Whitney Houston is set to record with super-producer and artist Akon. Speaking backstage at the Billboard Music Awards Akon (Aliaune Thiam) said he’s met with the singing powerhouse who has been looking to him for advice on her comeback. "With her it’s more like ‘What direction do you think I should go?’ and me coming in and making suggestions," he said. "She’s been through a lot and people know it. She’s at a whole other stage now where I feel like she’s been there and she’s coming out of it." Akon, who recently worked with Gwen Stefani and Elton John says he’s hoping to bring a brighter sound to Whitney’s new music. "My personal thing is I want to do more up-tempo records to kind of get her away from the whole situation of the dark side. So it’s more like a celebration that she survived that," he enthused. "I feel like if she embraces that part of her and brings all that stuff into the records, I think it’ll be huge because people wanna hear that story. From what people been hearing outside in the press — he said/she said, I think if it came from her, and people actually heard it coming out on a record I think it would be huge." As for how Whitney is doing? The producer said the star is getting ready for her comeback. "She’s doing great," Akon said. "She’s in the gym, she’s moving around and gaining some weight."
Access Hollywood
Am I like the person who never heard Akon before two weeks ago?
