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Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.
Following the news of Houston's passing (Feb. 11), here is a look back at the many chart achievements that the gifted vocalist accomplished.
"She is our queen and she opened doors and provided a blueprint for all of us. God bless her," says Beyonce of Whitney Houston.
The late legends, Whitney Houston and Etta James, are honored at the 2012 Grammys with performances by Alicia Keys, Bonnie Raitt and Jennifer Hudson.
Whitney Houston will be laid to rest on Saturday at Newark's New Hope Baptist Church. There would be no public memorial at Newark's Prudential Center, the sports arena that the family had discussed as a possible venue.
Bill O'Reilly offered a harsh rejoinder to Whitney Houston's mourners Monday when he suggested that the late singer's drug use was evidence of suicidal tendencies. Speaking on "The O'Reilly Factor," the conservative pundit criticized Houston's self-destructive impulses, saying, "Whitney Houston wanted to kill herself."
Following the death of Whitney Houston on Saturday, Feb. 11, the diva's "Whitney: The Greatest Hits" album re-enters the Billboard 200 chart at No. 6. It sold 64,000 copies in the U.S. (according to Nielsen SoundScan) in the tracking week that ended on Feb. 12 -- reflecting only one full day of sales after her passing.
"Greatest Hits" posted a 10,419% gain over its previous week's sales, when it shifted just under 1,000.
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Houston also returns to the list with her 1986 debut "Whitney Houston" (No. 72 with 8,000; up 3,901%), "The Bodyguard" soundtrack (No. 80 with 8,000; up 5,213%), her last studio album "I Look To You" (No. 118 with 5,000; up 3,901%), 1987's "Whitney" (No. 122 with 5,000; up 2,274%) and "The Preacher's Wife" soundtrack (No. 183 with 4,000; up 3,913%).
There were more Houston albums purchased in the last week (101,000 - up 5,994% from 2,000 the week previous) than had been sold in all of 2011 and 2012 combined until her death (97,000).
The vast majority of the 101,000 albums sold last week were downloads -- 91,000. That hefty digital sum isn't surprising, since there would be a relative few physical CD copies of Houston's albums on the shelves at brick-and-mortar stores. (Most retailers don't carry a wide selection of an artist's back catalog.)
In terms of digital tracks, Houston sold a combined 887,000 downloads this past week -- up from only 15,000 the week previous (a gain of 5,730%). Her biggest seller was her 1992 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single "I Will Always Love You," with 195,000 (up 6,724%). It debuts on the seven-year old Digital Songs Chart at No. 3.
Houston also arrives on the 75-position chart with seven more songs: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" at No. 25 (74,000; up 8,769%), "Greatest Love Of All" at No. 32 (60,000; up 7,270%), "How Will I Know" at No. 46 (43,000; up 5,767%), "I Have Nothing" at No. 53 (38,000; up 5,179%), "Saving All My Love For You" at No. 65 (33,000; up 6,423%), "One Moment In Time" at No. 74 (30,000; up 6,206%) and "The Star Spangled Banner" at No. 75 (29,000; up 8,278%).
It's expected that Houston's catalog of albums and songs will see even bigger sales next week, after a full week's worth of impact from her passing is felt on the charts. Next week's charts will reflect the sales week that will end on Sunday, Feb. 19.
Our regular recap of the week's top 10 selling albums and songs will be available on Wednesday (Feb. 15) morning.
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