While original songwriter Dolly Parton took the song to No. When it comes to infidelity in pop songs, the typical spurned lover does one of three things: never recovers, goes running back to the cheater or plots revenge.
But in this sensible song, Whitney finds out her man is unfaithful and says six simple words: "It's not right, but it's okay. Two different versions of the track were successful for Houston: the Darkchild album mix with its syncopated marimba beat, which is featured in the music video, and the Thunderpuss dance mix that got the bulk of radio airplay.
The power. The passion. The soaring notes. Ranging from breathy to an all-out golden belt, Whitney takes us on a thrilling vocal roller coaster with this song from The Bodyguard. The richness of her voice tears through the lyrics of a woman begging her lover not to let her hurt anymore. When you listen, you feel the pain and longing that Houston emotes. And, truly, we have nothing if we don't have Whitney. With that succinct but to-the-point direction, Houston sings with urgency and heat.
That added intensity made it an all-time classic. The smash brought Houston her second Grammy in three years for best pop vocal performance, female. Houston would go on to have a demonstrably bigger hit—you know the one—but she never again sounded so alive, so on-fire, so free. This is how many of her fans prefer to remember her. Search term.
Billboard Pro Subscribe Sign In. Top Artists. Top Charts. Hot Songs. Billboard Top Videos. Top Articles. By Billboard Staff. Copied to clipboard. Is he forgiven? He is not. But will she move on, and eventually triumph? You bet your cheating, no-good heart. Just make sure you leave your keys by the door on your way out.
The Seoul Olympics needed an anthem, and Houston rose to meet the challenge with this majestic carpe diem chest-thumper. And its Annie Lennox-penned second single — an ode to not biting off more than you can chew, set to a churchy dance beat — peaked at a respectable No.
If I was the engineer, though, I would have definitely removed or lowered those in the mix. It really depends on my mood. Let me know where you stand on it.
The song was used in several Sanyo commercials, which you can see here:. Honestly, this song is a weird choice for a commercial. The song itself is fun though, and Whitney seems like she had a good time singing it.
What could go wrong?? Not much, actually. She sounds great of course, and the words are yearning and contemplative. There was a rumor when it came out that it was about an abortion but I find that a little bizarre and she denied that was true.
Reid and Babyface would write a song like this about abortions. Whether it was true or not, I now kind of think about that every time I hear this song, which is a bummer because it is actually a good song. Her voice is powerful and she puts a LOT of runs in it. I also saw a murder mystery show about his son, who was convicted of murdering his girlfriend. True songwriting goals minus the rape and murder of course. As you can see, there are a lot of people on this song. This version of the song is not in the movie.
The film version is a sweet lullaby she sings to her son:. Why they decided to make it a jam, I have no idea. My dad used to have jams all the time when I was a kid, with all his musician friends playing whatever they felt like and trading solos. This feels very similar. No one appears to be concerned about making the song a cohesive whole. The rap if you want to call it that is just…no. Whitney has a producer credit on this, and I so wish I knew what exactly she did. I know a lot of artists not going to mention names but there are many who demand writing and production credits even though they had nothing to do with it.
I would just love to know what she did out of curiosity. I actually really love this song. The lyrics are empowering and strong. I think if her voice were in better condition, this song would be way higher on my list. I feel bad for saying that, since I know she did the best she could.
Remember earlier, when I mentioned certain songs that demanded privacy while ironically being singles that would fail if given said privacy? This song is a great example of a proper response to rumors, in my opinion. I much prefer this take on it than the others. Do it and thank me later.
This is another one of those sweet songs that could totally be the first dance at an 80s-themed wedding. The chorus in this one is pretty strong. Teddy Pendergrass was amazing on this. This was originally released on his album before hers and was released as a single.
Another from her last album, they appeared to try to save her from a lot of vocal work by making the melody largely one note. Where other songs on this song show her vocal wear-and-tear, this seems like a safe spot for her voice.
This is kind of a weird mashup; the two songs are not at all similar and the part where they change is awkward. She picks up her energy shortly, and the runs she puts into it are really nice. I also hate the little noisemaker at the beginning of the song and the chorus intros. The plot twist at the ending is also kind of predictable, but still cute. It has a jazzy feel to it. I could totally hear my dad blasting this for his cool white guy jazz collection.
