Original subtitles

- ♪ I got the stuff that you want ♪

Downloaded from YTS.MX

- KEVIN FRAZIER: Whitney Elizabeth Houston.

AKA, The Voice.

Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX

We lost her Grammy weekend 10 years ago.

And it's hard not to think of Whitney

when you think of the Grammys.

- And the Grammy goes to...

- Whitney Houston.

- Whitney Houston.

- Whitney Houston!

- ♪ And I...

- KEVIN: But if you only know Whitney for her voice,

then you don't really know Whitney.

- Sometimes I look at it and I go, how did all this happen?

God gave me something really great,

and he doesn't give it to everybody.

- ♪ They can't take away my dignity ♪

- KEVIN: Now, for the first time,

never-before-seen interviews.

- They take your life and they make it into a soap opera,

like a story they made up.

- ♪ How will I know?

- KEVIN: And personal stories from her closest friends.

- As hyper as she could be,

she was like the kid in the candy store all the time.

- I'd get a call.

Whitney and Bobby forgot to pay their--their tab.

- She was ready to live, ready to start a new chapter,

and to get right what wasn't right before.

- WHITNEY: ♪ It took some time for me ♪

♪ To see

- KEVIN: This is "Whitney: A Look Back."

Whitney Elizabeth Houston.

Now, anybody in her inner circle

or her family members called her Nippy.

- DIONNE: Her daddy.

Her daddy gave her that nickname.

He used to call her-- he called her Nippy.

He used to call me Noopy-- [laughs]

--cause I had Nippy around me so much.

Nippy and Noopy.

- INTERVIEWER: What do you think fans would be most surprised to

discover about Whitney Houston?

- WHITNEY: They'll be glad to know that I'm like them.

You know, that I joke around, I laugh, like, really crazy.

Really crazy.

Um, you know, um, when I wake up in the morning,

I'm not all that put together.

You know, nobody is, you know?

It's that kind of thing. You know, I'm just like them.

- INTERVIWER: You're just like them.

- Just, you know, regular. [laughs]

- CECE: She wanted to, you know,

let's go to White Castle's in a limousine.

That's Whitney. I want some White Castle's.

Really, right now.

Um, so just a lot of fun.

A lot of fun.

Great sense of humor, funny.

To be able to have time off and just laugh

was her favorite thing to do.

- Oh, she was a nice person.

She laughed, you know. She liked no confusion at all.

That wasn't her thing.

She couldn't stand all of that.

We really got along fine.

There's a lot of love in that house.

- MONICA: She loved to swim.

She was almost like an Olympic swimmer.

But these are all things that people don't know.

- WHITNEY: What I do for fun is, uh...

I'm just very peaceful.

I--I stay at home most of the time.

I play some tennis, and--and I swim,

and I have massages and things like that.

Basically being good to myself is what I call being fun,

or having fun.

I might go out sometimes.

But I--I don't like to keep up with, you know, what's happening

and going to this place and that place.

I'm really not into it.

But, um, just--just being, just being, you know, good to myself

and my family and, you know, staying at home,

listening to music, singing. It's fun to me.

- KEVIN: So Whitney's favorite thing to do

when she was at home?

Relax, just chill.

- She was lazy as all you know what.

She loved watching television.

She loved sleeping.

Habit, you know, from resting during the day

and--and rehearsing and practicing in--in the evenings.

She attended church sometimes.

- ♪ Woo

- She would come hang out with me, you know,

and, you know, come to church with me.

- Our Father, who art in Heaven...

Say "Praise the Lord."

- GROUP: Praise the Lord. - All right.

It gives you, I don't know, a certain lift, you know?

Um, con--it makes you confident, you know,

that no matter what may happen out there,

it's all right, you know?

It's okay. We can get through it.

Prayer is something, you know, it gives you strength.

It really does. It helps you out a lot out here.

- ♪

- ♪ There's a boy I know

♪ He's the one I'm dreaming of ♪

♪ Looks into

How frustrating is it to live out of a suitcase?

Frustrating!

It can be very frustrating if you actually live in one.

I don't live in a suitcase.

♪ I've been hearing your heart beat ♪

♪ Inside of me

I was planning on becoming a teacher

or a veterinarian.

But after, um, learning that I could sing

and what I could do with my voice,

and when it gets into your blood,

I guess it just never really leaves, so...

- ♪ It's shocking what

- ♪ Love can do

♪ Shocking what

- She was sincere about helping people.

