Whitney Houston sings the National Anthem before a game with the New York Giants taking on the Buffalo Bills prior to Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium on January 27, 1991 in Tampa, Florida.
George Rose/GAn early demo recording by Whitney Houston at age 17 is now the highest priced NFT auction item on the Tezos blockchain ever after being sold for $999,999.
OneOf, the green music NFT platform backed by Quincy Jones, announced the unreleased full-length demo recording would be up for auction earlier in December during its two-day immersive art, music and NFT experience during Miami Art Week. The winner of the NFT song auction, which ended Tuesday (Dec. 14), not only has personal access to this recording in their OneOf Vault, but they also have a digital artwork and videos created by another 17-year-old prodigy, artist and photographer Diana Sinclair.
“Being able to collaborate with her music and her family really transformed the way that I saw her in her music videos. I feel more connected to the person that she was. Some of the messages that I put across in my artwork as well, they’re very similar,” Sinclair said in a video from Houston’s NFT collection landing page. She also emphasized how crucial it was to have Black women behind and in front of the cameras for her creation to mirror the way Houston championed Black women on her team. “Working with her voice on something like this really tied me to that time and her in a way that I wouldn’t have had before.”
The rest of the Whitney Houston OneOf NFT collection separates items into different tiers, with gold and platinum items including rarely-seen archival photos of Houston’s early life and career with new, scrapbook-like colorful and vibrant animations (that are still available) and the diamond tier featuring Sinclair’s video artwork inspired by Houston’s discography and “The Greatest Love of All” and “I Will Always Love You” music videos.
Proceeds from the sale of the collection, which has generated more than $1.1 million in sales, will benefit the Whitney E. Houston Foundation, a non-profit organization that furthers the Grammy-winning artist’s work of inspiring and empowering the youth and creating opportunities for their success.
“I’m excited to see Whitney’s legacy and her wonderful music expand into bold new technology of this era,” said Pat Houston, executor of Houston’s estate, in a press release. “It was a joy partnering with 17-year-old Diana Sinclair and watching the artistry of Whitney’s music influence a new generation.”
After finally coming out of the vault in 2021, nine years after the legendary singer’s death, the NFT “represents the genesis of a creative legend,” according to the video on the NFT page.
“Whitney is an icon for the ages,” said Joshua James, OneOf co-founder. “We couldn’t be more excited to be releasing this historical song from the very beginning of her journey as an artist.”
NEWS
Harry Styles paid tribute to the late David Hockney and reflected on his time in One Direction last night (June 12), as he kicked off his record-breaking residency at Wembley Stadium.
Hockney – whose painting of Styles was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in 2023 – died on June 11, aged 88, and the musician honoured him during his set by sharing a quote from the painter on the big screens.
“What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something, because of course art is about sharing,” the quote read. “You wouldn’t be an artist unless you wanted to share an experience, a thought.”
Styles’ gig last night marked the first of 12 gigs at Wembley, which will see the star break the record for the most shows at the venue in a single tour. Coldplay previously held the record, delivering 10 gigs at the stadium last year as part of their Music Of The Spheres tour.
The London residency follows the Together, Together tour beginning in Amsterdam in May, and will be followed by stops in São Paulo, Mexico City, New York, Melbourne and Sydney. He will be supported by a different artist in each city, joined by Shania Twain in London, who delivered a set of hits and new tracks from her upcoming album, ‘Little Miss Twain’.
As the sounds of Simon And Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ played over the stadium PA, Styles made his way to the stage, kicking off his set with ‘Are You Listening Yet?’, from his latest album, ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally’. Between renditions of ‘Golden’ and ‘Adore You’, he addressed the crowd for the first time, saying: “Our job tonight is to entertain you. Your job is to have as much fun as you possibly can.
“If you want to sing, if you want to dance, please feel free. Please feel free to be whoever it is you’ve always wanted to be tonight. We’ve got each other’s backs.”
Throughout the night, Styles subtly reworked some of the songs on the setlist. He dedicated ‘Taste Back’ “to all the ravers in the house”, as a snippet of Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ was interpolated into the song, while a brief burst of Talking Heads’ ‘This Must Be The Place’ was introduced to ‘Treat People With Kindness’. During ‘Dance No More’, the pop star’s band played part of the groove from Happy Mondays’ ‘Step On’, while Styles sang a snatch of Gorillaz’s ‘Clint Eastwood’.
There were also nods to Styles’ days in One Direction early in the set. As the musician left the stage after ‘Fine Line’, the string section on stage played a medley featuring clips of the group’s hits ‘Night Changes’ and ‘History’, plus Styles’ own track ‘Falling’. After ‘Keep Driving’, he took the time to reflect on Wembley’s connections to his and the boyband’s journeys.
“Just outside of this building, just next door, is Wembley Arena, and 16 years ago, my sister brought me to London for the very first time for my X Factor audition,” he said. “So driving here today, and any time I come through Wembley, means so much to me, ‘cause right in that building next door, I was put into a band. We were called One Direction.
The Together, Together setlist features a different surprise song each night at the start of the encore. Last night, Styles treated the Wembley audience to ‘Little Freak’, taken from ‘Harry’s House’, for the first time since 2023. After the song, he spoke to the audience for the final time, saying: “I don’t know if you’ve been listening to me for a week, or a month, or a year, or five years, or 10 years, or 16 years, or whatever it is, but you have changed my life over and over again. Thank you so much for being here and allowing us to do these shows. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
“Finally, 16 years ago, my mother signed me up for the X Factor without my knowledge. I wouldn’t be here today if she hadn’t done that. She’s here today – thank you so much. You’ve changed my life, all of you.” Referencing a lyric in ‘Dance No More’, he added: “Remember – respect your mother.”
‘Are You Listening Yet?’
‘Golden’
‘Adore You’
‘Watermelon Sugar’
‘Music From A Sushi Restaurant’
‘Taste Back’
‘Coming Up Roses’
‘Fine Line’
‘Italian Girls’
‘American Girls’
‘Keep Driving’
‘Ready, Steady, Go!’
‘Dance No More’
‘Treat People With Kindness’
‘Pop’
‘Season 2 Weight Loss’
‘Carla’s Song’
‘Aperture’
‘Little Freak’
‘Sign Of The Times’
‘As It Was’
The Together, Together, London residency continues at Wembley Stadium tonight, with further dates on June 17, 19, 20, 23, 26, 27, 29 and July 1, 3, and 4. Visit here for any remaining UK tickets and check out doors and stage times here.
The gigs will see Styles donate £1 from every ticket sold to LIVE’s levy to help protect UK grassroots music venues and support emerging talent, and before Styles’ headline performance, the big screens at the venue encouraged fans to support Music Venues Trust.
The tour is in support of the star’s latest album, ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally’, which was released in March. In a four-star review, NME described it as “an album that you’ll really want to spend a lot of time with, letting all its layers envelope you”. It added: “It’s the most exploratory album of his career so far, trying out new things and steering his ship in new directions.”
Meanwhile, Styles has also curated this year’s Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre. The line-up chosen by the star includes Stephen Fretwell, Nilüfer Yanya, Orlando Weeks, Bar Italia, Dev Hynes, Jon Hopkins, Getdown Services, LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, Soulwax and more, as well as an intimate gig from Styles himself.
The festival kicked off earlier this week (June 11) with a performance from Los Angeles’ Warpaint, whose show was their first in nearly two years. During the gig, they shared fan favourites like ‘Love Is To Die, ‘Billie Holiday’ and ‘Disco//Very’, plus a cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’.
