Rihanna has officially thrown her hat in the ring for the role of Whitney Houston if there is ever to be a biopic and a role to be played.
Reports recently abounded that record label executive Clive Davis was heading up efforts to make a biographical film to honor his close friend, but Davis has since denied the rumors.
Rihanna was reportedly being considered for the role, but she recently revealed that she would "love" to portray the legend.
"That would be something that I would have to give my entire life to do because I would want to really pull it off," Rihanna told The Press Association. "That's a huge, huge role and whoever does it has to do a good job."
Rihanna was on the short list of contenders for the role, along with Jennifer Hudson, Vivica Fox and "Sparkle" star Jordin Sparks. Brandy was also mentioned in some reports.
Though Rihanna may lack acting experience compared to the other candidates, she's not completely new to the industry. The Talk That Talk singer is set to debut her acting abilities in her first film, "Battleship," alongside Alexander Skarsgard, Brooklyn Decker and Liam Neeson. The sci fi thriller will be released in the U.S. in May.
But for Rihanna, portraying Whitney is not so much about acting experience, but about the chance to represent her musical inspiration on the big screen.
"My first song that I remember falling in love with was a Whitney Houston song -- 'I Will Always Love You,'" Rihanna said. "It was really inspiring and it made me develop a passion for music, so really she's partly responsible for me being here in this industry."
It has come to this: Music legend Elton John is using music legend Whitney Houston as a cautionary tale for addiction. In an interview with "E! News," the 65-year-old told David Burtka that his proudest accomplishment in life was not his six Grammy Awards, but getting sober in 1990.
"I would not be the person I am today [if I hadn't]. I wouldn't have [son] Zachary, I wouldn't have [husband] David [Furnish]. I wouldn't have anything. I'd probably be dead," he says in the on-camera interview.
Elton continues: "I didn't want to end up like Whitney Houston, and I could have so easily ended up like Whitney Houston. It's a miracle I didn't. Because I'm sure I did as much cocaine as she ever did."
Bobbi Kristina Brown, Whitney Houston's only child, spent her mother's last day in her arms, the 19-year-old told Oprah Winfrey on "Oprah's Next Chapter," her first interview since Houston was found dead in her hotel room on Feb. 11.
The night before Houston died, her daughter with ex-husband, singer Bobby Brown asked her mother to sleep with her as she often did.
"Sometimes she'd come in my room, she'd lay down with me," Bobbi Kristina told Winfrey. "On the last day, it was so early. I went to go get her. I said, 'Mom, will you just come lay down with me?' She stayed with me all day. I slept in her arms all day. All night long."
Does Bobbi Kristina want to change her name?
Bobbi Kristina appeared stronger, more confident and mature than one would expect of a teenager and only child who just lost her mother. Bobbi Kristina spoke to Winfrey at the Atlanta home of her uncle and aunt, Houston's older brother, Gary, and wife, Patricia, who was Houston's manager and confidant.
Bobbi Kristina said support from her family and God is helping her cope with the loss. She is also comforted by her mother, who, she said, still speaks to her.
Gutsy "American Idol" contestant Jessica Sanchez took on Whitney Houston's biggest hit, delivering a performance that awed the show's judges.
When host Ryan Seacrest asked the panel to name Wednesday night's top two singers among the 13 finalists, Steven Tyler was ready.
"Jessica Sanchez and Jessica Sanchez," Tyler said.
The 16-year-old San Diego high school student's assured version of "I Will Always Love You" was "just amazing. I don't even know what to say," Jennifer Lopez exclaimed during the performance show.
"Jessica, you may be the one. You just made 40 million people cry," Tyler said (adding a dose of hyperbole by roughly doubling the show's biggest Wednesday night audience for the season so far).
Randy Jackson didn't hold back either, calling Sanchez "one of the best talents in the whole country."
On the Fox show's 400th episode, the men tackled Stevie Wonder's catalogue and the women choose from Houston's hits, a tribute to the singer who died Feb. 11, on the eve of the Grammy Awards, at age 48.
"I Will Always Love You" was played at the conclusion of Houston's New Jersey church funeral last month.
The "American Idol" finalists performed as the Fox show marked its 400th episode. In a twist, the male and female singers who rank lowest in the audience vote will be announced Thursday and the judges will decide which of the two will be bounced.
Others who impressed the judges included Joshua Ledet, 19, of Westlake, La., with his version of "I Wish"; Hollie Cavanaugh, 18, of McKinney, Texas, with "All the Man I Need," Colton Dixon, 20, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., with "Lately," and Phillip Phillips, 21, of Leesburg, Ga., with "Superstition."
Areosmith frontman Tyler offered Phillips an intriguingly enigmatic review.
"You're a very interesting character, man. You got a lot of `fuhgeddaboutit' in your voice. There's no words for it. You just are. You know what I'm saying," Tyler said.
Skylar Laine's version of "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" was another standout.
"You're a country girl .... But what you just proved, you can sing any song," Jackson told the 18-year-old from Brandon, Miss.
Just days after Whitney Houston's funeral, the rumor mill is buzzing about a biopic chronicling the late singer's life.
The Daily Mail reports that Clive Davis will helm the project, while Jennifer Hudson, Vivica Fox and Jordin Sparks are on the short list to play Houston, with Rihanna thought to be the favorite.
But another star may have her eye on the role: Brandy Norwood, Houston's co-star in the 1997 adaptation of "Cinderella."
"My dream role would be to play Whitney Houston," Brandy told TrueExclusives only weeks before Houston's passing. "Of course she would have to sing all the songs. But I would love to play Ms. Whitney. I have her personality down pat, her 'isms' down pat. Like no offense ladies -- it's a lot of talented ladies there -- but nobody can play Whitney like me. Yes!"
Do you think Rihanna is right for the role of Houston?