She had a huge heart.

As hyper as she could be,

because she was like the kid in the candy store all the time,

she--she had those moments when she was so peaceful and calm.

And, uh, yeah, pretty--pretty special person.

- KELLY: She was a woman with a big heart.

She loved people.

Um, she never met a stranger.

She fed people. She clothed people.

She helped send people to school.

I think a lot of times people would prefer to hear

the wild and the crazy because in their mind,

it's--it's buzz worthy, it's newsworthy.

It's the thing that will--

in this day, it's called clickbait.

But to know the Whitney that I know,

to know the Whitney that I knew,

is to truly know that you were blessed to know

an amazing human being before you ever got to the voice.

If you got a chance to know her heart,

that was something special.

- WHITNEY: Do you wanna see some lions today?

- CHILDREN: Yeah. - Yeah?

The Bronx Zoo was desperately in need of some lion cubs.

And I happened to know of some.

So, I mean, you know, it's a great zoo.

And I thought that I'd donate them to the zoo.

I named them George and Gracie.

George and Gracie.

- MAN: Was this fun for you, being part of this?

- Oh, yes, it's a ball! I love the kids, they're great.

- [indistinct chatter]

- You see that?

You want yours?

Look! Look at them!

That's what's important, that they're happy, you know?

Yeah, they're children, they should be.

- NISCHELLE: Whitney had one of the biggest hearts.

She embraced the next generation of singers.

I remember Brandy talking about

how emotional she became when she first met Whitney.

- [screaming]

- [indistinct chatter]

- Are you okay?

- I'm happy.

This is Whitney Houston, oh my god.

I met Whitney Houston!

- She loved Monica and Brandy.

That was--to Whitney, that was the--

the future of music, you know?

She actually said that, um...

Grammy weekend,

in--in LA, the last-- the last Clive party,

when they were on stage, rehearsing.

And we were standing down, and she was standing there.

And she said, that's the future, she said.

- What connected me to her was really the way she loved.

She would love others more than she loved herself.

When I think about Whitney,

the first thing that I picture is her smile.

It was something that, believe it or not, she never lost.

When I think of her, I think about the selflessness.

That was her.

She used to always tell me,

don't let them change who you are.

She used to always point at her chest when she talked,

or she would touch my face when she talked.

- ♪ Amazing grace, how sweet the sound ♪

♪ Cigarettes make me... ooh ♪

♪ There ain't nobody

♪ No, no, nobody

- MONICA: In some of the most difficult of times,

Whitney could have been anywhere.

But she would show up.

When I was 18, I lost my grandmother.

I lost--I witnessed a suicide.

I lost my cousin.

Whitney didn't call on the phone.

Three black trucks pulled up in the hood and she jumped out.

And I can hear her saying, I know y'all know where she is!

Wait, what?

She's got the security outside, suited and booted,

and she's pretty much giving them the hand.

The Whitney hand.

This is the go away, this is serious.

Go away, I got it.

And her and Bobby, they stayed right there with me.

- She was on tour when--when I lost my second eldest brother.

And, uh, we're in the middle of the service.

And everybody--everybody goes to whis--you know, to whispering.

They're whispering.

And I'm like, what are they whispering?

And it's Whitney.

She has somehow made it to Detroit, Michigan,

made it to the funeral, and she's walking in by herself.

It's like, scoot over!

Telling us all, scoot down, scoot down!

You know I had to be here.

I had to be here. This is my brother.

And we were just like, oh my god.

I can't believe her. But that was Whitney.

- I remember being in a car accident.

And...Whitney, she came over.

And I think she--she slept in my bed,

in the room with me for two days.

She would not leave, you know?

Would not leave.

- [indistinct chatter]

- WHITNEY: This fame and the success thing,

man, it comes and goes.

You know, you're hot today and not tomorrow or,

you know, that kind of thing.

So it's--it's important to know that, um,

you have family and friends that love you for you

and not because you got a number one song on the charts.

- FEMALE ANNOUNCER: Still ahead...

- All of her awards show performances were iconic.

But now newly discovered video reveals that her rehearsals were

just as jaw-dropping as the main event.

- WHITNEY: ♪ Oh, yes

♪ There can be miracles

♪ When you believe

- PAT: The Grammys meant a great deal to Whitney, you know?

Someone was honoring her, you know?

Her words would be, this is for me?

You know, for me?

She was so humbled about that.

- MAN: Whitney? - Oh, no, the cameras.

