Whitney Houston's Top 5 Highs and Lows
April 14, 2010 — -- Word across the pond is that Whitney Houston just can't hack it.
The latest problem to plague the iconic pop singer: rotten tomato reviews of her return to Britain, where she performed last night for the first time in 11 years.
"Houston, we still have a problem" quipped British tabloid The Sun in its review of the 46-year-old diva's concert in Birmingham, adding, "It was not the performance fans were hoping for."
Houston's off-key, seemingly breathless rendition of "I Will Always Love You" was panned by British papers and concert patrons alike.
"I was waiting for the Trading Standards guys to call a halt and offer us our money back. It was a con, a rip off. It wasn't a concert," a fan told Britain's Daily Mail.
Of course, along with the lows, Houston's had herself a share of legitimate highs, like the aforementioned hit song from her box-office-ruling 1992 film debut, "The Bodyguard." (It's got to be worth something if it inspired the next Susan Boyle.)
Below, check out the singer-cum-survivor's five best and five worst moments in the music industry.
1. Bad news Bobby. One hell after another rained down on Houston's marriage, from 1992 to 2007, to Bobby Brown. Houston spilled the details of their abusive relationship to Oprah Winfrey in 2009. "He spit on me," Houston told Winfrey, describing one of her worst fights with Brown. "He spit on me. He actually spit on me. And my daughter was coming down the stairs and she saw that."
Houston's response to him was equally appalling: ""I took the phone and I hit him over the head with it."
2. Drug downfall. In 2000, airport security guards spotted marijuana in Houston and Brown's bags at a Hawaiian airport. More damaging than the pot possession charges were the rumors they sparked about what drugs Houston might be taking.
3. 'Crack is wack.' Houston cleared up some of that mystery in a 2002 interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer. When asked about the ongoing drug rumors, Houston alluded to having used cocaine, pills and marijuana -- but drew the line at crack in what turned into an infamous rant.
"First of all, let's get one thing straight," she started. "Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. Okay? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is wack."
