I was devastated to hear that Whitney Houston has passed away just one day before the Grammy’s. Although she was before my time, I grew up listening to her remarkable voice. I can easily say that she had one of the most beautiful and powerful voices of all time. She will definitely be missed. 

On February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in suite 434 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, submerged in the bathtub.The cause of death was not immediately known.It was later ruled by the coroner to have been “accidental drowning”.Beverly Hills paramedics arrived at approximately 3:30 p.m. and found the singer unresponsive and performed CPR. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. Local police said there were “no obvious signs of criminal intent.” On March 22, 2012, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office reported the cause of Houston’s death was drowning and the “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use”.The office stated the amount of cocaine found in Houston’s body indicates she used the substance shortly before her death.Toxicology results revealed additional drugs in her system: Benadryl, Xanax, marijuana and Flexiril.

Many blame Whitneys ex-husband, Bobby Brown as the main cause to Whitney’s addiction. Prior to her relationship with Bobby, Whitney had a phenomenal voice and career which slowly started to deteriorate when she entered in a relationship with the music producer.

The impact Whitney’s Death had on the Grammy’s 

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles being broadcast on CBS. Kanye West received the most nominations with seven. Adele, Foo Fighters, and Bruno Mars each received six nominations. Lil Wayne,Skrillex, and Radiohead all earned five nominations. The unexpected death ofWhitney Houston caused for a change in the schedule. Show producers quickly planned a tribute, with Jennifer Hudson performing a tribute to Whitney Houston’s  famous single, I Will Always Love You.The awards show began with a Bruce Springsteen performance followed by an LL Cool J prayer for Whitney Houston. 

Personally I think Jennifer did an amazing job singing “I Will Always Love You” which is definitely not an easy song to cover. You can watch the tribute by clicking on the link provided below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olTXylHpuJM 

Some controversy also surrounded the attendance of many artists at this years Grammy’s.
It is said that Lady Gaga, amongst other very prominent musicians had decided not to attend the Grammy awards mainly because of lack of attention focused on them,no nominations and no performances. 
However, after the announcement that Whitney Houston passed away, and upon word that Jennifer Hudson would be performing a tribute, it became apparent that viewership for the show on Sunday night would skyrocket. Within hours of the above, plenty, including Lady Gaga, of the stars who decided not to go as they weren’t being featured, turned around and rsvp-ed last minute. Personally, I think the Grammys is definitely an honour to attend therefore I do not understand why any artist would not want to attend regardless of their feature in the show. Whitney Houston was also a huge role model to many of these artists therefore it would look disrespectful to not attend the show especially because of the tribute and emphasis they were paying to Whitneys death. I would be very disappointed to hear that certain celebrities only came for the “publicity” the grammys is a time to honour great music & artists therefore all artist invited should attend.

The death of Whitney Houston is surely a tragedy and should be set as a warning and example to other young women of the effects of abuse and drugs.
 
Sources:  Nadeska, Alexis. Whitney Houston’s Death. Retrieved from: http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/03/24/whitney-houston-autopsy-cause-of-death-details/

Dakota Fanning is rarely in the news stirring up controversy, however her latest campaign for Marc Jacobs is certainly causing some. The United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority banned the 17-year-old’s Marc Jacobs Oh Lola! ad, as they believe the image is too risque for a minor. The ad was shot by Juergen Teller and features Fanning with a flower-shaped perfume bottle between her thighs. She reclines alone above the words “Oh, Lola!” The ASA is concerned with length of her dress, her leg and they believe the position of the perfume bottle drew attention to her sexuality. They considered the ad could be seen to sexualize a child therefore they concluded that the ad was irresponsible and was likely to cause serious offence. This ad is now banned in the UK.

Much like it did to Beyoncé, Christy Turlington, Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie, Britain’s ban-happy media watchdog has set its scrutinizing sights on Marc Jacobs’ latest fragrance frontwoman Dakota Fanning, blocking her latest provocative print ad from its shores after declaring it too “sexually provocative” an image.

The ad appeared in several magazines and newspaper supplements across the U.K., and yielded just four complaints from offended readers, who said the ad was “irresponsible” and portrayed the actress in “a sexualized manner.” Which was apparently enough for the Advertising Standards Authority to take action.

Personally, I do not believe the ad is offensive at all. It all depends the way you look at it. In the media Dakota Fanning is known as being a child actress therefore society still views her as a child when in reality she is now an adult. The bottle could have been placed some place else, however I do not see it being done in a sexualized manner. As for the dress length, it is very common to see young women Dakotas wearing dresses at that length. I would have considered the ad more innapropriate if she was wearing a skimpy outfit but that is not the case. The public will always have something negative to say, in this case it should have been ignored.

Sources: Serpe, Gina. Dakota Fannings sexually provocative ad. Retrieved from: http://ca.eonline.com/news/dakota_fannings_sexually_provocative/274134