guy's mind

"I'm going to show you the picture.
"Oh, yeah.
"That anorexia, bulimia, that it's because of drugs?

Her fans were frightened for her life. Tonight, the rumors, the accusations, no question off limits.

"Is it alcohol? Is it marijuana? Is it cocaine? Is it pills? All?
"Yeah, I'll grant you, I partied.
"Whitney dying. Crack rehab fails.
"First of all, let's get one thing straight, crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack.

She is perhaps the greatest voice of her generation. Back with her first original album in four years. Where has she been? What about the cancellations? And her turbulent marriage to singer Bobby Brown? He talks.

"Have you ever hit her?

And so does she.

"And this is forever.
"That's what I said. Didn't you?

Tonight, Whitney Houston, on everything from the early days to her father's $100 million lawsuit against his daughter. A "Primetime" exclusive, one night only. Whitney Houston as you've never seen her before.

From ABC News, this is a special edition of "Primetime," with Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson. Tonight, Whitney Houston. Now, from Times Square in New York, Diane Sawyer.

Good evening. Charlie's off tonight, as we welcome you to this special edition of "Primetime," a "Primetime" exclusive. Whitney Houston at last. After years now of rumors and silence on her part, she's going to talk about the cancellations, erratic behavior, her explosive marriage, and the headlines that she was near death because of drug use, or partying, as she calls it. And after all, for nearly 20 years, the girl with the voice on fire has fascinated us. Her 170 million records sold, six Grammys, two Emmys. Recently, her hit "I Will Always Love You" voted the top love song of all time. Well, now she has her first original album in four years hitting the stores next week. And so, tonight, we traveled to her new home in Atlanta. She's just moving in. Where Whitney Houston not only shows up, but opens up about it all. Even if you couldn't see her, the voice alone could stop your heart. And then open your eyes. Whitney Houston, the beautiful girl who doesn't just sing the ballads, but tear them from her soul. For half her lifetime, she's been at the scalding center of the spotlight. Intense, complicated, edgy, and then, in recent years, with a series of high profile cancellations, it looked as if she might also be losing control. The last time most of us saw her, the Michael Jackson concert. We gasped at the skeletal frame that walked on to the stage. And the woman who seemed to sing to us from the doorway to death. So when we arrived for the interview, we didn't know what we'd find. We were told she was suffering from laryngitis because she'd been traveling, just back from Los Angeles. But like everyone else, most of all, we wondered how frail she would look when she walked in the room.