There was little to no doubt in any living being’s mind that Whitney ‘Nippy’ Houston was one of the most important female pop stars of our time. Her sudden passing last week sent the masses into a vortex of Bodyguard rewatching and dramatic lip synch performances not experienced since the diva’s hey day. Brace yourself for a rather comprehensive Australian, UK and US Whitney chart watch this week, y’all.

Here’s a quick flash of what we’re working with. In America, Whitney pretty much sold more in one day posthumously than she did an entire year.

The diva clocked 101,000 albums in the week she died – most of these sales would’ve been off the back of one day’s sales following her death. Contrast this with the 97,000 sales she took all of 2011 and so far in 2012 (up to last week) to accrue.

Y’all can read my little tribute to Whitney, if you missed it last week.

Check out this week’s Chart Feed:

 
Whitney Houston‘s expansive greatest  hits compilations vaulted into the Australian Top 20 this week with The Greatest Hits leaping to #3, The Ultimate Collection at #12 and The Essential at #20. None of Nippy‘s individual studio albums did as stunningly, though. The Bodyguard soundtrack unsurprisingly being the next strongest seller – returning at #33 – while Whitney‘s debut, self-titled album re-enters at #81.

Over at the singles bar, the legendary diva’s take over was much more prominent. ‘I Will Always Love You’ (see above) rose head and shoulders above the rest to hit #8 while ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ shows up at #25 and ‘I Have Nothing’ returns at #47.

Outside the Top 50, Whitney‘s clocking the following: ‘Greatest Love of All’ (#56), ‘How Will I Know’ (#67), ‘Saving All My Love For You’ (#90), ‘I’m Every Woman’ (#95) and ‘Didn’t We Almost Have It All’ (#96).

Watch the video for ‘I’m Every Woman’:

 
Over in the UK, The Greatest Hits compilation returns at #7 while the Top 40 singles chart glistened with three smashes: ’I Will Always Love You’ (#14), ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (#20) and ‘One Moment In Time’ (#40).

Out in America, The Greatest Hits compilation returns to #6  on the Billboard 200 chart for the week ending 12 February – with just 64,000 copies sold. Mind you, this is only accounting for one full day of sales following her death. The immediate sales surge in that period also saw the following return to the Top 200: Whitney Houston (#72 with 8,000 copies), The Bodyguard soundtrack (#80 with 8,000 copies), I Look To You (#118 with 5,000 copies) and The Preacher’s Wife soundtrack (#183 with 4,000 copies).

22 Whitney tracks appeared in the US Billboard Top 200 digital songs chart a day after she died. I’ll spare you the details but just know that ‘I Will Always Love You’ made #3 on the digital charts with 195,000 downloads. The mega hit is projected to sell around 250,000 to 300,000 copies between 13 to 19 February.

Hang on to your lace fronts because next Monday when I report on what a full week’s worth of posthumous Whitney sales are worth, it will blow your mind.

Watch the video for her last single ‘I Look To You’:

 
Gym Class Heroes‘ ‘Ass Back Home’ featuring Neon Hitch races 15 spots up to #2 in Australia this week. A remarkably quick up take for a song that’s been on the charts for just two weeks but not completely surprising given that it’s the biggest gainer on the Aussie airplay chart (in week 9 to 15 February). This is Neon Hitch‘s first appearance on the Aussie charts.

Chris Brown‘s ‘Turn Up The Music’ is the biggest selling new single in Australia this week, debuting at #13. The douche royale’s rumoured collaboration on Rihanna‘s nipped album track ‘Birthday Song’ invited a mother load of backlash on the Barbadian pop princess. I’m sure you can read all about it on any given pop music blog but I’mma point you to The Prophet Blog‘s boycott Rihanna post)

One Direction‘s ‘One Thing’ swings into the Aussie Top 20 this week, making it the British wonder boy band’s second smash Down Under. 1D recently said they wanted to work with Ed Sheeran again for their second album and this time, they want the direction to be “grungier”.

Madonna‘s ‘Give Me All Your Luvin’ (featuring Nicki Minaj and MIA) drops to #44 in its second week. Over in the States, ‘GMAYL’ registers a 44% sales increase and leaps to #6 on the US Billboard Digital Song chart with 165,000 downloads. L-U-V it or loathe it, it sounds like MDNA is gonna deliver much stronger tracks than ‘GMAYL’.

Here’s a preview of ‘Girls Gone Wild’, ‘Give Me All Your Luvin” and ‘Turn Up The Radio’:

 
Jessie J‘s ‘Laserlight’ featuring David Guetta‘s already getting its ass dimmed. The pauper’s copy of ‘Titanium’ drops 20 places to #68 after peaking at #48 last week. The British pop sensation’s not set to release ‘Laserlight’ in the UK until 7 May, conveniently coinciding with her judging gig on The Voice UK.

Ricki-Lee‘s ‘Raining Diamonds’ exits the ARIA Top 100 after successfully clocking platinum sales last week. For those playing at home, that’s sales of over 70,000 copies in Australia. The girl has teased that a new single’s just around the corner and a making-of-the-album video is on the way.

Watch Ricki-Lee performing ‘Raining Diamonds’ and ‘Can’t Touch It’ at Fluffy:

 
Lana Del Rey‘s Born To Die slips to #2, after just one week on top. The good run can’t possibly last any longer now that she’s cancelled her tour. ‘Video Games’ falls to #39 on our singles chart while the title track plummets to #59 this week. Over in America, it’s a bigger slap in the bee-stung lips with Born To Die sinking from #2 to #13 in its second week.

