Whitney Houston: 'I Look To You'

Whitney Houston's performance of 'Million Dollar Bill' on this year's X Factor ranks alongside Britney Spears' waddle/mime of 2008 and everything Chico did in 2005 as one of the most embarrassing in the show's history. "I sang myself out of my clothes," joked the diva about her wardrobe malfunction on the ITV1 show. However, it would be a genuine shame if Houston's "popping out" were to detract from her dignified 2009 musical comeback.

'I Look To You', the title track from her stellar seventh album, is a nostalgic slab of classic Houston. The production trickery is kept to a minimum, giving us chance to remember why we first fell in love with that voice. Of course, there's a touch of gruffness to Houston's tones these days, but if anything this adds to the emotional impact of the crescendo ("Take me far away from the battle, I need you, shine on me"). The result? A moving and powerful song that proves the 46-year-old has lost none of her old Nippy spirit.


> Click here to read our review of Whitney Houston's I Look To You album