Aretha Franklin Says She Was Not Disinvited from Whitney Houston’s Funeral

After Aretha Franklin abruptly canceled her performance at Whitney Houston’s funeral, the singer claimed that a leg spasms were the reason she could not attend the funeral of her late goddaughter.

But her absence led to reports suggesting a feud between Franklin and Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston. The alleged origins of the so-called falling-out: an interview Franklin did with NBC’s Today show following the “I Will Always Love You” singer’s sudden death on Feb. 11.

“I think parents have to really talk to their children before they leave home … (that they) leave home prepared, really. She left home with all the right things,” Franklin told Al Roker last week.

In a statement issued Wednesday, via The Associated Press, Franklin aimed to clarify reports that Cissy Houston had disinvited her from the funeral and said her Today show quote was taken out of context.

“Cissy Houston and I have been longtime friends for almost 50 years. I have four invitations and parking passes that were sent to me for the funeral,” said Franklin, who paid tribute to Houston hours after her funeral at Radio City Music Hall. “Cissy does not need ridiculous speculation and neither do I — particularly at this time.”

“Knowing Cissy as well as I do, I know Whitney left home right and properly. I was generalizing and it was a well-intended statement for any young adult coming into the music industry. I was not speaking of anyone specifically,” she explained.

Robin Thicke Releases Whitney Houston Cover Song

R&B singer Robin Thicke decided to pay homage to the late Whitney Houston in his own way.

The singer dropped a cover of Houston’s classic track “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” over the weekend, arranging the song with a piano and his own sweet falsetto voice. Released in November 1995, the original version was the lead single off Houston’s “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack. Thicke changed the song from the third person to the first person, making it a bit more personal.

“I was thinking about Whitney and how incredible she was and remembered I had recorded this song years ago but never released it,” Thicke said on Tuesday (February 21) in a statement to MTV News. “When I listened to it again, I was overcome by emotion, because the lyrics express everything I’m feeling right now.”

“That’s what was so special about Whitney, she had an amazing ability to connect to all of us and at the same time make us feel inspired,” he said. “We love Whitney Houston and always will!”

Whitney Houston’s Dress and Earrings Up for Auction

A black velvet dress that belonged to Whitney Houston and a pair of earrings she wore in “The Bodyguard” will be sold to the highest bidder next month.

Celebrity auctioneer Darren Julien said Sunday the pieces and other Houston items became available after the singer’s unexpected death on Feb. 11 and will be included among a long-planned sale of Hollywood memorabilia such as Charlie Chaplin’s cane, Clark Gable’s jacket from “Gone With the Wind” and Charlton Heston’s staff from “The Ten Commandments.”

“It proves a point that these items, they’re an investment,” Julien said. “You buy items just like a stock. Buy at the right time and sell at the right time, and they just increase in value.”

“It’s a celebration of her life,” Julien said. “If you hide these things in fear that you’re going to offend someone – her life is to be celebrated. These items are historic now that she passed. They become a part of history. They should be in museums. She’s lived a life and had a career that nobody else has ever had.”

The singer’s floor-length black dress is valued at $1,000 but likely to collect much more. Same goes for the vest she wore in “The Bodyguard,” listed at $400, and the faux-pearl earrings that start at $600.

Houston fans and other collectors can bid online, by phone or in person during the “Hollywood Legends” auction on March 31 and April 1. Lots will be shown during a free public exhibition beginning March 19 at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, Calif., just blocks from the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where Houston died at age 48.

Whitney Houston Laid to Rest in Private Burial

Whitney Houston was laid to rest on Sunday in a private burial with family and close friends near her birthplace in Newark, New Jersey.

The pop star died in a Beverly Hills hotel room last week. She was found underwater in a bathtub, but an exact cause of death has yet to be determined.

Dozens of fans lined the edge of street barriers as the procession carrying Houston’s body drove by under tight security from a funeral home in Newark, New Jersey to the Forest Lawn cemetery in nearby Westfield where Houston’s body was buried next to her father.