Adele‘s 21 cancels the competition and returns to #1 in Australia for its 28th non-consecutive week, making this the sixth longest charting album in Aussie chart history. All that post-Grammy euphoria keeps fuelling the British soul siren’s star power. Stand back and brace yourself for a sales surge in the States following the awards hysteria.

Roxette‘s Hits compilation debuts at #39 in Australia this week following their much-loved comeback tour around the nation. Them old timers have a new album out but it’s not like anyone’s really paying attention when there’s an entire back catalogue of gems to be revisited such as ‘Listen To Your Heart’, ‘It Must’ve Been Love’ and ‘Dangerous’.

Reminisce on Roxette‘s ‘Dangerous’:

 
Aussie indie hip hop band Hermitude‘s Hyperparadise album sinks from #37 to #71 in its second week. Chart gravity is also weighing down on the likes of M83 and Drake with Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming and Take Care falling to #77 and #93 respectively. M83‘s hit single ‘Midnight City’ plummets from #77 to #91 this week while Drake‘s title track featuring Rihanna sits at #12.

Sharon Corr‘s Dream of You album debuts at #67 in Australia this week. Who exactly is buying this?

Emeli Sandé‘s Our Version of Events hits #1 in the UK while the accompanying new single ‘Next To Me’ soars to #2, selling 113,000 first week copies. Down here in Australia, Our Version of Events enters at #46 while ‘Next To Me’ debuts at #100. Not bad given that she’s still relatively unknown and unattended to by local media here.

Watch Emeli doing an acoustic version of album track ‘Mountains’:

 
Gotye‘s Making Mirrors makes a remarkable debut at #4 in the UK this week to be the second biggest new album in the country. Old Wally‘s hit single with Kimbra ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ drops to #3 after spending a week at #1. The song is still the second most played song on British radios (behind Jessie J‘s ‘Domino’).

Nicki Minaj‘s moderately acceptable new single ‘Starships’ enters at #16 in the UK and #72 in Australia this week. The RedOne produced Eurodance-inflected track is pandering at its most blatant, especially following the aural dirrhoea that was her last two buzz singles ‘Roman in Moscow’ and ‘Stupid Hoe’.

Marcus Collins‘ ‘Seven Nation Army’ climbs to #22 on the UK airplay chart, building it up for Top 10-worthy sales when the single drops in two weeks. Speaking of X Factor – the gobby Cher Lloyd, who’s been busy coming for everyone from Cheryl Cole to Marcus, drops her fierce single ‘Want U Back’ (featuring Astro) today. Check back next week to see where it lands on the charts.

fun.‘s ‘We Are Young’ (featuring Janelle Monae) tops the US Billboard Digital Song chart with 296,000 downloads. The song’s popularity is thanks in great part to a placement on some Chevrolet commercial. ’We Are Young’ managed to debut at #41 in Australia, making this the American indie band and Monae‘s first singles chart placement in our country.

Watch the video for ‘We Are Young’ – the lead singer has some Del Rey lips going on there:

 
Katy Perry‘s new single ‘Part of Me’ is on course to give the popstar her biggest ever opening week sales in America. Billboard predicts that ‘Part of Me’ will rack up anywhere between 400,000 to 420,000 copies when the new week’s chart is revealed on Wednesday. Queens, this will be the biggest weekly singles sales America has clocked since Lady Gaga dropped ‘Born This Way’ last year. In Australia, ‘Part of Me’ enters at #22 this week.

Monica and Brandy‘s reunion duet ‘It All Belongs To Me’ debuts at #66 on the US Billboard R&B/Hip Hop song chart. This is the 90s R&B goddesses’ first collaboration in 14 years.

Check out their soulful and confident performance on Jay Leno:

 
Blush – the delightfully low rent “pan-Asian” girl band – hits #1 on the US Billboard Dance/Club play chart with ‘Dance On’. This chart never ceases to amaze me. Meanwhile, Havana Brown‘s ‘We Run The Night’ has impressively risen to #3 there.

Dev and Enrique Iglesias‘ new single ‘Naked’ is the biggest new cut on the dance/club play chart this week, debuting at #30. The future AM club anthem – produced by The Cataracs – is the third single lifted from Dev‘s debut The Night The Sun Came Up.

Get ‘Naked’ with Dev and Enrique:

You guys know that I’ve always been proud of the UK X Factor stud but no tea, no shade – in no way do I feel like we’ve been served an acceptable debut single here. No, sir.

‘Seven Nation Army’ – as dignified as it is sounding for a White Stripes cover – really feels more like a buzz single than something I’m inclined to take seriously.

I’m just glad that the man’s album is not that far off because I am basically through with this single already. It probably took me two spins for ‘Seven Nation Army’ to grow on me and another one and a half spins to tire of it. We know he’s gotta have stronger shit coming.

So many X Factor stars have made a conscious move to launch quality original songs as their debut single that it kinda baffled me to see Marcus stepping out with something so quick-fix and underwhelming.

The horns-laden and more soulful reimagination feels right on point for the Liverpool stud so if there’s a silver lining to ‘Seven Nation Army’, I guess it’d be this sweet little assurance to his fans that Marcus is following up on the sound he made his name with on the X Factor.

Dirty hands, I demand.

The simple and stylish music video here effectively bonds Marcus‘ sweet boy-next-door image with an underlying sexiness my groins have never quivered for before.

It’s all in the way he moves and the bizarre female hands caressing his body from behind, which by the way, looked an awful lot like this panty-creaming Adam Levine photo shoot.

Watch Marcus Collins‘ debut music video ‘Seven Nation Army’:

 
Footnotes:

Marcus Collins will launch ‘Seven Nation Army’ in the UK on 4 March while the accompanying debut album will arrive there on 12 March.

