Editing Whitney Houston (section)

== Artistry ==
[[File:Flickr Whitney Houston performing on GMA 2009 4.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.8|Houston's vocal ability earned her the nickname "[[Honorific nicknames in popular music|the Voice]]".]]
Houston had a four-octave vocal range.<ref name="four-octave range">{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/anatomy-olympics-anthem-487188|title=Whitney Houston's 'One Moment In Time': The Anatomy of an Olympic Anthem|work=Newsweek|last1=Ahmed|first1=Tufayel|date=August 5, 2016|access-date=December 28, 2018}}</ref> She was referred to as "the Voice" because of her vocal talent.<ref name="Times2009">{{cite news |last=Robinson |first=Peter |date=16 October 2019 |title=Whitney Houston: the life, death and rebirth of a pop princess |work=[[The Times]] |publisher= |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list/profile/article/whitney-houston-the-life-death-and-rebirth-of-a-pop-princess-h9bgxf5sw39 |access-date=September 7, 2021}}</ref> 

[[Jon Pareles]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' stated Houston "always had a great big voice, a technical marvel from its velvety depths to its ballistic middle register to its ringing and airy heights".<ref name="NYTimes94">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/19/arts/pop-reviews-part-divas-part-goddesses-2-women-glamour-music-whitney-houston.html |title=POP REVIEWS: Part Divas, Part Goddesses: 2 Women of Glamour and Music; Whitney Houston At Radio City |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 19, 1994 |access-date=June 4, 2012|last1=Pareles |first1=Jon }}</ref> In 2023, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked Houston second on their list of the greatest singers of all time, stating, "The standard-bearer for R&B vocals, Whitney Houston possessed a soprano that was as powerful as it was tender. Take her cover of Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You', which became one of the defining singles of the 1990s; it opens with her gently brooding, her unaccompanied voice sounding like it's turning over the idea of leaving her lover behind with the lightest touch. By the end, it's transformed into a showcase for her limber, muscular upper register; she sings the title phrase with equal parts bone-deep feeling and technical perfection, turning the conflicted emotions at the song's heart into a jumping-off point for her life's next step."<ref name=":17">{{cite magazine|magazine=Rolling Stone | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/whitney-houston-11-1234643211/ | title = The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time | date = January 1, 2023 | access-date = January 2, 2023}}</ref>

Matthew Perpetua of ''Rolling Stone'' also acknowledged Houston's vocal prowess, enumerating 10 performances, including "How Will I Know" at the 1986 MTV VMAs and "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the 1991 Super Bowl. "Whitney Houston was blessed with an astonishing vocal range and extraordinary technical skill, but what truly made her a great singer was her ability to connect with a song and drive home its drama and emotion with incredible precision", he stated. "She was a brilliant performer and her live shows often eclipsed her studio recordings."<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/ten-incredible-whitney-houston-performances-20120213 | title = Photos: Ten Incredible Whitney Houston Performances | magazine = Rolling Stone | first = Matthew | last = Perpetua | publisher = Jann S. Wenne | date = February 13, 2012 | access-date = February 18, 2012 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120215202234/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/ten-incredible-whitney-houston-performances-20120213 | archive-date = February 15, 2012 }}</ref> 

Elysa Gardner of the ''Los Angeles Times'' in her review for ''The Preacher's Wife Soundtrack'' highly praised Houston's vocal ability, commenting, "She is first and foremost a pop diva&nbsp;– at that, the best one we have. No other female pop star&nbsp;– not [[Mariah Carey]], not [[Celine Dion]], not [[Barbra Streisand]]&nbsp;– quite rivals Houston in her exquisite vocal fluidity and purity of tone and her ability to infuse a lyric with mesmerizing melodrama."<ref>{{cite web|last=Gardner|first=Elysa|date=November 24, 1996|title=Oh, Whitney&nbsp;– for Heaven's Sake|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-24-ca-2290-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=March 6, 2011}}</ref> Singer and entertainer [[Michael Jackson]] named Houston as one of his musical inspirations, calling her a "wonderful singer, real stylist. You hear one line, and you know who it is."<ref name=":5">{{cite web|access-date=July 20, 2021|date=March 2002|title=Interview: Michael Jackson Vibe Magazine 2002|url=https://www.fanpop.com/clubs/invincible-era/articles/71701/title/interview-michael-jackson-vibe-magazine-2002|website=Vibe}}</ref>

