I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston by Queen Diva 2-13-12

Graphic by Eddie Santos

I'm still in shock about the news of the recent passing of Ms. Whitney Houston. I've been a fan since 1985. I remember when I was in high school and her debut single "You Give Good Love" came out and all of my fellow singing girlfriends, Tonya Stewart & Dieyelle Reed, were so excited about this new singer who came out of nowhere on the radio! We would rush to the radio after school and listen to her sing and then we would practice the song over and over until we got it just right like "Whitney!" I was in such awe of her talent and she was so beautiful to me. We would daydream about becoming singing stars one day and even briefly thought of singing together as a group! LOL! We all went our separate ways...I went to Prairie View A&M University, a part of the Texas A&M University system, to study Voice and Fashion Merchandising & Design. Tonya (Stewart) Johnson got married and is now a Praise & Worship Leader in Houston,TX and Dieyelle Reed also known as Di Reed joined the "New Jill City" group JADE as the lead singer in the early 90's and now is one of the top background & jingle singers in the Los Angeles area touring with Rod Stewart, Usher and others!

I will never forget my humble beginnings and learning Whitney Houston songs hoping that one day we would all meet her at the top! I went on to practice for hours at PVU perfecting my voice by listening to Whitney's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," "The Greatest Love of All," "So Emotional," "I Have Nothing" and "Run to You." Two of my favorite songs by her were "One Moment in Time" and "I Will Always Love You!" I'm truly a ballad singer and I can say I learned how to belt out a song practicing and listening to Whitney Houston.

I prayed many prayers for Whitney's recovery over the years and hoped as millions of her fans and family did that she would shake that demon of addiction off once and for all. My prayer now is that the world will remember the good times and not so much the bad times of a woman of God who shared her melodious gift of song with us all. She was my mentor in my head as a vocalist and I dreamed of the day that I would be able to tell her that one day. But since that will not come to pass I will say that I will always love Whitney Houston and I hope to one day share my gift of song with the world in excellence and let everyone know that every time I belt out a note I will be thinking of Whitney and all that she has contributed to my musical development although we have never met. She was an angel to me...an Angel of Song and I pray that her music will continue to bless all who have an ear to hear for many, many, many years to come.

I pray abundant peace to the Houston/Brown family and to let them know that she is finally at PEACE singing in the heavenly choir before the Lord with a huge smile on her face.

Peace & Love,
Queen Diva