The implosion of a Star

Unfortunately I’m not talking about they type of star that spins around in the depths of space.  Rather I’m referring to that very rare human being that achieves widespread fame and success thanks to some innate ability, whether it be acting, painting, singing, or some other talent.

In Whitney Houston’s case, it was a voice so powerful, angelic, and pure, she could have sung the phone book and you would have listened.  It was captivating.

Alas, after years of heavy smoking and drug abuse, the magnificent instrument that millions of people around the world were amazed by has been ruined to the point of no return.

In her heyday, she was revered as one of the most talented singers to ever grace the stage.  Her voice was spellbinding, especially when she hit the high notes only she seemed to be able to hit.

Now, her voice is rough and jagged and she can’t hit a high note to save her life.  She sounds like a washed up hip-hop singer from a late night bar on a road to Las Vegas.  It’s saddening, pitiful, maddening, and frustrating to hear her sing.

The biggest problem is that she’s right in the middle of her worldwide comeback concert tour, and things are going very badly, with critics hammering her and fans walking out of her concerts.  She’s currently in England:

Whitney Houston's world tour lurches on, with the 46-year-old singer apologising to a London crowd for the poor quality of her voice. "She doesn't want to come, my soprano friend," Houston explained to the audience at O2 Arena. She wasn't referring to Renée Fleming.

This is ostensibly the singer's comeback tour, but she has been booed in Australia, laughed at in Birmingham, and several fans allegedly walked out of her London show. "Sometimes the old girl sings, but not tonight," Houston told the crowd. "I want to do it, but she doesn't want to ... She's getting a little temperamental."

Houston struggled through I Will Always Love You, her best-known song, and didn't bother finishing Greatest Love of All. She had a similarly rough time in Nottingham last Wednesday, "wheezing and grating" through ballads. In London, she blamed the air-conditioning. "Turn the air-con off," she asked organisers, from the stage. "I can feel it. It takes away my soprano."

It sure can’t be easy watching your own fame dim and your comeback inexorably derail, but one can’t forget that she brought this upon herself by not taking care of the gift she had.

Check out this recent video of her rendition of “I Will Always Love You.”  It’s painful to watch.  Sure, the recording is poor at best, but her voice is unmistakably broken.

This is just sad all around.