Very few singers can claim a gift that has immortal brilliance.  At the age of 48, her death has sent shockwaves through the musical community, and with her demise, on the eve of the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, a melancholy force cuts through what is a prominent event in the music industry calendar.

Born in New Jersey in 1963, she was already part of an elite family, with a cousin in Burt Bacharach favourite, Dionne Warwick and a godmother in soul legend, Aretha Franklin.  She began to sing as a soloist in her junior gospel choir at the age of only 11, before becoming a backup singer for her mother, Cissy Houston and Chaka Khan.

Head of Arista records, Clive Davies saw her perform at the age of 20 and immediately signed her to his label.  During the 80s Whitney commanded the charts which massive hits, including, “How Will I Know” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”.

Because of her love affair with dramatic songs, such as “The Greatest Love of All” and Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You”, she gained the reputation of being a Diva, but she had the power, the passion and the talent to back up that accolade.  She carries her pop ballads with so much confidence and technical perfection, that she became a role model by which other singers, including Celine Dion and Christina Aguilera would model themselves on.  She sings with such ease that we can see that no note is a challenge for her, and she knows it too.  As a well rehearsed and well supported performer, Whitney would never let you down in her heyday.

The charts are full of talented singers and song writers, but very few vocal talents can compare to the magnificence that was Whitney Houston.  It was a sad day when she let her personal tragedies swallow her into a world that had such a devastating effect on her voice, but it’s heartbreaking to know that she will never redeem herself in a majestic “comeback”, and for that reason, we will miss her!