- [laughter]

- I wouldn't want to have anybody else here

but my mom and dad, and my family and my friends.

It's just good to have them.

- NISCHELLE: The world remembers Whitney

as The Voice, right?

Her tragic passing came the night before the Grammys

a decade ago in 2012.

But her very first Grammy appearance,

that was back in 1986.

- WHITNEY: If I win, that'll--that'll--

that'll be something.

But, uh, I don't know, it's great.

It just feels good to be mentioned.

- Whitney Houston!

- [cheers and applause]

- Can you believe this?

I knew it was me because Dionne said, "Aah!"

That's when I know it was me. That's when I knew.

I feel great. This is good.

- DIONNE: It was an exciting, thrilling thing,

to be able to say "Whitney Houston."

I didn't hear myself say it.

I screamed it. [laughs]

It was not said. It was screamed.

I was so proud of her and pleased for her.

- I remember the scene where they clutched each other,

because it was so emotional.

- Oh, I can't tell you how proud I am of her.

I--I was just so thrilled.

It was very, very exciting.

- WHITNEY: Just one was fine. I'm satisfied.

I'm not greedy. I'm satisfied.

- KEVIN: Whitney would go on to win six Grammys.

But a lot of people wonder where did she keep them.

- PAT: Well, at first, you know,

when she had her mansion in New Jersey,

she would encase them downstairs.

And now, since her passing,

I keep them archived here in Georgia,

in a safe place, very safe place.

- ♪ So I'm saving all my love for you ♪

- KEVIN: This is her dress from her first Grammy performance.

- Look at that. Look how tiny she was.

- KEVIN: Well, this is a piece of history.

- PAT: It is.

- And the Grammy goes to...

"I Wanna Dance with Somebody," Whitney Houston.

- ♪ Oh, I wanna dance with somebody ♪

- KEVIN: Grammy number two came in 1988.

But it was really 1994 that was Whitney's year.

She had four nominations.

She won three Grammys that year.

And who can forget how she opened the show?

I mean, it was one of those moments that gave you chills.

- ♪ I will al, I will al, I will always ♪

♪ Love you

- NISCHELLE: What the fans didn't get to see

was Whitney's rehearsal earlier in the day.

She brought everybody to a standstill.

- ♪ And happiness

♪ But above all this, oh, I wish you ♪

♪ Love

- And the Grammy goes to...

Whitney Houston!

- [applause]

- This is really very special.

- KEVIN: 2012 was the last time the Grammys

would pay tribute to Whitney, the day after her passing.

- You know, on Grammy night,

we--we mourned Whitney, you know?

LL Cool J opened the show with this remarkable prayer.

- Heavenly Father,

we thank you for sharing our sister, Whitney, with us.

We remain truly blessed

to have been touched by her beautiful spirit.

- KEN: Jennifer Hudson had came and did a little bit of

"I Will Always Love You."

- ♪ Whitney, we love

♪ We love you

- [applause]

- ANNOUNCER: Coming up...

- ♪ Oh yeah

- KEVIN: Long before Whitney became a Grammy winner,

she was just a kid in the church choir, finding her voice.

And she almost had a career that had nothing to do with singing.

- When they found out that I did sing, it was like,

oh, so besides that, you can sing,

so let's--let's deal with that, too.

- WHITNEY: You know, I--I've been working in the studio

since I was 12.

- ♪ Love's heavy

- ♪ Love is heavy

- NISCHELLE: That is a 20-year-old Whitney Houston

with Jermaine Jackson.

This was a full year before she ever released her debut album.

But you already knew that Whitney Houston understood.

She understood what it would take

to really make it in the business.

- [camera shutter clicking]

- WHITNEY: It's not all it's cracked up to be.

It ain't all the glamor and--and all that stuff.

It's hard work.

- CISSY: The only trouble I had,

Whitney was running her mouth.

And I still have a big problem with it.

There was one time I'd kill her.

- Okay...

- You know?

- Whitney always had impeccable style.

But people forget that she started as a model

before she became a professional singer.

- Yeah, that's beautiful.

Super.

- WHITNEY: People in the modeling business

really never knew that I did sing.

So when they found out that I did sing, it was like,

oh, so besides that, you can sing.

So let's--let's deal with that too.

♪ Lord

♪ Mm, Jesus

I think I was about maybe 11 or 12 when I, um,

first got a solo in church.

And, um, the reaction from, you know, the people in church

kind of gave me an inclination of,

you know, what it could possibly be like.

