EON

Houston Could Return to Number One

There was a time when Whitney Houston could roll out of bed, breathlessly sing the obituaries from the morning paper and all a producer had to do was sweeten with strings and flash her pearly whites on the cover and presto – another platinum album was flying off the shelves.

But that was over a decade ago and in the interim Whitney has made headlines for all the wrong reasons. A soul sucking, abuse filled marriage and loads of somewhat erratic to down right bizarre public behavior coupled with vocal and physical deterioration has left Houston all but an after thought on the entertainment scene.

Despite these myriad setbacks the diva is primed for a comeback and from the sound of her just released, “I Look to You” album Houston may have another number one up her sleeve. Producer Clive Davis has assembled a who’s who of hit makers including the talents of R. Kelly, Alicia Keys, John Legend and Akon. The album was three years in the making and includes stand out singles like the Keys penned, “Million Dollar Bill” featuring a groove as deep as the Grand Canyon and the R. Kelly anthem title track “I Look to You.” It may not knock “I Will Always Love You” out of the sappy ballad pantheon but it is an arm waving, bic lighting, arena filling song.

Whether Houston can pull of the material live remains to be seen. In the IPod, however, this album is a definite hit.