The album contains mostly original material that Marcus had co-written, with three covers including one of Janelle Monae‘s splendid ‘Tightrope’.

The divisive “gangsta Nancy Sinatra” storms straight to the top of the ARIA album charts this week with Born To Die, which is still #1 in the UK for the second week.

Elsewhere, we check in on Madonna‘s early chart placement for ‘Give Me All Your Luvin”, One Direction continues to lift their game with their infectious new single while Kelly Clarkson scores her third US #1 hit. We also got Beyoncé‘s ‘End of Time’ finally breaking the club charts.

Check out more in this week’s Chart Feed.

 
Lana Del Rey has the biggest selling album in Australia this week, debuting straight in at #1. The runaway success of Born To Die is nothing short of amazing for a new artist who became a bit of a viral sensation online with one song.

‘Video Games’ drops to #30 this week after peaking at #23 last week on our ARIA singles chart, while its successor ‘Born To Die’ climbs to #34.

Over in the States, the album Born To Die becomes the highest selling new album in the country – debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200. Del Rey managed opening week sales of 77,000 copies there, which is painfully modest especially when it’s seated next to Adele‘s 21, which is shovelling 122,000 copies in its 19th non-consecutive week at #1.

Madonna‘s ‘Give Me All Your Luvin’ debuts at #25 in Australia and shamefully at #37 in the UK this week. The single is far from over just yet. It just climbed from #152 to #40 on the British airplay charts.

‘Give Me All Your Luvin” understandably fared better in the States, becoming the biggest selling new single of the week to debut at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. ‘GMAYL’ sold 115,000 downloads in just three days to debut at #7 on the US Billboard Digital Song chart.

Since the album MDNA is still a few moons away, its next of kin greatest hits compilation – Celebration – copped a massive sales push around the Superbowl spectacle. I’ve heard that it was going for as little as $3.99 on Amazon. Despite all the digital store discounts, the album only managed to pedal out 16,000 copies in that week.

Watch Madonna‘s interview on Graham Norton last month. “I have friends in low places!”:

 
One Direction‘s new single ‘One Thing’ flies up to #32 in Australia this week. I hear the collective sigh of relief from all local Directioners, thanking the heavens that the lads weren’t gonna be written off as some one-hit wonder in Australia.

Our fair nation didn’t follow the Top 10 success of ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ with its successor ‘Gotta Be You’. It seems like Aussie radios just weren’t ready for a wintery boy band ballad that recalls Cody Simpson.

Hermitude‘s album Hyperparadise debuts at #37 on our ARIA charts this week. The homegrown hip hop group has been chugging along for 12 years now but this – their fourth studio album – is their biggest commercial hit to date. I was only introduced to their single ‘Speak of The Devil’ a few months ago and I was instantly hooked.

Check out ‘Speak of The Devil’:

 
The Black Keys‘ ‘Lonely Boy’ is still #1 on the Aussie airplay chart but looking on the overall ARIA singles chart, the track falls from #2 to #4 this week.

Chris Brown‘s new single ‘Turn Up The Music’ races from #97 to #23 on the airplay chart while his ex Rihanna‘s faring well with her new single ‘Talk That Talk’ too.

Feist‘s album Metals re-enters the ARIA Top 50 this week, off the back of a few local gigs. In its prime, the album managed to make #17 in Australia – a far more appealing placement than The Reminder (#44), which bore the smash hit ’1234′. The next Feist single is set to be ‘The Bad In Each other’.

Watch Feist‘s brand new video ‘The Bad In Each Other’:

 
Laura Marling‘s A Creature I Don’t Know climbs to #60 this week thanks to a spot of touring as well. The English folk songbird won Best British Female Artist in the 2011 Brit Awards, a mainstream acknowledgment that surprised a lot of indie music lovers. She might well do it all over again this year with her nomination in the same category. This time around, she’s up against Adele, Jessie J, Florence + The Machine and Kate Bush.

Gotye and Kimbra‘s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ hits #1 in the UK this week. This is just incredible news for the Aussie indie artist but I think we all know that regardless of what he puts out next, nothing will never be as huge as this song. ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’

Gotye‘s album Making Mirrors arrives in the UK today so we’ll see where that ends up next Monday in the chart battle with Emeli Sandé‘s Our Version of Events.

Watch Gotye and Kimbra making their US TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel with ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’. Dude is looking rather good – how come I’ve never noticed his swimmer-like physique before?

 
Will.i.Am‘s ‘T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)’ featuring Mick Jagger and Jennifer Lopez is the highest selling new single in the UK this week, debuting at #3. This is now his best placement as a solo artist on the UK charts, beating the #4 peak of ‘Heartbreaker’ (featuring Cheryl Cole).

MIA‘s ‘Bad Girls’ propels from #136 to #62 this week in the UK. I’m so tired of her attention-seeking ass doing thoughtless shit like flipping the bird at the Superbowl, just to stir up a shit storm. There’s being intelligent and provocative in your performance art and then there’s acting like an insolent scrub. You tell me which side of the line MIA‘s at.

Watch MIA‘s video for ‘Bad Girls’:

 
Rebecca Ferguson‘s album Heaven re-enters the UK Top 20 this week and her first single ‘Nothing’s Real But Love’ creeps back up to #37. Something’s up. The girl’s set to start touring on 20 February so I suppose promo and stuff’s already gearing up.

Here in Australia, the album arrived on Friday and I totally had a fangurl fit when I heard my local JB Hi-Fi blasting Heaven. Fingers crossed that Aussie will discover Godbecca sooner rather than later. I’ve already started stanning like mad at work.

Pet Shop Boys‘ new b-sides and bonus tracks compilation – Format – debuts at #26 in the UK this week. Following is obviously still strong over there. Elsewhere, Goldfrapp‘s The Singles compilation saunters in at #33.