R&B singer [[Faith Evans]] stated: "Whitney was not just a singer with a beautiful voice. She was a true musician. Her voice was an instrument and she knew how to use it. With the same complexity as someone who has mastered the violin or the piano, Whitney mastered the use of her voice. From every run to every crescendo—she was in tune with what she could do with her voice and it's not something simple for a singer—even a very talented one—to achieve. Whitney is 'the Voice' because she worked for it. This is someone who was singing backup for her mom when she was 14 years old at nightclubs across the country. This is someone who sang backup for Chaka Khan when she was only 17. She had years and years of honing her craft on stage and in the studio before she ever got signed to a record label. Coming from a family of singers and surrounded by music; she pretty much had a formal education in music, just like someone who might attend a performing arts high school or major in voice in college."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=January 7, 2015|title=Why Whitney Houston Deserves To Be Called 'The Voice'|url=https://www.vibe.com/features/editorial/why-whitney-houston-deserves-be-called-voice-249128/|access-date=July 29, 2021|website=Vibe}}</ref>

Jon Caramanica of ''The New York Times'' commented, "Her voice was clean and strong, with barely any grit, well suited to the songs of love and aspiration. [ ... ] Hers was a voice of triumph and achievement and it made for any number of stunning, time-stopping vocal performances."<ref name="nytimesjon">{{cite news | newspaper = The New York Times | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/arts/music/whitney-houstons-voice-of-triumph-and-pain.html | title = A Voice of Triumph, the Queen of Pain | first = Jon | last = Caramanica | date = February 12, 2012 | access-date = February 18, 2012}}</ref> Mariah Carey stated, "She [Whitney] has a really rich, strong mid-belt that very few people have".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Vibe|language=en|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jisEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA95|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809134810/https://books.google.com/books?id=jisEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA95|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 9, 2021|title=Higher and Higher|volume=6|issue=9|page=95|date=November 1998|access-date=November 7, 2014|issn=1070-4701}}</ref> In her review of ''I Look to You'', music critic Ann Powers of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote, "[Houston's voice] stands like monuments upon the landscape of 20th century pop, defining the architecture of their times, sheltering the dreams of millions and inspiring the climbing careers of countless imitators". Powers added, "When she was at her best, nothing could match her huge, clean, cool mezzo-soprano".<ref name="latimesblogs.latimes.com">Powers, Ann. [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/08/album-review-whitney-houstons-i-look-to-you.html "Album Review: Whitney Houston's 'I Look To You'".] ''Los Angeles Times''. August 25, 2009</ref>

Lauren Everitt from [[BBC News]] commented on the [[melisma]] used in Houston's recording. "An early 'I' in Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' takes nearly six seconds to sing. In those seconds the former gospel singer-turned-pop star packs a series of different notes into the single syllable", stated Everitt. "The technique is repeated throughout the song, most pronouncedly on every 'I' and 'you'. The vocal technique is called melisma and it has inspired a host of imitators. Other artists may have used it before Houston, but it was her rendition of Dolly Parton's love song that pushed the technique into the mainstream in the 90s. [ ... ] But perhaps what Houston nailed best was moderation." Everitt said that "[i]n a climate of reality shows ripe with 'oversinging,' it's easy to appreciate Houston's ability to save melisma for just the right moment."<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17039208 | title = Whitney Houston and the art of melisma | first = Lauren | last = Everitt | publisher = BBC | date = February 15, 2012 | access-date = February 20, 2012}}</ref>

