Whitney Houston may have performed her megahit “I Will Always Love You” at her sold-out London concert on Sunday – but apparently scores of her fans didn’t share the sentiment.

Despite paying up to $170 a ticket, disappointed concertgoers streamed out of the singer’s show at the O2 Arena after Houston failed to hit the high notes and she rasped her way through several attempts at the song. To her credit, the singer, 46, knew she was disappointing the crowd, and she shook her head and tried to reassure the audience.

“Oh, it’s going to come,” Houston announced mid-song. “I wanna do it – but [my voice] just doesn’t want to. I have long talks with her. Well, tonight she’s getting a little temperamental.”

Houston, whose European tour has been plagued by her respiratory illness, also blamed her vocal troubles on the venue’s air-conditioning, which she told fans “turned my soprano off.” (Houston also cited the a/c as the cause of similar problems at her Birmingham, England, show weeks before.)

For real fans, though, the singer’s apparent performance troubles were no problem at all. Many were just thrilled to see her in the U.K. again, since her last official tour date in the British capital in 1999.

“She was incredibly brave to come out and perform,” concert attendee Maria Montague told People at the show. “Even though she struggled at times, I think she did well considering what’s she’s been through.”

According to longtime fan Kevin Hughes: “The voice has definitely deteriorated, but the showmanship and the sheer entertainment value is still there. She’s still a star.”

The British press, however, didn’t quite agree.

A Daily Mail critic said the performance “went from bad to worse,” and said Houston’s voice “was a former shadow of what it used to be.” And a report in The Sun said Houston’s performance and vocal troubles “highlighted the superstar’s dramatic decline.”

A rep for Houston could not be reached for comment.

Still, the singer’s ardent admirers praised her for taking the stage – and admitting her own weaknesses. “I think it was a very honest performance,” fan Howard Griffiths told People. “She didn’t try to hide anything … it was honest.”

Source, Bauer-Griffin

The show must go on for Whitney Houston – no matter what.

After canceling three shows on her European tour because of respiratory problems, the singer wasn’t going miss her show in Dublin – despite nature intervening. After the eruption of Iceland volcano Eyjafjallajokull caused flights to be grounded across Europe, Houston, like other stranded travelers, had to get creative about her transportation.

According to the U.K.’s Daily Mail, the singer crossed the Irish Sea on a ferry. Houston and her entourage booked travel on the Nordica superferry, which took over three hours, so she could make it in time for her Saturday concert in the Irish capital.

Meanwhile, funnyman John Cleese shelled out big bucks to get home to the U.K. from Oslo, where he had appeared on a talk show. His solution? A 930-mile cab ride, which cost him $5,000.

“We checked every other option but there were no boats and no train tickets available,” Cleese told Norway’s TV2. “That’s when my fabulous assistant determined the easiest thing would be to take a taxi.”

The volcanic ash has also disrupted travel for other stars, including Miley Cyrus, who was unable to fly from Los Angeles to London to appear at The Last Song premiere, and Usher, who was unable to continue promoting his new album in Europe.

Source, Fame Pictures

After declaring to People that she was in terrific health following a brief hospitalization for respiratory problems, Whitney Houston returned to the stage in the U.K. Tuesday night.

Though she canceled three performances last week, Houston, 46, told fans at Birmingham’s LG Arena that she felt “pretty good” during her first concert in the U.K. in over a decade.

The singer looked and sounded pretty good too, starting off with songs from her new album I Look to You. Despite a technical hitch with her microphone, she confidently strutted around the stage in fitted white pants, a long flowing white blouse and a silver jacket. Thanking the crowd for their love, support and loyalty, Houston even paused to sign an autograph for a fan between songs.

But things soon took a turn for the worse.

When Houston left the stage for a lengthy wardrobe change, the audience became restless, even booing the singer as her brother, Gary Houston, tried to keep the crowd of 15,000 entertained with a solo performance of one of his sister’s tracks, and her three backup singers performed their own version of the Houston hit “I’m Every Woman.”

