Whitney Houston selling Jersey estate

Behind the Scenes

By Antracia Merrill-Moorings

For Sale: Whitney Houston is putting up her $5.6 million New Jersey estate where she was married in 1992, up for sale for a steal of a price—less than half of its assessed value. The fivebedroom, 12,561- sq.-ft. Menham, N.J., home was where Houston wed fellow singer Bobby Brown, whom she divorced in 2007 after a notoriously abusive relationship. It’s described by the real-estate website where it’s listed as modernstyled home full of natural light and containing “circular-themed interior spaces,” as well as a four-car garage, three fireplaces, walk-in closets, a bar and skylights and floor-to-ceiling windows. In 2006, a $6 million New Jersey house was slated for the auction block after she owed more than $1 million in back taxes.

Sasha Fierce Returns: Beyoncé will be hitting fans with a pair of major releases and a TV special just in time for the holiday season. First up is the Nov. 23 release of I Am… Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas, a two-disc live CD/DVD compilation recorded earlier this year at the hotel/casino. That same day will also see the release of a deluxe edition of the singer’s multiplatinum I Am… Sasha Fierce double album. The reissue will come with two bonus tracks, including “Video Phone (Extended Remix),” which features Lady Gaga. The video for that song will premier exclusively on MTV on air and online. The new in-concert CD/DVD was filmed during a show at the Encore Theater at the Wynn Las Vegas on Aug. 2 during a sold-out four-night stint, according to a press release announcing the album. The package contains more than 30 songs from throughout the singer’s career, including four from her three solo albums (“Halo,” “Sweet Dreams,” “Single Ladies [Put a Ring on It],” “Get Me Bodied”), as well as the Destiny’s Child catalog and some surprising covers. The DVD of the concert is also include biographical vignettes woven between the songs, some exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and a bonus feature entitled “What Happens in Vegas.…“ That release will be followed by a onehour TV special on ABC on Nov. 26. The show, “Beyoncé—I Am ... Yours,” is the first-ever prime-time network special by Beyoncé. It will air at 9 p.m. and feature behind-thescenes and concert footage from the DVD.

Baby On the Way: There’s a baby on the way for Robin Thicke and Paula Patton. Patton, 33, is pregnant, according to a message posted on Facebook by Thicke’s mother, former soap opera star Gloria Loring. “I am going to be Nana Gloria again as my son Robin Thicke & his wife Paula are expecting their first baby!,” Loring wrote. This will be the first child for the high school sweethearts, who married in June 2005… 50 Cent is actually releasing Before I Self Destruct LP earlier than expected. After the LP leaked last week, Fif called into satellite radio station Shade 45’s “The Gomez Brothers” show on Saturday to announce that instead of November 23, he’d drop the album on Nov. 16.

Briefly, Toni Braxton is amped for a new era thanks to a solid deal with Atlantic Records and an official release date for her anticipated comeback disc. Led by the single “Yesterday,” Braxton’s return to music will be made official in February of 2010.… Alicia Keys releases her fourth studio album on Dec. 15, fans will see what the title, The Element of Freedom, means to her as a musician.

This is part of the November 18, 2009 online edition of Frost Illustrated.

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