Rough Return to Live Stage for Whitney Houston

By PopEater Staff Posted Apr 14th 2010 10:16AM

Her fans may always love her, but catty reviewers across Britain aren't exactly singing Whitney Houston's praises following a bumpy return to the stage Tuesday night in rough-and-tumble Birmingham.

Invariably, every negative review included some variation of "Houston, we have a problem," but when they began describing the singer's vocals and overall stamina, even the normally prim BBC got in on the act, saying the singer was "panting more than John Prescott running for the bus," a reference to a well-known (and chubby) politician from Wales.

Whitney's performance of 'I Will Always Love You,' which goes awry at the 4:18 mark:

Houston was supposed to kick off her British tour last week, but had to cancel due to respiratory problems. Her breathing seemed to be one of the main problems, according to several reviewers.

A local paper, The Birmingham Post, said that although Houston's "voice was still there, the stamina was not," adding the 45-minute concert "was constantly broken up with water breaks and chats with the audience to catch her breath."

Whitney on tour in 1994

The Post's reviewer, Alison Dayani, said Houston angered the crowd after six songs when she "disappeared to let her brother Gary and the backing singers perform some of her tracks while she took a 15 minute break."

One of the song's she chose to let video and backup singers perform was her hit 'One Moment in Time.'

Her absence so soon after the show began led to boos around the arena, and when she returned to the stage, Houston quipped, "Thank you for being patient. I heard you getting p***ed off."

The notoriously rough-on-celebs tabloid The Sun said Whitney seemed distracted, "often losing her train of thought during rambling between-song chats with the audience."

The 'Today' Show Covered It:

When it came time to sing her signature song, 'I Will Always Love You,' Houston failed to hit the soaring high notes.

One audience member told BBC Radio 5 live: "She was good when she was good, but when she was not on form, she was awful."

Not all the reviews were bad, however, with The Independent's Elisa Bray saying she admired Houston, "who in the face of the negative press, stood up tonight to give her all."

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Whitney Houston Snapshots

Whitney Houston performs on stage at Acer Arena on February 24, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. Click for More Whitney Pics >>>

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Whitney Houston Snapshots

Whitney Houston arrives at Fountain studios on October 18, 2009 in London, England. Celebrity Sightings In London - October 18, 2009 London, England United Kingdom October 18, 2009 Photo by Sam Snap/FilmMagic.com To license this image (58676261), contact FilmMagic.com

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Singer Whitney Houston performs during the German game show "Wetten Dass...?" (Bet it...?) in Freiburg, southwestern Germany, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009. "Wetten Dass...?" is one of the most popular Saturday night programmes in Germany. (AP Photo/Johannes Eisele, Pool)

US singer Whitney Houston talks with TV host Thomas Gottschalk during the 183rd edition of the TV show presented by "Wetten, dass..?" (Let's Make a Bet) on October 3, 2009 in Freiburg, southern Germany. AFP PHOTO DDP/ JOERG KOCH GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read JOERG KOCH/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

US singer Whitney Houston performs on stage during the 183rd edition of the TV show presented by "Wetten, dass..?" (Let's Make a Bet) on October 3, 2009 in Freiburg, southern Germany. AFP PHOTO DDP/ JOERG KOCH GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read JOERG KOCH/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

FREIBURG IM BREISGAU, GERMANY - OCTOBER 03: Singer Whitney Houston performs during the Wetten dass...? show at the Messe Freiburg on October 3, 2009 in Freiburg, Germany. (Photo by Miguel Villagran/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Whitney Houston

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Comments

(414)

Wednesday 14 April

By Kate

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Such a sad lady...

Friday 16 April

By Ava123

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Charice is better than the original Whitney's version.

By Joe

She's going down the same road as Billie Holiday.

By BobbymamaB

Miss Whitney has bought a one way ticket to Donesville. Respiratory problems my azz!!

Saturday 17 April

By userbub12487

i am glad she doesn't dabble with drugs anymore and has recovered her career. she could of just given up, but she didn't. now she's back and better than ever!

By Jen

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Wow, I agree. Such a sad lady and such a sad song. It was absolutely horrible. At one point I thought she was going to let the audience finish the song for her. You have wasted your talent by the stuff that went up your nose Whitney. It was a choice you made back then with that first line and you can't take that back. Don't waste anybodies money any longer and just do the one thing you can do gracefully now, retire.

By Donna

A perfect example of what drugs can and will do to your body. She threw away a spectacular gift from God and now she is making a fool of herself trying to recapture the glory days. You've got money, Whitney. Please retire gracefully.

By OhLori

Agreed this is a prime example of how much damage a person's choice to do drugs can do to the brain (and voice). I hope that little Bobby doesn't follow in mommy's footsteps

By Jeanne

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She could never sing worth a crap live. Her concerts were all bad. For some reason people are just starting to notice now. Watch some of old concerts, she stops and talks, sings off key and then screams, but can't sing a melody to save her life. It's just worse now.

By Brian

AMEN! You said it PERFECTLY!

By Coleen

Could not agree more. She did take a gift from God...an amazing one...and threw it in the trash. This performance of of "I will always Love You" is beyond horrible. I don't feel sorry for her for one moment..,.she did it to herself. Her and that psychopath husband of hers. She's got no business doing concerts sounding like that. Find another profession Whitney....your day is long over.

By Bobby

So, maybe anyone who has dabbled in drugs should just lay down and die?
Get a grip Donna. What about giving her some credit for recovering, instead of kicking someone when they are down or have made some mistakes.
I'll bet you are an amazing singer who has never made a mistake in your life, right?
God bless you Whitney and any other person who has gone through this kind of recovery and not just given up.
Don't let the negativity of DONNA or anyone else hold you back or get you down

By Ginger Root

@Bobby
Donna's point, which you obviously missed, was not to "dabbble" with drugs in the first place.

And one could hardly call a ADDICTION "dabbling".

By michael

i agree whitney just retire and let it go your voice aint there no more see what drugs does to ya it is so sad you let it all go

By Archie

No, Whitney no longer has money. She lost everything. Haven't you heard it in the news a couple of years back, when her mansion and other property were foreclosed?
Maybe that's why she's forcing herself into this humiliation because of bad need for dough.

By Hope

You can bet that Crack Cocaine Spent Most if not ALL of her money

By kevin

Why doesn't she just stay home?

By Barbara

We don't know if she has money. Drugs cost a lot.

By Roland

Agreed. she had the voice of an angel and let it all go. What a shame.

Thursday 22 April

By P.Robinson

I totally agree..........when you don't use your gifts from God and abuse it...........these are one of the things that can happen...I wish her the best.......GET HELP.

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