Bloated, bedraggled and out of tune
Much like her most popular song, her adoring fans have always loved Whitney Houston, but that could be changing after the singer’s comeback world tour went from bad to worse on the latest leg of the tour in London’s O2 arena on Saturday night.
The 46-year-old’s first concert in the capital since 1999 was memorable – but unfortunately for the 20,000 fans, for all the wrong reasons. Houston admitted to the crowd that she couldn’t hit the high notes and even abandoned The Greatest Love Of All after only a couple of verses. Houston had been greeted by wild cheering as she walked out on stage as fans gave her the benefit of the doubt despite her disastrous concert in Birmingham last month.
She had been criticised for her performance but blamed croaky vocals on a respiratory infection and suffered a series of technical glitches. It had been a similar situation during the Australian leg of her Nothing But Love world tour in February when she came under fire for fluffing her lines. Saturday night, once again the voice that had left her contemporaries reeling in its wake, was a former shadow of what it used to be.
After stumbling half-heartedly through her signature song I Will Always Love You, Houston, who has suffered her fair share of drug problems in the past, said: ‘She don’t want to come, my soprano friend. Sometimes the old girl sings, but not tonight. I want to do it, but she doesn’t want to. … She’s getting a little … temperamental, even.’ During much of the set she paused and panted for breath between songs while her backing singers did a great job of carrying her with their melodies.
Her outfit also left a bit to be desired. She came on stage in tight leather trousers, a sequinned jacket that struggled to fasten at her middle and a bloated face. Whitney did manage to stay on stage for the majority of the two-hour gig, her first of three at the Docklands venue. But fans were still unhappy, with some even demanding their money back. Speaking to USA Today after the gig, fan Mark Higgins said it was ‘rubbish’ and added: ‘She can’t even complete a song.’ He said his daughter had given the tickets to him and his wife for Christmas but he was going to demand his money back.
Dave Law from Plymouth said: ‘I remember her 20 years ago. She’s not a patch on what she was.’
–Daily Mail
‘I’m NOT pregnant’: Curvy Mariah Carey denies she’s expecting a baby with husband Nick Cannon
She’s made no secret of her plans to start a family with Nick Cannon, so when Mariah Carey stepped out with a fuller figure than usual over the weekend she had all of Hollywood talking, but the 40-year-old singer, who put her curvy figure on show in Beverly Hills on Saturday in a short orange dress, has been quick to nip the baby rumours in the bud. Her spokesperson issued a statement denying speculation she’s expecting her first child, telling America’s Us Magazine that she’s ‘not pregnant’. But the couple hope there will be children on the horizon eventually.
Cannon, 29, told MTV News in January: ‘We absolutely plan to have a family. But we gotta prioritise, because that’s a major, major priority. We wanna make sure everything is out of the way and that we don’t have any distractions.’ They’ve already decided what they’ll call their first child. Mariah said in October: ‘We have to keep the name secret because if we told everybody, then somebody might use it and then we have to change it, and then it wouldn’t be as good.’ So in love: The couple, who have made no secret of their plans to start a family, will celebrate their second wedding anniversary on April 30
–Daily Mail
Beyoncé suffers an unfortunate swimsuit malfunction on beach holiday in Hawaii
It would appear Beyoncé’s body is too bootylicious even for her swimsuit. The singer revealed more than she bargained for this weekend as she leaned back on a beach in Hawaii.
The left halter-neck strap fell to one side and she showed more of her sandy charms than intended. Not that it seemed to bother the star, who carried on larking about with her friends and family as husband Jay-Z took his own pictures. At one point, she laughed her head off as her pals buried her up to her neck in the sand.
Once she was adjusted, her modesty protected again, she went for a dip in the ocean, no doubt to wash all the sand off her. Beyoncé, 28, was enjoying a break before she continues work on her fourth studio album. Just over a week ago, she joined her husband at the Coachella Festival in Los Angeles to perform a duet. As she took to the stage during his set to perform Forever Young, she shocked the crowd with her swear words T-shirt.
Beyoncé has also being doing her bit for charity this week as she raided her wardrobe and donated a pair of gold shoes from her I Am… Sasha Fierce world tour for a Haiti charity auction. And it was also revealed this week that she has a very famous fan after Michelle, the wife of US President Barack Obama, revealed that she loved her music. Talking about the songs on her iPod, the First Lady said: ‘I love Stevie Wonder….I’ve got some Michael Jackson. I’ve got some Rihanna, I’ve got some Beyoncé – I love Beyoncé.’
–Daily Mail