Whitney Houston 2, 2003), and gospel singer Emily "Cissy" (Drinkard) Houston. Her elder brother Michael is a singer, and her elder half-brother is former basketball player Gary Garland. Her parents were both African American. Through her mother, Houston was a first cousin of singers Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick. Her godmother was Darlene Love and her honorary aunt was Aretha Franklin, whom she met at age 8 or 9 when her mother took her to a recording studio. Houston was raised a Baptist, but was also exposed to the Pentecostal church. After the 1967 Newark riots, the family moved to a
I Didn't Know My Own Strength (Whitney Houston song) (the second U.S. release) became the international lead single. Houston performed the song on The Oprah Winfrey Show on September 15, 2009 and live on the 2009 American Music Awards broadcast. Due to the popularity of the song a remix-EP was released alongside remixes for the two official singles on November 6, 2009. I Didn't Know My Own Strength (Whitney Houston song) "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" is a song performed by American R&B-pop singer Whitney Houston, taken from her seventh studio album "I Look to You" (2009). The song was written by Houston, award-winning writer, Diane Warren and