Whitney's body of work goes back to before I was born. Needless to say, I'm not that familiar with her, except for the most important of songs - I Will Always Love You and I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
I started listening to music late in '97 and it was only in '98 that I witnessed the triumph of the massive single taken off The Prince of Egypt soundtrack - When You Believe. I liked the song but I was 11 then and I was even more unappreciative of ballads than I am now. Although given that it was more of an anthem than a ballad, I did enjoy it a hell lot.
Then came Heartbreak Hotel, It's Not Right But It's Okay and My Love Is Your Love - smooth, rich RnB. The Greatest Hits was released in 2000, which brought about the release of Could I Have This Kiss Forever with Enrique Iglesias, which I thought was nice but bland; and If I Told You That. IITYT, produced by Darkchild, was modern and sexier with its beats. Combined with the constant playful tinkering of ivories, George Michael and Whitney had great chemistry in the duet - harmonising, teasing, playing off each other, going at each other... It was beautiful, beautiful piece of work.
According to wikipedia, there were releases from the Just Whitney era but I have no recollection of any of the singles. Fast forward to 2009, I Look To You and Million Dollar Bill were released. I remember being glad that she was back, even discussing with friends on facebook and hoping that she'd get on track. I was at the clubs and they were playing her songs. We partied and sang.
When I found out about her death this morning, I didn't feel anything. I don't think anybody could have said they were surprised. She's been on a downward spiral for quite awhile now. So when night fell, I went on youtube and listened to the songs that were familiar to me. I was shocked at what I felt next - the beautiful, beautiful voice came through my earphones and my heart sank with the realisation that she... was gone.
No comments:
Post a Comment