Marcus Collins‘ debut single ‘Seven Nation Army’ leaps into the UK airplay Top 30 this week – showing incredible promise despite attracting strong criticism for covering The White Stripes. Frankly, after the outrage of Little Mix covering Damien Rice‘s ‘Cannonball’, this actually seems sensible.

Listen to Marcus‘ version of ‘Seven Nation Army’:

 
Marina & The Diamonds is set to drop ‘Primadonna’ – the second single from her forthcoming Electra Heart album in April some time. To be honest, this whole era with her overthinking her guilty pop productions is really shitting me up the wall. I quite enjoyed ‘Radioactive’ and all its accompanying remixes but the way this bitch is overconceptualising the whole thing is really awful and pretentious.

Kelly Clarkson has fucking topped the US Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)’! Oh sweet Jesus, I feel like I should celebrate with some BBQ ribs or something I know Kelly would love. If it had been something basic like ‘I Do Not hook Up’, I wouldn’t have cared if it had gone #1 or #134. But because this song is extra defining, I gotta give snaps.

Watch Kelly perform an acoustic version of ‘Stronger’:

 
Rihanna‘s ‘We Found Love’ may still be #1 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart but ‘Stronger’ gained enough rotation by moving up to #15 this week and on top of that, it’s the most downloaded song in the country – clocking over 237,000 digital sales.

Havana Brown‘s ‘We Run The Night’ (featuring Pitbull) is now scaling new heights of #6 on the US Billboard Dance/Club play chart. This is actually pretty exciting shit, y’guys. I can’t even front.

Beyoncé‘s flawless ‘End of Time’ remixes have started quaking club floors. The track shows up at #49 on the US Billboard Dance/Club play songs and while this song’s always gonna be one to get them hips poppin’ – I’m really pleased to hear that Team Bey‘s going all out to spark a proper dance/club interest. Y’all know she’s running an ‘End of Time’ remix competition on her website, right?

Check out one the best official remixes of ‘End of Time’ courtesy of RedTop:

 
Macy Gray is headed for some hardcore experimentation, y’guys. The eccentric pop singer will drop her first album of covers – Covered – in March featuring her interpretation of tracks by everyone from Metallica to Kanye West and even a Colbie Caillat. You’ve been warned.

Look out for a complete Whitney Houston chart eclipse on next Monday’s chart feed.

Will Young is one of very few British male pop stars with a knack for consistently turning out top-shelf, classy and intelligent music videos.

‘Losing Myself’ – the third effort launched from his splendid Echoes era – is no different. Here the suave pop sire delivers a stunning representation of isolation and being lost in one’s thoughts.

Needless to say, it completely complements the song’s stark lyrical content, but what’s commendable is the level of production and choreography involved here. You know so many basic bitches would’ve settled for a video of them rolling about in bed for four minutes.

Slick, cool and precise.

I am detecting an element of Gattaca up in here. There’s a touch of classic gentlemen’s attire and grooming/daily practices – from shaving to getting suited up (using a shoehorn) and making coffee – but it is all rendered against a cool, modern living space.

I love the deliberate use of cool colours in Will’s attire from the greys and dull blue in his sleepwear to the charcoal two-piece suit and almost metallic blue tie. Even the home itself is deliberately angular, cold and very polished to match the character’s icy state of mind.

“Keep walking to my own beat.”

There’s a splendid moment halfway through the video where you see the four characters pause and mimic Will’s actions like the old school Windows mouse trail effect you set via Control Panel.

The dramatic sequence that followed with Will pacing and flailing about the darkened room, only to have his actions mirrored by one of the dancers is also pretty solid gold.

It would’ve been too easy to fork out an extra grand to get special effects that create “multiple Wills” but it’s just that bit more special to see the concept achieved with well practiced choreography.

Watch the flawless video for ‘Losing Myself’:

 
Footnotes:

Will Young will release ‘Losing Myself’ in the UK on 18 March.

‘Hotel Nacional’ is the second single lifted from the 90s pop diva’s newest album Miss Little Havana, which enjoyed some very modest success in the States when it was launched last year. Where her last single ‘Wepa’ felt more like an unapologetic Latin dance record, ‘Hotel Nacional’ is more of a continental affair blending heavy synths that recall the best of modern Europop and some 1920s swing music.

The music video itself is a reflection of the song’s hybrid soundscape, bearing a camp affair of lights, drama and shitloads of killer dance moves, courtesy of the massive cast.

Gloria herself is not looking a day over 50 as she oversees the whole procession from the stage. You can’t fault mama for trying with those lethal hooker stilettos and arresting leather jacket and skirt. The outfit actually looks like something Michelle Obama would wear to a fetish party, no shade.

This is Gloria’s hotel. You’re just in it.

I am so pleased to see Countess Gloria making an entrance like that. Did you see the way she flipped that coat and started strutting with the fervour of a supermodel going after the last free Victoria Secret sample?

Speaking of supermodels, I love how Gloria had her own drag queen competition to find the finest female impersonator to star in the video. You can spot the stunning competition winner, Puerto Rico’s own April Carrion here rocking a long ponytail, writhing on the bar and playing in front of the mirror. Werk! Look at Mama Gloria breaking drag talent all over the world.

While we’re on the subject of the cast, you might spot a certain former soap star Susan Lucci also making an appearance. Hell, if Gloria namechecked me in her song, you can bet your ass I’d be begging to be in the video.

You rock a hair hat, I rock a chandelier on my head. I win.

Well I’m certainly not here to play games with you about who’s rocking the wilder hat. Gaga evidently has nothing on Gloria‘s inspired decision to stand under a chandelier and pose wildly like it was a unique creation from Donatella‘s own jeweller.

