This fall, fans will have new music and offerings from legendary superstar Whitney Houston. Sony recently announced that a compilation album of Houston’s greatest hits will be released this fall as well as a collector’s edition coffee table book. The lead single from the upcoming album, “I Look To You” features a stirring rendition of Houston’s classic single with R&B’s Grammy-winner R. Kelly.
Kelly sang a powerful rendition of the single during Houston’s funeral which caught the attention many including powerhouse mentor and Sony’s chief creative officer Clive Davis. Davis asked that Kelly re-work and produce a new single for the album.
Based on the 2009 hit, Davis added unreleased Houston vocals to the track recorded when the singer took a 2-week smoking hiatus for dental work in LA. Davis stated, “She did two verses and a chorus, and it’s just terribly sad that this incredible, unique treasure is not here anymore.”
The song will be included on the 18-track tribute album I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston, which will be released Nov. 13.
Davis continued, “I really wanted the public to hear Whitney with her voice intact. Tragically, it shows what her voice could have sounded like if, as she had promised me that week she passed away, that she was going to give up cigarettes entirely.”
Fans will also have a visual feast when the anticipated 196 page coffee-table photo book Whitney: Tribute To An Icon is released next month. Over 22 well-known photographers as well as close family members contributed to photo selection, many of which were previously unreleased to the public. The book includes shots that span the entirety of Houston’s career from age 19, till days before her untimely death.
The positive promotion from the Houston camp circulates weeks before the controversial Lifetime reality show “The Houston’s: On Our Own” is slated to debut. Bobbi Kristina’s rumored car accident is seemingly a minor bump of bad publicity amongst plenty of positive updates about Whitney Houston’s legacy.
Of Whitney’s legacy Clive Davis said, “It is based on what she was able to accomplish and the impact that she and her records had.” Davis closed, “The fact that she was not able to deal with the lethal power of drugs is so sad. She was trying so hard to overcome this disease, and she had the hearts of so many hoping and praying for her.”
