Whitney Houston's Come-Through Moment
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Oprah: So now we stand here with I Look to You. All these many years later. I was listening to that cut this morning, "I Look to You," and meditating. When you first recorded that song, who were you singing that to? When you're saying, "I look to you."
Whitney: Let me first say that the song was written by Robert Kelly, who we all know as R. Kelly, 10 years ago for me. ... It was the first song presented to me for the album, and I wanted that to be the flavor of what I wanted people to know about me and where I look to. How I got over, how I made it through some of the rough times.
Oprah: So you're talking about something greater than yourself.
Whitney: Greater than me. Far greater than me. Absolutely. Somebody bigger than you and I.
Oprah: And that's why you titled the album I Look to You, because that is the essence.
Whitney: Yes. That is the essence of what I wanted everyone to realize and to feel that this song—this album—is all about.
Oprah: Well, you know my favorite cut on this album. ... Diane Warren and David Foster's ["I Didn't Know My Own Strength"]. Did the song that seemed to come from really the essence of part of your experience?
Whitney: Yes. ... When I think about it now when I sing it, when I started singing it, it went even beyond myself. I went beyond myself because I thought about women who battle cancer. Women who battle bad, domestic situations. I thought about single parents, mothers and fathers. Children who are growing up under such strenuous situations. Not only mine. I went deep down into another place of other people's situations, and I was like, "This is for everybody."
Watch Whitney perform "I Didn't Know My Own Strength"
...
Oprah: When I listened to the second cut on the CD about Nothin' But Love, I think that's what people have for you. Are you feeling that love now?
Whitney: Yeah, but mostly for myself. That's the great part. That's the good feeling. I have it for me.
Whitney: Let me first say that the song was written by Robert Kelly, who we all know as R. Kelly, 10 years ago for me. ... It was the first song presented to me for the album, and I wanted that to be the flavor of what I wanted people to know about me and where I look to. How I got over, how I made it through some of the rough times.
Oprah: So you're talking about something greater than yourself.
Whitney: Greater than me. Far greater than me. Absolutely. Somebody bigger than you and I.
Oprah: And that's why you titled the album I Look to You, because that is the essence.
Whitney: Yes. That is the essence of what I wanted everyone to realize and to feel that this song—this album—is all about.
Oprah: Well, you know my favorite cut on this album. ... Diane Warren and David Foster's ["I Didn't Know My Own Strength"]. Did the song that seemed to come from really the essence of part of your experience?
Whitney: Yes. ... When I think about it now when I sing it, when I started singing it, it went even beyond myself. I went beyond myself because I thought about women who battle cancer. Women who battle bad, domestic situations. I thought about single parents, mothers and fathers. Children who are growing up under such strenuous situations. Not only mine. I went deep down into another place of other people's situations, and I was like, "This is for everybody."
Watch Whitney perform "I Didn't Know My Own Strength"
...
Oprah: When I listened to the second cut on the CD about Nothin' But Love, I think that's what people have for you. Are you feeling that love now?
Whitney: Yeah, but mostly for myself. That's the great part. That's the good feeling. I have it for me.
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