I was really young when Aaliyah reigned the charts. As a consequence, I wasn’t privy to how deep the relationship between her and her brother Rashad Haughton ran.
It wasn’t until Wednesday, August 21 after the unveiling of her wax figure at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas, and examining it up close, that I realized just how deep that relationship was. Is. A bond like that can never be broken, I’m sure.
The craftsmanship by Madame Tussauds was met with rave reviews by the Babygirl fandom– the only critics that actually matter.
Let Rashad tell you and that’s what he makes of Madame Tussauds. At the end of the day, what they do-is art.
“So the way that it works is that we definitely used those [iconic makeup] looks to mimic…but when you do the makeup and everything it’s a totally different process.The skin tone and everything. To get that sort of golden look that my sister was known for was a very unique sort of preparation. So everything was really done in a very unique way. Everything is real but it was also art,” said Rashad Haughton.
Still the beauty of his sister both externally and internally is something only God himself perfected.
When I heard the news about Aaliyah’s wax figure I thought, “the audacity to take on an iconic (think about that for a second) and ICONIC figure, and not just an R&B icon but pop culture and not just pop culture but Black Culture and not just Black Culture but single handedly a phenom of the 20th-century, and hit a home run? The audacity and the courage.”
Well done Madame Tussauds.
“From the inception of the idea, Madame Tussauds had me involved from picking the look. From deciding how we were going to choose the pose.They were amazing. They really are the best in the business and they were so open to all of my ideas,” said Haughton.
What’s more is that that fans visiting the Aaliyah wax figure can interact with her by downloading the “Aaliyah App“. Turns out he’s quite the tech genius. The “Aaliyah App” was created by him in his continuous mission to honor and preserve the memory and legacy of his sister.
“So if you have an iPhone you can download it and when you walk up-to the figure, it puts on the makeup [from the ‘Try Again’ music video. It’s sort of like a mini social network for all of her fans. There’s a little ‘I’ that comes up and if you tap on it the metadata comes up for people that want to learn about her, her birthday, a little tidbit about ‘Try Again’ trivia. So download the app and have some fun with something really unique that we’ve done with Madam Tussauds,” said Haughton.
The celebration comes to a bit of a bittersweet moment for me after my conversation with Rashad.
Headed back up to the VIP area where Kash Doll, WWE power couple Zelina Vega and Aleister Black, fans and media mingled, I learn that the unveiling of Aaliyah’s wax figure comes just short of her 18th death anniversary.
To speak, exist, and move with such grace in a moment where you are reliving memories and creating an uncanny version of your loved who is now standing beside you is indeed a strength that even I with me sun in Leo don’t think I’ll ever possess.
On my way home listening to “Heartbroken” (my favorite Aaliyah song), I go back to the last question I asked Rashad which was “What’s your favorite song by your sister?”
To which he replied with the cheesiest smile:
“Oh my God! That’s so hard! I love them all. It’s really difficult. But you know what I’m going o say? I’m going to really say that every single one of her songs is so epic on every album, but what I will say is when she performed “My Funny Valentine” on Stars that was the first time she everly really stepped on a stage and really embraced it. Actually, even before “My Funny Valentine” she sung it with Gladys Knight here in Las Vegas. That’s my godmother! So actually, the first time my sister was ever on a stage professionally was here in Las Vegas.”
As all stories about greatness and legends throughout history have taught to us is that the greats ultimately always return home.
With that being said, welcome home Aaliyah.
