The ''Billboard'' 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Often, a recording act will be remembered by its "number ones", those of their albums that outsold all others during at least one week.

The chart is based solely on sales (both at retail and digitally) of albums in the United States. The sales tracking week begins on Monday and ends on Sunday. A new chart is published the following Thursday with an issue date of the following Saturday. :Example: ::Monday January 1 – sales tracking week begins ::Sunday January 7 – sales tracking week ends ::Thursday January 11 – new chart published, with issue date of Saturday January 20.

Normally new products are released to the American market on Tuesdays. Digital downloads are included in ''Billboard'' 200 tabulation, as long as the entire album is purchased as a whole. Albums that are not licensed for retail sale in the United States (yet purchased in the U.S. as imports) are not eligible to chart. A long-standing policy which made ineligible titles that are sold exclusively by specific retail outlets, such as Wal-Mart or Starbucks, was reversed on November 7, 2007, and took effect in the issue dated November 17.

The current number-one album (as of the issue dated September 10, 2011) on the ''Billboard'' 200 is ''The R.E.D. Album'' by Game.

History

''Billboard'' began an album chart in 1945. Initially only five positions long, the album chart was not published on a weekly basis, sometimes three to seven weeks passing before it was updated. A biweekly (though with a few gaps), 15-position Best-Selling Popular Albums chart appeared in 1955. With the explosion of rock and roll music, ''Billboard'' premiered a weekly Best-Selling Popular Albums chart on March 24, 1956. The position count varied anywhere from 10 to 30 albums. The first number-one album on the new weekly list was ''Belafonte'' by Harry Belafonte. The chart was renamed to Best-Selling Pop Albums later in 1956, and then to Best-Selling Pop LPs in 1957.

Beginning on May 25, 1959, ''Billboard'' split the ranking into two charts ''Best-Selling Stereophonic LPs'' for stereo albums (30 positions) and ''Best-Selling Monophonic LPs'' for mono albums (50 positions). These were renamed to ''Stereo Action Charts'' (30 positions) and ''Mono Action Charts'' (40 positions) in 1960. In January 1961, they became ''Action Albums—Stereophonic'' (15 positions) and ''Action Albums—Monophonic'' (25 positions). Three months later, they became ''Top LPs—Stereo'' (50 positions) and ''Top LPs—Monaural'' (150 positions).

On August 17, 1963 the stereo and mono charts were combined into a 150-position chart called ''Top LPs''. On April 1, 1967, the chart was expanded to 175 positions, then finally to 200 positions on May 13, 1967. In 1972 the album chart's title was changed to ''Top LPs & Tapes''; in 1984 it was retitled ''Top 200 Albums''; in 1985 it was retitled again to ''Top Pop Albums''; in 1991 it became ''The Billboard 200 Top Albums''; and it was given its current title of ''The Billboard 200'' on March 14, 1992.

Catalog albums

In 1960, ''Billboard'' began concurrently publishing album charts which ranked sales of older or mid-priced titles. These ''Essential Inventory'' charts were divided by stereo and mono albums, and featured titles that had already appeared on the main stereo and mono album charts. Mono albums were moved to the ''Essential Inventory—Mono'' chart (25 positions) after spending 40 weeks on the ''Mono Action Chart'', and stereo albums were moved to the ''Essential Inventory—Stereo'' chart (20 positions) after 20 weeks on the ''Stereo Action Chart''.

In January 1961, the ''Action Charts'' became ''Action Albums—Monophonic'' (24 positions), and ''Action Albums—Stereophonic'' (15 positions). Albums appeared on either chart for up to nine weeks, then were moved to an ''Essential Inventory'' list of approximately 200 titles, with no numerical ranking. This list continued to be published until the consolidated ''Top LPs'' chart debuted in 1963.

In 1982, ''Billboard'' began publishing a ''Midline Albums'' chart which ranked older or mid-priced titles. The chart held 50 positions and was published on a bi-weekly (and later tri-weekly) basis.

On March 25, 1991 ''Billboard'' premiered the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart. The criteria for this chart were albums that were more than 18 months old and had fallen below position 100 on the ''Billboard 200''. An album needed not have charted on the ''Billboard 200'' at all to qualify for catalog status.

Starting with the issue dated December 5, 2009, however, the catalog limitations which removed albums over 18 months old, that have dropped below position 100 and have no currently-running single, from the ''Billboard 200'' was lifted, turning the chart into an all-inclusive list of the 200 highest-selling albums in the country (essentially changing ''Top Comprehensive Albums'' into the ''Billboard 200''). A new chart that keeps the previous criteria for the ''Billboard 200'' (dubbed ''Top Current Albums'') was also introduced in the same issue.

Holiday albums

''Billboard'' has adjusted its policies for Christmas and holiday albums several times. The albums were eligible for the main album charts until 1963, when a ''Christmas Albums'' list was created. Albums appearing here were not listed on the ''Top LPs'' chart. In 1974 this rule was reverted and holiday albums again appeared within the main list.

In 1983 the ''Christmas Albums'' chart was resurrected, but a title's appearance here did not disqualify it from appearing on the ''Top Pop Albums'' chart. In 1994 the chart was retitled ''Top Holiday Albums''. As of 2009 the chart holds 50 positions and is run for several weeks during the end-of-calendar-year holiday season. Its current policy allows holiday albums to concurrently chart on the ''Top Holiday Albums'' list and the ''Billboard 200''.

Nielsen SoundScan

Since May 26, 1991, the ''Billboard 200'''s positions have been derived from Nielsen SoundScan sales data, contributed by approximately 14,000 music sellers. Because these numbers are supplied by a subset of sellers rather than record labels, it is common for these numbers to be substantially lower than those reported by the Recording Industry Association of America when Gold, Platinum and Diamond album awards are announced (RIAA awards reflect wholesale ''shipments'', not retail ''sales'').

Year-end charts

''Billboard’s'' "chart year" runs from the first week of December to the final week in November. This altered calendar allows for ''Billboard'' to calculate year-end charts and release them in time for its final print issue on the last week of December. Prior to Nielsen SoundScan, year-end charts were calculated by an inverse-point system based solely on an album's performance on the ''Billboard 200'' (for example, an album would be given one point for a week spent at position 200, two points for a week spent at position 199… up to 200 points for each week spent at number one). Other factors including the total weeks on the chart and at its peak position were calculated into an album's year-end total.

After ''Billboard'' began obtaining sales information from Nielsen SoundScan, the year-end charts are now calculated by a very straightforward cumulative total of yearlong sales. This gives a more accurate picture of any given year’s best-selling albums, as a title that hypothetically spent nine weeks at number one in March could possibly have sold fewer copies than one spending six weeks at number three in January. Interestingly, albums at the peak of their popularity at the time of the November/December chart-year cutoff many times end up ranked lower than one would expect on a year-end tally, yet are ranked on the following year's chart as well, as their cumulative points are split between the two chart-years.

Uses

The ''Billboard 200'' can be helpful to radio stations as an indication of the types of music listeners are interested in hearing. Retailers can also find it useful as a way to determine which recordings should be given the most prominent display in a store. Other outlets, such as airline music services, also employ the ''Billboard'' charts to determine their programming.

Limitations

The chart omits unit sales for listed albums and total recorded sales, making it impossible to determine, for example, if the number one album this week sold as well as the number one from the same period in the prior year. It is also impossible to determine the relative success of albums on a single chart; there is no indication of whether the number one album sold thousands more copies than number 50, or only dozens more. All music genres are combined, but there are separate ''Billboard'' charts for individual market segments. The complete sales data broken down by location is made available, but only in the form of separate SoundScan subscriptions. Declining CD sales and the widespread sale of singles via the internet further reduce the relevance of the Billboard 200.

Artist milestones

Most top-ten albums

The Rolling Stones (36)

Frank Sinatra (33)

The Beatles (30)

Barbra Streisand (30)

Elvis Presley (27)

Most number-one albums

The Beatles (19)

Jay-Z (12)

Elvis Presley (10)

The Rolling Stones (9) (tie)

Bruce Springsteen (9) (tie)

Barbra Streisand (9) (tie)

Most cumulative weeks at number one

The Beatles (132)

Elvis Presley (67)

Michael Jackson (51) (tie)

Garth Brooks (51) (tie)

Whitney Houston (46) (tie)

The Kingston Trio (46) (tie)

Album milestones

Most weeks at number one

(54 weeks) ''West Side Story'' – Soundtrack (1962–63)

(37 weeks) ''Thriller'' – Michael Jackson (1983–84)

(31 weeks) ''Calypso'' – Harry Belafonte (1956–57)

(31 weeks) ''South Pacific'' – Soundtrack (1958–59)

(31 weeks) ''Rumours'' – Fleetwood Mac (1977–78)

(24 weeks) ''Saturday Night Fever'' – Bee Gees/Soundtrack (1978)

(24 weeks) ''Purple Rain'' – Prince and the Revolution (1984–85)

(21 weeks) ''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'' – MC Hammer (1990)

(20 weeks) ''The Bodyguard'' – Whitney Houston/Soundtrack (1992–93)

(20 weeks) ''Blue Hawaii'' – Elvis Presley (1961–62)

Most weeks on the chart

:''Note that totals are for the main albums chart only, catalog chart totals are not factored in. (780 weeks) ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' – Pink Floyd

(490 weeks) ''Johnny's Greatest Hits'' – Johnny Mathis

(482 weeks) ''My Fair Lady'' – Original Cast

(331 weeks) ''Highlights from the Phantom of the Opera'' – Original Cast

(306 weeks) ''Tapestry'' – Carole King

(295 weeks) ''Heavenly'' – Johnny Mathis

(283 weeks) ''Oklahoma!'' – Soundtrack

(282 weeks) ''MCMXC a.D.'' – Enigma

(282 weeks) ''Metallica'' – Metallica

(277 weeks) ''The King and I'' – Soundtrack

(277 weeks) ''Hymns'' – Tennessee Ernie Ford

Biggest jumps to number-one

(176-1) ''Life After Death'' – The Notorious B.I.G. (April 12, 1997)

(173-1) ''Vitalogy'' – Pearl Jam (December 24, 1994)

(156-1) ''In Rainbows'' – Radiohead (January 19, 2008)

(137-1) ''Ghetto D'' – Master P (September 20, 1997)

(122-1) ''More Of The Monkees'' – The Monkees (February 11, 1967)

(112-1) ''MP Da Last Don'' – Master P (June 20, 1998)

(98-1) ''Beatles '65'' – The Beatles (January 9, 1965)

(61-1) ''Help!'' – The Beatles (September 11, 1965)

(60-1) ''Rubber Soul'' – The Beatles (January 8, 1966)

(53-1) ''Ballad of the Green Berets'' – SSgt. Barry Sadler (March 12, 1966)

Biggest drops from number-one

(1-37) ''Light Grenades'' – Incubus

(1-26) ''Mission Bell'' — Amos Lee (1-25) ''Showroom of Compassion'' — Cake

(1-21) ''The Golden Age of Grotesque'' – Marilyn Manson

(1-19) ''The Circle'' – Bon Jovi

(1-18) ''The Inspiration'' – Young Jeezy

(1-16) ''The Fragile'' – Nine Inch Nails

(1-15) ''Greatest Hits'' – The Notorious B.I.G.

(1-14) ''Born Again'' – The Notorious B.I.G.

(1-13) ''Faceless'' – Godsmack

(1-13) ''Loyal to the Game'' – 2Pac

(1-13) ''Doctor's Advocate'' – The Game

(1-13) ''Battle Studies'' – John Mayer

Additional milestones

The first number one album of the SoundScan era (1991 to present) is ''Time, Love & Tenderness'' by Michael Bolton.

The only album to attain the pole position before and after the May 25, 1991 introduction of SoundScan is R.E.M.'s album ''Out of Time''.

The first album to debut at number one was ''Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy'' by Elton John. John repeated the same feat with the album ''Rock of the Westies'' – the second album to debut at number one – making John the first artist to have two consecutive studio albums debut at number one. Whitney Houston's second album ''Whitney'' was the first album by a female artist to debut at number one.