- CLIVE: When I first met Whitney Houston,

she was 18.

So her brother Gary and Whitney were the background singers

for the Cissy Houston show.

When I heard her audition for me with "The Greatest Love of All,"

I was flabbergasted.

I mean, that was a song I commissioned.

I had heard it time and time again.

- When I was just a young teenager,

I went to the theater and saw a movie called "The Greatest."

This was about the life of Muhammad Ali.

And in that movie, there was a song

that was as inspirational as the man himself.

♪ The greatest love of all...

- CLIVE: She took a song that I knew intimately

and made me feel that I had never heard it before.

- Hello, good evening,

and welcome to the Roxy and "The Whitney Houston Show."

- [cheers and applause]

- WHITNEY: A lot of people think that it's, uh,

happened just like that,

where I just said, boom, I come out,

and I make a record, and this is it.

But it's about 10 years to prepare my head and my-myself to

deal with all of this happening, what's happening with me.

♪ Let the children's

♪ Laugh

God gave me something really great.

And he doesn't give it to everybody.

♪ Ooh hoo

♪ How will I know?

- ♪ Don't trust your feelings

- ♪ But how will I know?

- There's been Aretha Franklin and there's been this lady.

And this lady will go on to conquer the world.

And she's already conquered it.

So, well done, Whitney.

- The total figure that this plaque represents,

that Whitney worldwide has sold,

85 million records.

- [cheers and applause]

- CLIVE: I miss Whitney.

She trusted me.

And, um, I always held that very close to my heart.

And, you know, I failed along with her

in conquering her demon.

And I tried at every turn.

- I consider myself a diva.

It's a certain class, a certain technique.

There's a certain style.

There's a certain aura that a diva has.

Woo!

- ANNOUNCER: Still ahead...

- KEVIN: When it comes to Whitney's most iconic

performances, I mean, it's almost impossible to rank them.

But I think there's always two that you have to talk about:

the national anthem--

- ♪ Oh say can you see

- KEVIN: --and of course, "The Bodyguard."

- ♪ And I...

- KEVIN: But the film almost didn't happen.

- We postponed the movie for a year.

- ♪ ...will always love you...

- WHITNEY: ♪ Oh, say can you see ♪

- They wanted her to lip sync the song.

She didn't want to do it, because she can't lip sync good.

She said, I wanna sing it. And she sang it.

And she sang it.

- KEVIN: Whitney performed at the Super Bowl in 1991.

It was the 25th anniversary of the big game.

But what people forget is also,

our country had just gone to war.

So everyone really was coming together.

- When I looked out there in the audience, uh,

amongst all those 85,000 people,

I kind of blocked everything out,

and I kind of went to the Persian Gulf,

where the fellas were.

♪ And the rocket's red glare

And I tried to imagine what they were going through.

And the more I thought about that,

the stronger it became inside of me.

It was for them that I sang it for.

So I became a true American, you know?

I felt proud to be an American.

I felt proud that I was a part of this country.

♪ And the land of the brave...

- [cheers and applause]

- I said, I've gotta release it as a single.

- [indistinct chatter]

- And we did, and it broke every record of all time.

- Still the greatest to ever sing "Star-Spangled Banner."

When Whitney touched something, it became hers.

And that's how it was being her friend.

- 1991 was a huge year for Whitney.

It was "The Star-Spangled Banner" moment.

And then she started filming "The Bodyguard."

But so many people thought that's where she started acting.

It wasn't.

- Hi!

- KEVIN: One of Whitney's first acting gigs was in 1985

on the Ricky Schroder show "Silver Spoons."

- ♪

- WHITNEY: I'm playing myself. And I'm performing.

I'm doing a video at this club.

I find that it comes sort of naturally, in a way,

I mean, being a performer.

♪ Saving all my love for you

My main focus is my music and my singing career.

But, um, this is something that I would like and enjoy to do.

- INTERVIEWER: What do you hope to get out of this?

- I don't know.

I guess everybody will see my face.

[laughs]

Woo!

- [audience laughter]

- She loved film, you know?

Movies. Loved movies.

And, uh, she loved old movies.

- WHITNEY: I don't wanna be a movie star.

Um, I just want to try my hand at it.

Um, the one thing that is most important to me about acting

and being on the screen is that I am believable.

And that has to come across,

because if it doesn't come across,

I ain't never gonna do a movie again.