It’s time for hoochie coochie.

I have to admit, the video looked like a fun but borderline tacky spectacle right up to this point. The dance breakdown complete with strobes and an extended instrumental bridge absolutely upgraded the experience. Right now, it’s all about the display at the 3:27 mark.

Watch the video for Gloria Estefan‘s ‘Hotel Nacional’:

 
Footnotes:

Gloria Estefan‘s ‘Hotel Nacional’ managed to make #1 on the US Billboard Dance/Club play chart a few weeks ago.

Sneaky Sound System really deserve to be shutting down discotheques from here to everywhere with a smash like this. For them to be coming out with something as stunning as ‘Really Wanna See You Again’ for their third single is truly a testament to the kind of wonder they have stashed in that amazing album of theirs.

Aussie purveyor of stylish dance pop have enjoyed ARIA Top 40 success on the club chart with their last two singles ‘We Love’ and ‘Big’ so naturally, we can expect for ‘Really Wanna See You Again’ to follow suit.

Here we have three new remixes courtesy of Azari & III, Funkagenda and KiNK.

My only wish now is for Matt Pop to do one of his famous 80s Tribute remixes for ‘Really Wanna See You Again’. For those unaware of Matt Pop‘s amazing work – please do your homework and inspect his take on RuPaul‘s ‘Main Event’.

‘Really Wanna See You Again (Azari & III Remix)’

Azari & III - the Sneaky‘s label mates on Modular and remixer for the likes of Cut Copy and Robyn – are working their blend of moody electronica and analogue rhythms like a boss. There are elements here that dutifully recall the snap of 80s dance records.

 
‘Really Wanna See You Again (Funkagenda Remix)’

Funkagenda – who has remixed for artists like Nero and Feist – crafts a generously instrumental affair with a sly bass line and claps. There’s potential for this cut to be dirtier and grittier, I reckon.

 
‘Really Wanna See You Again (KiNK Remix)’

Bulgarian DJ KiNK keeps it jumpin’ with an all synths and shakers affair. It’s easily the most energetic cut of the pack but not necessarily the most stylish or interesting to listen to.

 
Footnotes:

According to this week’s update, ‘Really Wanna See You Again’ has risen to #23 on the ARIA club chart in its second week. Stomp it out, bitches.

Sneaky Sound System shot the video for ‘Really Wanna See You Again’ in London last week. Here’s a behind-the-scenes snap from the shoot.

The pair had rushed back to play a gig in Geelong yesterday but unfortunately had to cancel their St Kilda Festival show tonight due to Connie’s illness.

Whitney Houston is – without question – one of the most influential female pop vocalists of our time and today while the world falls silent upon hearing of her tragic death, all I want to hear and all I wish to remember her by is her voice.

Word broke out this afternoon on social media that the Grammy-winning American music superstar had died on Saturday, aged 48. Even though we were all hoping against hope that this was just another cruel hoax and asking to see the “receipts”, the singer’s publicist Kristen Foster herself confirmed it.

At the time of writing, details of how Whitney died and where her body was found and such haven’t been officially confirmed – and frankly, it don’t matter to me. I feel like there’s been enough material in the press over the last few years detracting from Whitney‘s contribution to music and her vocal asset that we don’t need to feed on that right now.

The music industry has lost a truly defining star who set the standard in which so many young female talents have aspired to in terms of vocal presence and influence.

Whitney Houston took soul-powered pop to new heights when she broke out with her debut self-titled album in 1985. The almighty hits ‘Greatest Love of All’ and ‘Saving All My Love For You’ projected a blueprint for pop ballads in the decade to come, while the fun – and albeit few – uptempos like ‘How Will I Know’ and ‘Someone For Me’ spoke directly to the ears of the 80s.

What’s been really interesting upon reflection of Whitney‘s six-studio album discography is how well her voice serves up everything from the signature lip-synch-for-your-life type ballads to sassy, fluorescent pop numbers.

Through Whitney‘s smashes like ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’ and ‘I’m Every Woman’, we learned that there’s a place in the mainstream pop sphere for powerful vocals matched with slick dance productions. In Whitney‘s albums we found a place where sass and pure class can cohesively meet. She showed pop music listeners that you could really have it all and have it sung right, for the matter – from skyscraper ballads to finger-snapping dance records.

At the end of the day, regardless of whether you came to cool down or throw down [Editor's note: her exact words - see, Whitney - The Greatest Hits] you were guaranteed to be treated with the utmost commitment to passionate vocal delivery.

There was no bullshitting with Whitney‘s voice, even when the wear and tear started to show over the years. While we miss the era of the whistle-clear top notes, we also appreciate her developing raspy tones because it gives the records she sings much more character, maturity and depth.

Inspirational songs like ‘I Look To You’ and ‘I Didn’t Know My Own Strength’ on her final studio album I Look To You would not have been what they are if she had recorded them 25 years ago.

It wasn’t always easy to accept that Whitney‘s voice is not what it used to be but I think once you understand that the source of her great vocal power is not in the strength of her vocal chords but rather the soul from which she sings from – it all starts to make a bit more sense.

Through all the years, different shades of uptempo and downtempos, and personal drama that followed her – there was no denying that the voice always came through with a bite and with a good deal of conviction.

Check out five of Feed Limmy‘s favourite Whitney tracks:

‘I Will Always Love You’

My earliest memory of Whitney Houston was sitting in front of the television at my babysitter’s housing commission flat, watching the camera zoom in on this woman and pausing just before she opens her eyes to belt out the final stretch of ‘I Will Always Love You’.

