Paul Gorman is…

Whitney Houston at VH1 Divas 1999

Feb 12th, 2012

I was in the audience at the Beacon Theatre NYC for the 1999 VH1 Divas, where this Whitney Houston performance was recorded.

Her presence during this particular song is electrifying; she exudes vulnerability, a tortured female star (the wrong side of 35 according to the precepts of the global music industry) visibly dealing with the downside of unimaginable fame + fortune.

When Houston wasn’t onstage, she and Bobby Brown were sat a few rows ahead.

They were looped, out there. Brown was wearing what looked like an original South Beach Leather loose-stitched suit (a la Al Green on the sleeve of his Greatest Hits) complete with Po’Boy cap.

When Houston was onstage, he tore it up in the audience, cheering and hollering his support.

I love the skittering It’s Not Right But It’s OK. She nailed it that night.

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