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By Ikam Acosta

Born in New Jersey on August 9, 1963, daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, Whitney Houston was destined to be a musical icon. With godmother Aretha Franklin and cousin Dionne Warwick, Whitney's success was pretty much set in stone.

From the start of her career in the 1980's, Whitney had the talent and looks of a pop star. Whether decked out in evening gowns or sporting off the shoulder t-shirts, the pop diva always projected an image of stardom and glamour. Her range was amazing, belting out gospel music or singing sweet pop songs. Whitney's performances always amazed and inspired.

Houston had many great hits, including "Saving All My Love For You," which got her a Grammy for best female pop vocal. Other hits like "How Will I Know," "The Greatest Love Of All," "Where Do Broken Hearts Go," and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" quickly became audience favorites.

She even had an acting career beginning with a memorable performance in The Bodyguard in 1992. Houston even revamped Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," which sold 10 million singles, and the Bodyguard soundtrack was named album of the year.

During her career she sold 55 million records in the United States alone.

Houston influenced many younger songstresses like Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera, who said,

"She had the perfect voice and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise."

Whitney's lifestyle took a turn for the worse when she married bad boy Bobby Brown, and her drug problems began to make tabloid headlines. Her habits started to take a toll on her voice and appearance, and she eventually became a fleeting shadow of the bright-eyed Whitney we knew and loved.

Whitney did not blame her demons on her husband, however. Whitney said her and Bobby weren't as different as most people might think. In a 1993 Rolling Stone interview, Whitney shared,

"You see somebody, and you deal with their image, that's their image. It's part of them, it's not the whole picture. I am not always in a sequined gown. I am nobody's angel. I can get down and dirty. I can get raunchy."

By the time The Preacher's Wife was released, drug abuse was a regular thing for Houston. She confessed to Oprah,

"I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself."

Things fell apart for Whitney after that. She had been looking gaunt and unhealthy, and her career was not what it had been in the beginning. A Good Morning America appearance went bad when her voice sounded "ragged and off-key." Whitney blamed an Oprah interview for straining her voice, but people speculated other reasons for her failing performance.

Whitney's concerts became less and less popular with the crowd after she cancelled some concert appearances and failed to hit certain notes in her songs, causing fans to walk out at some of the shows.

In spite of her troubles, her 2009 comeback album "I Look To You" debuted on the top of the charts and went platinum.

Whitney Houston was working to turn around her career with a performance in the upcoming movie "Sparkle,'' the remake of a 1976 film inspired by The Supremes.

The night of her passing she was to be a guest of honor at Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy bash.

Davis, now 79, discovered the singer when she was only 20 years old. He reluctantly went on with the party, tearfully telling the crowd,

"Whitney was a beautiful person and she had a talent beyond compare. She graced this stage with her regal presence so many times, giving so many memorable performances here over the years.  So simply put, Whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we carry on".

What was your favorite Whitney Houston performance?

Tags Aretha Franklin, Blogger: Ikam Acosta, Bobby Brown, Celebrities, Christina Aguilera, Deaths, Diane Sawyer, Dionne Warwick, Dolly Parton, Mariah Carey, Oprah, Whitney Houston

By Michael Lopez

He’s helped the pets of Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith, and now ‘Dog Whisperer’ Cesar Millan, has some input for the most powerful pooch in the country. When speaking with CBS’ Lesley Stahl, Milan offered some tough love for Bo, the family canine of the Obama household.

Viewing a picture of Barack Obama and his large, curly Portuguese Water Dog, Cesar disagreed with the walking stance the President was taking.

"Day one was not a good scene. The dog always in front of the president of the United States. If your dog doesn't learn how to follow, you'll never have a disciplined pet."

Originally given to the Obamas as a gift from the late Senator Ted Kennedy, Bo has gotten plenty of media attention in his one year (or seven dog years) of life. He’s got his own Wikipedia page, been covered in dozens of news articles, and seems to be greatly adored by First Daughters, Malia and Sasha.

But does Bo have too much power in the White House? According to Cesar, it’s not uncommon for the Presidential dogs to assert authority from their famous masters. When speaking about George W. Bush and his dog, Barney, Millan said:

“He walked the dog in front. Barney? Sometimes he didn't want to go inside the helicopter!”

Perhaps it’s time to tighten that leash!