I remember being so swept away by her almighty vocals in that moment that I forgot to breathe. Needlessly to say, I felt very dizzy by the end of the song. When you encounter music that leaves a lasting first impression like that, it’s really hard to find anything that could ever possibly top that.

 
‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’

I wish I could say that I knew and loved this song from the moment it came out but my proper introduction to ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ only occurred when I was old enough to go clubbing. I associate this song so much with joy, freedom and gay pride because of this experience.

I just remember seeing the faces of gays around me light up when the song powered up and how much everyone was living for the anthemic chorus. ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ was singing the sentiment of every single man and woman on the floor. It’s like this communal feeling of we all came out to dance tonight and have a good time, but really we’re wishing that a special someone would find us under all the smoke and strobes.

Now report to the dance floor in honour of our Queen of The Night:

 
‘Saving All My Love For You’

Mama Lim used to play this song a lot when I was a child but it wasn’t until I revisited it in my teens that I realised what a sexy, baby-making jam ‘Saving All My Love For You’ really is.

Whitney made having an affair sound so romantic, pure and sacred. It was the combination of her smooth jazzy vocals and saxophone, and this idea of saving herself for a man. This ballad actually gives moments, albeit subtler ones than the likes of ‘Greatest Love of All’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’. Truly is one of my favourite vocal performances by the late diva.

Prepare to smooth it out with ‘Saving All My Love For You’:

 
‘Step By Step’

Halleloo, Ms Houston. You can’t touch this space where Whitney goes – it’s literally where heaven’s gates open up and blasts some wholesome mix of gospel and uplifting dance pop. I feel like whole aerobics programs could be structured around this song and its remixes – and probably have been.

When you’re looking for a track where Whitney‘s giving you all that from vocal trills to inspirational lyrics, you really need not look further than ‘Step By Step’.

Rip off them choir robes and get to steppin’ to ‘Step By Step’:

 
‘I Look To You’

As I wind down this post now and hit play on ‘I Look To You’, I can actually feel tears coming to my eyes thinking about how this really is the last defining ballad Whitney will ever serve and how fitting it is.

I think back to the first time I heard this song and how much it made me think of my mother and the difficult year she had with the divorce. The song made me reflect on how much mum and I leaned on each other during that time and how we, as humans, can share this special ability to lift each other up by just being there.

Right now, my thoughts are with Whitney‘s daughter Bobbi Kristina and I sincerely hope she is surrounded with love and she too has someone to lean on during this horrible time.

The journey hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Whitney, especially from an outsider’s perspective when all you’re fed with are tragic, disturbing accounts of her drug abuse and erratic behaviour.

But I want to believe that for someone who has brought so much joy and so much passion into our lives with her music, that in her lifetime, she would’ve experienced some of that love and happiness in return.

 
“Take me far away from the battle, I need you to shine on me…” – Rest in peace, Whitney Houston.

It’s no secret that I’m rather fond of Paulini. I mean, bitch, I dropped my bag of groceries at the door when I heard the ‘Fireman’ video had leaked and blogged about it immediately.

While I feel like I’ve already expressed everything I had in mind about the song, I reckon it’s now up to the girl and it’s down to the public’s willingness to embrace this fiercer new look and sound.

Can they handle it? I don’t think they can handle it.

 
Paulini came up with the concept for ’Fireman’ in New York last year when she was out there writing material for the forthcoming album and noticed how women in Brooklyn went mad at the sound of a fire truck driving past because it bore the promise of hot firefighters.

Ladies, please, the Mother Teresa humanitarian in me would be praying  for casualties wherever the truck was headed but hey, let this be a lesson to you all – we absolutely need to be more aware of potential hot men in the vicinity.

‘Fireman’ was co-written and recorded in Germany with Alfred ‘The Angel’ Tuohey and Mimoza Blinsson, who have both worked on material for Cascada and Allstar Weekend.

Footnotes:

Paulini will send out ‘Fireman’ to Aussie iTunes tomorrow, 10 February. The long-awaited third studio album is expected to drop mid 2012.

Brandy and Monica have finally reunited for their first duet in 14 years and naturally what we’re all looking for is another massive, radio-ready smash to recapture some commercial grounds.

Unfortunately, this sassy semi-dated soul ballad screams more “track nine” than headlining single. ‘It All Belongs To Me’ is not here to deliver the same soap opera stuff that made ’Boy Is Mine’ so addictive and fun to lip synch to with your gay best friend.

This feels more like a recitation from the same chapter and verse of Beyoncé‘s ‘Irreplaceable’ with both Brandy and Monica dismissing their men and insisting that he leaves behind all the luxuries he’s been provided with.

“I know you’re mad, can’t take no more. But put that back, that ain’t yours. Have a fit, slam the door. But leave the bags on the floor, that sh*t belongs to me!”

Producer Rico Love – who has hemmed some proper hits for the likes of Kelly Rowland and Usher – really didn’t bother with an adequate and modern backdrop for this eagerly awaited comeback duet. 

You shouldn’t have to play this after ‘Boy Is Mine’ and find that Darkchild‘s production some 14 years ago still sounds more cutting edge than ‘It All Belongs To Me’. 

Having said that, there’s undeniable delight in my loins to hear these two fabulous 90s R&B divas sharing a warble once again. It’s clear to the ears that these two women have simply gotten better with age as vocalists and emotive artists whose selling points are music from the heart. [Editor's note: gagging at that cheesy description, Limoncé.]

Listen to Brandy and Monica‘s ‘It Belongs To Me’:

 
Footnotes:

‘It Belongs To Me’ will be released digitally on 13 February in the States and will impact rhythmic and urban contemporary stations on 21 February.

