Whitney Houston can't sing (anymore)...

Yes, it's sad but true. The former diva can no longer sing. One of the greatest vocal performers of our generation is now running around stage speak-singing and dropping out to let the chorus singers sing all the high notes.

Whitney Houston is in the land down under for a short concert tour called "Nothing But Love" (when she arrived in Brisbane she threw a huge fit when her limo was 2 minutes late). Her show last night in Brisbane angered many fans however. Fans gave the performance mixed reviews with many saying she was coughing and taking breaks to try and catch her breath, and was sweating profusely. Many are expected to demand refunds. The negative reviews will surely hurt the tour as Brisbane was her first stop.

In an ill-guided attempt at damage control, the concert tour promoter, Andrew McManus spoke out to defend Houston. He said, "I saw the whole show. Was it an A? No, it was probably a B+. It was not a train wreck. 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. She was on stage for two-and-a-half hours dancing, singing, running. Was she a little out of breath on a couple of songs? Yes, she was. But I don't apologise for that, she had a red-hot go."

Ouch! When your tour promoter says she hit "most" of the notes, that can't be good. Saying things like it was a "B+" and it wasn't a "train wreck" just make it sound like it was worse. He also added that Houston was surprised by the negative reviews saying, "she went to bed after the show giving a two-and-a-half hour solid performance. She was proud of it. She thought she gave her all and did a strong performance and I agreed with her. This was the first night of a tour after a long flight; she hasn't played for a while."

Here again he gives a compliment about the show ("strong performance") and follows up with an excuse for her ("she hasn't played in a while").

The unfortunate point is Whitney Houston threw her voice away with drug addiction and poor health. Hopefully she will stop ruining her voice further by doing more performances and either retire or get vocal help. Although it's OK to feel sorry for Whitney, it's not OK for her to be charging fans upwards of $195 AU for a performance that wouldn't pass on American Idol.



Quotes via Contact Music

The Candy Shop: Susan Sarandon got puked on and more...

The Candy Shop: Weekend Flavors

- Susan Sarandon got puked on by tranny performer Rose Wood at The Box burlesque club in New York City while Scarlet Johansson watched. Not very often does a headline like that comes along. Unfortunately there are no pictures of the event, but several eye-witnesses said that she handled the gross mistake just fine saying, "She actually handled it very well. She was laughing while a bunch of guys came over to towel her off." Ewwww. via NYP

- Jessica Simpson has taken to her Twitter page in promotion for her new VH-1 reality show The Price of Beauty posting a shot of her in a La Mer mask. "Thanks La Mer for the upper and lower zone radiant mask." La Mer is a Hollywood star skincare favorite and is quite pricey. The mask she is using in the picture costs $320!




- Jonathan Rhys Meyers attended the Irish Film and Television Awards in Dublin over the weekend. He posed with his Tudors co-star Sarah Bolger on the red carpet for the event. The fourth and final season of the Tudors arrives on Showtime this April.

-Whitney Houston threw a diva fit at the Brisbane airport Saturday morning when her limo was a couple minutes late. She was quoted as yelling, "This is bull sh*t!" She also snapped at one of her fans who suggested she remove her glasses and hat to enjoy the beautiful Australia weather telling him to "mind his own f*cking business." Perhaps she didn't get enough sleep that on the plane? Or perhaps she's just a really prompt person. via Radar Online

- Jennifer Lopez is in full come-back mode! The singer / dancer / actor performed live at the 60th Annual Italian Music Festival in Sanremo, Italy on Friday. She sang her brand new song called "What Is Love" and she didn't fall down one time! The song will also be featured in her upcoming film The Back-up Plan. This Saturday, she will make her come-back complete NY style as she hosts and performs on Saturday Night Live! Watch her live performance below...

Crack apparently IS whack...

Whitney Houston has made her big comeback ladies and gentlemen! She is back on the scene and a shining example to today's youth of why they should not do drugs. Ms. Show-Me-the-Receipts herself was on X-Factor in London this past weekend stumbling her way across the stage and through her hit "Million Dollar Bill". By singing live she has single-handedly reminded the general public why we love it when artists lip-sync.

Whitney may be back, but as this performance proves, she is not better than ever. Not only does she not sing half the song, but around 2:21 her dress strap breaks and it looks as if she forgets she is on stage at all. And what is up with those back-up singers?! Did she decide to give her ex-dealers a new job?

At the end of the number the host asks her when her CD is coming out and she can't remember and doesn't seem to understand what he is talking about (the simple answer would have been "tomorrow"). She seems to be too busy eyeing the fake cash on the floor of the stage and thinking of how much crack she can buy with it.

Keep an eye out for her heart stopping microphone-ography as well! It's the one redeeming part of this performance. Girl got some moves!

See for yourself... Crack is whack! Don't do drugs.