Put one hand in the air

Today's Whitney Houston will sit you down and tell you all about her regrets and the winter storms she's suffered and how she's not built to break and why you should take her back like she never left, but nothing we've heard so far in advance of I Look to You has sold the theme of triumphant return as well as "Million Dollar Bill." Telling is one thing (a thing that often feels like dwelling), but "Million Dollar Bill" instead shows Whitney moving on to joy. It's like a sonic handkerchief to blot up the weepy ballads that have leaked in recent months.

It's also perfect. Clearly what Clive Davis, producer Swizz Beatz, writer Alicia Keys and Whitney are going for here is crafting her her own "Just Fine": an age-appropriate uptempo song that the kids can enjoy, too. It could work in a car commercial or at the end of some Tyler Perry movie when everything works out and the family gets down to dance themselves off-screen. "Just Fine" struck me as wishy-washy, though. It was a disco track that was kind of embarrassed about itself, forgoing the heavy orchestration and 4/4 beats it begged for and settling for something hand-clapped and relatively minimal. By borrowing heavily from Loleatta Holloway's "We're Getting Stronger," Swizz has crafted a jam for Whitney that falls right between the Philadelphia sound and disco. The flamboyance is at a surprising minimum. The source material is as unobvious as having a diva like Whitney sing over a track that stomps so forcefully is a no-brainer.

And about that singing, look: her voice is different than it was in her prime. It sounds reedy and weary with age, like sore bones in the morning. The marrow is still there, but what's around it is brittle and splintered. It's probably never again going to flip and soar through the air for us, but that's OK. It sounds lived-in. It sounds human. Back in the day, Whitney didn't have to do so much as part her lips to sound like a million bucks; after all she's been through, that she can feel that way at all is indeed something to sing about.

What's funny about this project is that before it's sold even a copy, its angle is success. Others wait for people to comment on their arrival; Whitney explicitly announces her comeback. If you can stomach the self-celebration, there's something worth admiring in defining success by means other than numbers. (It's also probably wise, considering the state of record sales in '09.) Whether Whitney making music worth listening to again signals an achievement probably depends on how much you care about her in the first place. But I'll tell you what: after all that shit -- the divorce, the crack den, the seemingly destroyed voice, the Ray J -- if even a tenth of the exuberance she projects on "Million Dollar Bill" is sincere, this is all the comeback that she needs.

Comments

[Jessie]

Its so Disco and fun and exactly what Whitney needed. I cant wait for the whole album and the whole Whitney to be back.

[Shawn-Shawn]

This is the first track from Whitney's new project that actually has me excited. It's very classic Whitney, in that it almost sounds like a lost track from her first album. I just love the buoyancy of it all, and the fact that it's not as heavy-handed in its celebration of Whitney herself as, say, "I Found My Own Strength."

[17Days]

i absolutely agree. i've been waiting for Whitney and Co. to release a single as infectious as her late 80's/early 90's dance tracks and with Million Dollar Bill they've done it.

love love love.

[spazmo]

I think I like her new voice, too. With this track, she almost reminds me of Anita Ward. Very bouncy, groovy and fun.

[S.]

Her former voice will (sadly) never come back, but she still sounds a hell of a lot better than any of her contemporaries.

I am happy for her long-awaited return.

[Emerson]

i was going to make my fb status "Happy Hour Puzzler: WWWHD? (what would Whitney Houston drink?)
but then it struck me she's in recovery
so probably nothing!
then i was like, 'okay, no biggie, what other sassy diva would i want to have a cocktail with right now?'
and of course i was already thinking of MARY J BLIGE
but she's also in recovery!
so i was like WTF IS UP WITH DIVAS?!
you cannot have a drink with a diva,
unless you go way down the C list (i.e., Starr Joness)
(note to self: send her an email suggesting the extra consonantss for her name)

[bevskid1]

I am really rooting for Nippy since our birthdays are merely days apart and we were born in the same year.

Now if my other fave (I'm looking at you, Mariah) could accept the inevitable realities of aging and what it does to your voice and your taste in clothes...

Is it wrong to miss that clear bell of a voice?

[Queen Lena]

I gotta say, I actually prefer her "new" voice.

[B!]

Alicia really put her hand on this track, it can easily be one of her tracks. I'm glad this is a good track because I didn't care for 'I Turn To You' at all, it was a major letdown.

And I know her voice is still decent, but when your idea of Whitney is largely shaped BY her voice, no matter how good the song is- it's a letdown too.

[steele]

I guess I'm one of those "kids" that is enjoying this. It's very disco-y, and I love it. I'm sure Rich is very happy Whitney is making a comeback. I miss those old Bobby Brown posts.

[Diane D.]

Whitney's voice does sound weary and lived-in, but let's not forget that most of the tiredness is due to nicotine rather than the struggles over the last ten years. She has cleaned up those struggles but still indulges in nicotine, which is causing her voice not to heal properly.

[Diane D.]

Whitney's voice can return if she quits the cigs. Drugs did not permanently destroy her voice, it is the cigs that is permanetly destroying her voice. Look how Natalie Cole and Mary J. came back after their drug abuse. The difference is that they did not smoke cigarettes. So once they quit drugs, their voice had time to heal. Unlike Whitney who is still smoking cigarettes.

[Diane D.]

It is cigarettes that is killing Mariah's voice too.

[narita]

im just looking forward to the inevitable deep disco house remixes of this that are on the horizon. great track, about to be made even more memorable. wb cracky! <3

[FrankieD.]

Million Dollar Bill is the stupidest name ever for record, especially for the first single off an eagerly awaited comeback cd. That is, unless you're a cashmoneymillionaire or some low-level rapper with a basement tape.

[sean]

The Voice has less octane than before - but her it's-my-beat-baby rhythmic tricks are still there, which I love. This is kinda Whitney's thing; making crap sound like gold.

[scott]

well written. let's put the crack where it belongs and where she has said she's put it, in the trash. gone. she's over it, so should everyone else.

[Monica C.]

LOVE Whitney! And I hope this album sells well!

and p.s.: Am I wrong, then, for also LOVING "Being Bobby Brown" so much, even though it was so wrong on so many levels?

[Jookbocks]

Whitney sounds and looks amazing. I love "Million Dollar BIll" and I can't wait for her cd to come out. Rich, your review was definitely on point.

'

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she is getting older, ofcourse she can't sing as she did it some years ago.

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When you have a black cat, every day is Halloween. I enjoyed this and I have to admit I would not miss the holiday if it disappeared in the states, too. It lost its charm when the litte fun size candy bars appeared. Cheap!

[children cars china]

This is so funny. I had no idea. With all the wine they drink you would think they would be up for a little fun! So much resentment towards the US. Their loss.....
Congrats on the EP!