In the early 1960s, Bob Newhart had the accomplishment of having the number one and number two albums simultaneously on the Billboard 200, with ''The Button-Down Mind'' and ''The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!'' This feat was equaled in 1991, with Guns N' Roses ''Use Your Illusion I'' and ''Use Your Illusion II'', and in 2004, with Nelly's ''Suit'' and ''Sweat''.

As of 2008, Pink Floyd's ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' has been on the charts for over 1,630 weeks, or approximately thirty-one years. Consecutively, the album spent a record 773 weeks on the Billboard 200. The other weeks were spent on the ''Top Pop Catalog Albums'' chart. Its closest rival is Bob Marley's ''Legend'', checking in at over 975 weeks (''Billboard 200'' and ''Top Pop Catalog Albums'' combined).

With 15 weeks at #1 for her album ''Tapestry'', Carole King holds the record for the longest time for a solo album by a female to remain at the top of the ''Billboard 200''. Additionally, she holds the record for the longest time for an album by a female solo artist to remain on the ''Billboard 200'', with nearly six years. King also holds the record for most consecutive weeks at #1 on the ''Billboard 200'' for any one album by a female solo artist with 15 weeks. All records are for her ''Tapestry'' album.

''Forever Your Girl'' by Paula Abdul spent sixty-four consecutive weeks on the ''Billboard 200'' before hitting number one, making it the longest time for an album to reach the number one spot, while Lives Throwing Copper took 52 weeks to reach number one in 1995 making it the longest run since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales.

At one point in early 1980s, all nine studio albums released to that date by Led Zeppelin were on the ''Billboard 200'' chart, and is the most studio albums by a single artist to chart at the same time.

The only EP's to reach number one on the chart are Alice in Chains's ''Jar of Flies'' in 1994, Linkin Park and Jay-Z's collaboration EP, ''Collision Course'' in 2004, the cast of the television series ''Glee'' with ''Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna'' and ''Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals'' in 2010, and Bad Meets Evil's Hell: The Sequel.

The Monkees are only band to have had four number one albums in the same year. Elvis Presley, The Kingston Trio, The Beatles, and the cast of the television series ''Glee'' had three different albums hit number one in the same year. Nine artists have had two different albums hit number one in the same year: The Kingston Trio in 1959, Led Zeppelin, DMX, Jay-Z, Garth Brooks, 2Pac, System of a Down, Eminem and Susan Boyle. The Kingston Trio is the only artist to have four albums simultaneously in the Top Ten, which occurred for five consecutive weeks in November and December 1959.

The only artist in history to have his first five albums debut at number one is DMX.

The only artists to have five consecutive albums debut at number one are Dave Matthews Band, Jay-Z, DMX and Metallica.

The most consecutive albums to debut at number one by a solo artist is Eminem, with six. The Beatles have the most consecutive number one albums with eight. In 2001, Britney Spears became the first female artist in the charts history to have their first three albums debut at number one. She broke this record two years later with a fourth number one debut. With the number one debut of her ''Circus'' album in 2008, Spears also became the youngest female artist in history to have five number one albums. She later beat the record when her 7th studio album, ''Femme Fatale'' debuted at number one on April, 2011.

Oldest male to debut at # 1: Bob Dylan on May 16, 2009 (67 years, 11 months, and 22 days old) with the album ''Together Through Life''. He was born May 24, 1941.

Oldest female to debut at # 1: Barbra Streisand on October 17, 2009 (67 years, 5 months, and 23 days old) with the album ''Love Is the Answer''. She was born April 24, 1942.

The issue dated July 11, 2009 was the first time any catalog album outsold the number-one album on the ''Billboard 200''. Three of Michael Jackson's albums (''Number Ones'', ''The Essential Michael Jackson'' and ''Thriller'') claimed positions 1-3 respectively on ''Top Pop Catalog Albums'' and ''Top Comprehensive Albums'' in the week following Jackson's death. There have been 16 albums released on an independent label to reach #1 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Only seventeen artists have topped the ''Billboard 200'' without having had any single appear in the ''Hot 100'': Van Cliburn, Bob Newhart, Judy Garland (who had hit singles which predated the Hot 100), Frank Fontaine, Blind Faith, N.W.A., Soundgarden, Pantera, Makaveli (alter-ego of 2Pac), Bob Carlisle, Slipknot, Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, The Decemberists, and Amos Lee.

See also

List of number-one albums (United States)

Sources

''Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Albums, 6th edition'', ISBN 0-89820-166-7

Additional information obtained can be verified within ''Billboard's'' online archive services and print editions of the magazine.

References

External links

Current Billboard 200

Billboard methodology

Predict the Billboard 200 Weekly Game

Category:Billboard charts

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birth name	Whitney Elizabeth Houston
background	solo_singer
birth date	August 09, 1963
birth place
death date	February 11, 2012
death place
instrument	Vocals, piano
genre	Pop, R&B;, soul, dance, gospel
occupation	Singer, actress, model, film producer, record producer, songwriter
years active	1977–2012
label	Arista, RCA
associated acts	Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Jermaine Jackson, Mariah Carey, Enrique Iglesias, Bobby Brown
website	}}

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the ''Guinness World Records'' cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time. Her awards include two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards in her lifetime. Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. Houston began singing with her New Jersey church's junior gospel choir at age 11. After she began performing alongside her mother in night clubs in the New York City area, she was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis. Houston released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification.

Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits ("Saving All My Love for You"; "How Will I Know"; "Greatest Love of All"; "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"; "Didn't We Almost Have It All"; "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"). She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one ''Billboard'' 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Album") on the ''Billboard'' magazine year-end charts (''Whitney Houston'' and ''The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album''). Houston's 1985 debut album ''Whitney Houston'' became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was named ''Rolling Stone''s best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album ''Whitney'' (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African-American female artists to follow in her footsteps.

Houston's first acting role was as the star of the feature film ''The Bodyguard'' (1992). The film's original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single "I Will Always Love You", became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. With the album, Houston became the first act (solo or group, male or female) to sell more than a million copies of an album within a single week period. The album makes her the top female act in the top 10 list of the best-selling albums of all time, at number four. Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to their soundtracks, including the films ''Waiting to Exhale'' (1995) and ''The Preacher's Wife'' (1996). ''The Preacher's Wife'' soundtrack became the best-selling gospel album in history. Three years after the release of her fourth studio album ''My Love Is Your Love'' (1998), she renewed her recording contract with Arista Records. She released her fifth studio album ''Just Whitney'' in 2002, and the Christmas-themed ''One Wish: The Holiday Album'' in 2003. In 2009, Houston released her seventh studio album ''I Look to You''.

On February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in her guest room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California, of causes not immediately known. News of her death, the day before the 2012 Grammy Awards, dominated American and international media, especially cable news.

Life and career

1963–1976: Early life

Whitney Houston was born in what was then a middle-income neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, the third and youngest child of Army serviceman and entertainment executive John Russell Houston, Jr. (September 13, 1920 – February 2, 2003), and gospel singer Cissy Houston (née Emily Drinkard). She was of African American, Native American and Dutch descent. Her mother, along with cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick and godmother Aretha Franklin were all notable figures in the gospel, rhythm and blues, pop, and soul genres. Houston was raised a Baptist, but was also exposed to the Pentecostal church. After the 1967 Newark riots, the family moved to a middle-class area in East Orange, New Jersey, when she was four.

At the age of 11, Houston began to follow in her mother's footsteps and started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano. Her first solo performance in the church was "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah".

When Houston was a teenager, she attended Mount Saint Dominic Academy, a Catholic girls' high school in Caldwell, New Jersey, where she met her best friend Robyn Crawford, whom she described as the "sister she never had". While Houston was still in school, her mother continued to teach her how to sing. In addition to her mother, Franklin, and Warwick, Houston was also exposed to the music of Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Roberta Flack, most of whom would have an impact on her as a singer and performer.

1977–1984: Early career

Houston spent some of her teenage years touring nightclubs where her mother Cissy was performing, and she would occasionally get on stage and perform with her. In 1977, at age 14, she became a backup singer on the Michael Zager Band's single "Life's a Party". Zager subsequently offered to obtain a recording contract for the young singer, but Cissy declined, wanting her daughter to finish school first. Then in 1978, at age 15, Houston sang background vocals on Chaka Khan's hit single "I'm Every Woman", a song she would later turn into a larger hit for herself on her monster-selling ''The Bodyguard'' soundtrack album. She also sang back-up on albums by Lou Rawls and Jermaine Jackson.

In the early 1980s, Houston started working as a fashion model after a photographer saw her at Carnegie Hall singing with her mother. She appeared in ''Seventeen'' and became one of the first women of color to grace the cover of the magazine. She was also featured in layouts in the pages of ''Glamour'', ''Cosmopolitan'', ''Young Miss'', and appeared in a Canada Dry soft drink TV commercial. Her striking looks and girl-next-door charm made her one of the most sought after teen models of that time. While modeling, she continued her burgeoning recording career by working with producers Michael Beinhorn, Bill Laswell and Martin Bisi on an album they were spearheading called ''One Down'', which was credited to the group Material. For that project, Houston contributed the ballad "Memories", a cover of a song by Hugh Hopper of Soft Machine. Robert Christgau of ''The Village Voice'' called her contribution "one of the most gorgeous ballads you've ever heard". She also appeared as a lead vocalist on one track on a Paul Jabara album, entitled ''Paul Jabara and Friends'', released by Columbia Records in 1983.

Houston had previously been offered several recording agencies (Michael Zager in 1980, and Elektra Records in 1981), however her mother declined the offers stating her daughter must first complete high school. In 1983, Gerry Griffith, an A&R; representative from Arista Records, saw her performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed. He convinced Arista's head Clive Davis to make time to see Houston perform. Davis too was impressed and offered a worldwide recording contract which Houston signed. Later that year, she made her national televised debut alongside Davis on ''The Merv Griffin Show''.

Houston signed with Arista in 1983, but did not begin work on her album immediately. The label wanted to make sure no other label signed the singer away. Davis wanted to ensure he had the right material and producers for Houston's debut album. Some producers had to pass on the project due to prior commitments. Houston first recorded a duet with Teddy Pendergrass entitled "Hold Me" which appeared on his album, ''Love Language''. The single was released in 1984 and gave Houston her first taste of success, becoming a Top 5 R&B; hit. It would also appear on her debut album in 1985.

1985–1986: Rise to international prominence

With production from Michael Masser, Kashif, Jermaine Jackson, and Narada Michael Walden, Houston's debut album ''Whitney Houston'' was released in February 1985. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine praised Houston, calling her "one of the most exciting new voices in years" while ''The New York Times'' called the album "an impressive, musically conservative showcase for an exceptional vocal talent". Arista Records promoted Houston's album with three different singles from the album in the US, UK and other European countries. In the UK, the dance-funk "Someone for Me", which failed to chart in the country, was the first single while "All at Once" was in such European countries as the Netherlands and Belgium, where the song reached the top 5 on the singles charts, respectively.

In the US, the soulful ballad "You Give Good Love" was chosen as the lead single from Houston's debut to establish her in the black marketplace first. Outside the US, the song failed to get enough attention to become a hit, but in the US, it gave the album its first major hit as it peaked at No. 3 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and No. 1 on the Hot R&B; chart. As a result, the album began to sell strongly, and Houston continued promotion by touring nightclubs in the US. She also began performing on late-night television talk shows, which were not usually accessible to unestablished black acts. The jazzy ballad "Saving All My Love for You" was released next and it would become Houston's first No. 1 single in both the US and the UK. She was then an opening act for singer Jeffrey Osborne on his nationwide tour. "Thinking About You" was released as the promo single only to R&B-oriented; radio stations, which peaked at number ten on the US R&B; Chart. At the time, MTV had received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by black, Latino, and other racial minorities while favoring white acts. The third US single, "How Will I Know", peaked at No. 1 and introduced Houston to the MTV audience thanks to its video. Houston's subsequent singles from this, and future albums, would make her the first African-American female artist to receive consistent heavy rotation on MTV.

