Bo Weber
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The Whitney Houston movie, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” was recently added to Netflix, which is currently the number one most-watched movie on Netflix. Based on true events, the film shows pivotal moments in the star’s career, and personal life, giving fans a closer look into her reality.
The movie stars Naomi Ackie, Stanley Tucci, Tamara Tunie, Nafessa Williams, Ashton Sanders, and Clarke Peters. Below, we will discuss 17 facts we learned from Whitney Houston’s incredible biopic.
1. Whitney Houston was Secretly Bisexual
The first ten minutes of the Whitney Houston movie reveal Whitney Houston’s secret relationship with Robyn Crawford, a woman she met in the summer of 1980 when she was working as a youth counselor.
2. Her Mother was an Incredibly Strict Vocal Coach
Her mother, Cissy Houston, coached Whitney on her voice and demanded the best from her. One night, Cissy lost her voice from yelling at Whitney.
She instructed Whitney to take her place in the performance at the club, Sweetwaters, starting with her mother’s would-be opening solo of the song, “The Greatest Love of All.”
According to the film, is the night Clive Davis discovered Whitney.
3. Clive Davis signed Whitney Houston before Writing a Single Song
Whitney’s previous experience was singing the songs of others. In the film, Clive Davis signs Houston, then finds out she didn’t know how to write songs. His response was “That’s ok, we will get other people to write them for you.”
Related: Clive Davis’ Net Worth The Story of a Powerful Starmaker
4. Whitney’s Mom May Have Saved her First TV Performance
During Whitney’s first-ever televised performance, on the Merv Griffin Show, Whitney’s mother thought the song was being played too slow, so she told the piano player to speed up the tempo mid-song.
Doing so may have saved Whitney’s first televised performance. In the footage from 1983, you can even faintly see Cissy orchestrating the pianist behind the stage curtain.
5. Clive Davis Didn’t Like “How Will I Know” When They Were Listening to Demo Tapes in his Office
Although the famous song would go on to hit Billboard’s Hot 100 and is one of the star’s most popular singles, Clive Davis was a bit doubtful when he first heard this song. Lucky for us, he pushed his worries aside and produced it anyway!
6. Whitney Cheated on her Partner Robyn with Jermaine Jackson
Whitney and Robyn’s sexual relationship came to an abrupt end in the mid-1980s. Part of this was because Clive Davis told Whitney that Robyn didn’t fit the image they were going for.
The other reason is that Whitney unexpectedly fell for Jermaine Jackson.
7. Listeners Thought her Music Wasn’t Black Enough
Many accused Whitney of selling out and not being a “real” black artist because her music fell more in the pop genre than R&B. Some fans even went so far as to say that the white audience took Whitney Houston away from them.
8. Whitney Houston was Booed at Soul Train Awards
Whitney Houston’s song, “I Want To Dance With Somebody” was nominated for the best music video, up against Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel” and Janet Jackson’s “Control”, and Jody Watley’s “Looking for a New Love.”
When Whitney’s song was mentioned as a nomination, the crowd began with cheers, followed by rumbling boos, which upset Whitney. The Soul Train Awards is where Bobby Brown and Whitney met.
The two became a couple, got married, which lasted 14 years. Whitney Houston divorced Brown, which was finalized on April 24th, 2007. Houston was 29 years old when she married Brown.
9. They Didn’t Mention Whitney’s Super Bowl National Anthem was Lip Synced
In the movie, Whitney demands the national anthem be played slower for her at the 1991 Superbowl performance, so the song’s tempo was to her liking.
What they didn’t include in the movie, was that, according to her producer Rickey Minor, her performance was not live, but lip-synced.
Well, it fooled me.
10. Whitney Postponed her Wedding for a Movie Role
Whitney Houston postponed her wedding to Bobby Brown to play the lead role in the movie, The Bodyguard featuring Kevin Costner.
The couple did eventually wed on July 18th, 1992 despite the relationship having obvious troubles, as Bobby Brown now claims.
11. Whitney Experienced a Miscarriage While Filming The Bodyguard
Before she had her beloved daughter, Bobbie Kristina, Houston was pregnant while on the set of The Bodyguard. Unfortunately, whether it was the stress or something else, Whitney miscarried during the final days of filming.
While she was distraught at the time, in later interviews she said she was happy that she was able to have Bobbi Kristina one year after the fateful miscarriage.
12. Bobby Brown was a Toxic Partner
Bobby Brown cheated on Whitney Houston while they were married, and not just once. Bobby admitted in an interview that he cheated several times.
This wasn’t the only toxicity in their marriage, however, as Houston also reportedly introduced Brown to hard drugs during their time together.
13. Whitney Houston Had a Daughter
While many Whitney Houston fans might know she had a daughter with Bobby Brown. Her name is Bobbi Kristina Brown, named after her father. Bobbi would eventually end up living with her mother after the pair split in 2007.
14. Whitney Houston’s Dad Was Stealing Money from Her
Whitney’s father, John Russell Houston was her manager. He handled all the finances involving her career. When Whitney found out a lot of her money was gone, she went to her father to see that he spent most of it.
He even demanded Whitney pay him $100 million dollars for his “piece” in a record deal he assisted in negotiating with Arista Records. This drove a painful wedge between Whitney and her father.
15. Whitney Smoked Cigarettes
Smoking cigarettes is one of the worst things a singer can do for their voice. Cigarette smoke damages vocal cords over time, and Clive Davis knew it; showing his distaste for her smoking habit a few times in the movie.
16. Clive Davis Confronted Whitney About her Drug Abuse
The constant demands of the music industry put stress on Whitney. Eventually, Whitney Houston became known for more than her music and was seen on the front pages of tabloid magazines for her reckless lifestyle.
Clive Davis urged Whitney to enter rehab, but she denied having a problem. Eventually, she did eventually check herself in for drug and alcohol treatment.
17. How Whitney Houston Died
While the biopic doesn’t reenact the event of Whitney Houston’s death, the film ends with a message on the screen that states Whitney Houston passed away in 2012 from a drug-related accidental drowning at the age of 48 years old.
Whitney Houston’s movie “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” is available for streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
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