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So last night I was invited to attend the preview listening party for Whitney Houston‘s new album I Look To You which took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. I did my best to refrain from reading any of the reviews that came out from the previous listening parties that took place in London and NYC because I wanted to hear the music fresh. As soon as I arrived at last night’s event, I almost ran into Magic Johnson and his wife Cookie in the lobby … that man is a tree! We were not allowed to have cameras inside the venue but I was able to snap a pic of a large photo of Whitney‘s new album cover before we were led into the ballroom:

Little by little, celebs started filing in … Halle Berry, Jane Fonda, Jackie Collins, Penny Marshall, Brian McKnight, Janeane Garofalo, Barry Manilow, Stevie Wonder and more … they were all on hand to get the first listen of Whitney‘s new album. Clive Davis played host, extolling the triumphs of Whitney‘s career while getting folks excited for the new music. While he was a bit melodramatic at times (he loved telling stories about how people “wept” every time they heard one of her new songs) he did a great job hyping up the album. I found it so odd that he kept referring to songs as “copyrights” (kind of like how Variety magazine still calls TV programs skeins). Instead of saying, for example, Diane Warren wrote an amazing song. He said, Diane Warren wrote an amazing copyright. He kept doing that all night long … it made him sound old and out of touch. The man is a genius tho, it’s just that he’s still a bit old skool.

So … the music. The album is loaded with hits. The songs are really strong, Whitney‘s voice is bold and triumphant. It remains to be seen, well, heard what she sounds like singing these songs live but on the album she sounds amazing. The songs that really hit me most were Million Dollar Bill (written by Alica Keys), Call You Tonight (written by Stargate), I Look To You (written by R. Kelly) and my fave song of the album is Worth It (written by Dante Austin). These songs are a good mix of uptempo tracks and ballads … they really represent Whitney‘s music very well. The Stargate song is a new sound for her but the rest of the album is classic Whitney. She will belt these songs out and they will be hits, I’m sure of it. The first song that leaked from the album, I Didn’t Know My Own Strength was written by Diane Warren and was produced by David Foster — and it shows. It’s a powerful ballad that soars but, IMHO, I prefer the title track as her new Greatest Love of All-type song. I envision her singing the song in an empty theater with a single spotlight on her just belting it out (at least, that’s the image in my head … mebbe a music video?). I was very impressed with the album … Whitney is back, y’all. She really is.

When Whitney came out at the end, she was met to thunderous applause and a standing ovation. It was so cool hearing her thank the special people in her life who were in the audience. She fawned over her family and friends … and she looked amazing doing so. I can’t wait for all y’all to hear the album … I’m dying to hear other opinions on the music. One of the first things that Whitney said when she took the stage was, “I’m back home. I’m back home where I belong.” On behalf of her fans everywhere, it’s great to have you home again :)

After the event, I met up with my friends Tony and Jordan for a boy’s night out. We grabbed drinks and grub at Marix and had a great night. I ended up oversleeping today so I’m still playing catch-up … I think those margaritas really did me in :) Tonight, I’m hanging out with Mike for a belated birthday celebration for him … it should be fun!!! I hope all y’all will be having great weekends wherever you are!!