People – Amy Winehouse
August 2, 2009
Amy Winehouse Performs for Nelson Mandela Tribute
By Mariana Grebler and Monique Jessen
Originally posted Friday June 27, 2008 05:35 PM EDT
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Amy Winehouse was back on stage in London Friday when she performed rousing renditions of two of her hits at a special concert as part of Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday tribute.
Wearing a white-and-black form-fitting dress, the Back to Black singer, 24, sang “Rehab” and her massive hit “Valerie” for the crowd, who welcomed her with loud cheers.
Despite her recent hospitalization, Winehouse looked healthy. She wore her trademark beehive loose at the back. Decorating her hair was a heart-shaped adornment inscribed with “Blake” for her incarcerated husband, Blake Fielder-Civil.
With Mandela watching in the wings, Winehouse danced while performing “Valerie” and revealed glimpses of her shorts-style underwear. At the end of the song, she made a simple bow of her head, moved back towards the band and thanked the Soweto Gospel Choir.
A surprise guest spotted in the crowd was Prince William’s girlfriend Kate Middleton.
The first that the crowd saw of Winehouse was at about 8:30 p.m. when she joined the rest of the performers to listen to Mandela make a brief speech. The concert also raises awareness for his 46664 charity and campaign, named after Mandela’s prison number. “Our work is for freedom for all,” Mandela said.
Led by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Winehouse joined performers and guests such as Geri Halliwell, Leona Lewis and Annie Lennox on stage to sing “Happy Birthday” to Mandela, with Lennox blowing a kiss to the statesman as he left the stage.
Winehouse also took lead vocals in a version of “Free Nelson Mandela,” alongside Jerry Dammers, the writer of the ’80s anthem, and most of the concert’s performers, including rockers Queen.
People – Whitney Houston
August 2, 2009
Whitney Houston ‘Fantastic’ at London Show
By Courtney Rubin and Mariana Grebler
Originally posted Friday May 09, 2008 04:25 PM EDT
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Whitney Houston has taken another step in her comeback. The diva wowed the crowd when she performed Thursday at the Caudwell Children Legends Ball, at Battersea Park in London.
During her hour-long set, Houston “both looked and sounded amazing,” a guest tells PEOPLE. “She was fantastic.”
Houston, who is working on a new album with her old friend Clive Davis, sang hits, including, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” “I Will Always Love You,” “The Greatest Love of All,” and “Saving All My Love for You.”
“It was like her greatest hits, only live,” adds the guest.
Houston, who has had a tumultuous custody battle with her ex-husband Bobby Brown, brought daughter Bobbi Kristina, 15, on stage and introduced her as “the love of my life.” The pair performed a duet of “My Love Is Your Love.”
Among the evening’s guests was singer Kelly Rowland, who said before the show began, “I’m jumping through my skin to see [Whitney] again.”
As for Houston’s troubled past, the Destiny’s Child singer said, “People should not judge her. She’s done more than prove herself.”
