Whitney Houston Denies Drug Rumors After Postponing Tour Dates

Whitney Houston said she was hospitalized in Paris this week for allergies.Just a day after postponing a number of dates on her European tour, Whitney Houston denied rumors that the shows were called off because of a drug relapse.

"I'm feeling great ... I'm ready to move on and continue my world tour," the 46-year-old singer, who has acknowledged a struggle with drug addiction in the past, told People magazine.

On Wednesday, Houston postponed a handful of dates because she was reportedly suffering from an upper respiratory infection and had been advised by her doctors not to perform. She was scheduled to perform on Thursday and Friday in Manchester, England, at the Manchester Evening News Arena, but has pushed back those shows until June 16 and 17. She rescheduled this Sunday's concert in Glasgow, Scotland, for May 1, and had previously called off Tuesday's show in Paris.

On Wednesday, Houston postponed a handful of dates because she was reportedly suffering from an upper respiratory infection and had been advised by her doctors not to perform. She was scheduled to perform on Thursday and Friday in Manchester, England, at the Manchester Evening News Arena, but has pushed back those shows until June 16 and 17. She rescheduled this Sunday's concert in Glasgow, Scotland, for May 1, and had previously called off Tuesday's show in Paris.

The singer was hospitalized for what was described as an upper respiratory infection earlier this week, which led to the scotching of the first four shows on her European tour and tabloid speculation that she had slipped back into drug-taking.

She called such reports "ridiculous," adding, "at this point, I just don't respond. I don't even read it." She explained that she checked into a hospital in Paris on doctor's orders, blaming the illness on her seasonal allergies. "My health is terrific," she said. "But this is a time when I get a lot of allergies."

The tour is now slated to pick up again on Tuesday, April 13, in Birmingham, England, and go through June. "I'm doing what I love to do, which is singing," Houston said. "The best part is seeing all of my fans around the world."

In February, after some fans and critics said Houston was out of breath and had trouble hitting notes during her concerts in Australia, her rep denied that she was having health trouble. "Whitney is in great health and having a terrific time on her tour and with her fans," the publicist told E! Online.

Houston staged a comeback late last summer and released her first album of new material in seven years, I Look to You.

Smoking liable for Whitney Houston's deprived Concerts

The R & B star took her nil but Love shows to Australia this month, but the tour has been marred by complaints from critics and fans Down Under who claim she has been harassed to complete her sets.

Houston supposedly coughed her way through a show in Brisbane, taking usual breaks to catch her breath, while fans are reported to have walked out of her concert in Sydney when the singer's voice began to crack.

Her voice recently shrugged off rumors of ill health, and now tour promoter Andrew McManus has opened up about Houston's breathing difficulties, pinpointing her tobacco habit as the cause.

Whitney Houston's explore advocate has offered a rationalization for the singer's hesitating voice - the star declines to stop smoking.

McManus enlightens, "Whitney smokes. She will not take any imports. She just will not. It is what it is. She's comfortable with the show she's performing. She knows she's not hitting every note like she used to. But it's value for money, its Whitney Houston warts and all."

"It's an motivating loom. Here I am being forceful in trying to protect her and she said, 'I love you for it but let it go. I can only give my best, if that's not good enough, so be it. I'm comfortable in my own skin.'"

Whitney narrate Drug-Filled Months Spent in Pajamas - Oprah Winfrey

Ahead of Oprah Winfrey sat down with Whitney Houston for her first post-"crack is whack" interview, airing Monday, the talk mass required to make sure the resurgent singer was up to the task. Her response? She wanted to "tell the truth" about her troubles, namely her high profile fall from R&B superstar to drug-using punch line.

Winfrey told Access Hollywood the interview "will leave you gasping," adding, "She does not blame her ex-husband Bobby Brown and she takes full responsibility for her engagement in drugs."

"At one point she says, 'I didn't get out of my pajamas for seven months'. She talks about doing the drugs and sitting in the house and the two of them going, 'What are we doing?'"