Also, invite me because I can bore your friends to tears with my Whitney Houston facts. This song was so important to me when I was a kid. The bridge builds so nicely, increasing the need to be with that person. Her voice is apprehensive in the beginning verse, leading to the confident chorus. My favorite part of the song is the bridge. Did I mention that Whitney is one of the greatest singers of all time?
I have to say that out of the many versions of this song, my favorite is the Christina Aguilera version. The Whitney version is from her final album and again, she needs a lot of help on this one. The song picks up after the intro and it kind of becomes a club jam, which is confusing at first. This song was recorded in , the same time Whitney released The Bodyguard.
Their harmonies are solid and Whitney has a couple of spine-chilling ad-libs. Definitely worth a listen. Yes, there is a cheese factor here. At the end, she goes into an ad-lib style where we get to really see her shine. I memorized every note of her ad-libs which I realize makes them no longer ad-libs and a lot of my reasoning for putting this song this high is probably the nostalgia factor. This is a cover of the original version written by Sam Dees for The Manhattans.
This is similar to the other duets on her first album, but the melody is super catchy. Whitney sang a tribute to him in which you can hear here. They were close friends, and they did this adorable interview about each other:. The beginning of this one is a little rough.
Her talent is apparent and the song is decent. Whitney herself also claims to have hated the song, which speaks to her talent that she can sing a song she hates this well.
We still have to put all of our effort and emotion into it. Also, I need to point out that of the songwriters listed, Chuck Jackson wrote only the title and Frank Wildhorn wrote the rest.
GUYS I forgot this song completely. Thanks to Mpande in the comments for letting me know! I really love this song. She starts the song sounding almost nervous, then finds her strength in the chorus and grows from there.
So, why is it this low? Sorry I missed it! I really do love it though. I cannot believe I forgot this one. This was not on a Whitney Houston album, and I think that may have been why I initially missed it. It was originally released as a single for the Olympics the terrible music video is in my post here. I do know and love the song, and I have no excuse for missing it. Also, the music video. This is a cover of a George Benson song if you want to hear the original here.
I love this song, so this is hard for me to rank this low. It just speaks to how much I love the other songs. She…she is talking about Jesus, right? To be fair, this is also where I would go if I needed help. I encourage you to listen to this song and picture this reference. This is such a good song and I love it so much. The melody flows easily and the words propel it forward. She sings it with just a hint of the sexy attitude we will come to know and love later.
Her voice was so perfect on this whole album, but she really gets to show her abilities here. She can be pitchy at times, but she more than makes up for it with enthusiasm.
Did you know this is actually a cover song? You can hear their version here. The melody is in her lower range, even in the chorus when the intensity picks up. This is a smart move and plays to her current strengths. It was written by Danja, R. Kelly and Marcella Araica and produced by Danja and R. Have you seen this movie? Because if not, you definitely should.
Vance, a pastor who is an idiot and neglecting his attractive and talented wife. Their kid prays for help with their marriage a sign your kid knows way too much about your love life. God is apparently drunk, and decides the way to save their marriage is to send a sexy angel who falls in love with Whitney.
No joke. All for the good of her marriage, you see. This is from Sparkle and is a duet with Jordin Sparks. Did Jordin Sparks get this job because her last name is sort of like the title? Probably not. The lyrics are pretty campy, but they do a good job making us forget about it by slaying the vocals. This is a super dramatic song. Made for the stage with plenty of cues to change the lights. You can picture her singing this in a theater with long black gloves and a fancy necklace or at least I can, and have hundreds of times.
The lyrical imagery is great on this one. Anyway, the song is emotional and strong and of course, it was a big hit. Whitney pays tribute to Dennis Brown in the latter. This one is a little more edgy rock than your typical Whitney music, but she does it well. So, why is it this high on my list if I have so many issues with it?
These are from the Cinderella movie and not an actual album, but Whitney killed it in this film and so did Brandy. The back and forth between Brandy as Cinderella and Whitney as her fairy godmother are great, and they seem to inspire each other to sing better in this duet.