By 1986, a year after its initial release, ''Whitney Houston'' topped the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart and stayed there for 14 non-consecutive weeks. The final single, "Greatest Love of All", became Houston's biggest hit at the time after peaking No. 1 and remaining there for three weeks on the Hot 100 chart, which made her debut the first album by a female artist to yield three No. 1 hits. Houston was No. 1 artist of the year and ''Whitney Houston'' was the No. 1 album of the year on the 1986 ''Billboard'' year-end charts, making her the first female artist to earn that distinction. At the time, Houston released the best-selling debut album by a solo artist. Houston then embarked on her world tour, ''Greatest Love Tour''. The album had become an international success, and was certified 13× platinum (diamond) in the United States alone, and has sold a total of 25 million copies worldwide.

At the 1986 Grammy Awards, Houston was nominated for three awards including Album of the Year. She was not eligible for the Best New Artist category due to her previous hit R&B; duet recording with Teddy Pendergrass in 1984. She won her first Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for "Saving All My Love for You". At the same award show, she performed that Grammy-winning hit, that performance later winning her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.

Houston won seven American Music Awards in total in 1986 and 1987, and an MTV Video Music Award. The album's popularity would also carry over to the 1987 Grammy Awards when "Greatest Love of All" would receive a Record of the Year nomination. Houston's debut album is listed as one of ''Rolling Stone''s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and on The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Definitive 200 list. Houston's grand entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to ''USA Today''. Following Houston's breakthrough, doors were opened for other African-American female artists such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker to find notable success in popular music and on MTV.

1987–1991: ''Whitney'', ''I'm Your Baby Tonight'' and "The Star Spangled Banner"

With many expectations, Houston's second album, ''Whitney'', was released in June 1987. The album again featured production from Masser, Kashif and Walden as well as Jellybean Benitez. Many critics complained that the material was too similar to her previous album. ''Rolling Stone'' said, "the narrow channel through which this talent has been directed is frustrating". Still, the album enjoyed commercial success. Houston became the first female artist in music history to debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, and the first artist to enter the albums chart at number one in both the US and UK, while also hitting number one or top ten in dozens of other countries around the world. The album's first single, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)", was also a massive hit worldwide, peaking at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and topping the singles chart in many countries such as Australia, Germany and the UK. The next three singles, "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional", and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" all peaked at number one on the US Hot 100 chart, which gave her a total of seven consecutive number one hits, breaking the record of six previously shared by The Beatles and The Bee Gees. Houston became the first female artist to generate four number-one singles from one album. ''Whitney'' has been certified 9× Platinum in the US for shipments of over 9 million copies, and has sold a total of 20 million copies worldwide.

At the 30th Grammy Awards in 1988, Houston was nominated for three awards, including Album of the Year, winning her second Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)". Houston also won two American Music Awards in 1988 and 1989, respectively, and a Soul Train Music Award. Following the release of the album, Houston embarked on the ''Moment of Truth World Tour'', which was one of the ten highest grossing concert tours of 1987. The success of the tours during 1986–87 and her two studio albums ranked Houston No. 8 for the highest earning entertainers list according to ''Forbes'' magazine. She was the highest earning African-American woman overall and the third highest entertainer after Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy.

Houston was a supporter of Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid movement. During her modeling days, the singer refused to work with any agencies who did business with the then-apartheid South Africa. On June 11, 1988, during the European leg of her tour, Houston joined other musicians to perform a set at Wembley Stadium in London to celebrate a then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday. Over 72,000 people attended Wembley Stadium, and over a billion people tuned in worldwide as the rock concert raised over $1 million for charities while bringing awareness to apartheid. Houston then flew back to the US for a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City in August. The show was a benefit concert that raised a quarter of a million dollars for the United Negro College Fund. In the same year, she recorded a song for NBC's coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics, "One Moment in Time", which became a Top 5 hit in the US, while reaching number one in the UK and Germany. With her world tour continuing overseas, Houston was still one of the top 20 highest earning entertainers for 1987–88 according to ''Forbes'' magazine.

In 1989, Houston formed The Whitney Houston Foundation For Children, a non-profit organization that has raised funds for the needs of children around the world. The organization cares for homelessness, children with cancer or AIDS, and other issues of self-empowerment. With the success of her first two albums, Houston was undoubtedly an international crossover superstar, the most prominent since Michael Jackson, appealing to all demographics. However, some black critics believed she was "selling out". They felt her singing on record lacked the soul that was present during her live concerts.

At the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards, when Houston's name was called out for a nomination, a few in the audience jeered. Houston defended herself against the criticism, stating, "If you're gonna have a long career, there's a certain way to do it, and I did it that way. I'm not ashamed of it". Houston took a more urban direction with her third studio album, ''I'm Your Baby Tonight'', released in November 1990. She produced and chose producers for this album and as a result, it featured production and collaborations with L.A. Reid and Babyface, Luther Vandross, and Stevie Wonder. The album showed Houston's versatility on a new batch of tough rhythmic grooves, soulful ballads and up-tempo dance tracks. Reviews were mixed. ''Rolling Stone'' felt it was her "best and most integrated album". while ''Entertainment Weekly'', at the time thought Houston's shift towards an urban direction was "superficial".

The album contained several hits: the first two singles, "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "All the Man That I Need" peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart; "Miracle" peaked at number nine; "My Name Is Not Susan" peaked in the top twenty; "I Belong to You" reached the top ten of the US R&B; chart and garnered Houston a Grammy nomination; and the sixth single, the Stevie Wonder duet "We Didn't Know", reached the R&B; top twenty. The album peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200 and went on to be certified 4× platinum in the US while selling twelve million total worldwide.

In 1990, Houston was the spokesperson for a youth leadership conference hosted in Washington, D.C. She had a private audience with President George H. W. Bush in the Oval Office to discuss the associated challenges.

With America entangled in the Persian Gulf War, Houston performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium on January 27, 1991. Due to overwhelming response to her rendition, it was released as a commercial single and video of her performance, and reached the Top 20 on the US Hot 100, making her the only act to turn the national anthem into a pop hit of that magnitude (Jose Feliciano's version reached No. 50 in November 1968). Houston donated all her share of the proceeds to the American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund. As a result, the singer was named to the Red Cross Board of Governors.

Her rendition was considered the benchmark for singers and critically acclaimed. ''Rolling Stone'' commented that "her singing stirs such strong patriotism. Unforgettable", and the performance ranked No. 1 on the 25 most memorable music moments in NFL history list. VH1 listed the performance as one of the greatest moments that rocked TV. Following the attacks on 9/11, it was released again by Arista Records, all profits going towards the firefighters and victims of the attacks. This time it peaked at No. 6 in the Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Later in 1991, Houston put together her ''Welcome Home Heroes'' concert with HBO for the soldiers fighting in the Persian Gulf War and their families. The free concert took place at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia in front of 3,500 servicemen and women. HBO descrambled the concert so that it was free for everyone to watch. Houston's concert gave HBO its highest ratings ever. She then embarked on the ''I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour''.

1992–1994: Marriage to Bobby Brown and ''The Bodyguard''

Throughout the 1980s, Houston was romantically linked to American football star Randall Cunningham and actor Eddie Murphy, whom she dated. She then met R&B; singer Bobby Brown at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. After a three-year courtship, the two were married on July 18, 1992. On March 4, 1993, Houston gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown, her only child, and his fourth. Brown would go on to have several run-ins with the law, including some jail time.

With the commercial success of her albums, movie offers poured in, including offers to work with Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones, and Spike Lee; but Houston felt the time wasn't right. Houston's first film role was in ''The Bodyguard'', released in 1992 and co-starring Kevin Costner. Houston played Rachel Marron, a star who is stalked by a crazed fan and hires a bodyguard to protect her. ''USA Today'' listed it as one of the 25 most memorable movie moments of the last 25 years in 2007. Houston's mainstream appeal allowed people to look at the movie color-blind.

Still, controversy arose as some felt the film's advertising intentionally hid Houston's face to hide the film's interracial relationship. In an interview with ''Rolling Stone'' in 1993, the singer commented that "people know who Whitney Houston is – I'm black. You can't hide that fact." Houston received a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress. ''The Washington Post'' said Houston is "doing nothing more than playing Houston, comes out largely unscathed if that is possible in so cockamamie an undertaking", and ''The New York Times'' commented that she lacked passion with her co-star. Despite the film's mixed reviews, it was hugely successful at the box office, grossing more than $121 million in the U.S. and $410 million worldwide, making it one of the top 100 grossing films in film history at its time of release, though it is no longer in the top 100 due to rising ticket prices since the time the film was released.

The film's soundtrack also enjoyed big success. Houston executive produced and contributed six songs for the motion picture's adjoining soundtrack album. ''Rolling Stone'' said it is "nothing more than pleasant, tasteful and urbane". The soundtrack's lead single was "I Will Always Love You", written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1974. Houston's version of the song was acclaimed by many critics, regarding it as her "signature song" or "iconic performance". ''Rolling Stone'' and ''USA Today'' called her rendition "the tour-de-force". The single peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks, number one on the R&B; chart for a then-record-breaking 11 weeks, and number one on the Adult Contemporary charts for five weeks, thus becoming the first single to top those three charts simultaneously for five weeks.

The single was certified 4× platinum by the RIAA, making Houston the first female artist with a single to reach that level in the RIAA history and becoming the best-selling single by a female artist in the US. The song also became a global success, hitting number-one in almost all countries, and one of the best-selling singles of all time with 12 million copies sold. The soundtrack topped the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and remained there for 20 non-consecutive weeks, the longest tenure by any album on the chart in the Nielsen SoundScan era, and became one of the fastest selling albums ever. During Christmas week of 1992, the soundtrack sold over a million copies within a week, becoming the first album to achieve that feat under Nielsen SoundScan system. With the follow-up singles "I'm Every Woman", a Chaka Khan cover, and "I Have Nothing" both reaching the top five, Houston became the first female artist to ever have three singles in the Top 11 simultaneously. The album was certified 17× platinum in the US alone, with worldwide sales of 44 million , making ''The Bodyguard'' the second album by a female act on the list of the world's Top 10 best-selling albums, topping Shania Twain's 40 million sold for ''Come On Over''.

Houston won three Grammys for the album in 1994, including two of the Academy's highest honors, Album of the Year and Record of the Year. In addition, she won a record 8 American Music Awards at that year's ceremony including the Award of Merit, 11 Billboard Music Awards, 3 Soul Train Music Awards in 1993–94 including Sammy Davis, Jr. Award as Entertainer of the Year, 5 NAACP Image Awards including Entertainer of the Year, a record 5 World Music Awards, and a BRIT award. Following the success of the project, Houston embarked on another expansive global tour, ''The Bodyguard World Tour'', in 1993–94. Her concerts, movie, and recording grosses made her the third highest earning female entertainer of 1993–94, just behind Oprah Winfrey and Barbra Streisand according to ''Forbes'' magazine. Houston placed in the top five of ''Entertainment Weekly''s annual "Entertainer of the Year" ranking and was labeled by ''Premiere'' magazine as one of the 100 most powerful people in Hollywood.

In October 1994, Houston attended and performed at a state dinner in the White House honoring newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela. At the end of her world tour, Houston performed three concerts in South Africa to honor President Mandela, playing to over 200,000 people. This would make the singer the first major musician to visit the newly unified and apartheid free nation following Mandela's winning election. The concert was broadcast live on HBO with funds of the concerts being donated to various charities in South Africa. The event was considered the nation's "biggest media event since the inauguration of Nelson Mandela".

1995–1997: ''Waiting to Exhale'', ''The Preacher's Wife'' and ''Cinderella''

In 1995, Houston starred alongside Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon in her second film ''Waiting to Exhale'', a motion picture about four African-American women struggling with relationships. Houston played the lead character Savannah Jackson, a TV producer in love with a married man. She chose the role because she saw the film as "a breakthrough for the image of black women because it presents them both as professionals and as caring mothers". After opening at number one and grossing $67 million in the US at the box office and $81 million worldwide, it proved that a movie primarily targeting a black audience can cross over to success, while paving the way for other all-black movies such as ''How Stella Got Her Groove Back'' and the Tyler Perry movies that have become popular in the 2000s. The film is also notable for its portrayal of black women as strong middle class citizens as opposed to stereotypes. The reviews were mainly positive for the ensemble cast. ''The New York Times'' said "Ms. Houston has shed the defensive hauteur that made her portrayal of a pop star in 'The Bodyguard' seem so distant." Houston was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture", but lost to her co-star Bassett.