Houston’s family decided against a public memorial service, as was done for pop star Michael Jackson after his 2009 death, but agreed to allow Saturday’s four-hour tribute in the church to be broadcast live by television networks.

Chris Brown Lashes Out at Critics on Twitter

Twitter exploded with negativity over Chris Brown’s performance on Sunday’s Grammy Awards (Feb. 12), the singer answered back in a series of angry and profane messages.

“HATE ALL U WANT BECUZ I GOT A GRAMMY Now! That’s the ultimate F–K OFF!” Brown declared in one post, which has since been deleted but saved for posterity in a screengrab on the website Mashable.

Brown also dropped the F-bomb in various tweet-responses to critics which have also been conveniently scrubbed from his account.

Despite his musical comeback, Brown remains a source of controversy stemming from the Rihanna incident, polarizing fans and infuriating critics.

Whitney Houston Enters Music Charts

Late singer Whitney Houston’s re-entered music charts on Wednesday with a greatest hits album that raced into the top 10 of the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 101,000 copies in just 24 hours after the singer’s sudden death this past weekend.

“Whitney: The Greatest Hits,” which includes songs such as “Saving All My Love for You” and “My Love is Your Love,” hit No. 6 on the album chart, selling 91,000 digital copies and 10,000 physical copies, based on Nielsen SoundScan sales weekly data that is finalized on Sunday evening.

Houston, 48, died on Saturday in a Beverly Hills hotel on the eve of the Grammy Awards. Her body was discovered underwater in her room’s bathtub, and while speculation has centered on a possible overdose given her past problems with drinking and drugs, authorities have yet to determine a cause of death.

“There’s certainly going to be a resurgence in Whitney music. We’ll hear it on the radio a lot and that will lead to people listening to it on (online music streaming application) Spotify and downloading it on iTunes,” said Bill Werde, editorial director of music publication Billboard, to Reuters.

Dramatic sales also followed the deaths of Michael Jackson in Los Angeles and Amy Winehouse in London. According to music magazine Billboard, more than 35 million Jackson albums were sold worldwide after he died in June 2009.

“It’s sad when people discover an artist this way, but it is what happens when an artist dies,” said Werde.

As fans of Houston rushed to rediscover the singer’s music, single digital track sales of the artist’s music rose to more than 887,000 song downloads in 24 hours.

The biggest selling digital song was Houston’s signature ballad “I Will Always Love You” with more than 195,000 copies downloaded, fueled by Jennifer Hudson’s emotional rendition of the song in tribute to Houston at Sunday’s Grammy awards.

Britain’s Official Charts Company reported a total of 27 Houston tracks were in the Top 200 as fans snapped up her music after her death on Saturday.

The sales surge in Houston’s music is likely to continue through the week, ahead of the singer’s funeral on Saturday.

Her greatest hits compilation may knock Adele’s “21″ from the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart next week, after the British singer, who swept the Grammys on Sunday with six awards, notched her 20th week at No. 1 on Wednesday.

Adele Spends 20th Week at No. 1 on Billboard Charts

Adele’s “21″ album beats out Van Halen’s new “A Different Kind of Truth” for the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 chart for the 20th consecutive week.

Adele’s “21″ sold 237,000 in the week that ended on Feb. 12 (the day of the Grammys) — posting a gain of 95%. Van Halen’s “A Different Kind of Truth” arrives in the No. 2 position with 187,000. Adele won six Grammy trophies on the Sunday night ceremony — including album, record and song of the year — and performed on the broadcast. It was her first stage performance since undergoing throat surgery last year.

With 20 weeks at No. 1, it marks the longest run at the top of the chart since “The Bodyguard” spent 20 weeks at No. 1 in 1992-1993. It’s quite likely “21″ will easily net a 21st frame atop the tally next week, once a full week of Grammy impact is felt.

Adele is also found at No. 9 with her debut set, “19,” selling 36,000 (up 103%). It’s the first time an act has had two albums in the top 10 since March 19, 2011, when Justin Bieber occupied the Nos. 4 and 8 slots with “Never Say Never: the Remixes” (EP) and “My World 2.0,” respectively.

Paul McCartney, who earned two performance slots on the Grammy Awards, lands at No. 5 with “Kisses on the Bottom,” selling 74,000 in its first week. It is the icon’s 18th top 10 album — including his Wings work (but not his Beatles’ releases).

The late Whitney Houston’s “Whitney: The Greatest Hits,” re-enters at No. 6 with 64,000 (up a whopping 10,419%). It’s one of six total albums for Houston on the chart. Her next-largest seller was her 1986 debut, “Whitney Houston,” which re-enters at No. 72 with 8,000 (up 3,901%).

Family Plans Private Funeral for Whitney Houston

A private funeral for pop superstar Whitney Houston will be held on Saturday in her birthplace in Newark, New Jersey, at the same New Jersey church where the R&B vocalist honed her singing skills as a child.

The invitation-only service will be held at the New Hope Baptist Church, where Houston once sang growing up, a family spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The spokeswoman did not rule out the possibility of a separate public memorial service later.

The Houston family thanked fans and friends for their prayers but wished for a private service, funeral director Carolyn Whigham told reporters outside the Whigham Funeral Home where Houston’s body was resting on Tuesday. She said there would be “nothing for the public,” and added that no wake would be held, only the private funeral service.

“It was the family’s decision,” Whigham told reporters. “They have shared her for 30-some years with the city, with the state, with the world. This is their time now for their farewell to their daughter, mother.”

Adele Sweeps Grammys with 6 Wins

Adele won six Grammys, winning every category in which she was nominated including album of the year for “21″ and best record with “Rolling In the Deep.”

The show was also laced with tributes to late pop star Whitney Houston, who died suddenly on Saturday. She was remembered by fellow artists in acceptance speeches and songs. Jennifer Hudson sang Houston’s signature hit, “I Will Always Love You,” and Grammy host LL Cool J offered a prayer for Houston’s family, friends and fans.

23-year-old Adele, who has taken the music world by storm, underwent surgery on her vocal cords late last year and had been resting her voice on doctor’s orders until music’s biggest night. For the first time since then, the British singer took the stage to belt out “Rolling In the Deep” and finished to a standing ovation.

Adele claimed three of the music industry’s top awards – album, record and song of the year – and added best pop solo performance, pop vocal and short video to her stack of trophies.

Tearing up and having difficulty speaking as she took the stage to claim the night’s top award, album of the year, Adele talked about “21″ and its heartfelt songs dreamed up after a failed love affair.

“This record is inspired by something that is really normal and everyone’s been through it, just a rubbish relationship, and it’s gone on to do things I can’t tell you how I feel about it, it’s been the most life-changing year.”

Rockers Foo Fighters were the other big winners, picking up five Grammys including best rock performance for the hit “Walk.”

“This is a great honor because this record was a special record for our band. Rather than go to the best studio … we made this one in my garage with some microphones and a tape machine,” said Dave Grohl. “It shows that the human element of making music is what’s most important.”

Host LL Cool J took the stage and offered a prayer for Houston, her fans and her family. “Although she is gone too soon, we remain truly blessed by her musical spirit,” he said.

Whitney Houston Found Unconscious Under Water

The death of Whitney Houston is a great shock to all of us. The great singer was found underwater and apparently unconscious when she was discovered in a Beverly Hills hotel room bathtub, police said on Monday.

Police said in a statement they could not yet speculate on the cause of Houston’s death.

“She was underwater and apparently unconscious,” Beverly Hills police said in the statement. “Ms. Houston was pulled from the tub by members of her staff and hotel security was promptly notified.”

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