Whitney Houston's I Look To You; Does It Make The Cut ?
Date: 08/25/09 | Summer Terry
Filed under: Reviews, Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston's forthcoming album "I Look To You" has been the talk of the net; the watercooler; and perhaps the dinner table. Now that the diva has offered up a preview of the album, the question is.... does this album make the cut ? Read on to get the lowdown on "I Look To You," track by track.
"No interlude or intro needed this time around," Whitney Houston must’ve thought on her highly anticipated 7th studio album, "I Look To You". She kicks it off with straight vocals within the first 10 seconds of the song "Million Dollar Bill". This song is talking to all the women out there with good men who make them feel appreciated and coveted like a Million Dollar Bill. Maybe that’s the kind of love Whitney is looking for this time around.
"Nothing But Love"
To be honest, I was kind of disappointed by "Nothing But Love," a song that follows "Million Dollar Bill". I understand the message but I don’t think it was expressed in the best way lyrically. The terminology at certain points in the song doesn’t sound like the sophisticated Whitney we all know.
"Call You Tonight"
"Call You Tonight" follows the typical song formula of 'girl misses boy'. I’m not impressed!
"I Look To You"
Past the first two album fillers we make our way to the title track and I must say this is the perfect song to re-introduce Whitney to the music industry after all that she’s been through. It has that signature Whitney Houston sound that can never be duplicated. This song is more like an open letter to her supporters that never gave up on her and to God for instilling inner strength in her to fight.
"Like I Never Left"
Akon lends his vocals on "Like I Never Left," all while sounding like the perfect concoction. The two blend vocally really well. This song is pure goodness with a long belt out by Ms. Houston at the end.
"A Song For You"
This album would not be complete without that universal radio appeal track and that is exactly what "A Song For You" delivers. She’s singing hard from the top of the key at the beginning to the end. It brings back that 1993 "I’m Every Woman" vibe so get out your glow sticks and dancing shoes!
"I Didn't Know My Own Strength"
It’s obvious Whitney let go in this album and opened up a lot about her obstacles and pain life has set in front of her. "I Didn’t Know My Own Strength" sounds like a continuation of "I Look To You". She opens the song honestly, singing: “Lost touch with my soul / I had no where to turn / I had no where to go / Lost sight of my dream,/ Thought it would be the end of me / I thought I’d never make it through / I had no hope to hold on to / I thought I would break”.
Even though we all saw the fall, she’s not afraid to describe it as a dark time in the chorus stating, “I crashed down, and I tumbled / But I did not crumble / I got through all the pain / I didn’t know my own strength / Survived my darkest hour.” With this song she clearly lets us see she is not “built to break”!
"For The Lovers," "I Got You" and "Worth It"
I found that "For the Lovers" and "I Got You" were merely album fillers, both focusing on the central theme, which is love. Even though Whitney has been hurt like many other women, in the mid tempo song "Worth It" she hasn’t let all that heartache harden her view on true happiness.
"Salute"
Once considered America’s Sweetheart Whitney Houston discovered her inner swag in the closing track "Salute" by dismissing a man she felt she couldn’t do without. I can’t help but read between the lines. It feels like she’s subliminally talking about Bobby Brown. She shows her strength by singing: “I'm feeling kinda taller than you (lately) / I'm feeling kinda stronger than you (lately) / I feel kinda better than you….. Cause am I soldier girl in this world / I stand alone, I can be strong / I walk for miles and made it home / It's good to know without you I made it / Soldier girl in my world / took the fall now I stand tall / For the pain and all I made it through and now I'm vow to say to you Salute”.
There it is. Whitney Houston's "I Look To You" reviewed.... If you've heard the album or some of the songs, let us know if "I Look To You" makes the cut (below).
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Dunno what the rebiewer is talking bout...and for you Ronnie, you must be a jerk for refferring to Whitney like that. You probably don't know what a good song sounds like or you have been listening to tele tubbies soundtrack too often. This a good album. I need anybody to show me who can deliver smooth lyrics and vocals like the goddess herself. I am serious, can anybody ever sound like her (even when she's hoarse)??? I love you Whitney.
Call her whatever, Whitney is my goddess when it comes to singing songs. I totally agree with you DEE. She is the best even after all she went through (which I personally feel is no one's fault anyway). She is simply awesome.
I LOVE the album, and find it TOTALLY refreshing in an industry that has fallen to FAD music and repetitious beat stealing and calling it another hit. I think that some of us don't know, or have forgotten what REAL MUSIC IS!!!! NO ONE CAN SING LIKE WHITNEY, whether it be light and easy or heavy hitting. It is SO AMAZING that most of the most critical comments lie on the fact that you expect a woman that has been through hell and back, and a SURVIVOR of drug abuse (OF WHICH HOW MANY ARE NO LONGER WITH US FROM THAT) still is BLESSED enough to share her wonderful voice with the world. Stop trying to compare it to something else she has done, and enjoy the fact that she is a true artist. EVEN IF you consider the album bad or not for you, ADMIT that she can still sing circles around some undeserving divas who a lot of you trick yourself into loving and buying their albums. Take a SERIOUS look into your CD collection and find a new album from a younger DIVA that you can TRULY listen to without skipping or that is no full of GUEST SPOTS or rappers (REAL TALK). GOD BLESS YOU WHITNEY, YOUR TRUE FANS ARE WITH U, HIGHS and LOWS, no matter.
JUST BOUGHT MY ALBUM!This album is excellent! I am a huge Whitney Houston fan. I think she's the best singer in the world. She's a Icon! RESPECT CLASSIC MUSIC! GOD BLESS YOU...Whitney Houston...
Wow! This album is excellent. I had forgotten how much better she is than these other so called "divas" (who I also love) The album is mature and funky with those pipes of hers that are in a class all by themselves. There is maturity to her voice that adds to it. I like it more every time i listen to it which is rare.
Don't know what the reviewer was smoking but this album is bangin! I'm a lil shocked to say the least as I was expecting "I Will Always Love You" type stuff which sounds a little dated since the 90's but I can honestly say that I haven't stopped moving and bobbin my head to these jams. This is a decent return and I can see this being one of those oldies but goodies in years to come. DIVA did ha thang on this! 4Real
Listened to the album on whitneyhouston.com. Welcome Back Whit! YOU DID IT! This album has Grammy's written all over it! We love and missed you girl! Now go on and git cho Grammy or two, maybe three, we'll see!
The new cd is just great. I didn't like the two ballads but I loved the other 9 songs. Trust me it's a great album... you will love it. Whitney Greece loves you!
I listened to it, and I thought it was repetitive, cheap sounding, forgettable and overall boring. That was exactly what I was afraid of when she first mentioned a comeback album SIX YEARS ago.
Just heard the album an i think its HOT! only song i dont like is "song for you" too poppy for me. Been waiting a long time for this soon as it drops ima BUY my copy no free download or bootleg this time Ms Houston got me walkin to a record store an that aint something i do for just any artist believe!