The film's accompanying soundtrack, ''Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album'', was produced by Houston and Babyface. Though Babyface originally wanted Houston to record the entire album, she declined. Instead, she "wanted it to be an album of women with vocal distinction", and thus gathered several African-American female artists for the soundtrack, to go along with the film's strong women message. As a result, the album featured a range of contemporary R&B; female recording artists along with Houston, such as Mary J Blige, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, Patti Labelle, and Brandy. Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" peaked at No. 1, and then spent a record eleven weeks at the No. 2 spot and eight weeks on top of the R&B; Charts. "Count On Me", a duet with CeCe Winans, hit the US Top 10; and Houston's third contribution, "Why Does It Hurt So Bad", made the Top 30. The album debuted at No. 1, and was certified 7× Platinum in the United States, denoting shipments of seven million copies. The soundtrack received strong reviews as ''Entertainment Weekly'' said "the album goes down easy, just as you'd expect from a package framed by Whitney Houston tracks.... the soundtrack waits to exhale, hovering in sensuous suspense" and has since ranked it as one of the 100 Best Movie Soundtracks. Later that year, Houston's children's charity organization was awarded a VH1 Honor for all the charitable work.

In 1996, Houston starred in the holiday comedy ''The Preacher's Wife'', with Denzel Washington. She plays a gospel-singing wife of a pastor (Courtney B. Vance). It was largely an updated remake of the 1948 film "The Bishop's Wife" which starred Loretta Young, David Niven and Cary Grant. Houston earned $10 million for the role, making her one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood at the time and the highest earning African American actress in Hollywood. The movie, with its all African-American cast, was a moderate success, earning approximately $50 million at the U.S. box offices. The movie gave Houston her strongest reviews so far. ''The San Francisco Chronicle'' said Houston "is rather angelic herself, displaying a divine talent for being virtuous and flirtatious at the same time" and that she "exudes gentle yet spirited warmth, especially when praising the Lord in her gorgeous singing voice". Houston was again nominated for an NAACP Image Award and won for Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture.

Houston recorded and co-produced, with Mervyn Warren, the film's accompanying gospel soundtrack. ''The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album'' included six gospel songs with Georgia Mass Choir that were recorded at the Great Star Rising Baptist Church in Atlanta. Houston also duetted with gospel legend Shirley Caesar. The album sold six million copies worldwide and scored hit singles with "I Believe in You and Me" and "Step by Step", becoming the largest selling gospel album of all time. The album received mainly positive reviews. Some critics, such as that of ''USA Today'', noted the presence of her emotional depth, while ''The Times'' said "To hear Houston going at full throttle with the 35 piece Georgia Mass Choir struggling to keep up is to realise what her phenomenal voice was made for".

In 1997, Houston's production company changed its name to BrownHouse Productions and was joined by Debra Martin Chase. Their goal was "to show aspects of the lives of African-Americans that have not been brought to the screen before" while improving how African-Americans are portrayed in film and television. Their first project was a made-for-television remake of Rodgers & Hammerstein's ''Cinderella''. In addition to co-producing, Houston starred in the movie as the Fairy Godmother along with Brandy, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, and Bernadette Peters. Houston was initially offered the role of Cinderella in 1993, but other projects intervened. The film is notable for its multi-racial cast and nonstereotypical message. An estimated 60 million viewers tuned into the special giving ABC its highest TV ratings in 16 years. The movie received seven Emmy nominations including Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy, while winning Outstanding Art Direction in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Special.

Houston and Chase then obtained the rights to the story of Dorothy Dandridge. Houston was to play Dandridge, who was the first African American actress to be nominated for an Oscar. She wanted the story told with dignity and honor. However, Halle Berry also had rights to the project and she got her version going first. Later that year, Houston paid tribute to her idols such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Dionne Warwick by performing their hits during the three-night HBO Concert ''Classic Whitney'', live from Washington, D.C. The special raised over $300,000 for the Children's Defense Fund. Houston received The Quincy Jones Award for outstanding career achievements in the field of entertainment at the 12th Soul Train Music Awards.

1998–2000: ''My Love Is Your Love'' and ''Whitney: The Greatest Hits''

After spending much of the early and mid 1990s working on motion pictures and their soundtrack albums, Houston's first studio album in eight years, the critically acclaimed ''My Love Is Your Love'', was released in November 1998. Though originally slated to be a greatest hits album with a handful of new songs, recording sessions were so fruitful that a new full-length studio album was released. Recorded and mixed in only six weeks, it featured production from Rodney Jerkins, Wyclef Jean and Missy Elliott. The album debuted at number thirteen, its peak position, on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. It had a funkier and edgier sound than past releases and saw Houston handling urban dance, hip hop, mid-tempo R&B;, reggae, torch songs, and ballads all with great dexterity.

From late 1998 to early 2000, the album spawned several hit singles: "When You Believe" (US No. 15, UK No. 4), a duet with Mariah Carey for 1998's ''The Prince of Egypt'' soundtrack, which also became an international hit as it peaked in the Top 10 in several countries and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song; "Heartbreak Hotel" (US No. 2, UK No. 25) featured Faith Evans and Kelly Price, received a 1999 MTV VMA nomination for Best R&B; Video, and number one on the US R&B; chart for seven weeks; "It's Not Right But It's Okay" (US No. 4, UK No. 3) won Houston her sixth Grammy Award for Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance; "My Love Is Your Love" (US No. 4, UK No. 2) with 3 million copies sold worldwide; and "I Learned from the Best" (US No. 27, UK No. 19). These singles became international hits as well, and all the singles, except "When You Believe", became number one hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance/Club Play chart. The album sold four million copies in America, making it certified 4× platinum, and a total of eleven million copies worldwide.

The album gave Houston some of her strongest reviews ever. ''Rolling Stone'' said Houston was singing "with a bite in her voice" and ''The Village Voice'' called it "Whitney's sharpest and most satisfying so far". In 1999, Houston participated in VH-1's Divas Live '99, alongside Brandy, Mary J. Blige, Tina Turner, and Cher. The same year, Houston hit the road with her 70 date ''My Love Is Your Love World Tour''. The European leg of the tour was Europe's highest grossing arena tour of the year. In November 1999, Houston was named Top-selling R&B; Female Artist of the Century with certified US sales of 51 million copies at the time and ''The Bodyguard Soundtrack'' was named the Top-selling Soundtrack Album of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). She also won The Artist of the Decade, Female award for extraordinary artistic contributions during the 1990s at the 14th Soul Train Music Awards, and an MTV Europe Music Award for Best R&B;.

In May 2000, ''Whitney: The Greatest Hits'' was released worldwide. The double disc set peaked at number five in the United States, reaching number one in the United Kingdom. In addition, the album reached the Top 10 in many other countries. While ballad songs were left unchanged, the album features house/club remixes of many of Houston's up-tempo hits. Included on the album were four new songs: "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (a duet with Enrique Iglesias), "Same Script, Different Cast" (a duet with Deborah Cox), "If I Told You That" (a duet with George Michael), and "Fine", and three hits that had never appeared on a Houston album: "One Moment in Time", "The Star Spangled Banner", and "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful", a duet with Jermaine Jackson from his 1986 ''Precious Moments'' album. Along with the album, an accompanying VHS and DVD was released featuring the music videos to Houston's greatest hits, as well as several hard-to-find live performances including her 1983 debut on ''The Merv Griffin Show'', and interviews. The greatest hits album was certified 3× platinum in the US, with worldwide sales of 10 million.

2000–2005: ''Just Whitney'', and personal struggles

Though Houston was seen as a "good girl" with a perfect image in the 1980s and early 1990s, by the late 1990s, her behavior changed. She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals, and canceling concerts and talk-show appearances. With the missed performances and weight loss, rumors about Houston using drugs with her husband circulated. On January 11, 2000, airport security guards discovered marijuana in both Houston's and husband Bobby Brown's luggage at a Hawaii airport, but the two boarded the plane and departed before authorities could arrive. Charges were later dropped against them, but rumors of drug usage between the couple would continue to surface. Two months later, Clive Davis was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Houston had been scheduled to perform at the event, but failed to show up.

Shortly thereafter, Houston was scheduled to perform at the Academy Awards but was fired from the event by musical director and long time friend Burt Bacharach. Her publicist cited throat problems as the reason for the cancellation. In his book ''The Big Show: High Times and Dirty Dealings Backstage at the Academy Awards'', author Steve Pond revealed that "Houston's voice was shaky, she seemed distracted and jittery, and her attitude was casual, almost defiant", and that while Houston was to sing "Over the Rainbow", she would start singing a different song. Houston later admitted to having been fired. Later that year, Houston's long-time executive assistant and friend, Robyn Crawford, resigned from Houston's management company.

In August 2001, Houston signed the biggest record deal in music history with Arista/BMG. She renewed her contract for $100 million to deliver six new albums, on which she would also earn royalties. She later made an appearance on ''Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special''. Her extremely thin frame further spurred rumors of drug use. Houston's publicist said, "Whitney has been under stress due to family matters, and when she is under stress she doesn't eat." The singer was scheduled for a second performance the following night but canceled. Within weeks, Houston's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" would be re-released after the September 11 attacks, with the proceeds donated to the New York Firefighters 9/11 Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Fraternal Order of Police. The song peaked at No. 6 this time on the US Hot 100, topping its previous position.

In 2002, Houston became involved in a legal dispute with John Houston Enterprise. Although the company was started by her father to manage her career, it was actually run by company president Kevin Skinner. Skinner filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit and sued for $100 million (but lost), stating that Houston owed the company previously unpaid compensation for helping to negotiate her $100 million contract with Arista Records and for sorting out legal matters. Houston stated that her 81-year-old father had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Although Skinner tried to claim otherwise, John Houston never appeared in court. Houston's father later died in February 2003. The lawsuit was dismissed on April 5, 2004, and Skinner was awarded nothing.

Also in 2002, Houston did an interview with Diane Sawyer to promote her then-upcoming album. The interview was the highest-rated television interview in history. During the prime-time special, Houston spoke on topics including rumored drug use and marriage. She was asked about the ongoing drug rumors and replied, "First of all, let's get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. Okay? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is wack." The line was from Keith Haring's mural which was painted in 1986 on the handball court at 128th Street and 2nd Avenue. Houston did, however, admit to using other substances at times, including cocaine.

In December 2002, Houston released her fifth studio album, ''Just Whitney...''. The album included productions from then-husband Bobby Brown, as well as Missy Elliott and Babyface, and marked the first time that Houston did not produce with Clive Davis as Davis had been released by top management at BMG. Upon its release, ''Just Whitney...'' received mixed reviews. The album debuted at number 9 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and it had the highest first week sales of any album Houston had ever released. The four singles released from the album, didn't fare well on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but became Hot Dance Club Play hits. ''Just Whitney...'' was certified platinum in the United States, and sold approximately three million worldwide.

On a June 2003 trip to Israel, Houston said of her visit, "I've never felt like this in any other country. I feel at home, I feel wonderful."

In late 2003, Houston released her first Christmas album ''One Wish: The Holiday Album'', with a collection of traditional holiday songs. Houston produced the album with Mervyn Warren and Gordon Chambers. A single titled "One Wish (for Christmas)" reached the Top 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and the album was certified gold in the US. Having always been a touring artist, Houston spent most of 2004 touring and performing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Russia. In September 2004, she gave a surprise performance at the World Music Awards in a tribute to long time friend Clive Davis. After the show, Davis and Houston announced plans to go into studio to work on her new album.