The song will appear on Monica‘s forthcoming album New Life, which arrives in April, and Brandy‘s as-yet-untitled comeback album, which has been pushed back to later this year.

On this week’s Chart Feed, there’s an unusually high representation of Australian artists on the Australian singles Top 40. All up there’s eight of them, nine if you count Sia‘s appearance on Flo Rida‘s current #1 single ‘Wild Ones’. Speaking of Sia, she’s now working it with a #1 single in the UK and Australia. It’s all coins in the bank for our gurl.

Elsewhere, dismally low album sales sees half the US Top 20 invaded by new releases from the likes of Tim McGraw, Ingrid Michaelson and Kellie Pickler.

 
Sia is co-reigning on top of both the Australian and UK singles chart this week with ‘Wild Ones’ (her Flo Rida collabo) clocking its third consecutive week at #1 here and ‘Titanium’ (her stunning David Guetta collabo) ascending to the top of the British charts. Meanwhile indie golden girl’s other collabo – ‘I Love It’ with Hilltop Hoods – moves up to a new peak of #6 on our ARIA singles chart.

See above, Emeli Sandé covering ‘Titanium’ with David Guetta behind the decks at the NRJ Awards. Not even her flawless pipes could touch Sia‘s work.

The Black Keys‘ surprise hit ‘Lonely Boy’ climbs 13 spots to #2 on our ARIA singles chart this week, making it the band’s highest charting position yet in any country. ’Lonely Boy’ only managed to get up to #64 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #80 on the UK charts.

Watch Matt Corby covering The Black Keys‘ ‘Lonely Boy’ for Triple J‘s Like A Version:

 
Am I the only one who’s turned on by his sexy hipster caveman appearance? You can just tell that he smells like weed and sweaty balls.

Matt Corby‘s ‘Into The Flame’ EP rises to a new peak of #3 on our ARIA singles chart. Meanwhile, celebrations in the other room for Melbourne rapper 360 with his infectious new single ‘Boys Like You’ (featuring Gossling) flying from #19 to #4 this week. On the flip side, the man’s debut album Falling & Flying also climbs to a new peak of #4. Fucking winning, mate.

San Cisco‘s ‘Awkward’ may have been bubbling away in the bottom half of the ARIA Top 100 for a few months now but this week, it soars to #32. Other songs to do the same include Grouplove‘s ‘Tongue Tied’ (#33), M83‘s ‘Midnight City’ (#37) and Rihanna‘s ‘Talk That Talk’ (featuring Jay-Z) (#42).

Watch the music video for San Cisco‘s ‘Awkward’:

 
One Direction‘s ‘One Thing’ should blow up on our ARIA charts in no time. The single had already been sent to radios and last time I checked tonight, the track’s sitting at #25 on our iTunes chart.

Taio Cruz‘s next redundant contribution to pop music ‘Troublemaker’ is also worth bookmarking for future chart success. The song’s already peaked at #3 in the UK but should be cracking our Top 100 soon enough. ‘Troublemaker’ is currently placed at #76 on our iTunes chart.

Madonna‘s new single ‘Give Me All Your Luvin” (featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.) isn’t exactly tearing iTunes a new asshole. Could some post-Superbowl excitement sustain enough interest? It’s currently sitting at #8 on the US iTunes chart and the Top 5 in France, Finland, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. In Australia, it tumbles to #35.

Are y’all expecting for this to even make the Top 50 by next Monday? The first single from her last two studio albums – ’4 Minutes’ and ‘Hung Up’ – both made #1 here.

Watch Madonna‘s breath-taking Superbowl half time performance:

 
Foster The People finally scores themselves a #1 album to match the #1 hit they had at the top of the year with ‘Pumped Up Kicks’. Torches, which has been lingering in our Top 50 for 37 weeks, managed to topple Adele‘s unsinkable album 21 this week thanks to the band’s national tour. This is the first country where Torches has gone #1, y’guys. Meanwhile, the new single ‘Call It What You Want’ soars to #39 on the ARIA singles chart this week.

Tim McGraw has the biggest selling new album in Australia this week. I never thought I’d say that. Emotional Traffic debuts at #14 this week. The man’s headed to Australia next month for a joint tour with his wife Faith Hill. This will be the first time both Tim and Faith have toured together outside of North America and it’s actually Faith‘s first time touring this fair country. Bitch, I am so out of touch with your music, please forgive me. I’m still lip synching for my life to ‘There You’ll Be’.

McGraw also has the biggest selling new album in the US with Emotional Traffic crashing at #2 – selling 68,000 opening week copies. Gosh, they’re some tragically low sales to make #2.

 
Lana Del Rey’s Born To Die album hits #1 in the UK this week with opening week sales of 117,000 copies – making it the fastest selling album of the year so far. Like, no duh. Born To Die managed to sell 50,000 copies on day one alone and by the end of the week it had already sold more than the rest of the Top 5 combined, which is pretty impressive. Similar success is expected to follow world over as the album’s been pretty much #1 or #2 on most iTunes charts.

Meanwhile at the singles bar, ‘Born To Die’ cracks the UK Top 10 at #9 this week while ‘Video Games’ moves back up the Top 20. Here in Australia, ’Video Games’ finally cracked the Top 50 with an impressive placement at #23 this week. Get ready for Del Rey‘s hostile takeover of the album charts next week.

Alyssa Reid featuring Jump Smokers ‘Alone Again’ is the biggest selling new single in the UK this week, debuting at #2. Obviously, it would’ve been novel to have another new artist claim their first #1 single (like Cover Drive did last week) but the Canadian girl was overtaken by David Guetta/Sia by the weekend. At the start of the week, Alyssa’s ‘Alone Again’ was roughly 5000 copies ahead of ‘Titanium’ but by close of Saturday, Guetta had already raced 9000 copies ahead of her.

