Photo: Diana Sinclair from the Whitney Houston Collection
Whitney Houston's iconic legacy is more lucrative now than ever.
An unreleased recording of the award winning star has sold as a non-fungible token (also known as NFT) for $999,999 during a 24-hour auction --- making it the highest priced NFT auction item on the Tezos (XTZ) blockchain, ever. The never-before-heard track was recorded by Houston when she was just 17-years old and has never been released. According to reports, NFT platform OneOf announced the sale on Wednesday, after revealing back in November that several Whitney Houston NFT would be sold, with artwork by artist Diana Sinclair. Since December 1st, these NFTs have been going on sale during the Miami Art Week.
Proceeds from the sales of the collection will go to the Whitney E. Houston Foundation, a non-profit which continues Houston’s work to empower, support, and inspire young people. Pat Houston, Executor, Estate of Whitney E. Houston, said of the collection:
“I’m excited to see Whitney's legacy and her wonderful music expand into bold new technology of this era. It was a joy partnering with 17-year-old Diana Sinclair and watching the artistry of Whitney's music influence a new generation.”
Artist Diana Sinclair also spoke about the collection, adding:
"It’s empowering to me to see such positive (often playful) depictions of Black women in media, and matriarchal love and perseverance, like in the ‘Greatest Love of All’ music video and song. In the artworks I created, I wanted to highlight those sides of Whitney in the upper tiers, and then create animation work that simply let Whitney shine while touching on the colorful playful energy she had throughout her career.”
The unreleased record isn't the only non-fungible token being released that's related to Houston career. Reports say that gold and platinum tier users have access to rare, archival photos of the singer. Diamond tier users can obtain artwork by Diana Sinclair based on some of Houston’s most famous songs.
Oneof, which calls itself an “eco-conscious NFT platform built specifically for the music vertical”, launched in August with the iHeartRadio Music Festival, and its debut artist collection featured a 26,000 token drop from Doja Cat.