Album: Whitney Houston

Just Whitney, Arista

Friday 29 November 2002 01:00 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Surely only a celebrity would imagine that the best way to combat excessive public interest in one's private life would be to write and release a single about, er, excessive public interest in one's private life, as Whitney Houston does here with the chippy "Whatchulookinat?". As if that alone weren't enough to ensure increased interest in the travails so frequently afflicting her marriage to Bobby Brown, then having Bobby produce the track should guarantee blanket coverage in the gossip columns. It's a decent enough track, certainly the best thing here, feisty and funky if a little too self-obsessed – rather like Whitney herself, one suspects. "God is the reason my soul is free/ And I don't need you lookin' at me," she sings, clearly in denial about her position as a performer. These kinds of "look/don't look" vacillations underscore all of Just Whitney, which focuses on the singer's own life like no previous Whitney Houston album. Songs like "Unashamed", "Tell Me No" and "Love That Man" could have been written to order for her present situation, espousing as they do faith and fidelity in the face of insecurity, while "Dear John Letter" and "On My Own" involve wistful contemplation of a possible future flying solo, so to speak. Behind the veneer of personality, however, there's much less actual character to the music.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in