Houston's vocal stylings have had a significant impact on the music industry. [[Stephen Holden]] from ''The New York Times'', in his review of Houston's [[Radio City Music Hall]] concert on July 20, 1993, praised her attitude as a singer, writing, "Whitney Houston is one of the few contemporary pop stars of whom it might be said: the voice suffices. While almost every performer whose albums sell in the millions calls upon an entertainer's bag of tricks, from telling jokes to dancing to circus pyrotechnics, Ms. Houston would rather just stand there and sing." With regard to her singing style, he added: "Her [Houston's] stylistic trademarks&nbsp;– shivery melismas that ripple up in the middle of a song, twirling embellishments at the ends of phrases that suggest an almost breathless exhilaration&nbsp;– infuse her interpretations with flashes of musical and emotional lightning."<ref>{{cite news | author = Holden, Stephen | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/22/arts/review-pop-for-whitney-houston-showy-doesn-t-count-the-show-is-the-voice.html | title = Review/Pop; For Whitney Houston, Showy Doesn't Count: The Show Is the Voice |work=The New York Times | date = July 22, 1993 | access-date =March 13, 2011 | author-link = Stephen Holden}}</ref>

Houston struggled with vocal problems in her later years. Gary Catona, a voice coach who began working with Houston in 2005, stated: "'When I first started working with her in 2005, she had lost 99.9 percent of her voice ... She could barely speak, let alone sing. Her lifestyle choices had made her almost completely hoarse'".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2012/08/12/whitneys-bitter-pill/|title=Whitney's bitter pill|last1=Perry|first1=Caroline|date=August 12, 2012|website=New York Post|access-date=March 3, 2018}}</ref> After Houston's death, Catona asserted that Houston's voice reached "'about 75 to 80 percent'" of its former capacity after he had worked with her.<ref name="Connelly">{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/houston-insider-reveals-whitneys-anguished-fight-win-back/story?id=15689692|title=Whitney Houston Insider Reveals Singer's Anguished Fight to Win Back Her Voice|last1=Connelly|first1=Chris|date=February 17, 2012|website=ABC News|access-date=December 19, 2017}}</ref> However, during the world tour that followed the release of ''I Look to You'', "YouTube videos surfaced, showing [Houston's] voice cracking, seemingly unable to hold the notes she was known for".<ref name="Connelly" />

