Whitney Houston's Train Wrecks in Australia

By Sam Brand Posted Feb 23rd 2010 02:11PM

Australian fans are in an uproar after watching Whitney Houston flub her way through a concert in Brisbane on Monday night. The 46-year-old diva reportedly took a break after just two songs, brought her brother onstage to hit her high notes and slurped from a water bottle through a closing performance of 'I Will Always Love You.'

"She couldn't entertain a dead rat," one concertgoer told the press outside the show. Yikes.

Monday's performance at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre was the first of several Australian stops on Houston's comeback 'Nothing But Love' tour. It was an ominous Down Under rebirth for an R&B queen frequently dogged by rumors of health and drug problems.

Today, concert promoter Andrew McManus took to defending the star against the many ticket purchasers calling for a refund.

"It was not a train wreck," McManus told Agence France-Presse of Houston's performance. "She was hitting most of the notes; yes, her throat was a little croaky. Her health is fine, but she's also not 22 years of age anymore."

The promoter's comments are of little consolation to those who paid up to $200 for seats. One fan tells Brisbane's Courier-Mail, "I have e-mailed the fellow down in Melbourne to get our money back but I don't think we will get it."

"We saw Liza Minnelli and she was marvelous," the fan continued. "But this one just walked all over the stage going: 'Um, I've got to go and have a drink.'"

According to concert reviews cited by the AFP, Houston appeared disoriented during the show, relied heavily upon backup singers and struggled to remember the names of her bandmates.

"This show was like watching a slow and painful death of a living legend," a Courier-Mail reader wrote in.

McManus saw it differently.

"If [fans] expected to hear Whitney of 20 years ago, go buy a CD."

Maybe the guy's got a point.

Tags: andrew mcmanus, australia, brisbane, i will always love you, nothing but love tour, trainwreck, whitney houston

Comments

(103)

Tuesday 23 February

By Don't Do Drugs

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Illegal drugs have consequences. Two hundred dollars for a seat? That would buy a lot of groceries.

By LeeAnn

I could not agree with you more! Whiteny is a "has been". A true entertainer always strives to keep giving back to the fans that support them and keep them in their lavish lifestyles. Sure we realize as age takes over, their voice might change, but that still does not stop them from being the best they can be. It seems Ms. Houston rose to the top thinking she would never fall off. I think she also lost her membership in the self titled "DIVA" Club!

GO AWAY WHITNEY.....STOP charging people to see you unless you have something worthwhile for them to hear! In the meantime, for the die hards who want to hear the "old" Whitney, either dust off the old Cassettes or buy some CD's.

By salpuki

BEBE King sang " The Thrill is gone" . I think he's right.

All that has been talent flushed down the toilet like a bag of coke during a drug bust. " Where's my BOBBIEEEEEEEEE" ?

By Mr. Bojangles

Bad choices earlier in her career have led to this. You see it over and over ! When will people wake up ?

By Chuck

Please don't make me choose Ellen or The View!! Give me a good choice!!

By phil

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So sad. It appears that the crack has frozen her vocal cords. From what I understand, this is a condition that is permanent. May God bless her and I wish her well. Perhaps she should try to ease into another area of entertainment where she can capitalize on her name and rely less on her voice.

By souldust

Here is what Whitney should do.

Start off at small intimate venues. Shorter shows, lower ticket prices. She can start learning her craft again. It has been 22 years. She is older. Even without drugs voices change with age. Maybe her big concert days are over. She can still tour and entertain, but on a smaller scale. The 80's are gone for all of us.

By yoyo

I have to agree with souldust she should start off small give her a break people.

Wednesday 24 February

By Marsha

I agree to a certain extent. Yes voices do change with age, however Whitney is 46 not 76. The old timers who belt out gospel songs still do it like they use to. I think it would be fair in her case to suspect that some of her lifestyle choices has changed the way that she sounds. She may not be able to hit those notes anymore and you're right she may have to retrain her voice. And if she sings her old songs at concerts she may have to rework them to the disappointment of those hoping to see the old Whitney.

By delacourte

It seems it's time for Miss Houston to hang it up. Longtime fans will always remember the soaring voice of 20 years ago.She's not doing herself any favors by destroying those memories with bad concerts. Now she should do PSAs about NOT getting involved with drugs.

By marceenrn

she needs to stop smoking.

By Gumby

You got that right! Bad choices by Whitney and choosing between ' The View ' or The Ellen DeGeneres Show '. Can't stand either show.

By Freddie

I'm shocked! After a decade of smoking crack with Bobby Brown, and inhaling buckets of take out food, Whitney is fat, over the hill and out of voice? Oh, the horro, and so unexpected.

By Belladonna

True! she gave up her talent (voice) for a crack pipe! She's done.

By RAINYDAYNEWYORK

I DON'T SEE ANYONE IS SURPRISE BY WHITNEY'S CONCERT FAILURE. SHE NEVER GOT OVER HER DRUG USE. SHE NEVER OWNED UP TO HER BAD CHOICE OF USING DRUGS. BOBBY BROWN DIDN'T HOOK WHITNEY ON DRUGS. WHITNEY WAS GETTING HIGH LONG BEFORE SHE MET BOBBY BROWN. AS FOR BOBBY, HE'S CLEAN. IT WAS EVIDENT WHEN SHE APPEARED ON OPRAH THAT SHE WAS STILL UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF SOME FORM OF DRUG; GIVEN JUST ENOUGH TO KNOCK THE EDGE OFF AND TO ENSURE THAT CLIVE DAVIS GETS HIS MONEY OFF HER CONTRACT OR SUE HER FOR EVERY PENNY THAT SHE OWNS. THE BET AWARDS PROVED THAT SHE WAS UNDER THE INFLUENCE AS WELL. WHITNEY HAS TO GET REAL LIKE BRITNEY HAD TO GET REAL AS BOBBY HAD TO GET REAL AND DEAL WITH HER DRUG ADDICTION AND CLEAN HER PROGRAM UP. HER VOICE THERE BUT HER MIND AND BODY IS ON ANOTHER PLANET. YOU DON'T BLAME YOU ADDICTIONS ON OTHERS. YOU TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!

By Steve

This article actually made me laugh. One bad performance and it's all over the internet. She had some great performances so far. I've seen other clips from this concert, and they weren't so bad. She has made a vast improvement with her voice in the past couple of years. It is great to see her on stage again, even if every performance isn't mind blowing. She is alive, and trying hard, people have to cut her some slack. I have seen some great performances from her in the past few months. So, she was a little off ONE night. At least she is alive and doing what she does best.

By Allison

ONE night? She's had MANY nights of acting this way on stage. She's baked and done, and it's time for her to retire for good. There's nothing left in her. She hasn't even TRIED to clean herself up. She wants the "good old days" of her youth and is failing miserably.

When the entertainment world is your job, you'd better be on top at all times. People are shelling out big bucks to be entertained and they want their money's worth at all times. If you can't hack it, retire. Whitney needs a reality check and fast!

By Mike

Guess "crack" was'nt so "Whack" after all...yo, Whitney- I think they're looking for a Celebrity Judge on "RuPaul's Drag Race!"

By Generic Dude

It's a blessing to not be a celebrity, with all the troubles they get involved in.

By Kim

No,it's a blessing not to be a celebrity and have to be judged by John Q. Public who knows it all about everything.

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