In early 2004, husband Bobby Brown starred in his own reality TV program, ''Being Bobby Brown'' (on the Bravo network), which provided a view into the domestic goings-on in the Brown household. Though it was Brown's vehicle, Houston was a prominent figure throughout the show, receiving as much screen time as Brown. The series aired in 2005 and featured Houston in, what some would say, not her most flattering moments. The ''Hollywood Reporter'' said it was "undoubtedly the most disgusting and execrable series ever to ooze its way onto television." Despite the perceived train-wreck nature of the show, the series gave Bravo its highest ratings in its time slot and continued Houston's successful forays into film and television. The show was not renewed for a second season after Houston stated that she would no longer appear in it, and Brown and Bravo could not come to an agreement for another season.

2006–2012: Return to music, ''I Look to You'', tour and film comeback

After years of controversy and turmoil, Houston separated from Bobby Brown in September 2006, filing for divorce the following month. On February 1, 2007, Houston asked the court to fast track their divorce. The divorce was finalized on April 24, 2007, with Houston granted custody of the couple's daughter. On May 4, Houston sold the suburban Atlanta home featured in ''Being Bobby Brown'' for $1.19 million. A few days later, Brown sued Houston in Orange County, California court in an attempt to change the terms of their custody agreement. Brown also sought child and spousal support from Houston. In the lawsuit, Brown claimed that financial and emotional problems prevented him from properly responding to Houston's divorce petition. Brown lost at his court hearing as the judge dismissed his appeal to overrule the custody terms, leaving Houston with full custody and Brown with no spousal support. In March 2007, Clive Davis of Arista Records announced that Houston would begin recording a new album. In October 2007, Arista released another compilation ''The Ultimate Collection'' outside the United States.

Houston gave her first interview in seven years in September 2009, appearing on Oprah Winfrey's season premiere. The interview was billed as "the most anticipated music interview of the decade". Whitney admitted on the show to using drugs with former husband Bobby Brown, who "laced marijuana with rock cocaine". By 1996, she told Oprah, "[doing drugs] was an everyday thing... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself."

Houston released her new album, ''I Look to You'', in August 2009. The album's first two singles are "I Look to You" and "Million Dollar Bill". The album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1, with Houston's best opening-week sales of 305,000 copies, marking Houston's first number one album since '' The Bodyguard'', and Houston's first studio album to reach number one since 1987's ''Whitney''. Houston also appeared on European television programs to promote the album. She performed the song "I Look to You" on the German television show ''Wetten, dass..?''. Three days later, she performed the worldwide first single from I Look To You, Million Dollar Bill, on the French television show Le Grand Journal. Houston appeared as guest mentor on ''The X Factor'' in the United Kingdom. She performed "Million Dollar Bill" on the following day's results show, completing the song even as a strap in the back of her dress popped open two minutes into the performance. She later commented that she "sang [herself] out of [her] clothes".

The performance was poorly received by the British media, and was variously described as "weird" and "ungracious", "shambolic" and a "flop". Despite this reception, "Million Dollar Bill" jumped to its peak from 14 to number 5 (her first UK top 5 for over a decade), and three weeks after release "I Look to You" went gold. Houston appeared on the Italian version of ''The X Factor'', performing the same song "Million Dollar Bill" to excellent reviews. She was awarded the Gold Certificate for achieving over 50,000 CD sales of "I Look To You" in Italy. In November, Houston performed "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" at the 2009 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California. Two days later, Houston performed both songs on the Dancing With The Stars season 9 finale. As of December 2009, "I Look to You" has been certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than one million copies in the United States. On January 26, 2010, her debut album was re-released in a special edition entitled ''Whitney Houston – The Deluxe Anniversary Edition''.

Houston later embarked on a world tour, entitled the Nothing but Love World Tour. It was her first world tour in over ten years and was announced as a triumphant comeback. However, some poor reviews and rescheduled concerts brought some negative media attention. Houston canceled some concerts due to illness and received widespread negative reviews from fans who were disappointed in the quality of her voice and performance. Some fans reportedly walked out of her concerts.

In January 2010, Houston was nominated for two NAACP Image Awards, one for Best Female Artist and one for Best Music Video. She won the award for Best Music Video for her single "I Look to You". On January 16, she received The BET Honors Award for Entertainer citing her lifetime achievements spanning over 25 years in the industry. The 2010 BET Honors award was held at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. and aired on February 1, 2010. Jennifer Hudson and Kim Burrell performed in honor of her, garnering positive reviews. Houston also received a nomination from the Echo Awards, Germany's version of the Grammys, for Best International Artist. In April 2010, the UK newspaper ''The Mirror'' reported that Houston was thinking about recording her eighth studio album and wanted to collaborate with will.i.am (of The Black Eyed Peas), her first choice for a collaboration.

Houston also performed the song "I Look to You" on the 2011 BET ''Celebration of Gospel'', with gospel–jazz singer Kim Burrell, held at the Staples Center, Los Angeles. The performance aired on January 30, 2011. Early in 2011, she gave an uneven performance in tribute to cousin Dionne Warwick at music mogul Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy gala. In May 2011, Houston enrolled in a rehabilitation center again, as an out-patient, citing drug and alcohol problems. A representative for Houston said that it was a part of Houston's "longstanding recovery process".

In September 2011, ''The Hollywood Reporter'' announced that Houston was to produce and star (alongside Jordin Sparks and Mike Epps) in the remake of the 1976 film ''Sparkle''. It was also reported that Houston would play Sparks's "not-so encouraging mother". Houston was to have had executive producer credits on top of acting credits according to Debra Martin Chase, producer of ''Sparkle''. She stated that Houston deserved the title considering she had been there from the beginning in 2001 when Houston obtained ''Sparkle'' production rights. R&B; singer Aaliyah's death in a 2001 plane crash derailed production, which would have begun in 2002.

On October 7, 2011, RCA Music Group announced that it was disbanding Arista Records along with J Records and Jive Records. With the shutdown, future material involving Houston was to have been released on the RCA Records brand.

Death

On February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in a suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California, submerged in the bathtub. The cause of death is not immediately known. Beverly Hills paramedics arrived at approximately 3:30 p.m. and found the singer unresponsive and performed CPR. Houston was pronounced dead at 4:00 p.m. PST. Local police said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent."

On the Thursday before her death, February 9, 2012, Houston visited singers Brandy and Monica, together with Clive Davis, at their rehearsals for Davis' pre-Grammy Awards party. That same day, she made her last public performance, when she joined Kelly Price on stage at the party and sang "Jesus Loves Me".

Reaction

The Clive Davis party that Houston was expected to attend, and that featured many of the biggest names in music and movies, went on as scheduled although it was quickly turned into a tribute to Houston. Davis spoke about Houston's death at the evening's start: "By now you have all learned of the unspeakably tragic news of our beloved Whitney's passing. I don't have to mask my emotion in front of a room full of so many dear friends. I am personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years. Whitney was so full of life. She was so looking forward to tonight even though she wasn't scheduled to perform. Whitney was a beautiful person and a talent beyond compare. She graced this stage with her regal presence and gave so many memorable performances here over the years. Simply put, Whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we carry on."

Tony Bennett, who had a drug addiction problem in the 1970s, spoke of Houston's death before performing at Davis' party. He said, "First, it was Michael Jackson, then Amy Winehouse, now, the magnificent Whitney Houston", tying it into his public stance in favor of legalizing drugs. Bennett sang "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" and said of Houston, "When I first heard her, I called Clive Davis and said, 'You finally found the greatest singer I've ever heard in my life.'"

Several other celebrities released statements responding to Houston's death. Dolly Parton, whose song "I Will Always Love You" was covered by Houston, said, "I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed'." Houston's godmother Aretha Franklin said, "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen." Mariah Carey said, "Heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend ... She will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth."

Moments after news of her death emerged, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all broke from their regularly scheduled programming to dedicate time to non-stop coverage of Houston's death. All three featured live interviews with people who knew Houston including those that have worked with her, interviewed her along with some of her peers in the music industry. ''Saturday Night Live'' displayed a still photo in silent reverence of a smiling Houston, alongside Molly Shannon, from her 1996 appearance. MTV and VH-1 interrupted their regularly scheduled programming on Sunday February 12 to air many of Houston's classic videos with MTV often airing news segments in between and featuring various reactions from fans and celebrities.

Houston's former husband, Bobby Brown, was reported to be "in and out of crying fits" since receiving the news. He did not cancel a scheduled performance and within hours of his ex-wife's sudden death, an audience in Mississippi observed as Brown blew kisses skyward, tearfully saying: "I love you, Whitney".

Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the 54th Grammy Awards announced that Jennifer Hudson would perform a tribute to Houston at the February 12, 2012, awards. He said "event organizers believed Hudson — an Academy Award-winning actress and Grammy Award-winning artist — could perform a respectful musical tribute to Houston". Ehrlich went on to say: "It's too fresh in everyone's memory to do more at this time, but we would be remiss if we didn't recognize Whitney's remarkable contribution to music fans in general, and in particular her close ties with the Grammy telecast and her Grammy wins and nominations over the years". At the start of the awards ceremony, footage of Houston performing was shown following a prayer read by host, LL Cool J. Later in the program following a montage of photos of musicians who died in 2011, Hudson paid tribute to Houston and the other artists by performing "I Will Always Love You".

Artistry and legacy

Voice

Houston was a mezzo-soprano, and was commonly referred to as "The Voice" in reference to her exceptional vocal talent. Her vocal range extended from G below middle C (G₃) to high B-flat (B₅); she could belt out to treble F (F₅). She was third in MTV's list of 22 Greatest Voices, and sixth on ''Online Magazine COVE''s list of the 100 Best Pop Vocalists with a score of 48.5/50. In 2008, ''Rolling Stone'' listed Houston as the thirty-fourth of the 100 greatest singers of all time, stating, "Her voice is a mammoth, coruscating cry: Few vocalists could get away with opening a song with 45 unaccompanied seconds of singing, but Houston's powerhouse version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" is a tour de force."

Mariah Carey stated, "Whitney has a really rich, strong mid-belt that very few people have. She sounds really good, really strong." While in her review of ''I Look to You'', music critic Ann Powers of the ''Los Angeles Times'' writes, "[Houston's voice] stands like monuments upon the landscape of 20th century pop, defining the architecture of their times, sheltering the dreams of millions and inspiring the climbing careers of countless imitators", adding "When she was at her best, nothing could match her huge, clean, cool mezzo-soprano".

Houston's vocal stylings have had a significant impact on the music industry. She has been called the "Queen of Pop" for her influence during the 1990s, commercially rivaling Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. Stephen Holden from ''The New York Times'', in his review of Houston's Radio City Music Hall concert on July 20, 1993, praised her attitude as a singer highly, writing "Whitney Houston is one of the few contemporary pop stars of whom it might be said: the voice suffices. While almost every performer whose albums sell in the millions calls upon an entertainer's bag of tricks, from telling jokes to dancing to circus pyrotechnics, Ms. Houston would rather just stand there and sing." He added the comments on her singing style: "Her [Houston's] stylistic trademarks – shivery melismas that ripple up in the middle of a song, twirling embellishments at the ends of phrases that suggest an almost breathless exhilaration – infuse her interpretations with flashes of musical and emotional lightning."

Elysa Gardner of the ''Los Angeles Times'' in her review for ''The Preacher's Wife Soundtrack'' praised Houston's vocal ability highly, commenting, "She is first and foremost a pop diva – at that, the best one we have. No other female pop star – not Mariah Carey, not Celine Dion, not Barbra Streisand – quite rivals Houston in her exquisite vocal fluidity and purity of tone, and her ability to infuse a lyric with mesmerizing melodrama."

Influence

During the 1980s, MTV was coming into its own and received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by black artists. With Michael Jackson breaking down the color barrier for black male artists, Houston did the same for black female artists. She became one of the few black female artists to receive heavy rotation on the network following the success of the "How Will I Know" video. Following Houston's breakthrough, other African-American female artists, such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker, were successful in popular music. Baker commented that "Because of what Whitney and Sade did, there was an opening for me... For radio stations, black women singers aren't taboo anymore."

