Naomi Ackie gives audiences a glimpse into the life of Whitney Houston in director Kasi Lemmons’ new biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” and the new film is packed with a number of Houston’s hits.
Working with movement coach Polly Bennett and vocal coaches Tangela Large, Bridgette Jackson and Denise Woods, Ackie also underwent physical transformation with the help of numerous wigs and false teeth to cover the natural gap in her two front teeth.
Ackie doesn’t sing most songs in the film — she lip syncs to Houston’s perfect tracks instead — but she mimics Houston’s style of singing with great detail. She steps in for performances by Houston that were not recorded, such as “Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah” and “Jesus Loves Me” from her choir-singing days. Ackie also portrays a nervous Whitney who is thrust onstage by her mother, who knows Clive Davis is in attendance,...
Working with movement coach Polly Bennett and vocal coaches Tangela Large, Bridgette Jackson and Denise Woods, Ackie also underwent physical transformation with the help of numerous wigs and false teeth to cover the natural gap in her two front teeth.
Ackie doesn’t sing most songs in the film — she lip syncs to Houston’s perfect tracks instead — but she mimics Houston’s style of singing with great detail. She steps in for performances by Houston that were not recorded, such as “Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah” and “Jesus Loves Me” from her choir-singing days. Ackie also portrays a nervous Whitney who is thrust onstage by her mother, who knows Clive Davis is in attendance,...
- 12/28/2022
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
Actress and singer Naomi Ackie credits dialect coaches Tangela Large, Bridgette Jackson and Denise Woods with helping her immerse herself in the voice of the one and only Whitney Houston for the biopic “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” and says nailing down Houston’s speaking voice was the key to inhabiting the role — especially since Ackie is English.
From Houston’s early choir days to catching her big break in the presence of legendary producer Clive Davis, to the more tumultuous moments of her career like her deterioration due to drugs and her declining marriage to rapper Bobby Brown, director Kasi Lemmons, Ackie, co-stars Nafessa Williams and Stanley Tucci as well as many more helped craft the prism through which audiences will glimpse the music artist in the TriStar Pictures release, now playing in theaters.
On top of mimicking Houston’s singing and performing techniques, Ackie also had...
From Houston’s early choir days to catching her big break in the presence of legendary producer Clive Davis, to the more tumultuous moments of her career like her deterioration due to drugs and her declining marriage to rapper Bobby Brown, director Kasi Lemmons, Ackie, co-stars Nafessa Williams and Stanley Tucci as well as many more helped craft the prism through which audiences will glimpse the music artist in the TriStar Pictures release, now playing in theaters.
On top of mimicking Houston’s singing and performing techniques, Ackie also had...
- 12/24/2022
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
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