Houston's vocal performances incorporated a wide variety of genres, including [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], pop, rock,<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|title=Whitney Houston|url=https://rockhall.com/whitney-houston-inductee-insights|access-date=August 9, 2021|website=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame|archive-date=November 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115064445/https://rockhall.com/whitney-houston-inductee-insights|url-status=deviated}}</ref> [[Soul music|soul]], [[Gospel music|gospel]], [[Funk#1980s synth-funk|funk]],<ref>{{cite magazine|date=May 31, 2009|title=500 Greatest Albums: Whitney Houston – Whitney Houston|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/whitney-houston-whitney-houston-20120524|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022191812/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/whitney-houston-whitney-houston-20120524|archive-date=October 22, 2012|access-date=March 17, 2011|magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> dance, [[Latin pop]],<ref name="nydailynews">{{cite news|last=Farber|first=Jim|date=May 16, 2000|title=Whitney Goes Half-Wild: Latest album set is 1 part bad ballads and 1 part boogie bliss|newspaper=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/nydn-features/whitney-half-wild-latest-album-set-1-part-bad-ballads-1-part-boogie-bliss-article-1.872163|access-date=December 19, 2011|archive-date=November 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112042705/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/nydn-features/whitney-half-wild-latest-album-set-1-part-bad-ballads-1-part-boogie-bliss-article-1.872163|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[disco]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dance with somebody: The ultimate Whitney Houston playlist |url=https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/dance_with_somebody_the_ultimate_whitney_houston_playlist/s1__35216375 |access-date=August 9, 2021 |website=Yard Barker |date=June 22, 2021 |first=Jeff |last=Mezydlo}}</ref> [[House music|house]],<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Clark|first=Randy|date=January 23, 1993|title=Music Reviews: Singles|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/90s/1993/CB-1993-01-23.pdf|magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]|page=5|access-date=November 1, 2020}}</ref> [[hip hop soul]],<ref>"Chartslot". ''[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]]''. July 16, 1999. Retrieved December 1, 2020.</ref> [[new jack swing]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Agbai|first=Bailey|date=November 13, 2020|title=The evolution of R&B: from the 90s to now|url=https://theboar.org/2020/11/the-evolution-of-rb/|access-date=December 18, 2020|work=[[The Boar (newspaper)|The Boar]]}}</ref> [[Opera music|opera]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 14, 2017 |title=You're Guaranteed to Get "So Emotional" Watching Whitney Houston Sing With Luciano Pavarotti |url=https://www.wfmt.com/2017/07/14/youre-guaranteed-get-emotional-watching-whitney-houston-sing-luciano-pavarotti/ |access-date=September 5, 2021 |website=wfmt |first=Galilee |last=Abdullah}}</ref> [[reggae]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cocker |first=Dan |title=BBC - Music - Review of Whitney Houston - My Love Is Your Love |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/62xm/ |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref> and [[One Wish: The Holiday Album|Christmas]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-04 |title=The Top 10 Best Christmas Songs Recorded By Whitney Houston - A Definitive List Of Her Holiday Recordings |url=https://www.soundpasta.com/2021/12/top-10-christmas-songs-by-whitney-houston/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822212605/https://www.soundpasta.com/2021/12/top-10-christmas-songs-by-whitney-houston/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |access-date=2023-08-22 |language=en-US }}</ref> The lyrical themes of her songs are mainly love, religion, and feminism.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=June 11, 2020|title=Whitney Houston's 25 Best Songs: Staff Picks|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/9478487/whitney-houston-best-songs/|access-date=August 9, 2021|magazine=Billboard}}</ref> The [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] stated: "Her sound expanded through collaborations with a wide array of artists, including [[Stevie Wonder]], [[Luther Vandross]], [[Babyface (musician)|Babyface]], [[Missy Elliott]], [[Bobby Brown]], and Mariah Carey."<ref name=":11" /> [[AllMusic]] commented that, "Houston was able to handle big [[Adult contemporary music|adult contemporary]] ballads, effervescent, stylish dance-pop and slick [[urban contemporary]] soul with equal dexterity".<ref name="allmusicbiography">{{cite web | first = Steve |last=Huey | url = https://www.allmusic.com/artist/whitney-houston-p4519/biography | title = Whitney Houston Biography | work = [[AllMusic]] | access-date =October 16, 2010}}</ref> During the early stages of Houston's career, some Black critics and audiences accused her voice and music of not sounding "Black enough".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Greene |first=David |author-link=David Greene (journalist) |date=August 18, 2017 |title=< A Radiant, Isolated Star: A New Documentary Tells Whitney Houston's Story |url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/544200124 |access-date=April 9, 2025 |work=[[NPR]]}}</ref> Steve Rose of ''[[The Guardian]]'' attributed this perception to her "syrupy ballads and perky dance-pop," along with music videos that featured a mix of both Black and white dancers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rose |first=Steve |date=July 7, 2018 |title='Not black enough': the identity crisis that haunted Whitney Houston |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jul/07/not-black-enough-the-identity-crisis-that-haunted-whitney-houston |access-date=April 9, 2025 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> At the time, Houston had established herself as a mainstream pop star, with a musical style that differed from the soul and R&B genres often associated with Black artists.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Lang |first=Cady |date=December 23, 2022 |title=Fact-Checking the New Whitney Houston Biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody |url=https://time.com/6241582/i-wanna-dance-with-somebody-movie-whitney-houston-real-story/ |access-date=April 9, 2025 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref>