When I was young, my mum used to play cassette tapes of Whitney Houston whenever we drove anywhere. I remember hearing ‘So Emotional’ and ‘Didn’t we almost have it all’ so many times and pressing rewind a lot.

In 1992, I saw her sing, ‘I will always love you’ on the Des O’Connor Tonight Show and I remember thinking ‘WOW!’ This solidified my becoming a massive Whitney Houston fan. I joined her fanclub and watched her movies. I absolutely loved her.

Why was she special?

In 1999 I was lucky enough to go to the NEC in Birmingham and witness Whitney singing when she was at the top of her career. Her voice was superb. I remember thousands of people stood in silence listening to her rendition of ‘I will always live you’ and you could feel the love in the room. Her notes felt flawless.

As well as starring in films like ‘The Bodyguard’, ‘Cinderella’ and ‘The Preacher’s Wife’, she also produced movies such as ‘The Princess Diaries’. She always worked incredibly hard and did plenty of charity work too.

Seeing her again perform in 2010 at the NEC and again at the O2, she had lost some of her sparkle but her talent was still striking. Her sad death in 2012 made my cry as I realised how sorrowful her life became over time.

New Whitney Movie

Now I an excited that a brilliant movie about her life is coming to cinemas next week. Starring Naomi Ackie and Stanley Tucci (as Clive Davis), this film has an excellent trailer which highlights some memorable concerts, including her singing the US national anthem at the 1991 Superbowl.

Check out the trailer for ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ which is made by the brilliant creators of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and comes out on Friday 23rd December.