Music welcomes back Whitney Houston, arguably one of the most popular singers throughout the last three decades.

She debuted in 1985 with the album 'Whitney Houston', which included the hit 'Saving All My Love for You'. For the next 22 years she released hugely successful records, with all of her studio albums going multi-platinum.

Houston was always been marketed as the "good girl", but her clean cut image took a severe knock when she married New Edition's rebel Bobby Brown in 1992. She was to suffer increasingly worse media scrutiny in 2000 up until her separation from Brown in 2006. Infamous moments in her career involve repeated drug use, allegations of physical abuse at the hands of her husband and enforced rehab. All of this only exacerbated her declining popularity in mainstream music. Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown divorced in 2007 and Houston was given full custody of their daughter.

After the turmoil of the last few years, Whitney Houston's sixth studio album, 'I Look to You', ends a long period of silence from the star. It went straight to number one on the Billboard Top 200 album chart in its first week.

The album's title track 'I Look to You' was the first US single released in July 2009. It's not exactly a power ballad, but it comes close. The song recalls Houston's gospel roots and reintroduces her as a woman who is ready to take on the industry once more.


The second single 'Million Dollar Bill' was released in the US in August. The single, written with the help of Alicia Keys, is ridiculously catchy. It has a seventies groove, alongside a strong baseline and smooth vocals.

'I Look to You' is definitely geared towards urban pop and R&B consumers. Whilst there is nothing astounding about the album, Houston and her production team have been careful and clever to create tracks for every listener. 'I Didn't Know My Own Strength' uses a classic Whitney blueprint: her voice, a piano and orchestral percussion. Yet, they have not neglected to use modern production techniques and vocal arrangements on songs such as 'Nothin' but Love'.

Thankfully, Houston is not trying to mimic the youngsters. The album has none of the usual tawdry crap-rap stuck in as a bridge, and there is a notable absence of electronic vocal tweaking, so popular in today's market. Although her voice is still big, it is different and none of the tracks are as vocally astounding as past songs. It remains to be seen how 'I Look to You' will be received in the UK. It will do well simply because it's a Whitney Houston record and it will be enjoyed by fans of old, but as albums go this one is well above average.

'I Look to You' is available for pre-order in the UK.

Written by Kyla Jardine