Allmusic additionally noted her contribution to success of black artists on the pop scene, commenting, "Houston was able to handle big adult contemporary ballads, effervescent, stylish dance-pop, and slick urban contemporary soul with equal dexterity; the result was an across-the-board appeal that was matched by scant few artists of her era, and helped her become one of the first black artists to find success on MTV in Michael Jackson's wake." ''The New York Times'' stated that "Houston was a major catalyst for a movement within black music that recognized the continuity of soul, pop, jazz and gospel vocal traditions". Richard Corliss of ''Time'' magazine commented about her first success breaking various barriers:

Of her first album's ten cuts, six were ballads. This chanteuse [Houston] had to fight for air play with hard rockers. The young lady had to stand uncowed in the locker room of macho rock. The soul strutter had to seduce a music audience that anointed few black artists with superstardom. [...] She was a phenomenon waiting to happen, a canny tapping of the listener's yen for a return to the musical middle. And because every new star creates her own genre, her success has helped other blacks, other women, other smooth singers find an avid reception in the pop marketplace.

According to ''The New York Times'', Houston "revitalized the tradition of strong gospel-oriented pop-soul singing". Ann Powers of the ''Los Angeles Times'' referred to the singer as a "national treasure". She was considered by many to be a "singer's singer", who had an influence on countless other vocalists, both female and male. Similarly, Steve Huey from Allmusic wrote that the shadow of Houston's prodigious technique still looms large over nearly every pop diva and smooth urban soul singer – male or female – in her wake, and spawned a legion of imitators. ''Rolling Stone'', on her biography, stated that Houston "redefined the image of a female soul icon and inspired singers ranging from Mariah Carey to Beyoncé". ''Essence'' ranked Houston the fifth on their list of 50 Most Influential R&B; Stars of all time, calling her "the diva to end all divas".

A number of artists have acknowledged Houston as an influence, including Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Nelly Furtado, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Ciara, P!nk, Robin Thicke, Jennifer Hudson, Stacie Orrico, Amerie, Destiny's Child, Mariah Carey, who was often compared to Houston, said, "Houston has been a big influence on me." She later told ''USA Today'' that "none of us would sound the same if Aretha Franklin hadn't ever put out a record, or Whitney Houston hadn't."

Mary J. Blige said that Houston inviting her onstage during VH1's ''Divas Live'' show in 1999 "opened doors for [her] all over the world". Brandy stated, "The first Whitney Houston CD was genius. That CD introduced the world to her angelic yet powerful voice. Without Whitney, half of this generation of singers wouldn't be singing." Kelly Rowland, in an ''Ebony'' feature article celebrating black music in June 2006, recalled that "[I] wanted to be a singer after I saw Whitney Houston on TV singing 'Greatest Love of All'. I wanted to sing like Whitney Houston in that red dress." She added that "And I have never, ever forgotten that song [Greatest Love of All]. I learned it backward, forward, sideways. The video still brings chills to me. When you wish and pray for something as a kid, you never know what blessings God will give you."

Beyoncé told the ''Globe and Mail'' that Houston "inspired [her] to get up there and do what [she] did". Alicia Keys, in an interview about her album ''The Element of Freedom'' with ''Billboard'' magazine, also said "Whitney is an artist who inspired me from [the time I was] a little girl". Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson cites Houston as her biggest musical influence. She told ''Newsday'' that she learned from Houston the "difference between being able to sing and knowing how to sing". Leona Lewis, who has been called the New Whitney Houston, also cites her as an influence. Lewis stated that she idolized her as a little girl. American recording artist Lady Gaga said that Houston had been one of her "vocal idols" for years. In an interview with IBN Live, Gaga revealed that she used to listen to Houston's version of "The Star Spangled Banner" over and over again. At the 2011 Grammys, Gaga gave a shout-out to Houston, and said that she wrote the song "Born This Way" thinking about Houston's vocals.

Awards and achievements

Houston was the most awarded female artist of all time, according to Guinness World Records, with two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. She held the all-time record for the most American Music Awards of any female solo artist and shared the record with Michael Jackson for the most AMAs ever won in a single year with eight wins in 1994. Houston won a record 11 Billboard Music Awards at its fourth ceremony in 1993. She also had the record for the most WMAs won in a single year, winning five awards at the 6th World Music Awards in 1994.

In May 2003, Houston placed at number three on VH1's list of "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era", behind Madonna and Janet Jackson. She was also ranked at number 116 on their list of the "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons of All Time". In 2008, ''Billboard'' magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary, ranking Houston at number nine. Similarly, she was ranked as one of the "Top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time" by VH1 in September 2010. In November 2010, ''Billboard'' released its "Top 50 R&B;/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years" list and ranked Houston at number three whom not only went on to earn eight number one singles on the R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but also landed five number ones on R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums.

Houston's debut album is listed as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine and is on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Definitive 200 list. In 2004, ''Billboard'' picked the success of her first release on the charts as one of 110 Musical Milestones in its history. Houston's entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to ''USA Today'' in 2007. It stated that she paved the way for Mariah Carey's chart-topping vocal gymnastics. In 1997, the Franklin School in East Orange, New Jersey was renamed to The Whitney E. Houston Academy School of Creative and Performing Arts. In 2001, Houston was the first artist ever to be given a BET Lifetime Achievement Award.

Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 200 million albums and singles worldwide. Although she released relatively few albums, she was ranked as the fourth best-selling female artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 55 million certified albums sold in the US alone.

She held an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Grambling State University, Louisiana.

Discography

''Whitney Houston'' (1985)

''Whitney'' (1987)

''I'm Your Baby Tonight'' (1990)

''My Love Is Your Love'' (1998)

''Just Whitney'' (2002)

''One Wish: The Holiday Album'' (2003)

''I Look to You'' (2009)

Filmography

+ Film roles
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes and awards
1992	''The Bodyguard''	Rachel Marron	Nominated – 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best Female PerformanceNominated – 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough PerformanceNominated – 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo with co-star Kevin CostnerNominated – 1992 Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress
1995	''Waiting to Exhale''	Savannah Jackson	Nominated – 1996 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
1996	''The Preacher's Wife''	Julia Biggs
1997		Fairy Godmother
2012		Emma	Posthumous release

+ Television roles	! Year	! Title	! Network	! Role	Notes
1984	''Gimme a Break!''	NBC	Rita	"Katie's College" (Season 3, Episode 20)
1985	''Silver Spoons''	NBC	Herself	"Head Over Heels" (Season 4, Episode 1, Air date: September 15, 1985)She performed the edited version of "Saving All My Love for You", changing some of the words.
2002	''Boston Public''	Fox	Herself	She performed "Try It On My Own" from the 2002 studio album ''Just Whitney''.

+ Commercials
! Year	! Company	! Promoting	! Country	Notes
	Dr Pepper/Seven Up	Canada Dry(soft drink beverage)	United States		* Houston appeared in this commercial before debut as a professional singer and sang the praises of sugar free Canada Dry Ginger Ale.
	Coca-Cola	Diet Coke(soft drink beverage)	United States		* Houston sang the Diet Coke theme song, "Just for the taste of it".
	Coca-Cola	Diet Coke(soft drink beverage)	United States		* Houston sang the other version of the Diet Coke advertising slogan at the time, "Just for the taste of it".	* Outside the United States, the second version of advertising was released, in which "Greatest Love of All" was used as background music.	1989 MTV Video Music Awards#Video of the Year>Video of the Year winning "This Note's for You" by Neil Young, parodied parts of this advertising to criticize pop/rock stars who make commercial endorsements, most notably Michael Jackson for Pepsi and Houston for Diet Coke, using look-alikes for them.
		Electronics(the stereo, TV)	Japan		Keith Thomas (producer)>Keith Thomas. It was released as a CD single in Japan and included in Japanese edition of ''I'm Your Baby Tonight''.
	AT&T;	Telephone services	United States		* Houston sang its theme song, "True Voice".

+ Production
! Year	! Title	! Director	Notes and awards
1997		Robert Iscove	Executive producerNominated – 50th Primetime Emmy Awards
2001		[[Garry Marshall	ProducerWon – 2002 Young Artist Award for Best Family Feature Film – ComedyNominated – 2002 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Family Film (Live Action) Nominated – 2002 Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Family FilmNominated – 2002 Teen Choice Award for Film – Choice Movie, Comedy
2003		Oz Scott	Producer
2004	''The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement''	Garry Marshall	Producer
2006		Kenny Ortega	Co-executive producer

Tours

;World tours

''The Greatest Love World Tour'' (1986)

''Moment of Truth World Tour'' (1987–88)

''I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour'' (1991)

''The Bodyguard World Tour'' (1993–94)

''My Love Is Your Love World Tour'' (1999)

''Nothing But Love World Tour'' (2010)

;Regional tours

''Feels So Right Tour'' (1990)

''Pacific Rim Tour'' (1997)

''The European Tour'' (1998)

''Soul Divas Tour'' (2004)

;Televised concerts

''Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute'' (1988)

''Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston'' (1991)

''The Concert for a New South Africa'' (1994)

''Classic Whitney Live from Washington, D.C.'' (1997)

See also

American Music Award nominations for Whitney Houston

Grammy nominations for Whitney Houston

Honorific nicknames in popular music

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

List of best-selling music artists

Melisma

References

Further reading

External links

Category:1963 births Category:2012 deaths Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:African American female singers Category:African American film actors Category:African American record producers Category:African-American film producers Category:American dance musicians Category:American female models Category:American gospel singers Category:American mezzo-sopranos Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:Arista Records artists Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats Category:Baptists from the United States Category:Death in California Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from East Orange, New Jersey Category:People from Newark, New Jersey Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics

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Name	Taylor Swift
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Taylor Alison Swift
Birth date	December 13, 1989
Birth place	Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, ganjo, piano, ukulele
Genre	Country pop, pop, country, dance-pop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, actress
Years active	2006–present
Label	Big Machine
Associated acts	Nathan Chapman, Liz Rose
Website	150pxTaylor Swift's signature }}

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.

In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In November 2008, Swift released her second album, ''Fearless'', and the recording earned Swift four Grammy Awards, including the Album of the Year, at the 52nd Grammy Awards. ''Fearless'' and ''Taylor Swift'' finished 2008 at number-three and number-six respectively, with sales of 2.1 and 1.5 million. ''Fearless'' topped the ''Billboard'' 200 for 11 non-consecutive weeks. Swift was named ''Artist of the Year'' by ''Billboard'' Magazine in 2009. Swift released her third album ''Speak Now'' on October 25, 2010, which sold 1,047,000 copies in its first week.

In 2008, her albums sold a combined four million copies, making her the best-selling musician of the year in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. ''Forbes'' ranked Swift 2009's 69th-most powerful celebrity with earnings of $18 million, 2010's 12th-most powerful celebrity with earnings of $45 million and 2011's 7th-most powerful celebrity with earnings of $45 million, too. Swift was ranked the 38th Best Artist of the 2000s by ''Billboard''. In January 2010 Nielsen SoundScan listed Swift as the most successful digital artist in music history with over 34.3 million digital tracks sold. On June 2011, renowned site The Boot named Swift and Carrie Underwood ''The Country Royalty'', as they were the only female country artists to be ranked on ''Rolling Stone'' Queens of Pop list. , she has sold over 20 million albums and 34.3 million singles worldwide. She has been listed in the 2012 ''Guinness Book Of World Records'' as the Fastest Selling Digital Album by a Female Artist for her album ''Speak Now'', and Most Simultaneous U.S. Hot 100 Hits by a Female Artist. In 2011, ''Billboard'' named her woman of the year.

Early life

Swift was born on December 13, 1989, in Reading, Pennsylvania, and raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of Andrea Gardner (née Finlay), a homemaker who previously worked in finance, and Scott Kingsley Swift, a stockbroker. Her maternal grandmother, Marjorie Finlay (née Moehlenkamp), was an opera singer. Swift has a younger brother, Austin. She grew up on a Christmas-tree farm.

When Swift was in fourth grade, she won a national poetry contest with a three-page poem, "Monster in My Closet". At the age of ten, a computer repairman showed her how to play three chords on a guitar, sparking her interest in learning the instrument. Afterwards, Swift wrote her first song, "Lucky You". When Swift was 12, she devoted an entire summer to writing a 350-page novel, which remains unpublished. She began writing songs regularly and used it as an outlet to help her with her pain from not fitting in at school. Swift was a victim of bullying, and spent her time writing songs to express her emotions. She also started performing at local karaoke contests, festivals, and fairs.

