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
Brad Paisley has called Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding “one of the least pretentious weddings he’s ever seen”.
The country star attended the ceremony alongside his actress wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley. They joined around 1,000 guests at New York City’s Madison Square Garden earlier this month as the global pop icon married the American football star.
Although the celebration attracted enormous attention and involved tight security and a stunning makeover of the famous arena, Paisley said the occasion never came across as excessive.
“Ironically, (it) was one of the least pretentious weddings that I've ever seen or ever will see,” Paisley told The Associated Press during an interview. “It meant a lot to be (invited). It was, kind of, a big thank you from her to invite us.”
Paisley, who chose Swift as an opening performer for his tour when she was a teenager in 2007, said he was delighted to be included in what many considered the biggest celebrity wedding of the year.
“They were very clear with the invite, and I took this personally when I got the invite, because in the invite, it said, ‘If you're getting this, you mean a lot to us,’” he revealed.
The musician also explained that guests were not told the wedding’s exact location until the date drew nearer.
“It was really fun to watch the cat and mouse game of, like, ‘We can tell you roughly where it's going to be, we're not gonna say what building... and here's the date. If you're in, we'll tell you more,’” he continued. “I went to my wife, I said, ‘Want to go?’ and she said, ‘Absolutely, we gotta be there!’ So, we did it, it was RSVP yes.”
Other famous attendees included Brad Pitt, Gigi Hadid, Bradley Cooper, Ed Sheeran, Sabrina Carpenter, Hugh Grant, Haim and Tom Hanks.
