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)

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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)

Thursday 15 April

By Greg

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She's too young to be having a "bad night" Do you think Frank Sinatra had bad nights at 46? Or Ethel Merman or Liza Minnelli or Ella Fitzgerald. They had the discipline to stay good until old age did them in.

Friday 16 April

By solo

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A BAD NIGHT?? HAVE YOU BEEN FOLLOWING HER CAREER LATELY? I AM ALSO A SINGER AND I COULD TELL ON HER FIRST APPEARANCE BACK ON GOOD MORNING AMERICA, HER VOICE WAS GONE. ALSO, ON HER NEW CD, YOU CAN TELL HER VOICE IS GONE. SHE SHOULD RETIRE.

Wednesday 14 April

By Tommy

Crack is Whack.........to quote whitney herself....lol

Monday 19 April

By Jimmy

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Put her down- she's worthless. Anyone who pays to see her should take a break from the rock. Her voice sounds like a guy going through transgender surgery. Maybe if they shrunk her Adams apple...

By Sophie

I was there. The concert was NOT 45 minutes long. In fact, it went overtime.
And there were rough patches, to be sure, but for most of it, I though she was brilliant. Don't know what all the fuss is about. I was entertained from beginning to end and I still think she's one heck of a funny lady!

By r u z best

You can't smoke crack and weed for years and expect it to not affect your lungs.

She needs to be on a cardio program to build up her stamina - I am sure she doesn't want to go out and run or jog -- but she needs to heal her lungs so that they will have the capacity to handle an entire show.

She sounded awful at the 3:08 time frame - just plain ole awful.

By orphie

It's over.

By Steve

I've heard from some people who went to this concert and said that it was great. I also saw a lot of youtube videos and I think she did really well, considering she was in the hospital for a throat infection just FIVE days ago. She is slowly recovering and people just want her to be like she was back in the 80's. It doesn't happen overnight. People have to be patient, at least she is trying and not dead like Michael Jackson.

By Goop

Singing a Dolly Parton song. Dolly at 70 can outsing Whitney!!

By Barbara

Dolly isn't 70.

By Marina

Whitney used to be a great singer with exceptional vocal skills, however, the drugs ruined her vocal chords. Seriously the damage is done and her voice will never be what it once was. It's so sad.

By robert

chronic brochitis

By cindi

It's sad because she still thinks she sounds good, she acts like a diva. If I paid money to see that mess sing I'd want a refund! what a horrible waste of one of the most beautiful voices ever created! Barbra Streisand sounds much better than her at 70 years old!!!

Sunday 18 April

By LizGS

Barbra isn't 70 either! What's this obsession with adding years onto a female singer's life? Barbra Streisand is going to be 68 next week and Dolly Parton turned 64 in January, and both are fabulous looking youthful women who still have their voices.

LizGs, I was guessing at Barbra Streisands age and she happens to be my all time favorite singer. I was making the point that Whitney Houston in her mid 40's can't sing as well as Ms. Streisand does at 70 (ish). So straighten out your knickers that you got all in a bunch and chill out! And I did't say a word about Dolly who'm I think is awesome as well! Learn to read!

By Gerry

I agree Whitney is having a hard time now, but when she first came out I thought she was great, back then she could really hit those high notes....

By mlwolfman

She ain't no Dolly Parton. Never was. I didn't like her version the first time. It's a Whitney exercising her vocal chords. She has no idea of what she is singing, It's like listen to me making my voice go up and down. ughhh...Dolly could make you cry. Whitney can make you throw up.

By orlando

After 3:08 on the video is AWFUL! When she tried to hit the high notes it was probably one of the most horrendous moments ever for a singer of her status. Now a days kids like to use the term "fail". 3:08 was an epic "fail"! Ow my ears!!

By Michael

Keep powdering the nose Whitney.......you suck!!

By Vaga

I saw her twenty years ago and it was the same story: out of breath, talked about having a cold, backup singers carried the show. I had friends who saw her in other cities at that time, and had the exact same experience. We all wanted our money back. And, this was PRE- Bobby Brown years.

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