Swift began to regularly visit Nashville, Tennessee, and work with local songwriters. When she was 14, her family relocated to Nashville. Her first major show was a well-received performance at the Bloomsburg Fair. In Tennessee, Swift attended Hendersonville High School, but was subsequently homeschooled for her junior and senior years. In 2008, she earned her high school diploma.

Swift's greatest musical influence is Shania Twain. Her other influences include LeAnn Rimes, Tina Turner, Dolly Parton, and Swift's grandmother. Although her grandmother was a professional opera singer, Swift's tastes always leaned more toward country music. In her younger years, she developed a love for Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton. She also credits the Dixie Chicks for demonstrating the impact that one can have by "stretching boundaries".

Music career

2000–2005: musical beginnings

At age 11, Swift made her first trip to Nashville, hoping to obtain a record deal by distributing a demo tape of her singing with karaoke songs. She gave a copy to every label in town, but was rejected. After Swift returned to Pennsylvania, she was asked to sing at the US Open tennis tournament, where her rendition of the national anthem received much attention.

When Swift was 15, she rejected RCA Records because the company wanted to keep her on an artist development deal. After performing at Nashville's songwriters' venue, The Bluebird Café, she caught the attention of Scott Borchetta, who signed her to his newly formed record label, Big Machine Records. At age 14, she became the youngest staff songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Tree publishing house.

2006–2008: ''Taylor Swift''

Swift released her debut single, "Tim McGraw", in mid-2006, reaching No.6 on ''Billboard'' magazine's Hot Country Songs chart. Her self-titled debut album was later released on October 24, 2006. Debuting high on the ''Billboard'' 200, the album sold 39,000 copies during its first week. It peaked at No.1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and No.5 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Her debut album spent eight consecutive weeks at the top of the Top Country Albums charts and remained at the top for 24 out of 91 weeks. The only other country artists this decade to achieve the number-one sales position for 20 weeks or more are The Dixie Chicks and Carrie Underwood. The music video for "Tim McGraw" won Swift an award for Breakthrough Video of the Year at the 2007 CMT Music Awards. Her pursuit of country music stardom was the subject of "GAC Short Cuts", a part-documentary, part-music-video series airing since the summer of 2006. On May 15, 2007, Swift performed "Tim McGraw" at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Swift has been an opening act for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on their Soul2Soul 2007 tour. She has opened in the past for George Strait, Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts as well. The second single from the ''Taylor Swift'' album, "Teardrops on My Guitar", was released February 24, 2007. In mid-2007, the song peaked at No.2 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and No.33 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song was re-released with a pop remix that brought "Teardrops on My Guitar" to No.13 on the Hot 100 and No.11 on the Pop 100. In October 2007, Swift was awarded Songwriter/Artist of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Assn. Intl., making her the youngest artist ever to win the award. Her third song off her debut album, "Our Song" spent six weeks at No.1 on the Country charts, peaked at No.16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and rose to No.24 on the ''Billboard'' Pop 100. Swift recorded a holiday album, ''Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection,'' which was released exclusively at Target in late 2007. Swift was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award in the category of Best New Artist, but lost to Amy Winehouse. Swift's successful single, "Picture to Burn", was the fourth single from her debut album. The song debuted and soon peaked at No.3 on the Billboard Country chart in spring 2008. left|upright|thumb|Swift performing at Yahoo HQ in 2007 "Should've Said No" became Swift's second No.1 single. In Summer 2008, Swift released ''Beautiful Eyes'', an EP sold exclusively at Wal-Mart. In its first week of release, the album sold 45,000 copies, debuting at No.1 on ''Billboard'''s Top Country Albums chart and No.9 on the ''Billboard'' 200. With her self-titled debut album sitting at No.2 during the same week, Swift became the first artist since 1997 to hold the Top 2 positions of the Top Country Albums chart. In October 2008, Swift performed a duet with best selling rock band Def Leppard in a taped show in Nashville, Tennessee, and their collaboration was up for both Performance of the Year and Wide Open Country Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards in 2009.

2008–2010: ''Fearless'' and MTV VMA incident

Swift's second studio album, ''Fearless'', was released in the United States on November 11, 2008. The album debuted at No.1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 Album Chart. Its sales of 592,304 were the highest debut of any country artist in 2008. This is also the largest opening U.S. sales week in 2008 by a female artist in all genres of music, and the fourth biggest overall behind Lil Wayne, AC/DC and Coldplay. Its lead single "Love Story" became a hit on both the country and pop charts. During the first week of release, more than 129,000 of Swift's sales were sold digitally. This gives Swift the best online start for any country album in history. It also makes Swift the fourth biggest week for a digital album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking them in 2004. Through its eighth week of release, ''Fearless'' has sold more than 338,467 downloads, making it the bestselling country album in digital history. In second place is Swift's debut ''Taylor Swift'' with sales of 236,046 downloads as of April 18, 2009. In its debut week, seven songs in total on ''Fearless'' were charted on ''Billboard'' Hot 100, tying Swift with Miley Cyrus for the most by a female artist in a single week. With "White Horse" charted at #13, this gave Swift her sixth top 20 debut of 2008, a calendar year record for any artist in the history of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Of the 13 tracks on ''Fearless'', 11 have already spent time on the Hot 100. "Change", a song from the album, was selected as part of a soundtrack supporting Team USA's efforts in the 2008 Summer Olympics. The song was also featured as part of the soundtrack of NBC's broadcast package of the Olympics. The lead single from the album, "Love Story", was released on September 12, 2008. The Fearless album includes the "Love Story" music video which is based on ''Romeo and Juliet''. The song has reached No.2 on iTunes Store Top Downloaded Songs and No.4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Fifteen weeks after being added to pop radio, "Love Story" also became the first country crossover recording to hit number one on the Nielsen BDS CHR/Top 40 chart in the 16-year-history of the list, as well as number one on the Mediabase Top 40 Chart. The second single from ''Fearless'', "White Horse", was released on December 8, 2008. The music video for the song premiered on CMT on February 7, 2009. Though it missed the No.1 spot on Billboard's Hot Country Songs as of the week April 11, 2009, "White Horse" claimed the No.1 spot atop the USA Today/Country Aircheck chart (powered by Mediabase) in that week. "Forever & Always", another song from the album, was based on Swift's relationship with singer Joe Jonas. She was the first artist in the history of Nielsen SoundScan to have two different albums in the Top 10 on the year end album chart. It also was the first album by a female artist in country music history to log eight weeks at No.1 on The ''Billboard'' 200. In mid-January 2009, Swift became the first country artist to top the 2 million mark in paid downloads with three different songs. Swift is ''Billboard'''s Top Country Artist and Hot Country Songwriter of 2008; she is also country music's best-selling artist of 2008. Swift ranked seventh on Nielsen SoundScan Canada's top-10 selling artists across all genres in 2008. ''Fearless'' and ''Taylor Swift'' took the No.1 and No.2 slots on 2008 Year-End Canadian Country Albums Chart. Swift sang the Star-Spangled Banner at game three of the World Series in Philadelphia on October 25, 2008. In January 2009, Swift announced her North American Fearless Tour planned for 52 cities in 38 states and provinces in the US and Canada over the span of 6 months. The tour kicked off April 23 in Evansville, Indiana. In the same month, Swift made her first musical guest appearance on ''Saturday Night Live''. On February 8, 2009, Swift performed her song "Fifteen" with Miley Cyrus at the 51st Grammy Awards. As of the week ending February 8, 2009, Swift's single "Love Story" became the country song with the most paid downloads in history. Since the release of Swift's second album, ''Fearless'', she has released one new song "Crazier" for the soundtrack of the feature film ''Hannah Montana: The Movie''. At the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, Swift picked up Album of the Year honors as a performer and producer for ''Fearless''. Swift is the youngest artist in history to win the ACM ''Album of the Year'' award. The Academy lauded her for career achievements including selling more albums in 2008 than any other artist in any genre of music, the breakthrough success of her debut album, and the worldwide crossover success of her No.1 single "Love Story". The Academy also cited Swift's contribution to helping country music attract a younger audience. As of late April 2009, Swift has sold more than 14 million downloads, as well as three Gold Mobile Ringtones. On April 28, 2009, Swift gave a free, private concert to students at Bishop Ireton High School, a small Catholic school in Alexandria, Virginia after the school won a national "TXT 2 WIN" contest from Verizon Wireless. The students sent over 19,000 text messages to Verizon during a roughly one month long contest. Swift played for about an hour during the school's field day, an annual day-long recess with games and activities. On October 8, 2009 Swift's official website announced that her sold-out Fearless Tour would return to North America for 37 additional dates in 2010.

Scheduled to perform on September 13, 2009, Swift attended the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. This was her first VMA performance, where she became the first country music artist to win an MTV Video Music Award. During the show, as Swift was on stage accepting the award for Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me," singer/rapper Kanye West came on stage and took the microphone from Swift, saying that Beyoncé's video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", nominated for the same award, was "one of the best videos of all time," an action that caused the many audience members to boo West. He handed the microphone back to a stunned and reportedly upset Swift, who did not finish her acceptance speech. When Beyoncé later won the award for Best Video of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", she called Swift up on stage so that she could finish her acceptance speech. Following the awards show, West apologized for his verbal outburst in a blog entry (which was subsequently removed). He was criticized by various celebrities for the outburst, and even by President Barack Obama who called West a "jackass" in an "off the record" comment. He later posted a second apology on his blog and made his first public apology one day after the incident on the debut episode of ''The Jay Leno Show''. On September 15, 2009, Swift talked about the matter on ''The View'', where she said she was at first excited to see West on stage and then disappointed once he acted out. She said West had not spoken to her following the incident. Following her appearance on ''The View'', West contacted her to apologize personally; Swift said she accepted his apology. However, on November 8, 2010, in an interview with a Minnesota radio station, West seemed to recant a bit of his past apologies by attempting to describe the act at the 2009 awards show as "selfless" and downgrade the perception of disrespect it created. Swift would later perform a song at the 2010 VMA called "Innocent" which is about the incident and in the song she absolves West of his actions. On November 11, 2009, Swift became the youngest artist ever to win the Country Music Association Award for Entertainer of the year, and is one of only six women to win the Country Music Association's highest honor. On the chart week of November 14, 2009, Swift set a record for the most songs on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 by a female artist at the same time with eight singles from the re-release of her 2008 album ''Fearless'' namely five debut new songs in the top 30: "Jump Then Fall" at #10, "Untouchable" at #19, "The Other Side of the Door" at #22, "Superstar" at No.27 and "Come in With the Rain" at No.30 and three already-charted songs that were released as singles—"You Belong with Me" (#14), "Forever & Always" which re-entered the chart at #34, and "Fifteen" (#46). In addition, the song "Two Is Better Than One" by Boys Like Girls which features Swift, debuted at No.80 in the same issue. This gives Swift six debuts in one week, the biggest number of debuts by any female artist of all time. It also lifts the number of her simultaneously-charting songs to nine, setting another record for the biggest number of charting songs by the same female artist in the same week. When "Fifteen" reached No.38 on the chart week of November 21, 2009, Swift became the female artist with the most Top 40 singles this decade, surpassing Beyoncé. "Fifteen" became Swift's twentieth Top 40 single overall. "Two Is Better Than One" by Boys Like Girls and John Mayer's "Half of My Heart" both featured Swift, peaking at No.40 and No.25 respectively. The two songs are her 21st and 22nd Top 40 singles. ''Fearless'' was the best-selling album of 2009 in the US with more than 3.2 millions copies sold in that year. Swift claimed both the No.1 and No.2 positions atop Nielsen's BDS Top 10 Most Played Songs chart (all genres), with "You Belong With Me" and "Love Story," respectively. She also topped the all format 2009 Top 10 Artist Airplay chart with over 1.29 million song detections, and the Top 10 Artist Internet Streams chart with more than 46 million song plays.

