Whitney Houston: An appreciation

Whitney Houston was almost too good to be true -- a near-impossible package of a singular, powerful voice, movie-star good looks and a self-assurance that only comes to those at the absolute top of their game.

She wasn't just a star. She was a superstar who spawned a constellation of stars who wanted to follow her example, from Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera to Mary J. Blige and Alicia Keys.

With her particular set of gifts, there was only one person who could stop Whitney Houston and that was Whitney herself. And, unfortunately, she did.

Houston's death at the Beverly Hilton Hotel came just as the 48-year-old from New Jersey was planning the comeback that her fans had been waiting for. She was expected to perform at her mentor Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy gala that night. She had finished filming her role in the remake of the movie "Sparkle," loosely based on the rise and fall of The Supremes. She was also hoping to become a mentor on "The X Factor," a possibility the show's creator Simon Cowell told CNN he was set to discuss Monday.

We will never know whether this comeback attempt would work for Houston after so many in recent years had failed. Although her 2009 album, "I Look to You," did manage to go platinum, it did not meet Houston's previously high standards artistically or commercially.

"She had everything, beauty, a magnificent voice," Barbra Streisand tweeted after hearing the news of Houston's death. "How sad her gifts could not bring her the same happiness they brought us."

In an era when so many celebrities angle to be "just like us," eager to dole out nearly every little piece of their personal lives on Twitter and Facebook, the appeal of Houston, like Streisand, was not in her normalcy, but that she was extraordinary. Her talent was still incomparable, even as the years of drug use had seemingly taken their toll on her amazing voice.

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It's hard not to appreciate the sweetness of her early albums, especially her 1985 debut "Whitney Houston," when she was still seemingly unaware of how unique and powerful her voice really was. She clearly underplayed "Saving All My Love For You," even though simply mastering the song's vocal range would have exhausted the talents of most good singers. She kept the skill needed to deliver the playful "How Will I Know" mostly under wraps to accentuate the song's sense of lovestruck fun.

Then came "The Bodyguard," which established her as a movie star and as the Queen of Pop, as the film's soundtrack topped the charts for 20 weeks. Houston took a lovely Dolly Parton song, "I Will Always Love You," and turned it into an unquestionable declaration.

She gave a booming voice to the jilted and the lovelorn, as well as solace to those looking to move past their troubles. That bond is why millions of fans stood behind Houston, even as her marriage to Bobby Brown became more tumultuous and her issues with drugs and alcohol became more evident.

As Houston's behavior became more erratic and was even chronicled in the reality series "Being Bobby Brown," people found it easy to poke fun at her, even though it was clear that she was ill.

Maybe it was because she still seemed so defiant and powerful when she spoke. The most poignant part of her infamous 2002 interview with Diane Sawyer wasn't her "Crack is wack" remark. It was the way she declared her toughness and intentions to continue making music. "I won't break," Houston said, in a raspy voice. "I'm not a person who wants to die."

Maybe we shouldn't have believed her. Maybe it really was all too good to be true.