- [laughter]

- WHITNEY: Yeah, yeah, I got a film coming out.

- INTERVIEWER: Is this your first?

- This is my first, yeah.

I mean, you haven't seen me in any movies, have you?

Lately?

♪ I got the thing that you need ♪

- So the story behind "The Bodyguard" is pretty incredible

because Kevin Costner called Whitney directly and said,

you are the only person I can envision playing this role.

And if you don't accept this part,

we're not gonna make the movie.

- A lot of questions about that, the wisdom of doing it.

I thought that she was, like, really worth it, you know?

In fact, we postponed the movie for a year,

Which then set everybody--

you're waiting a year for someone

that doesn't even know how to act?

You know, I said, yeah, we're gonna do that.

- ♪ If I

- I made her a promise.

I said, you will not be embarrassed,

and you'll be very proud of yourself

at the end of this movie.

- WHITNEY: ♪ And I...

♪ Will always love you...

Kevin chose the song.

He said, Whitney, I'm telling you, this song?

You're gonna love this song. This song is beautiful.

Dolly wrote it.

♪ My darling, you

I listened to it and I said, you're absolutely right.

This is the song.

♪ Memories

- It was number one in the '70s and again in the '80s,

but it did not have the success that it's had

with Whitney Houston.

- She called me one night.

It was really late.

And she said, sis, you gotta hear this.

And I had no words after hearing the songs from that soundtrack.

And I think in that moment,

I think she really realized how beautiful her gift was.

She had no words.

I just knew it would take her to another whole level of stardom.

- ♪ And I...

We had some--some kissing scenes.

We've had some, uh, intimate scenes to do.

- ♪

- Kevin, he was like, whatever makes you comfortable

is what we'll do, you know?

You know, so I was like, all right,

well, don't put your tongue in my mouth, first of all.

[laughs] I did.

I've never felt this safe before.

- Over the years, there were rumors

that Whitney turned down roles in huge movies like "Dreamgirls"

and "A Star Is Born."

Think about that.

But it--it really felt like the movies that she did say yes to

not only helped her professionally,

but it--it really cemented lifelong friendships

that she kept throughout.

- WHITNEY: I closed my eyes and I...exhaled.

[laughs]

I liked that there was finally gonna be a film

about African-American women finally, you know?

We get to see how they live, what they go through.

♪ I believe in you and me

♪ I believe that we will be

- In the, uh, meetings that we had,

we talked about Julia Roberts.

But Whitney made so much sense for so many reasons.

- WHITNEY: Denzel cornered me and he said,

Whitney, you're gonna do this movie.

And I said, well, why? What is this, you know--

He said, it's a very important movie.

It's about community.

It's about helping the community.

It's about spirit of love and hope and charity.

Plus, you know, you can sing gospel.

I said, Denzel, you've never heard me sing gospel.

He said, yeah, but I've heard your mother.

I thought, boy, you know, you know how to get me good, right?

♪ Help is on the way

♪ Yeah

[vocalizing]

♪ Fol-de-rol and fiddly-dee

♪ Fiddly, faddly, foddle

- Who are you?

- I'm your fairy godmother, honey.

- She called me and asked me if I would be Cinderella.

- WHITNEY: It flatters me, really,

to have someone who--who-- who loves me that much,

who listens to me. She listened to me intently.

Sometimes I'm her mother.

Sometimes I'm her sister.

Sometimes I'm her friend.

Sometimes, you know, I'm her fairy godmother.

♪ There is music

♪ In you...

- ANNOUNCER: Coming up...

- KEVIN: Of course, we have to talk about

Whitney and Bobby Brown.

You know, people had a lot of feelings

about that relationship.

And Whitney had a lot of feelings

about people's feelings.

- WHITNEY: Sometimes I read the tabloids and I go,

oh god, this is so awful.

They think that they already know you, you know?

And they really don't.

♪ He builds me up

- ♪

- Hi, Whitney, how are you doing?

- Hi, how are you doing?

- Why do you think these things

keep getting hotter and hotter?

- Because people are hotter and hotter.

Yeah!

- ♪ Everybody's talkin' all this stuff about me ♪

- NISCHELLE: Whitney first met Bobby in 1989

at the Soul Train Awards.

- She was very excited about meeting Bobby.

- Four months later,

Bobby showed up at her 26th birthday party.

- And that's kind of when everything just started.

- ♪

- KEVIN: Listen, Bobby was the life of the party.

He always liked to be front and center.

