Just Whitney

As the intro line says, it is now time for her to strike back. Whitney Houston must have been in a very pissed frame of mind when she recorded Whatchulookinat for her latest album Just Whitney. Co-written by the 39-year-old pop diva and co-produced by her rapper husband Bobby Brown, the song takes her critics to task. "The same spotlight that brought me fame, trying to dirty up Whitney’s name…"

The confrontational stance is common enough with rappers but not so with R&B chanteuses like Whitney. So the presence of a song like this in her own album certainly means that Whitney and Bobby now have it up to their ears with their shortcomings being magnified, constantly criticized and made-fun-of by the media.

This is not to say that they are model citizens. Rumors about drug problems continue to hound them. Brown is on probation. The drug charges against Whitney were dismissed but her alarming weight loss late last year led fans into thinking that there is indeed something wrong with her. Whatever problems they are said to be having though seem to have no effect on their marriage. The union seems to be surviving nicely and judging from the results of the album, which is a conjugal effort, they do make excellent collaborators.

The aforementioned Whatchulookinat is a great piece of old-school R&B that sets the album off to a good start. Then there is My Love, where Whitney duets with Bobby. The song is one of the best cuts in Just Whitney. Their voices blend well. And what about Love That Man and Things You Say? These are songs she might have been singing to Bobby and they are sweet and romantic with slow but very pronounced grooves. After listening to songs like these it is doubtful if anybody will still say that these two are having domestic problems.

At a time when her forties are looming closer than ever and when younger, more daring divas can outscream her higher and louder to eternity, the album Just Whitney is proof that in the long run, the voice is all you need to carry you along. Houston, the biggest diva of the ’80s, sounds fantastic. I couldn’t help but say "What a voice!" to myself while listening to the album. It is also wise on her part to keep the ad-libs and melismas to a minimum and to concentrate instead on being lively, sassy and sexy than impressing with the length and breath of her vocal cords.

Whitney’s Pinoy fans, who are not that keen on R&B vibes and who still think of her as the ballad diva behind I Will Always Love You, will also find something to like in the album. She does a sweet cover of Debby Boone’s You Light Up My Life and a powerpacked paean to being her own woman in On My Own.

The other songs included are Tell Me No, One of these Days, Dear John Letter, Unashamed and a P.Diddy mix of Whatchulookinat.

Whitney’s Whatchulookinat is also one of the cuts in Wonder Women, an all-female compilation excellent for those with limited budgets or those of us who want to listen only to the hits. The album features pop divas of assorted degrees like the real ones, those recently inducted to the club and the struggling wannabes.

The real ones are Whitney, of course; Jennifer Lopez (I’m Real); Madonna (Secret); Britney Spears (I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman); Mary J. Blige (No More Drama); and Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott (4 My People) who produced Things You Say for Whitney. Those recently inducted as new divas by virtue of phenomenal album sales and sold-out concerts are Avril Lavigne (Complicated); Pink (Just Like a Pill); Christina Aguilera (Dirrty) featuring Redman and Kylie Minogue (In Your Eyes).

Now you may rank the other females in the album as you please. Destiny’s Child (Emotion); TLC (Girl Talk); Sugababes (Freak Like Me); Monica (All Eyez on Me); Nelly Furtado (Turn Off the Lights); Toni Braxton (Hit the Freeway, featuring Loon; Atomic Kitten (It’s OK); and Natalie Imbruglia (Beauty on the Fire).

Those I rank as missed are Shania Twain; Mariah Carey; Brandy; Ashanti; and the late Aaliyah. Maybe they will make it to the next Wonder Women album.