Plot Synopsis

SUPERSTAR is a one-hour documentary series that features rare footage and intimate details about the mavericks who shaped American culture, including Whitney Houston, Kobe Bryant, Robin Williams and more. The series travels deep inside the lives of these icons and features interviews with friends and family who reveal the meteoric highs and the devastating costs of fame.

The series opener profiles music legend Whitney Houston, with never-before-seen private video that showcases Houston -- a Black woman who broke barriers to become a modern pop icon -- in a new light. The 60-minute program features new interviews with those who knew Houston, including musicians Brandy, Chaka Khan, BeBe Winans and Darlene Love; Narada Michael Walden, musician and producer; Michael Bearden, musical director; and Savion Glover, dancer and choreographer. It also includes interviews with Houston and Bobby Brown from the ABC News archives.
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On Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 10pm ET/PT, ABC premiered the Aaliyah episode of SUPERSTAR. R&B icon Aaliyah -- who helped redefine the genre with her unique mix of old school and new school sound -- continues to inspire and influence music, fashion and culture decades after her untimely death in an August 2001 plane crash. The primetime event explores how Aaliyah emerged as a chart-topping musician, actress on the rise and fashion trendsetter as a young teenager. The program sheds light on the circumstances of her underage marriage to R. Kelly, who has since been convicted as a sex offender, and shows how Aaliyah's relevance continues as a new generation experiences her music decades later. The program features exclusive interviews with those who were close to Aaliyah, including music executive Damon Dash, her former boyfriend; Barry Hankerson, her uncle and CEO/founder of Blackground Records; and recording engineer and producer Jimmy Douglass, who worked with Aaliyah in the studio. ABC News also has exclusive interviews with recording artists who cite Aaliyah as an influence, including Justine Skye, Sevyn Streeter and will.i.am. In addition, the program features exclusive interviews with fashion designers Karl Kani, who opens up about what it was like to style Aaliyah, and designer and stylist Aleali May, who reflects on Aaliyah as an enduring sartorial muse.