Nearly 40 years after Whitney Houston released "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" all 11 of her Billboard Hot 100 No.1 singles have been compiled into a new album "WH1TNEY" released Friday. The release is part of birthday celebrations marking what would have been Houston's 63rd birthday on Sunday.
Other tributes include the fifth annual Whitney Houston Legacy of Love gala on Saturday and the singer's first-ever Barbie doll made by Mattel and launching Sunday. The doll wears her look from the 1987 "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" music video.
Pat Houston, executor of Whitney Houston's estate and her sister-in-law, called the projects "a dream come true." She said Houston always considered a No. 1 hits collection the ultimate representation of her career the songs that "were the soundtrack to millions of lives."
On the Barbie, Pat Houston revealed she and Whitney discussed the idea more than 20 years ago also calling its arrival "emotional and very much inspiring."
Asked about music mogul Clive Davis, who died in June, she said his legacy remains inseparable from Whitney's, noting he "revered" her career until his death.
On a possible biopic, similar to this year's Michael Jackson film, Pat Houston said the estate remains cautious and wanting any project to have genuine purpose rather than oversaturate the market. She hinted at plans around the 35th anniversary of "The Bodyguard" next year and expressed hope to bring previously unseen Whitney Houston live performances to audiences in particularly in North America ahead of the 15th anniversary of her death in 2027.
