14 DAY TRIAL // Whitney Houston is gearing up to make a fabulous comeback on the music scene, after such a prolonged absence. With the help of mentor and longtime friend Clive Davis, Houston has come up with “I Look to You,” an album that has already garnered raving reviews at private listening parties. Fans are now getting a first taste of it as well, with “Million Dollar Bill,” the first official single.
Written by Alicia Keys and produced by her boyfriend, Swizz Beatz, “Million Dollar Bill” is an empowering track if the world has ever seen one. With a modern, very catchy beat and plenty of hooks, the single manages to combine the best of both worlds, in the sense that it’s new but, at the same time, it’s also extremely Whitney Houston-specific, several music-oriented publications point out.
However, whereas critics are already on their toes hailing the comeback of the great Whitney, fans are not equally pleased, with most of them saying that they had expected more from her than to resort to studio trickery to sell her music, which is what they call the “updated” sound embraced by the diva. Still, they too bow down to the “amazingness” that is Houston’s voice, which seems to have remained unchanged even after so many years, estimating that “I Look to You” will mostly likely blow up the charts upon release.
“Her fans will be proud. The track has a very classic R&B sound playing on the live bass guitar and smooth uptempo melody; but with all of the classic instrumentation present on the song, it can not take full responsibility for the pizazz that Whitney has up her sleeve. The songstress’ voice reigns supreme all over this song, reminding us why we fell in love with her in the first place. Entering into the track with confidence and a dare to attitude, no one can deny the fact that Ms. Houston is back.” The Examiner writes of the release.
“Million Dollar Bill” was released on radio a few hours ago, which means we’ll probably be hearing it for the next couple of months. The comeback album, the much-hyped and long overdue “I Look to You,” is out on August 31, so keep an eye on this space for more details on it. In the meantime, below is the first single off it: listen and enjoy.