Expect a new album from Whitney Houston by year's end, reports music icon and J Records honcho Clive Davis.

'We're going back into the studio either the last week of March or the first week of April,' says Davis, who's godfathered her career from the beginning. 'I'm extremely excited about being back with her. I've recorded with her every great album she did and we're a great team.' Davis says the album won't be a new direction for the singer who's been in the press more for her beleaguered marriage and substance abuse problems in the past few years than her music. 'It's just going to be great material. We're back and we're going to pick the best songs. It's going to be Whitney at her best. Her voice is soaring. Did you see her at the World Music Awards a few weeks ago where I got the Lifetime Achievement Award? She was dazzling! The camera panned to Celine Dion crying and Josh Groban crying and Courtney Love said 'My God, this is the best singer in the world.''

Meanwhile, Davis says of his roster, 'We feel great about what's going on with all of our new artists. I produced Kelly Clarkson, which is now over a million and it will certainly silence critics that the 'American Idol' winners can only have a souvenir album because this is her second and it's just huge.' He adds that in his extremely valued estimation, 'American Idol' phenom Fantasia 'is a true artist. Her album has just gone platinum.' Fantasia was this year's featured new artist this past weekend at Davis' legendary Pre-Grammy Party. Davis says each year he's forced to turn away more and more people clamoring to be at the hottest Grammy party in town, so he was delighted to have partnered with Sirius Satellite Radio and L'Oreal Paris to broadcast the event for the first time live on the Web on RealNetworks.

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