About 15 minutes later, the star re-emerged and addressed her absence. “Thank you for being understanding, letting me dry off and change my clothes,” she said, adding, “I heard you get mad … but I understand, I’m here now.”

But that wasn’t enough for some fans and critics, who noted that she appeared “tired” and “erratic.” She struggled to hit the high notes in many of her signature anthems such as “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and “All at Once,” appearing breathless onstage and asking arena staff, “If there is any [air conditioning] in the house, please turn it off. I just got over a really bad cold … Please make it quick!”

The singer continued to battle through her set and concluded with a husky version of her signature hit, “I Will Always Love You.” Appearing to have lost her voice altogether, she gestured the sentiment to her fans, clutching her chest and blowing kisses as she took her final bow. “Just heard a clip of Whitney Houston from her show last night singing ‘I Will Always Love You,” wrote one viewer on You Tube. “Get your money back!”

Still, The Guardian praised Houston’s vocals and declared “she’s definitely back, while the U.K’s Times noted that her “old magic” was back.

Houston continues her tour in Nottingham, England, on Wednesday night and heads to Ireland on Saturday.

Source, Fame Pictures

Legendary diva Whitney Houston was dogged by critics during the Asian and Australian legs of her world tour. Now in Europe, the singer is facing a new problem — Houston has canceled a Tuesday night performance in Paris due to illness. A statement received by the Associated Press says an upper respiratory infection has forced Houston to postpone the first show of the European tour on doctors’ orders.

The statement says, “[Houston] deeply regrets having been forced to postpone the show.” Her tour will continue in Manchester, England, later this week, but Houston would love to return to the City of Light before the end of the concert series.

The tour is in support of Houston’s first album in seven years. ‘I Look To You’ was released in 2009, featuring collaborations with Alicia Keys and R Kelly.

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During Saturday night’s ‘X Factor’ performance, Whitney Houston was left red-faced after a strap at the back of her long silver dress snapped open midway through her performance of ‘Million Dollar Bill.’ She shrugged off the wardrobe malfunction though, joking to host Dermot O’Leary afterwards, “I sang myself out of my clothes.” Watch her performance:

What do you think?

I don’t think it’s terrible – but man, it does NOT sound like the Whitney we know and love! Her voice has changed so much! It’s kind of sad!

Whitney Houston’s much-anticipated new album, I Look to You, doesn’t hit stores until Sept. 1, but the singer gave a star-studded audience a sneak preview of nine songs on Tuesday night.

Diane Sawyer, Martha Stewart, Alicia Keys, Vivica A. Fox, and Oprah Winfrey’s best friend Gayle King sat front and center at the listening party Tuesday night, hosted by Houston’s longtime producer Clive Davis in New York City.

“It took us three-and-a-half years to reach this point,” an energetic Houston told the crowd, which also included her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, 16, mother Cissy, and cousin Dionne Warwick. When she spotted King, she told her, “Please tell Oprah I said hello.”

Among Houston’s new tunes are “Million Dollar Bill,” written by Keys and Swizz Beats, which Davis described as “a feel-good song.” (Keys stood up, danced, and recorded the scene while the song was playing.)

Davis also previewed two ballads reminiscent of Houston’s classic hits, one written by songwriting legend Diane Warren (“I Didn’t Know My Own Strength”) and one by R. Kelly, who also penned the beat-heavy “Salute.”

Houston also collaborated with Akon for “Like I Never Left,” which Davis said was the result of her request for “a great island song.” Afterward Davis said of Houston – whose last album was released in 2002 – “You realize how much we miss her.”

And that was obvious during the final track, a cover of the 1970′s classic, “A Song For You,” which Davis revealed had only been “completed rough last night.” Sawyer led the audience to their feet, and the dancing lasted as Houston took the stage.

In her brief remarks, Houston said her mother had told her, ” ‘I’m tired of the old songs on the radio. I’m tired of people taking off their clothes … I want to hear a beautiful lyric and a beautiful melody.’ And I just hope that what you heard tonight, that’s what you got.”

Source, Bauer-Griffin