Listen to Alyssa Reid featuring Jump Smokers‘ basic ass rewrite of Heart‘s defining power ballad ‘Alone’, now recast as ‘Alone Again’:

 
Gotye and Kimbra‘s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ ascends to #3 on the UK charts in its fifth week. Meanwhile, the impressive cover by Walk Off The Earth – which went viral on the interwebs last month – flies from #141 to #88 on the UK charts.

Over in the States, Gotye and Kimbra rise to #31 on the US Billboard Hot 100 while Gotye‘s album Making Mirrors leaps to #45 on the Billboard 200.

Cover Drive‘s ‘Twilight’ didn’t stay very long at #1. After clocking a week on top of the UK charts, the Barbados-based pop group was shuffled down to #6. If I were them, I’d be rush releasing their debut album Bajan Style already. They have worked with the likes of J.R. Rotem (hitmaker behind Rihanna‘s ‘SOS’) and Quiz & Larossi, the Swedish production duo responsible for The Saturdays‘ ‘Up’ and Geri Halliwell‘s camp-as-fuck ‘Ride It’).

Watch Cover Drive‘s ‘Twilight’ music video:

 
Kelly Rowland‘s ‘Lay It On Me’ moves up to #69 on the UK singles chart this week. How fucking rich. Only Kelendria fans would get excited about a divine and appropriate sign of 69 synonymous with any of her many pussay-pleasing records.

Rachel Adedeji‘s new single ‘Club Lights’ is set to arrive on 20 February in the UK but with barely any buzz surrounding it, could this former X Factor promise simply fade to irrelevance? I seriously wish her songs had more of an identity because there’s nothing memorable about this shit.

When she dropped her debut ‘Follow The DJ’, Rachel became the first female in her series (the class of 2009, won by Joe McElderry) to release a single. Not very much has changed since then. Runner-up Stacey Solomon is expected to launch more music this year so together with Rachel, I can see that these sistas are gonna have to do for themselves.

Watch Rachel Adedeji‘s money-well-spent music video for ‘Club Lights’:

 
Pet Shop Boys‘ new b-sides collection Format arrives in the UK today (it dropped in Australia on Friday). This set takes us from the Bilingual era circa 1996 through to their last studio album Yes circa 2009. Absolute collectors stuff so you can at least expect for there to be a strong pick up in the first week from hard core fans?

Goldfrapp is launching The Singles compilation in the UK today – complete with two new tracks ‘Yellow Halo’ and ‘Melancholy Sky’. Do y’all reckon this will make the UK and Aussie Top 100 next week? The duo’s already well on their way with the sixth studio album so consider this to be a nice little interlude before the new chapter.

Watch the music video for ‘Yellow Halo’, which was filmed entirely on an iPhone:

 
Ingrid Michaelson‘s new album Human Again debuts at #5 in the US this week, clocking 40,000 opening sales. This is the singer/songwriter’s best sales week yet. Y’all would probably know Ingrid as the original purveyor of Cheryl Cole‘s ‘Parachute’.

Kellie Pickler – one of the sweetest and most lovable American Idol bimbos – registers her highest charting album to date with 100 Proof. It’s the blonde country star’s third consecutive US Top 10 hit album and this one managed to come in at #7, selling a humble 27,000 copies.

Seriously, y’guys, album sales are so painfully low this time around, you’re getting all kinds of basic bitches debut in the US Top 10. Half the Top 20 is new releases this week.

Rumer‘s Seasons of My Soul debuts at #55 on the US Billboard 200 this week, almost 15 months after the British easy listening chanteuse released it in the UK. She appeared on CBS Sunday Morning and apparently the album swiftly went #1 on iTunes after the segment.

Watch the special interview where Rumer talks about the years of gigging and holding down odd jobs, and interestingly enough, how she was the offspring of her mother’s affair with a Pakistani cook:

 
Kelly Clarkson‘s ‘Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)’ is the most downloaded song in America, topping the Billboard Digital Song chart with 225,000 sales this week. On the overall Billboard Hot 100, ‘Stronger’ steps up to #2 – sitting just behind Adele‘s third consecutive chart-topper ‘Set Fire To The Rain’.

I reckon the biggest hurdle standing between ‘Stronger’ taking down ‘Set Fire To The Rain’ is the radio airplay component. Adele’s ballad is rocking it at #4 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart while ‘Stronger’ is still rising at #33.

The Wanted‘s ‘Glad You Came’ makes a new peak of #40 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song also debuts at #60 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. Fuck me, I hope they’re repacking the Battleground album with stronger songs because you wanna be able to sustain this hype in the US. I propose that they launch the superior Alias remix of ‘Lightning’ next until they figure shit out.

Jennifer Hudson and Ne-Yo‘s new song ‘Think Like A Man’ (featuring Rick Ross) debuts at #60 on the US Billboard R&B/Hip Hop charts. I don’t get the appeal with this song – take a listen:

 
David Guetta and Nicki Minaj‘s ‘Turn Me On’ races to #1 on the US Billboard Dance/Club play chart. Meanwhile, pulling up close to it at #2 this week is Rihanna‘s ‘You Da One’ remixes and “pan-Asian” girl band Blush‘s ‘Dance On’ at #3.

Neon Hitch‘s ‘Fuck U Betta’ is the hot shot debut at #37 on the US Billboard Dance/Club play charts. The British singer/songwriter has been the toast of the blogosphere for a while now having also written for the likes of Ke$ha (‘Blah Blah Blah’) and Sky Ferreira (‘Traces’).

Listen to her breakthrough smash ‘Fuck U Betta’: