Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an Ameri… Read Full Bio ↴Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "the Voice," she is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of music. Houston is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold worldwide. She influenced many singers in the recording industry and was known for her powerful, soulful vocals, vocal improvisation skills, use of gospel singing techniques in pop music, and live performances. Houston had 11 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and is the only artist to have seven consecutive number-one singles on the chart. Her accolades include eight Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, two Emmy Awards, and 30 Guinness World Records. Houston's inductions include the Grammy Hall of Fame (twice), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the New Jersey Hall of Fame, and the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.

Houston began singing at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, as a child and became a background vocalist while in high school. She was one of the first black women to appear on the cover of Seventeen after becoming a teen model in 1981. With the guidance of Arista Records chairman Clive Davis, Houston signed to the label at age 19. Her first two studio albums, Whitney Houston (1985) and Whitney (1987), both peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and are among the best-selling albums of all time. Hit singles from the albums, including "How Will I Know", "Greatest Love of All" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", established her as a catalyst in the acceptance of black female artists on MTV. Her third studio album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990), yielded two Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, the title track and "All the Man That I Need". Houston's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in 1991 received widespread media coverage.

Houston made her acting debut with the romantic thriller film The Bodyguard (1992), which despite its mixed reviews became the tenth highest-grossing film to that date. Its soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and remains the bestselling soundtrack album of all time. It generated multiple hit singles, including "I Have Nothing", "I'm Every Woman" and "I Will Always Love You"; the latter won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, spent a then-record 14 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and became the best-selling single by a woman in music history. Subsequently, she went on to star in the films Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher's Wife (1996), and she recorded their respective soundtracks; the former scored her last Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", while the latter, produced by Houston herself, became the bestselling gospel album of all time. As a film producer, she produced multicultural movies and series such as Cinderella (1997) and The Princess Diaries and The Cheetah Girls.

Houston's first studio album in eight years, My Love Is Your Love (1998), spawned several hit singles, including the title track, "Heartbreak Hotel", "It's Not Right but It's Okay" and the Academy Award-winning Mariah Carey duet "When You Believe". Following the success, she renewed her contract with Arista for $100 million in 2001, one of the biggest recording deals of all time. However, her personal problems began to overshadow her career. Her 2002 studio album, Just Whitney, received mixed reviews, while her drug use and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown received widespread media coverage. After divorcing Brown, Houston returned to the top of the Billboard 200 chart with her final studio album, I Look to You (2009). In February 2012, Houston accidentally drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors. News of her death coincided with the 2012 Grammy Awards, which took place the day following her death, and was covered internationally. Her life and career were dramatized in the 2022 biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Her assets amounted to $250 million, earned over a 25-year career.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Houston

Discography
Whitney Houston (1985)
Whitney (1987)
I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990)
My Love Is Your Love (1998)
Just Whitney (2002)
One Wish: The Holiday Album (2003)
I Look to You (2009)

Who Would Imagine A King -
Whitney Houston Lyrics

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Mommies and daddies always believe
That their little angels are special indeed
And you could grow up to be anything
But who would imagine a king

A shepherd or teacher is what you could be
Or maybe a fisherman out on the sea
Or maybe a carpenter building things

But who would imagine a king

It was so clear when the wise men arrived
And the angels were singing your name
That the world would be different 'cause you were alive
That's what heaven stood still to proclaim

One day an angel said quietly
That soon he would bring something special to me
And of all those wonderful gifts he could bring

Who would imagine, who could imagine
Who would imagine a king

Mmm
Mommy

Overall Meaning

and daddy are often the first people to believe that their child is special, and that they have the potential to be anything they want to be. This sentiment is echoed in the lyrics of " Who Would Imagine A King" where the idea of growing up to be royalty seems almost impossible for a child. The song lists out different common professions that children aspire to, such as a shepherd, teacher or carpenter. But, the idea of becoming a king or having a divine purpose in life is not something that many adults or children can even fathom.

The song mentions the arrival of the wise men and angels singing the name of the king, which is a reference to Jesus Christ, who was born in Bethlehem according to the Bible. The song reflects the awe and wonder of his birth, and the idea that his arrival heralded a new era, where the world would be changed forever. The lyrics express the disbelief and sense of pure astonishment that such an important and divine figure could be born into the world as a baby.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: MERVYN WARREN, HALLERIN HILL

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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