I mean, he was Bobby Brown.

Let's not forget how big he was at that time.

- Whitney, Whitney, Whitney.

Um, she invited me. I'm having a great time.

- ♪ Happy

♪ Birthday

- WHITNEY: I can tell you this-- I love Bobby and Bobby loves me.

And we're the best of friends.

And, um, we're in love.

And, um, I'm happy and so is he.

- INTERVIEWER: Plans for a wedding, confirm/deny?

- Yeah, there's gonna be a wedding.

You'll know it.

You'll know better when it happens, I'm sure.

- INTERVIEWER: Enough said!

- ♪

- KEVIN: Whitney and Bobby said I do in 1992.

And in those early years, those two had so much fun together.

- You know, I remember she and Bobby going shopping together,

to shop for furniture.

You know, grocery shopping.

She loved going out to, um-- for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Boy, do I remember.

Sometimes I'd get a call.

Um, Miss Pat?

Um, I think, uh,

Whitney and Bobby forgot to pay their--their tab.

Can you come over?

And I'm like, no they didn't!

You know?

I'd have to go over to the restaurant.

- WHITNEY: Bobby and I aren't afraid to talk.

We're not afraid to ask each other, what,

you want me to leave? You know?

You want me to go out the door and leave you alone for a while?

Okay, honey, I'll be right back, you know?

- And everybody who said

what an interesting mismatch relationship it was was...

- Mm. Mm-hmm. [laughs]

Lisa, they have no idea.

They don't know either he or I

to say that we are mismatched, you know?

- [cheering]

- [laughs]

- Not long after Whitney and Bobby got married,

she revealed to the world that she was expecting.

- In a couple of months, it's gonna come out,

and it's gonna be these hands and this face and these feet.

And you're gonna go, oh, that was you in me!

You know? It's exciting.

When she hears her father's music, you know--

if she hears "Humpin' Around"?

It's over. - [laughs]

- She's gonna be goin' ♪ Humpin' around

- I love it. - Loves it.

- ♪ Ain't nobody humpin' around ♪

- ♪ Ain't nobody humpin' around ♪

- You know, it's interesting,

'cause life really changed for Whitney

after she gave birth to Bobbi Kristina.

- CECE: She loved being a mom.

It was a beautiful thing to see,

how much she cared and loved her.

- WHITNEY: It's a different thing, you know?

Um, when you become a mother.

It changes your whole perspective on life, you know?

You really don't live for you anymore.

You're living for your children.

- That was something that she really wanted, a family.

And she wanted a strong family, you know?

And so she was determined not to allow the business

to stop that from happening.

- [camera shutter clicking]

- WHITNEY: She's a baby.

And she doesn't deserve to be, um,

put into this mess, you know?

Uh, this press thing and all that madness.

She doesn't deserve to be followed, you know?

Or be taken pictures of her all the time.

And I'm very, very protective of her.

And I will fight you.

And I will tear your house down brick by brick about her.

So, you know, that's my--that's my--

that's my strength now.

♪ Whitney's having a baby, Whitney's having a baby ♪

♪ Bobby and Whitney are having a baby ♪

- KEVIN: You know, Whitney was so excited to be pregnant again.

Um, unfortunately she ended up losing the baby.

- That wasn't the first miscarriage she had.

- If you go back and you look at one of my favorite photos

of she and I, I'm holding her stomach.

But that baby didn't survive.

People don't realize exactly what she experienced.

She lost a baby around the time of "The Bodyguard."

- There was a lot going on around her,

but not enough privacy for her

to be able to be who she needed to be, you know?

For her husband and for her child.

Everyone was watching,

so how can you survive that when you've got everybody in-involved

in your marriage and your relationship?

- Whitney and Bobby together,

it was one of the most polarizing relationships

that we saw play out in front of us.

I mean, they did face a lot of criticism.

But Whitney stayed by him.

She stayed by him through so much.

And I think the two of them

developed this us against the world type of attitude.

- Stay strong, baby. I got your back.

The whole world knows that the press

loves to be up in my business, you know?

Like they really know.

It's like every day, every day,

Whitney, Bobby, Whitney, Bobby...

You know, I was like, you know, come on.

- What do you think has been the biggest price for fame

that you had to pay?

- My privacy. My life.

I'm a mother.

And it's not a joke anymore.

Damn the jokes!

It's not funny.

- ♪

- She's seven today.

My baby, she's around here somewhere.