2010–present: ''Speak Now''

Swift released the track "Today Was a Fairytale" as a digital download on iTunes on January 19, 2010. The song was featured on the soundtrack for the film ''Valentine's Day'', in which she made her feature-film acting debut. The song debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at No. 2, becoming her sixth Top 10 and 23rd Top 40 single on that chart. According to Nielsen SoundScan, with sales of "Today Was a Fairytale" more than 325,000 in its first week, Swift has broken the record for first-week download sales by a female artist. The song also debuted at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, making it Swift's first number one hit in Canada. In February 2010, Swift brought her Fearless Tour to 5 cities in Australia. Opening acts included Gloriana. In mid-July 2010, ''Billboard'' revealed that Swift's new album is called ''Speak Now''. It was released on October 25, 2010. She has written the album completely by herself in Arkansas, New York, Boston and Nashville with Nathan Chapman serving as co-producer. On Wednesday, August 4, 2010, the lead single from the album, "Mine," was leaked onto the internet. Big Machine Records decided to rush the release of the song to counteract the leak. Swift appeared at the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on November 10, 2010. In 2011, Swift visited Singapore as the first stop of the Asian leg of her first world tour. Hong Kong is the last stop of the Speak Now World Tour and Swift will begin the European and American leg afterwards. Swift's first live album, ''Speak Now World Tour: Live'', featuring all seventeen performances from the North American leg of her concert tour, is scheduled for a November 21, 2011 release. Many dates on the Speak Now World Tour were cancelled due to Swift suffering from bronchitis and was told she is unable to perform. Swift sold approximately 4,470,000 albums in the US in 2010 (more than any other artist) and sold 9.9 million digital tracks. She was ranked second on ''Rolling Stone'''s lists of Top 16 "Queen Of Pops" of the decade. Swift appeared on the ''Hamish & Andy'' show where she performed a new song called "Chaperone Dads", which is dedicated to a select group of her fans. The week following the release of her "Sparks Fly" video Swift jumped from nineteen to ten on the ''Billboard'''s Social 50. Swift has revealed that she has already written 25 songs for an untitled follow-up album to ''Speak Now'', set to release in the later part of 2012. She commented on them, "They’re sad. If I'm being honest."

On December 23, 2011, Taylor announced via Twitter, "Something I've been VERY excited about for a VERY long time is going to be happening VERY soon." Several hours later, Taylor announced that she is featured on ''The Hunger Games'' Official Movie Soundtrack. Her song, entitled "Safe & Sound", was the first track released from the album. The song was co-written by The Civil Wars, who also co-recorded the song with Taylor. On January 8, 2012, Taylor was elected the fifth top artist (fourth female top artist) of all-time with the best-selling digital music tracks. Taylor has sold 41,821,000 million digital tracks as of the end of 2011 according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Songwriting style

Swift's lyrics are highly autobiographical; she has said that "If you listen to my albums, it’s like reading my diary." For example, the song "Forever & Always" was inspired by her relationship with Joe Jonas, while the song "Hey Stephen" was written about a boy whom she toured with in the past. "Fifteen" was written about her freshman year of high school. It has been said that her lyrics "can be tinged with acid: the quiet loner girl getting one over on the cheerleaders, or a caustic payback for the boy who dumped her." She has also indicated that she tries to write so her fans can relate to the lyrics, saying "My goal is to never write songs that my fans can't relate to." She parodied her confrontational style of songwriting during her appearance on ''Saturday Night Live''; during her opening monologue, she performed an original song that featured lines such as "You might think I'd bring up Joe, that guy who broke up with me on the phone/ Hey, Joe, I'm doing real well, tonight I'm hosting 'SNL'" referring to her highly publicized relationship with Joe Jonas.

The intensely personal nature of the songs has drawn her attention in the music industry. Swift once said, "I thought people might find them hard to relate to, but it turned out that the more personal my songs were, the more closely people could relate to them." Due to the autobiographical nature of her songs, some fans have researched the songs' origins. Swift once said, "Every single one of the guys that I’ve written songs about has been tracked down on MySpace by my fans." ''The New York Times'' described Swift as "one of pop's finest songwriters, country’s foremost pragmatist and more in touch with her inner life than most adults".

Other work

Acting

In 2008, Swift made her acting debut in Brad Paisley's music video "Online". In that same year Swift filmed a documentary for MTV entitled ''MTV's Once Upon a Prom'' and a documentary with Def Leppard for CMT entitled ''CMT Crossroads'', which premiered on November 7, 2008. Swift collaborated with the Jonas Brothers in their 3D Concert Film, ''Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience''. The film was released on February 27, 2009 in North America and brought in $12.7 million on its opening weekend. Swift made her primetime television acting debut on CBS's ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' "Turn, Turn, Turn" as Haley Jones on March 5, 2009 in the U.S. and Canada. The episode was watched by 20.8 million viewers. Swift made a cameo appearance in Kellie Pickler's music video "Best Days of Your Life". Swift also appeared in ''Hannah Montana: The Movie'' credited as herself. The film was released on April 10, 2009 in North America. The television show Dateline NBC showcased an hour on Swift on May 31, 2009. The episode titled ''Dateline NBC: On Tour With Taylor Swift'' included scenes from her tour bus, concert footage, and rehearsals. Swift both hosted and performed as the musical guest for the November 7, 2009 episode of ''Saturday Night Live''. In 2010, Swift made her feature film acting debut as Felicia in the film ''Valentine's Day''. For this role she won the Teen Choice Award for Movie Female Breakout. She has been cast to voice the role of Audrey in the animated film ''The Lorax'', set to be released in 2012. In January 2012, Swift was offered the role of Eponine in the film adaptation of the musical, ''Les Misérables''.

Cover model and recognition

Swift has been featured on the cover of a number of magazines. She has been a cover girl for ''Blender'', for which she was one of two country artists during the magazine’s fifteen year run to be a cover subject. She was included in ''People'''s annual "100 Most Beautiful People" 2008, 2009, and 2010 lists. Additionally, she was named number fifty-seven on ''Maxim's'' sexiest women of 2008, number fifty on the 2009 list and number thirty-one on the 2010 list. ''CosmoGirl'' voted Swift as the "2008 Girl of the Year". Swift was named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as one of "The RS 100: Agents of Change". She was nominated as a candidate for ''TIME''s "2009 The Time 100 Finalists" list, which is determined by online voting. ''People'' magazine named Swift one of 25 Most Intriguing People of 2009.

Merchandise

Jakks Pacific released a celebrity doll of Swift in late 2008. Swift has been the face of L.E.I. Jeans (Life Energy Intelligence) since 2008. Swift and the L.e.i. Clothing Line made a deal to create a line based on Swift's style of dressing, which will appear in Wal-Mart in the coming months. However, Swift said she does not want to be called a designer. Instead, she says she will inspire the clothing company's dress line based on her own style. "I don't look at it like I'm branching out as a designer... It's not the Taylor Swift designer line." In 2009, Swift became the National Hockey League's newest celebrity spokesperson. She appears in commercials for the Nashville Predators.

In May 2009, Swift filed a lawsuit (kept sealed until August 2010) against numerous sellers of unauthorized counterfeit merchandise bearing her name, likeness, and trademarks, where she demanded a trial by jury, sought a judgement for compensatory damages, punitive damages, three times the actual damages sustained, and statutory damages, and sought for recovery of her attorney's fees and prejudgement interest. Nashville's U.S. District Court granted an injunction and judgment against the sellers, who had been identified at Swift's concerts in several states. The court ordered merchandise seized from the defendants to be destroyed. On July 15, 2011, Swift's official website announced that she had partnered with Elizabeth Arden to launch a fragrance, which is to be released in October 2011. The fragrance's name, "Wonderstruck", is a reference to the song "Enchanted" featured on her ''Speak Now'' album. Swift is also working with American Greetings, Inc.

Philanthropy

On September 21, 2007, Swift helped launch a campaign to protect children from online predators. She has teamed up with Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen to combat internet sex crimes. The year-long campaign, in partnership with the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, will distribute Internet safety information and materials to parents and students across the state. In early 2008, Swift donated the pink Chevy pick-up truck given to her by her record label to the children’s charity, the ''Victory Junction Gang''; in June 2008, Swift donated all the proceeds from her merchandise sales at the 2008 Country Music Festival to Red Cross, the ''Nashville Area Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund'' and the ''National American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund''.

Swift donated $100,000 to the Red Cross in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to help the victims of the Iowa flood of 2008. Swift has teamed up with Sound Matters to make listeners aware of listening "responsibly". Swift supports @15, a teen-led social change platform underwritten by Best Buy to give teens opportunities to direct the company's philanthropy through the newly-created @15 Fund. Swift's song, "Fifteen", is featured in this campaign. Swift lent her support to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal by joining the lineup at Sydney's Sound Relief concert, reportedly making the biggest contribution of any artist playing at Sound Relief to the Australian Red Cross. Swift donated her prom dress, which raised $1,200 for charity, to DonateMyDress.org. On November 20, 2009 after a live performance on BBC's Children in Need night Swift announced to Sir Terry Wogan she would donate £13,000 of her own money to the cause.

On December 13, Swift's own birthday, she donated $250,000 to various schools around the country which she had either attended or been involved with. Swift has donated a pair of her shoes – a gently-worn pair of black Betsey Johnson heels with her autograph on the sole – to the Wish Upon a Hero Foundation's Hero in Heels fundraiser for auction to raise money to benefit women with cancer.

In response to the May 2010 Tennessee floods, Swift donated $500,000 during a flood relief telethon hosted by WSMV, a Nashville television station.

On May 23, 2011, Taylor Swift transformed what was to have been the final dress rehearsal for the North American leg of her Speak Now tour into a benefit concert for victims of recent tornadoes in the United States southeast region. The concert in Nashville drew more than 13,000 people and raised more than $750,000 from proceeds from ticket sales, merchandise and other facets of the show. The benefit concert for tornado relief was subsequently honored at the 2011 Do Something Awards. In July 2011, Swift further aided to the cause by donating $250,000 to Alabama football coach Nick Saban's charity Nick's Kids to aid in the tornado relief efforts of West Alabama.

Personal life

In addition to her relationship with Joe Jonas, which ended in October 2008, Swift's dating history has included other celebrities: Taylor Lautner, for three months in 2009; and Jake Gyllenhaal, from late 2010 to early 2011. Swift has also been romantically linked to John Mayer. There has been speculation that the songs "Dear John" and "The Story of Us" from her album ''Speak Now'' are about Mayer. In October 2011, she revealed to Ellen Degeneres on her show ''Ellen'' that, "I don't even have, like, kind of a boyfriend. I don't have someone that I'm texting that is a guy that someday might be my boyfriend. There's like nothing going on right now."

In November 2011, Taylor adopted a Scottish fold kitten. She named her Meredith after the character Meredith Grey from the popular ABC drama ''Grey's Anatomy''. The kitten appeared in the official music video for Taylor's song ''Ours'' alongside Taylor and ''Friday Night Lights'' star Zach Gilford.

Filmography

>

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2007		Herself	Guest; Episode: Season 2 Finale
2008	''CMT Crossroads''	Herself	Episode: "Taylor Swift and Def Leppard"
2009	''Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience''	Herself
2009	''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''	Haley Jones
2009	''Hannah Montana: The Movie''	Herself	Cameo
2009	''Saturday Night Live''	Herself	Host/Musical Guest
2009		Herself	Guest; Episode: Week 6 results
2010		Felicia	Movie acting debut
2010	''Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless''	Herself	Main Role
2010		Herself	Guest; Episode: 200th episode
2012	''''	Audrey
2012	''Bruno the Robot''	Various

Discography

Albums

''Taylor Swift'' (2006)

''Fearless'' (2008)

''Speak Now'' (2010)

Awards and nominations

Tours

Fearless Tour (2009–10)

Speak Now World Tour (2011–2012)

References

External links

Category:1989 births Category:American child singers Category:American country banjoists Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American female guitarists Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American pianists Category:American pop singers Category:American television actors Category:Big Machine Records artists Category:Child pop musicians Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Pennsylvania Category:People from Reading, Pennsylvania Category:People from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania Category:Ukulele players

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