Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody

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WHITNEY:
Free

Free

[WHITNEY CLEARS THROAT, TRILLS LIPS]

Tell me, will you stay

Hm

Just all that you are

And everything that you do

Away

Away

WOMAN 1:
Coming back in five.

WOMAN 2:
Does anyone have eyes

on Whitney?

MAN:
I've got eyes on Ms. Houston.

WOMAN 1:
Tighten up on four.

WOMAN 2:
Three, two, switching to channel four.

MAN:
Lights 25, stand by.

WOMAN 1:
We are live in five, four, three, two...

MAN:
Lights 25, go.

[AUDIENCE CHEERING, CLAPPING]

Whitney!

WHITNEY:
We're gonna do a medley for you.

It's about love.

The things we do to get it, and the things we do to keep it.

Guide me

O Thou great Jehovah

Pilgrim through

This barren land

I am weak

But Thou are mighty

Hold me

With thy powerful hand

Bread of heaven

Bread of heaven

Feed me till I want

No more

Bread of heaven

Bread of heaven

Feed me till I want no...

[CONGREGATION SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]

...more

[CONGREGATION CLAPPING]

[GIGGLES]

[CONGREGATION EXCLAIMING]

Guide me, O Thou...

Stop.

Mommy.

Again.

Mom!

Again.

God gives you a gift, you gotta use it right.

Guide me

O Thou great Jehovah

You have to learn the melody.

Once you learn it, then you can play around, do your little flourishes.

Now, do it again.

Guide me

O Thou great Jehovah

Know the melody backward and forward.

Pilgrim through...

And enunciate.

...this barren land

Pay attention to the words.

Complete every word.

I am weak

But Thou are mighty

Every song is a story.

If it's not a story, it's not a song.

Hold me

With thy powerful hand

Great singing comes from three places.

Bread of heaven

The head, the heart...

Bread of heaven

...and the gut.

And get your eyes off that damn door, girl.

You know what, I quit.

No, you don't quit.

You gave that up when you told me that you wanted to do this.

Mommy, I just wanna sing.

Again.

Guide me, O Thou...

You will honor your commitment to this, Nippy.

...great Jehovah

Your idea, you see it through.

Pilgrim through this...

Pride.

...barren land

You're a Houston.

Bread of heaven

Bread of heaven

Love you, Mommy.

[SCOFFS]

All right.

METEOROLOGIST:
Variably cloudy skies at 5, 10 to 15% chance of a...

REPORTER 1:
President Reagan will also consider curbing some benefits.

REPORTER 2:
A note of optimism this morning in East Orange, New Jersey.

ROBYN:
I'll see y'all Saturday, okay?

Hey. See you Saturday? At 10.

See you Saturday. Okay.

Thank you.

Baby, just suppose

I should happen

To cross your mind

Hey.

And by some chance

A boy like me

You've really

Been trying...

What?

I just said "hey."

Hey.

[CHUCKLES]

And you are?

Whitney Elizabeth Houston.

Whitney Elizabeth Houston.

You always say your middle name?

All right.

Well, I'm Robyn Crawford.

You from 'round here?

Mm-hm.

East Orange.

Word?

Yeah.

Where you go to school?

Mount Saint Dominic Academy.

Oh. Catholic schoolgirl.

White Catholic schoolgirl.

[BOTH LAUGHING]

You?

College.

Yep.

Wait a minute.

So, Cissy Houston is your mom?

Uh-huh.

The singer?

Yep.

Heh.

You know, Dionne Warwick is my first cousin.

Dionne Warwick?

Nah, you sh1tting me.

No damn way.

Yeah.

Girl, Aretha Franklin's like my godmother.

Okay, now, Whitney Elizabeth

Houston...

...you dreaming.

No. No, my dream...

No, it's crazy-- Is to be a professional singer like them.

But the bar is way, way too high, so...

...I'm happy to just sing my little

"shoop-shoop, diddy-dum, diddy-doos," backing my mom.

Mm.

Let me hear you.

Sing.

Uh-uh.

Aw...

No.

Nah, I showed you my three-point shot.

Come on, sing.

You know what?

You know, you should come to Sweetwater's.

Yeah, you can see me sing chorus for my ma.

Mm-hm.

Mm-hm.

All right,

Whitney Elizabeth Houston.

I'mma come see you.

Mm-hm.

But you better

know how to sing.

[AUDIENCE CLAPPING]

I'll be there

When all your dreams

Are broken

To answer

Your unspoken prayer

Yeah

Deep down in my heart

I'm gonna miss you

And in my dreams

I'll kiss you

Ooh

And I'll even wish you luck

On your new affair

Oh, yes, I will

But remember, baby

If you need me

All you got to do is call me

And don't worry

Don't worry, baby

Don't you worry

I'll be there

I'll be there

Oh, yes, I will

CISSY:
All these years, all these years...

JOHN:
That's it.

CISSY:
...I had to look

the other way...

JOHN:
Just change the subject.

CISSY:
...pretend I don't know what's going on.

That's what you do every time.

You're out there doing everything you big enough to do.

And I'm out there, on the road, busting my ass!

On the road busting your ass, huh?

So what are you, the savior?

Sole breadwinner! That's right.

Sole breadwinner. For years.

I swear to God, I'll walk out that g*dd*mn door!

Do it! Finally be doing something!

I've been looking after these kids.

Out on the road busting my ass.

Yeah, "busting your ass"!

Doing what?

Yeah, you work now!

You work now!

JOHN:
So you've been working all this time?

How do you think I'm walking out these...

Sup, Nippy?

Yeah, I said I'll sit here--

Singing my ass off.

[JOHN & CISSY CONTINUE

INDISTINCTLY]

Hey. Don't even worry about it.

[GLASS SHATTERING]

CISSY:

Do it!

[]

[BOTH LAUGHING]

Look at that.

Hey!

[CHAKA KHAN'S

"PAPILLON" PLAYING]

Okay.

You took my breath away

This is so great.

This will be forever.

Nippy. I need you to listen now.

Mommy.

I love you.

That's great.

Chanson papillon

[SIGHS]

Mm.

Check us out.

Just begun to fly

Clive!

Hey.

Clive, thanks for coming.

Thank you.

So, she sings backup for her mother.

Uh-huh.

But wait till you see this girl.

I'm telling you, total knockout.

Model looks, right?

But the voice--

Oh, my God, the voice.

She's just-- It's really--

All right, calm down.

I'm here, aren't I?

Come on.

Yeah.

How're you doing?

Good evening.

Evening, sir.

CISSY:
I don't know who the hell

you think you talking to!

Think you're so damn grown!

Well, I know what I want!

You think you know what you want!

GARY:
Clive Davis!

CLIVE:
Hi, Gary, how are you?

A pleasure.

Hey, Gerry.

[COUGHING, CLEARING THROAT]

My voice.

What?

My voice.

It's gone.

[WHISPERING]

I need you to do the opening solo.

What?

Mama, you were shouting at me a second ago.

Well, maybe that's what done it!

And I need some time to get it back, so you start the show tonight.

I'm your mother, no talking back.

Yeah, Mommy, I just--

Look...

I need you to help me now.

Start the show.

Sing "The Greatest Love of All."

Not another word.

[NORMALLY]

Don't make me whup your ass.

[COUGHS]

"Greatest Love of All."

All right?

Gerry.

Cissy.

Clive.

How are you?

Good to see you.

Nice to see you too.

[AUDIENCE CLAPPING]

I believe the children

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