugs. In any case, she has several times appeared in public with an unnatural glint in her eyes and with a slurred tongue ...

Whether Houston takes drugs or not (as she herself does not get tired of saying), but one way or another, she again began to have problems with her voice. More and more often she finds herself unable to sing more than one song properly, and instead of the famous five octaves she barely pulls out two... "When it comes to me, I feel like a big fish, thrown on the shore, in despair, opening his mouth - completely silent," - admitted Whitney. Her concerts are often saved only by backing vocals ...

However, she is not going to give up. To finish her vocal career at the age of 36, to live to old age in idleness and oblivion ... That's not what Whitney dreamed of as a child, singing psalms and hymns in the choir of a Baptist church - so much so that the congregation cried! Houston intends to take her health seriously and in a couple of months to lie down in a nervous clinic to get rid of voice problems once and for all. However, it will hardly help if she stays with Bobby - the main source of her worries. After all, Bobby's already starting to pick up his old habits. Recently, his car was shot at by an unknown assailant. Then it turned out that in the cabin was a certain charming blonde, the wife of a very jealous husband ... And Houston. She lost her voice again for a week. In short, the singer was seriously facing a choice: to keep her crazy love and stop being Whitney Houston, a superstar and idol of millions, or, breaking up with Bobby, to take octave after octave, without fear of again being on stage "fish with silently open mouth" ...