Whitney Houston: Does Naomi Ackie really sing in the biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody?


In theaters since Wednesday, “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody” looks back on the incredible and tragic journey of the American singer.

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Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Kasi Lemmons

With Naomi Ackie, Stanley Tucci, Tamara Tunie…

What is it about ? The uncompromising portrait of a complex woman who was nicknamed the Voice. From her beginnings as a backing vocalist in New Jersey to her status as one of the most awarded and acclaimed artists of all time, the film charts the uplifting, poignant and deeply moving journey of Whitney Houston. An exemplary career punctuated by sensational concerts and the star’s most emblematic songs.

An actress who gives voice


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In order to best embody Whitney Houston, Naomi Ackie had to practice vocally. On set, even though the sound wasn’t recorded, she was actually singing during the backing tracks. Producer Jeff Kalligheri explains: “You have to be able to see the face, the energy, the thorax swell, the vocal cords tense, the throat, the breaths”.

In addition, the film is punctuated by concert scenes of which there are no recordings. Naomi Ackie can be heard singing on Guide Me, O My Great Jehovah, among the singers with Cissy Houston at Sweetwater’s, or warming up her voice with Cissy at church.

It is on the track Greatest Love of All that the transition between Ackie and Houston takes place. At the beginning, when the young woman has stage fright and lacks precision, it is Ackie who sings. Her voice asserts itself halfway through the song, when Whitney Houston’s original master was integrated. It is also from this scene that we will hear the true voice of the legendary singer until the end of the film.

Adapt sound to cinemas


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Bringing this story to the screen, the authors have managed to work from the original recordings of 22 songs by Whitney Houston that have become classics, and remix them to adapt to the most technologically advanced sound system in today’s cinemas. . It is actually the voice of Whitney Houston that we hear singing in the film on these songs.

Sound engineer and mixing supervisor John Warhurst and music supervisor Maureen Crowe worked with rights holders and archive managers to obtain not only the final master but also Whitney Houston’s original, raw multitrack recordings. Warhurst was thus able to remix the original recordings for an ideal sound intended for the cinema and to make them coincide with the performance of Naomi Ackie on the screen.

By the screenwriter of Bohemian Rhapsody


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The project was born from the meeting between music producer Clive Davis and screenwriter and producer Anthony McCarten who had just participated in the biopic on Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody. “During a dinner in a New York restaurant, Clive offered to dedicate my next film to Whitney, promising me that he would help me meet the people of the Houston Foundation”, says McCarten.

“Suffice to say, it was a necessary step to gaining access to the songs, without which the prospect of telling a singer’s story is meaningless. Initially, I wasn’t convinced there was was really new enough material to make a film about Whitney, but the next day Clive showed me a video of Whitney where she plays Impossibly Medley, and I found the dramatic axis of the film”, recalls the screenwriter .

In the skin of Whitney


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In order to be able to camp Whitney Houston, and in particular to soak up her most famous concerts, Naomi Ackie collaborated with vocal coach Bridgette Jackson and choreographer Polly Bennett to develop a gesture corresponding to the singer and restore his most emblematic performances.

Ackie spent a year working on every aspect of his body language with Bennett, who coached on Bohemian Rhapsody, Elvis and The Crown. Coincidentally, Bennett was Naomi Ackie’s teacher during the choreographer’s first job at a London drama school.

physical transformation


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It was with the help of head costume designer Charlese Antoinette Jones, head makeup artist Tisa Howard and head hairstylist Brian Badie that Naomi Ackie was able to transform into Whitney Houston. The actress wore fake teeth to hide the gaps between hers, makeup to give her eyes an almond shape similar to the singer’s and sculpt the bottom of her nose and eyebrows, and wore around 30 wigs to recreate the different hairstyles of the singer.



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