Houston: 'I feel great'
Whitney Houston made her first high-profile public appearance since seeking treatment for substance abuse and filing for divorce - at a charity event in Beverly Hills on Saturday night.
The Greatest Love of All star made a surprise appearance at the 17th Carousel Of Hope Ball, which raised more than $70m (€55m) for juvenile diabetes research.
The singer filed for divorce from singer Bobby Brown two weeks ago after 14 years of marriage.
The newly-blonde Houston donned a black Armani gown and diamonds and basked in the attention saying: "I feel great."
The 43-year-old was escorted by one of the evening's honorees, record producer Clive Davis, who told newspaper USA Today: "She's been through emotional trauma, and everybody's rooting for her."
Fellow music producer and the event's other honoree, Quincy Jones, who has known Houston since she was 16, said Houston seems to have turned a corner adding: "She's looking at the light, instead of darkness."
Houston sat at the main table with Halle Berry, who herself is a diabetic, and the actress' boyfriend Gabriel Aubry.
The star did not sing at the event, but American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee, who was the evening's entertainer, paid tribute to Houston by singing I Have Nothing instead of her hit song Over the Rainbow.
According to the newspaper, Houston acknowledged the tribute by nodding at McPhee during the performance and then led a standing ovation afterward.
