Don’t forget about this R&B/pop legend’s love for gospel.
Representatives of the Whitney Houston estate revealed news of the late pop icon’s record, I Go to the Rock, on Thursday.
According to Entertainment Weekly, six unreleased tracks on the LP will feature her singing gospel
music, with the release of the song “Testimony” before the complete album drops later this year.In addition to the album release, a documentary will highlight Houston’s early love of gospel. The documentary will take viewers along the journey from her first local church performance to the release of her 1996 best-selling soundtrack for The Preacher’s Wife.
Reportedly, Houston’s estate rarely collaborates on posthumous music releases. However, EDM musician Kygo remixed Houston’s vocals from a prior recording of Steve Winwood‘s 1986 tune for his 2019 “Higher Love” cut.
Actress Naomi Ackie portrayed Houston in the recent movie I Wanna Dance With Somebody. A.V. Club reported that in her efforts to nail the role, Ackie really invested in the singer’s belief in her own talent.
“The thing that I love about Whitney the most is how she always knew her voice was there. For the majority of her career, she didn’t push it too much. She didn’t over-practice or over-rehearse. She was very relaxed because she had all the faith in her ability,” Ackie said in an interview.
As previously reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE, the one-hour Whitney, A Look Back special premiered last year, featuring unseen footage of the legendary singer. Before that, Houston’s estate released an exclusive NFT collection in partnership with OneOf, a green NFT platform built for the music community.
Houston’s full I Go to the Rock album, with unreleased gospel tracks, is set to release on March 24.
I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston will be available on CD through Gaither Music Group. The documentary will be available on all digital streaming platforms via Arista/Legacy Recordings, in cooperation with The Estate of Whitney E. Houston, available now for pre-order.