Whitney Houston

Whitney: The Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American singer Whitney Houston, released in May 2000. The set consists of disc one with ballads and disc two with uptempo numbers and remixes…

Whitney Houston's first big-screen role in 1992's The Bodyguard would generate a phenomenon. Not that the film itself was a phenomenon – it was a healthy success, due not only to Houston, but to her co-star Kevin Costner's drawing power – but the soundtrack's success was astonishing. The Bodyguard followed Houston's cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" to the top of the charts, and once they got there, neither the single nor the album budged for weeks.

The double-disc 2011 U.K. collection The Essential Whitney Houston bears some strong similarities to the 2000 U.S. set The Greatest Hits, sharing 22 of its 35 songs. And it’s not just the big hits that overlap: there are a clutch of remixes that carry over, all bunched together on the second disc just like they are on The Greatest Hits. Consequently, The Essential Whitney Houston plays much like The Greatest Hits; even if it has a handful of songs not on the 2000 collection, it covers the same territory equally well and equally entertainingly.

The unmistakable voice of Whitney Houston is powerful and timeless. She is one of the best-selling artists of all time with sales of over 200 million records worldwide and is the only artist to have had seven consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. She reached the pinnacle of pop success, becoming one of the most accomplished recording artists of all time. But her heart was always in Gospel music, and it profoundly influenced her life and career. I Go To The Rock captures her Gospel music journey. Featuring six never-before-released songs, the album gives a glimpse of the deep faith behind the voice that continues to uplift and impact countless lives around the world.

Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You: The Best Of Whitney Houston (2012)
MP3 320 CBR kbps | Tracks: 18 | 01:19:46 | 188 Mb
Genre: Pop, R'n'B, Soul | Label: RCA Records

It was inevitable that Whitney Houston would be subjected to a greatest-hits album after her untimely spring 2012 death, and I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston is the first of these, an 18-track collection containing two new songs a duet version of "I Look to You" with R. Kelly vocals, and the unreleased, Jermaine Dupri-written "Never Give Up," which isn't bad but concentrates on her big hits, emphasizing the oversized show-stopping ballads just slightly. Which isn't to say the fun stuff is missing "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)," "So Emotional," "I'm Your Baby Tonight," and "How Will I Know" are all here but this downplays such confections in favor of seduction and drama. As Houston had more hits in this vein, this is certainly representative, but for fans looking for her effervescent early singles, they'd be better off with other collections. But for those who love the diva, I Will Always Love You captures her in all her glory.

Whitney Houston became an international star with this album. It sold more than ten million copies around the world, yielded a string of number one hit singles across the board like "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)," "Didn't We Almost Have It All," and "Love Will Save the Day," and established Houston as the era's top female star. She later went on to more than solidify that status, with other hit albums and a budding film career. While this is a far cry from soul, it's the ultimate in polished, super-produced urban contemporary material.