ALBUM CHARTS: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Just Whitney exits the chart 

SINGLES CHARTS: Hot 100 Singles Sales: "Try It On My Own" down to No. 73 from No. 67; Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks: "Try It On My Own" down to No. 100 from No. 93; Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrent: "One Of Those Days" exits the chart; Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrent Airplay: "One Of Those Days" exits the chart; Adult Contemporary: "Try It On My Own" exits the chart; Hot Dance Music/Club Play: "Love That Man (Dance Mixes)" down to No. 50 from No. 43 

INTERNATIONAL CHARTS: Canada: "Try It On My Own" is down to No. 37 from No. 24 on the Top 50 Singles chart

When the unrelenting pressures of celebrity turned our platinum princess into the prodigal daughter, she sought redemption, with the help from family, friends and faith in the Lord.

So there she is, the so-called fallen Diva, leaning on a balcony outside a hotel suite, shaking a copper fountain of curls from her eyes, the hairstylist spritzing an errant bang, the photographer reloading his camera, the Yorkshire terrier skittering at the makeup artist's feet, the towel-wrapped daughter just in from a swim in the pool, and a dozen or so other people somehow associated with the whole enterprise of taking a Diva's photograph craning to glimpse her face.  The sun is setting orange behind her as if on cue, and there's just too much Prada and Gucci to mention, which is all very Hollywood, except this is Miami, one of Whitney Houston's favorite cities in the whole world, and she's the center of attention in this klieg light of a life she's in.

Hard to believe - Whitney turns 40 next month and has been recording for nearly 20 years.  It's a lonely, hard road - this gigging and recording and trying to stay on top in a business in which people are always looking for the next new thing - and drink, drugs, depression and unworthy men seem to be occupational hazards.  Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole and Diana Ross all dealt with one thing or the other.

"It takes you away from what's real," Whitney tells me later, "like the simple things in life, like your kids and family.  You become this one person in a bubble by yourself.  All you think of in that bubble is you, you, you.  But it's not just about you alone.  It's about so many other people, and you separate yourself from that and put yourself on the outside and sacrifice yourself.  But then you feel good about it if you sacrifice for the right reasons." Read The Complete Interview >>

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