She's seven and I want her to stay four.

And she's seven.

I'm real proud of her.

She's a good girl.

- You're the princess, huh?

- Yeah. - Yeah.

- You're running the household?

- Yeah, kind of.

- Pretty much these days, yeah.

I need to sing.

I don't need a career.

It's wonderful that I have one, and it's been very good to me.

I worked very hard at it.

But I need my family more than I need a career.

- That is the greatest love of all.

That is the love that is limitless.

That's why her and Krissy were the way that they were.

That's who she knew saw nothing but the best in her

and loved her unconditionally.

- So Bobbi Kristina was, um,

about to start her own singing career.

She wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps.

- You guys will be hearing a lot from me,

you know, in the next year or so.

So, look out for that.

I'm excited.

Um, Mom's excited.

We're all ready for it.

- Bobbi Kristina, or Krissy, would pass away

just three years after Whitney.

And tragically, she died in a eerily similar way.

But before Whitney died, she was optimistic about the future.

- ANNOUNCER: Still ahead...

- There are new, untold stories about Whitney's final days.

- I'm at a good pace, you know what I'm saying?

I'm at a good pace.

I--I want, um, healthy projects.

- It was supposed to be an exciting time.

I was looking forward to spending

a lot more time with her.

She was ready to live.

- ♪ So tell me why

♪ Why does it hurt so bad, baby? ♪

- ♪

- ♪ Well, there's a bridge

♪ And there's a river

♪ That I still must cross

I'm--I'm at a good pace, you know what I'm saying?

I'm not in any rush to be a bigger star or anything.

I have nothing to prove.

- KELLY: She was ready to live.

Ready to love, ready to start a new chapter.

And to get right what wasn't right before.

She was talking about looking at a place in Orange County

to be near the water.

For somebody to be looking so forward to life,

I just didn't get it.

- ♪ I know - ♪ I know

- ♪ He watches, thank you, Lord ♪

♪ Over me

- CECE: The last time I spoke to Whitney

was the week that she passed.

I called her before she got on the plane to go to California.

I was just calling to check up on her.

Hey, Nip, you good?

I'm good, I'm good.

Are you good for real?

Yeah, I'm good.

She said, I'm on my way to sing for Clive,

going to the Grammys.

I said, all right, well, have a good trip

and I'll talk to you later.

And that was the last time.

- KEVIN: Whitney's very last performance

was on stage with Kelly Price in a small nightclub.

And it was completely unplanned.

- I feel like that's kind of a gift that God gave me,

because even if we didn't know, he knew.

Um, and so it gave me one last opportunity to share

a very intimate and special moment with her.

She pushed me to sing to my limit and didn't care.

[unintelligible], Whitney, I love you so much for that.

You are a class act. You are an icon.

I was having a Grammy celebration party.

I had three nominations that year.

And she called me and she said, I'm gonna be there for you.

And I was like, yay!

So she was there, and we had a ball.

I wasn't expecting her to sing at all.

Um, she came up on the stage.

She made her way to the stage.

And she was like, give me the microphone.

I would've never asked her to take the stage.

I would've never stuck the microphone in her face.

Everyone that was there was performing that night.

And, uh, she started--

She took the microphone,

and she started to sing "Yes, Jesus Loves Me."

- [cheering]

- ♪ Yes, Jesus loves me

♪ Oh, yes

- KELLY: Whitney was raspy that night.

She was raspy that night.

Um, and she was well aware of

what was going on with her voice.

She was working very hard in that moment, during that time,

even here in Los Angeles that week,

to do what was necessary to get it back to where it was,

because music really was at the center of her heart.

It was.

- ♪ Tells, tells me so

♪ Jesus loves me

♪ For the Bible

♪ It tells me

♪ So

- KELLY: But more importantly, when we were done,

when she grabbed me and she embraced me,

she told me, Kelly, I love you. I'm so proud of you.

You did it. You're doing it.

Um, you haven't let the jungle of this business change you.

- For a lot of people, the 10 years...

it resonates.

But for me, it's like 10 minutes.

It's like 10 days.

I can remember prepping for the pre-Grammy show

and feeling like I'm gonna make her proud.

She was in and out of the rehearsals.

She kept touching my face and just telling me...you got it.

Don't worry about it.

Doesn't matter who's watching.

You--you the greatest of the great.

That was something she used to always tell me.

She would always tell me, like...

you forget who you are.

And that's a mistake I always made.

