For tons of Whitney Houston fans, August 9 was definitely a bittersweet day. It would have been Whitney’s 55th birthday. But despite her tragic death, her spirit and legacy will live on. In fact, one of the highlights of the day centered on Starbucks’ tribute to the late, legendary singer. For those who missed it, Starbucks paid homage to Whitney in honor of her birthday and fans, everywhere, have applauded the coffeehouse chain for makin’ Whitney’s day even more special.
8,500 Starbucks Locations:
If you walked into Starbucks on Thursday, August 9, 2018, you may have noticed the beautiful sound of Whitney Houston’s voice playing. Song after song, 8,500 Starbucks locations across the United States played Whitney’s music all day long in honor of her 55th birthday. On Wednesday, August 8, a special announcement was posted to Whitney Houston’s official Instagram page. It has been reported that the playlist consisted of 55 Whitney Houston hits including, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” “I Will Always Love You,” and the “Greatest Love of All.” The playlist was created by Whitney’s former music director Rickey Minor.
With an iconic photo of Whitney, the caption included details about the special playlist for her big day. The post read, “We are excited and honored to announce that in honor of what would have been Whitney’s 55th birthday (tomorrow, August 9) our friends at @Starbucks will be playing her music in 8,500 of their stores across the United States throughout the day with a special playlist of 55 songs assembled by @RickeyMinor, Whitney’s former music director!! Visit Starbucks tomorrow and help us honor Whitney’s birthday!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmOUf4tHwrB
To hear Whitney’s Spotify playlist, click here.
An Interesting Day At Starbucks:
Starbucks definitely turned a lot of heads with the beautiful gesture and fans took to social media with comments about the tribute. Many have thanked Starbucks for paying homage to Whitney in such a creative way. In fact, some even admitted they were drawn to Starbucks just to hear Whitney’s voice. “Thank you @Starbucks for playing Whitney Houston music while I get my third coffee of the day,” one fan said via Twitter. Another fan wrote, “I came to Starbucks to read some plays and they’re blasting Whitney Houston and giving away free caramel macchiatos, I am LIVING.”
Thank you @Starbucks for playing Whitney Houston music while I get my third coffee of the day 💃🏻 pic.twitter.com/dzdN15pNCD
— Anna Foti (@XoAnnaFoti) August 9, 2018
The first thing I witnessed when I walked into Starbucks was a woman lip-syncing to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” whilst she applied chapstick. My new life-goal is to live every moment with as much verve as that woman.
— Kenny Youch (@kennyyouch) August 6, 2018
I’m sitting outside a Starbucks where Whitney Houston is blasting & it smells like donair.
Life is good. pic.twitter.com/NlsP9bZxEA
— Lindsay Bissett (@LindsayBissett) August 11, 2018
Others noted just how different the vibe was with Whitney’s voice blaring in the background. To most fans, it made their day so much better. “The first thing I witnessed when I walked into Starbucks was a woman lip-syncing to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” whilst she applied chapstick. My new life goal is to live every moment with as much verve as that woman.”
And The Beat Goes On:
Although Whitney’s birthday was August 9, apparently, the party is still going, because social media users from different cities all over the U.S., have revealed quite a few Starbucks locations are still blaring Whitney’s music, days after her birthday.
This Starbucks is playing all Whitney Houston songs and I completely approve. Happy Saturday ☺️
— ree (@reee_suhh) August 11, 2018
Is today Whitney Houston’s birthday? I got my oil changed and Honda had her station on. I’m at Starbucks and they have her station on too.
— Trust the Process 🌿 (@nprocesswetrust) August 11, 2018
Starbucks playing a whole Whitney Houston album in here. They really took that sensitivity training seriously lmao
— thicctoria monet ✨🇳🇬 (@cater2liz) August 11, 2018
But for others, the day was still a bittersweet reminder of the fact that Whitney is really gone. “The Starbucks I’m in is currently playing Whitney Houston songs (It’s her birthday, yall) and I’m tryna keep my face together. Lawd. The effects her music had on me growing up can’t be overstated. She left an amazing body of work. May she rest in peace.”
In honor of Whitney’s birthday, many celebrities also took to social media to wish the late singer a happy birthday. Mariah Carey, Kelly Price, Ledisi, Missy Elliot and a few others all reflected on their relationships with Whitney.
#WhitneyHouston Nippy I said let me ROCK ONE OF THE BEST VOICES tshirt today🙌🏾your voice has been a gem to the World🙌🏾 you have left us with Timeless Classics & your music will continue to FOREVER fill our hearts❤️ pic.twitter.com/z3yB8jNWyw
— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) August 9, 2018
This was definitely a cool attempt to make up for that racist disaster the chain experienced thanks to the hiring (and probably the firing) of that one ex-employee who had two Black male college students arrested for sitting in Starbucks. But I digress. Nonetheless, cool points earned by Starbucks for the Whitney salute. Happy belated birthday to Whitney “Nippy” Houston!
