Whitney Houston: 1963-2012

[GoGo Yubari]

Sales of that magnitude, over as sustained a period a time as hers (her last album in 2009, well into her decline and public trainwreck phase, still sold 306K in its first week) are an indicator that a lot of people greatly enjoyed her music and thought she was pretty fucking awesome. I don't, and I couldn't name more than one of her songs, but acting like what RPS quoted is irrelevant and your personal opinion is more important is also silly.

[RPS]

Yeah, I'm not a huge Whitney Houston fan, but to say that people just came out of the wood work now to love her is factually untrue. I mean, obviously her target fan base was not dudes posting on a wrestling message board. I can say from personal experience that a lot of my friends (see: gay men and women) were obsessed with Whitney Houston and thought she was amazing. I don't really care one way or another, I just thought I'd post a counterpoint.

[METALMAN]

Um. No. it it isn't.

RPS is silly because he is trying to argue just for the hell of it.

But in any case, sales and awards are no measure of quality. Sales and awards are, believe it or not, an objective measure of quantifying how many records an artist has sold, or how many awards they have won. On the other hand, whether someone is the 'best' or not is entirely subjective, and there can be no crossover between this the quantitative measure of sales and awards.

Anyway, it's an absolutely absurd thing to pick out. At no point did I say Whitney Houston wasn't the best singer ever. People should just stop being silly.

And yes, people did come out of the woodwork. i work in a record shop. I was there today. People bought Whitney Houston CDs. People who never cared for her before. It always happens, and it's to be expected, and it doesn't really bother me. I am right though.

I'm obviously not denying her popularity.

[GoGo Yubari]

I do want to congratulate everyone in this thread for not turning into dickheads over this one like some did with Amy Winehouse and Michael Jackson's death threads, though.

[GoGo Yubari]

But in any case, sales and awards are no measure of quality

But that's not what RPS's point was. He was making a rebuttal to your implication that it's ridiculous that there was an outpouring of grief over Whitney Houston's death, not to your implication that she wasn't the best singer ever.

"Best singer ever" is way too subjective for anyone to make that statement and claim it's fact. And on that note, EWB, look forward to EWB's Favorite Singer III, coming this summer!

[METALMAN]

Right, I realise that now that he's clarified it - and I did get the wrong end of the stick. And I wasn't really impyling it was ridiculous either, cause there is the part immediately afterwards where I say "I know this happens a lot". It's to be expected. it always happens, but it's especially ludicrous given the joke Whitney Houston had become (according to others, in case someone is offended. I didn't really have an opinion) before her death.

[RPS]

Yeah, sorry. I really should have been clear... am a bit hung over. I don't think Whitney Houston is the greatest singer ever and I certainly don't think having a shit load of awards or sales indicates that. It's sad she turned into some circus version of herself, like Michael Jackson.

[Captain Eo]

Illuminati strike again

[Blaze09]

Otherwise, Whitney Houston is better than, say, David Bowie to the tune of 30 million sales. When she quite obviously isn't. So stop being silly.

You know that's opinionated, right?

[Matt]

I'm amazed Whitney Houston won so many awards and sold so many records... I genuinely only know "I will always love you", "I wanna dance with somebody". Fair play to her. Oh and RIP.

[Liam]

I'm amazed Whitney Houston won so many awards and sold so many records... I genuinely only know "I will always love you", "I wanna dance with somebody". Fair play to her. Oh and RIP.

To be fair, you'd probably know more that that, just not remember them necessarily

[Cactus Drags]

Yeah, you're totally missing How Will I Know (too many student cheese nights, honest ) and about a million I'd know was hear if I heard them.

I've seen a few things along the line of metalman online, sort of that it's horrible people are fawning over her just because she's dead when she was a laughing stock the last couple of years. I didn't realise that she'd ever stopped being popular, though. I know about the drugs and all, but I always thought there was a lot of sympathy around for her because of her previous work.

And as if anyone was in any doubt, she could definitely, definitely sing.Best Super Bowl rendition of the national anthem I reckon (at least no others spring to mind) and I don't know how this came about or anything, but someone's put up the vocal to How Will I Know.

It's a shame, obviously there's going to be aspersions cast on how she died what with the history of drug abuse and all, but hey at least she didn't flaunt it like Winehouse.

[METALMAN]

I

Otherwise, Whitney Houston is better than, say, David Bowie to the tune of 30 million sales. When she quite obviously isn't. So stop being silly.

You know that's opinionated, right?

Yeah! I wasn't being totally serious.

[SeanDMan]

I do want to congratulate everyone in this thread for not turning into dickheads over this one like some did with Amy Winehouse and Michael Jackson's death threads, though.

You mean other than metalman I assume.

[METALMAN]

And you.

[Blaze09]

Best Super Bowl rendition of the national anthem I reckon (at least no others spring to mind)

Again, just my opinion, but nothing will top this:

[Crybaby Bunting]

I'd love to feel sympathy for her, but Michael Jackson did the whole "80s star dying" thing a lot better and was twice as relevant when he eventually died.

It's harsh, but that's showbiz.

[zero]

Even with the joke Whitney had become, she never had an album go less than gold. The Bodyguard soundtrack still holds records, which is impressive because A. it's a soundtrack, B. it's a soundtrack to a pretty shitty movie, and C. it's less than 20 years old, and there were maybe 5 soundtracks after it that were even remotely close to relevant, it came out right before the death of the OST.

Of course people are going to rush to buy her songs and albums, it happens every time someone of her magnitude dies, they want to hear the music. We've been playing one song an hour on our radio station and even still, people want to hear more. I'd hardly consider myself a Whitney Houston fan, my mom playing the Bodyguard on loop for the entirety of 1993 burned me out pretty quick, but to deny that Whitney isn't a legendary performer is ridiculous, she's arguably the most successful female artist in history. And "sales/awards mean fuck all," is ridiculous too. No, popularity doesn't always correlate with talent, but clearly Houston had both, even if she wasted it in her later years.

I'd love to feel sympathy for her, but Michael Jackson did the whole "80s star dying" thing a lot better and was twice as relevant when he eventually died.

It's harsh, but that's showbiz.

Actually, it's being a dick. Seriously, one of the most inane posts in a death thread I've seen on EWB, and that's saying something.

[GoGo Yubari]

I do want to congratulate everyone in this thread for not turning into dickheads over this one like some did with Amy Winehouse and Michael Jackson's death threads, though.

I stand corrected.

[Matt]

Guys, he has a point. The biggest 80's pop star is dead, thus any other 80's stars dying are irrelevant and not worth thinking about. Similarly, the best 2 Beatles have died so when Paul and Ringo die, lets just not mention it, John and George did the whole dying thing better anyway.

>_<