Source: [Politico]

Are you a fan of Bo Obama? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags Barack Obama, Bo Obama, Cesar Millan, Dog Whisperer, George W. Bush, Obama Family, Oprah, Will Smith

By Michael Lopez

Que lastima! Less than a year after Oprah revealed that she was saying goodbye to television, her Cuban counterpart Cristina Saralegui has announced that she’s doing the same thing. Yup, after over 20 years on the air, her groundbreaking Spanish talk show, “Cristina” is going off the air.

photo via Hispanic PR Wire

Since its major debut in 1989, "Cristina” has been a staple of Spanish television. Her professional demeanor and friendly attitude has attracted some of the biggest names in Latino entertainment. Stars like Shakira, Ricky Martin, and Gloria Estefan have all taken a seat on the legendary stage.

photo via El show de Cristina/Univisión

Of course, unlike Oprah, Ms. Saralegui wasn’t afraid to shy away from the outrageous. Throughout the years, she’s been known for her silly costumes (you’ve got to love that barrel outfit), beauty contests, and half-naked cowboys prancing on the set.

And as far as heavy-hitting goes, her dramatic interviews with former Menudo members and controversial star Gloria Trevi scored huge ratings. And by all accounts, “Cristina” is still riding high. Which makes us wonder, why the premature exit?

According to Saralegui, “It is bittersweet to announce the end of what has been a very rewarding experience, but after many wonderful years, now is the perfect time to retire the show and move on to the next exciting phase of my career.”

What exactly will that be? According to sources, she’s still under contract to Univision, which means we can expect plenty of Cristina specials in the near future. But as far as “Cristina” the show goes, the final episode is set to air November 1st and you can bet Team Blogamole will be watching (with plenty of tissues in hand).

Source: [L.A. Times]

Are you going to miss “Cristina”? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags Celebrities, cristina, Cristina Saralegui, Deep Thoughts, Gloria Trevi, Menudo, Oprah, Television

Ain't love grand? On Oprah yesterday (May 17), Jada Pinkett Smith embarrassed husband Will Smith when she revealed some of the secrets to keeping "the flame burning" in their marriage.

"How saucy do you want to get, Oprah," Jada playfully replied. Poor Will seemed uncomfortable, protesting "Hey, hey, we've got kids in the green room!" Jada revealed that "surprises" kept their marriage fresh and that sometimes she likes to send "sexy pictures" to Will during the day!

Hot stuff!

We've got more saucy secrets from Jada, after the jump! Read more...

Tags Jada Pinkett Smith, Oprah, The Karate Kid, Will Smith

We never pegged RPattz as a rapper!  When Robert Pattinson appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (airing today, May 13th - Pattinson's 24th Birthday), the British actor revealed his teen rapping aspirations.

"I used to want to be a rapper when I was, like, 14."

Pattinson was joined on the show by co-stars Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner to promote the release of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" in June.

After performing "Never Think" and "Let Me Sign" on the 2008 Twilight soundtrack, fans were made privy to Robert Pattinson's exceptional musical skills.

We have more from the "Twilight" hottie, after the jump! Read more...

Tags Oprah, Robert-Pattinson, Twilight

It's official!!

The heartfelt pleas of Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula Da Silva reached the ears and hearts of the International Olympic Committee and for the first time ever, the Olympic games will be held on the South American continent in the year 2016!

It would have been nice for the U.S. to host them here in Chicago, but for some unknown reason the bid was knocked out of the race within the first round of votes. Not even the presence of President Obama and our reigning television queen Oprah were enough to sway the IOC.

Pero como dijo President Da Silva, "It is time to light the Olympic cauldron in a tropical country." Even Pelé teared up from the emotion! This means that between the World Cup in 2014, and the Olympic Games in 2016, Brazil will be host to the two largest sporting events in the world! Go Brazil!

Our Portuguese isn't too sharp, but we'll leave you with this quote from Ricky Martin's Twitter page: "Rio Parabens Cidade Maravilhosa!!!O Rio vai dar um show em 2016!!! SAMBA OLIMPICA!"

Gracias Ricky y felicitaciones para Brazil y toda Suramérica!! [Comcast]

Photo via Getty Images

Tags Brazil, Olympic Games 2016, Oprah, Pelé, President Luis Inacio Lula Da Silva, President Obama, Ricky Martin