- KELLY: Literally when it happened,

we had just seen each other 30 hours before.

And when I think about it, I think the moment I found out,

um, and how unbelievable it was.

I was praying it was a cruel internet hoax.

- MONICA: Being in the hotel that night,

even after losing Whitney,

the only person I trusted to even tell me what to do

or where to go was Miss Dionne.

And so when she said, you stay here,

you're the only person I want to keep Krissy, stay here,

that's what I did.

- Gary had told me that Whitney had wanted to talk to me.

This was a few days prior.

She asked me, Pat, why do people judge me?

That was the first time

she'd really spoken about being judged.

And I was struggling.

I was praying, like, God, give me the words.

And I said, only God can judge you

at his appointed time.

I'm just gonna stay out here with her until we go back.

We can go back together.

And I didn't realize that on that Monday,

I was taking her home.

But it was me and Gary taking her home to Jersey,

taking her home to her mother.

Dionne was with us.

And we're all sitting on that plane.

And she's in the back of the plane.

And my heart went out to both Gary and to Dionne.

- The phone rang.

And Gary was screaming and hollering

and all that kind of business, you know, crying.

And I said, what's wrong with you?

He couldn't tell me. He was saying, ah, Nippy, Nippy.

Kept saying, Nippy, Nippy. I said, what about her?

He said, they found her.

I said, what happened? She dead?

He said, yes, Mama, she's dead.

Then my doorbell rang after a while.

And I went to the door.

And, um, nobody was there.

And the doorbell rang again.

And I went back to the door.

There was no one there.

And I called down to the concierge.

I said, somebody is ringing my doorbell.

You know, I don't know what's going on.

He said, I have you on the screen.

He said, nobody's there.

And I said, well, maybe she did come home.

- ♪ No one ever knows

I sang a song at her homegoing, at her funeral,

called, "Don't Cry for Me."

♪ Don't cry for me

♪ Don't shed a tear

And it was a song that I recorded years before that,

but also a song that Whitney used to sing in her show.

- ♪ Don't cry...

♪ For...

♪ Me

- It came from my heart.

And, um, I believe it would have made her really happy.

- ♪ I will never leave your side ♪

- KEVIN: I remember Whitney's funeral.

I remember being in that church.

And it was such an emotional day for everyone.

- KELLY: Tyler Perry,

who tried to preach the house down that day, we were wrecked.

Kevin Costner, who I had no idea was a preacher's kid,

snatched my heart in his hand.

- So off you go, Whitney.

Off you go.

Escorted by an army of angels to your Heavenly Father.

- Probably the most gripping moment for me

was when the service was over,

and the pallbearers grabbed her casket.

And in sync, it was almost like synchronized swimming,

it was so perfect.

Or maybe that's just the way I saw it.

But they raised her casket to start walking,

and they started playing "I Will Always Love You."

And when they walked past Mama Cissy,

she stepped out, and she laid her hand on the casket,

and she just dropped her head.

I'm getting chills thinking about it.

And--and my soul just, like, it sunk.

It--it sunk in that moment.

It was real.

It was real at that moment.

- ♪ And I...

♪ Will always...

- MONICA: One thing that outshines

whatever was said in any negative manner

is what she did.

I don't believe that the tabloids destroyed the legacy

because it's written.

It's there.

You know, there are moments where I feel,

towards the end of her life,

she had decided, I'm gonna be me.

You get it how you get it.

Because I think that that is what she always wanted.

- ♪ It's not right, but it's okay ♪

♪ I'm gonna make it...

- MONICA: No matter what, she's always Whitney.

She's always gonna hold the place that she holds

in history, in music,

hopefully in our hearts and in our minds.

- ♪ I'm every woman

♪ It's all in me

- MONICA: The fact is no voice has come close.

No one sacrificed as much as she did.

There were multiple times where she was self-sacrificing

for our entertainment.

You can't disrespect a woman that gives that much.

You can't disgrace a woman that's given that much.

And you can't change that no one's touched who she is,

and what she was, and how she sang ever since.

- WHITNEY: Me. That's all I wanna be is me.

I can't emulate anyone's career,

because this is my career, you know?

And I don't think that anyone who will come,

you know, after me will be able to emulate mine, you know?

Everybody has their own, you know?

Basically this is me and that's all I wanna be, is me.

You have been such a great audience.

I hope that you've enjoyed me as much as I have enjoyed you.

Yes, baby. Yeah, thank you.

- [applause]

- ♪