October 30, 2020
Whitney Houston Makes History As First Black Artist With Three Diamond-Certified Albums
Even in death, superstar singer Whitney Houston continues to make news.
According to the Whitney Houston website, the Recording Industry Association (RIAA) has announced that Houston’s second studio album, Whitney, has been certified RIAA Diamond (10x Platinum). With this feat, this becomes the singer’s third album to reach that milestone joining Whitney Houston and The Bodyguard (Soundtrack). This recognition also makes Houston the first Black recording artist (male or female, solo or group) to have the distinction of having three Diamond albums in her discography.
Whitney Houston sold more than 13 million albums while The Bodyguard (Soundtrack) achieved more than 18 million in sales. Along with this news, her song from The Bodyguard, “I Will Always Love You” has reached over 1 billion views on YouTube.
Earlier this year, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced that Houston had been inducted posthumously into this year’s Class of 2020. On Saturday, November 7, 2020, at 8 p.m. (EST) the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will replace the live 35th annual induction ceremony with an exclusive special honoring the Class of 2020 Inductees, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The program will air on HBO and HBO Max.
Houston’s estate, along with music legend Clive Davis, Pat Houston, Larry Mestel of Primary Wave Music, Dennis O’Sullivan, and Jeff Kalligheri has announced that the official Houston biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, will be in production soon.
The film will be directed by Stella Meghie (The Photograph) from a script by Anthony McCarten (The Two Popes, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Darkest Hour). Production is slated for 2021 with plans to release the film in theaters around Thanksgiving 2022. McCarten will produce through his Muse of Fire Productions banner.
Houston has been cited as the most awarded female artist of all time by Guinness World Records and remains one of the best-selling music artists to date with more than 200 million records sold worldwide.