Whitney Houston’s Crowning Achievements — Our Top 3

While the movie itself received mixed reviews, the music certainly did not. The soundtrack is certified diamond and has sold more than an incredible 45 million copies worldwide. Whitney Houston had five major hits on the album, two of which were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song. Of course, the crowning jewel of the album, "I Will Always Love You," showcased the best of Whitney, and sold more than 12 million units.

A song that originally was just a cover song (Dolly Parton wrote the original in 1973) became an international phenomenon. Whitney Houston originally was going to sing, "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" for The Bodyguard film in 1992, but she changed the song after it was going to be used for Fried Green Tomatoes. The result? One of the greatest love songs of all-time. Billboard lists "I Will Always Love You" at No. 68 on its list of greatest songs, ever.

With the United States fighting in the Gulf War, Whitney Houston stepped onto the field at Super Bowl XXV and delivered, to this day, what is the gold standard of "The Star Spangled Banner." It is performances like this that most artists can only dream to achieve.