After seven years of self-imposed exile from the pop music scene, Whitney Houston, is set to kick off her world tour for her latest album "I Look to You" in Korea next month.
This will be the six-time Grammy Award-winning singer`s first concert in Korea, set to be staged at the Olympic Park Gymnasium in southern Seoul on Feb. 6.
For over two decades the pop-R&B diva has been turning out hit after hit of memorable pop songs like "Saving All My Love For You," "Greatest Love of All" and "I Will Always Love You" from the movie "The Bodyguard," in which she starred alongside Kevin Costner. All of these hits also topped the Korean charts.
Considered the artist responsible for cementing Arista Records as one of the premiere labels for grooming future pop divas, Houston has established a benchmark for her contemporaries.
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With more than 170 million combined records and videos sold worldwide throughout her career she is still the reigning Queen of the pop-R&B genre.
She is what many consider to be a "singer`s singer" who has influenced countless other vocalists, both female and male.
Some of her record-setting accomplishments include being the only artist to notch up seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits, the first female artist to enter the Billboard 200 album chart at No. 1, and the only artist with seven consecutive multi-platinum albums.
At the peak of her career, she parlayed her success as a singer into acting where she starred in a string of box office hits like "The Bodyguard," "Waiting to Exhale," and "The Preacher`s Wife."
Her latest album "I Look to You" was released last August debuting at the top spot on the Billboard charts.
To date it has sold 2 million copies worldwide.
But all of her success gave way to personal demons that she has had to battle.
During her seven-year hiatus, the 46-year old diva has been a staple on tabloid pages for her alleged substance abuse and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown.
From run ins with the law for marijuana possession, the infamous Diane Sawyer interview in 2002, to being victim of domestic violence, Houston has had to claw her way back from one setback after another during the years away from the public spotlight.
During a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier in 2009, Houston admitted to using drugs with her then husband Bobby Brown and spoke of her desire to get back in the music game.
Houston is set to perform in Japan, Australia and kick-start the European leg of her tour afterwards.
Concert tickets costs from 180,000 won to 70,000 won. For more information visit www.hyundaicard.com, www.yes24.co.kr, ticket.auction.co.kr, or contact (02) 1566-1369.
The forthcoming concert is part 8 of the Hyundai Card Super Concert series ahead of this month`s Green Day concert, which is also set to be staged at the Olympic Park Gymnasium.
(kws@heraldcorp.com)


By Song Woong-ki