Whitney

Six years have passed since Whitney Houston was found dead, at the age of 48, in a hotel room at the Beverly Hilton. Since then her daughter Bobbi Kristina tragically passed away at age 22 and controversy still surrounds both deaths. On July 6 the public might get the answers they’ve been looking for when a new documentary called Whitney hits theaters across America.

Although a great deal has been written about Houston over the years, this is the first film that was approved by the singer’s estate. Featuring interviews with her family and industry people she worked with including Clive Davis and Kevin Costner, along with archival footage that has most likely never been seen before, the trailer depicts a movie  that is going to provide all the details. And they might be as heartbreaking as they are revealing.

If the sound bites from the trailer are any indication, this film is going to be fascinating. While one interviewee says “You miss something if you don’t see her live,” another one reminds the viewer that if “You don’t resolve things they never go away.” Record executive LA Reid claims he never knew about any addiction issues while one of Houston’s family members said of her relationship with Bobby Brown: “She stepped down to lift him up.”

At one point during the trailer, an interviewee describes her now iconic 1991 performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” as so influential that “she made people proud that they were American.” But then there is another piece of vintage backstage footage that shows Houston complaining about stardom while bashing another singer: “People think it’s so easy, and it’s not…Paula Abdul ain’t shit. That girl is singing off-key on the record.”

Clearly the documentary is going to tell the whole story –  starting with her singing in church, then becoming a pop music icon, her drug addiction, her rocky marriage to singer Bobby Brown, and her untimely death. It will also talk about Robyn Crawford who was Houston’s best friend, assistant, and may or may not have been her girlfriend.

Although I’m looking forward to seeing Whitney in the theater, and learning the real story from her family, friends, and colleagues, there is nothing they can say that will change my opinion about Whitney Houston. Regardless of the mistakes and choices she made, she will always be one of the best-selling artists of all time and there will never be a voice like hers.