How cool would it be to have Whitney Houston as your fairy godmother?? Are you kidding me? All I can say is that Whitney was in her element when she made this album. She got started in church choir and I think returning to her roots was good for her and great for all of us. Kirk Franklin wrote this song. The melody is great and she sings it unironically, which keeps it from becoming campy.
I feel like if she pushed too hard into the metaphors, it would be over-the-top and annoying. Instead, she does her usual thing and sings her ass off, and it makes the song romantic and fun. Hitting insanely powerful notes for minutes at a time? Doing a run with 42 notes in it? She seems unaffected by the vocal acrobatics. This is not inclusive of her live performances, where she notoriously struggled at times. Only slightly, though. She executes it perfectly, and for all of her live performances you can see on YouTube , you can tell she has an easy time connecting to the song and drawing out the emotion.
She did this on every song, but this one is one I feel she rarely had a hard time performing live, even when her voice was at its roughest. So, why is it this low on my list? This is not scientific, okay?? Give me a break here. I was so obsessed with both Whitney and Mariah, and this was the ultimate thing that could ever happen for me as a young child.
The media continued to make it seem like they hated each other, and it really annoys me that tabloids have to continually create drama where there is none. Mariah and I got along very great. We had never talked and never sang together before. We just had a chance for camaraderie, singer-to-singer, artist-to-artist, that kind of thing.
I really like Mariah. Why is that not good enough? This is an amazing song and they were friends, end of story. Many have attempted to sing this classic. Few have really succeeded in turning it into an incredible version that people still love decades later.
Most of the ones we tend to remember are cases of extreme screw-ups or cringey moments. The fact that Whitney can put her own spin on a classic and make it well-loved for generations is further proof of her genius. The Whitney documentary on Hulu, and also in a full review I wrote here talks about how they changed up the song to make it different and memorable. I highly recommend watching the movie.
Edit your vocals correctly, people! We all know that. It truly is an incredible song written by Dolly Parton, who is also a queen and incredible musician. There is a newer movie version available on I Wish You Love , which is nice after hearing this version 17 million times. Kirk Whalum is in it. It would just be great if the radio would pick a different single every now and then.
Lord knows she has plenty of them. Young Whitney is singing in an empty restaurant. A cameraman just happens to be there and starts recording her with both eyes open, which makes no sense. This is another Georgia Mass Choir piece, and these are all so incredible. Some sites have him credited with only a few songs while others have more. I used to torture my younger brother with this song.
He was into hip-hop and metal, and he hated my Whitney collection. Still, I love this song. Faith Evans and Kelly Price add a nice touch, even though I think Whitney could have handled it herself. Evans and Price are like the icing on the cake, and I love the icing more than anything. Those frosting flowers, are you kidding me?? Just like this song. I did a cover of this one and it remains one of my favorite songs of all time.
The melody and lyrics play perfectly with each other; the melody reaching its highest point at the most emotional part of the lyric. This song never fails to make me emotional. I am not a horse person, I know nothing of horses, but if this horse was still alive we would totally be friends.
Animals love Whitney too. We have very few moments of Bobbi Kristina singing. Her voice is simple, but good. She seems to have a good grasp of pitch and rhythm and at 10 years old, she did a great job. She was not without her troubles, but show me a perfect teenager anywhere. This is a good song. Can you imagine if anytime someone did a cover song, they randomly stated the name of the original artist?
This version is a little more updated than the Chaka Kahn version in terms of mixing and production, and Whitney does her thing and goes nuts at the end.
Both versions are good. Some days I love this song and other days it gets on my nerves. The chorus melody is clunky to me. She hits some super low notes on this song and they seem pretty effortless. As a lifelong alto, I loved being able to hang out in the basement notes with Whitney. This was a single off of the album, and many people surmised that it was about Bobby Brown. It was written by a team of people and was produced by Babyface and Rob Fusari.
She can sing it about whomever she pleases, but it always annoyed me when people tried to guess whether or not her songs were about Bobby Brown. Have you heard her jazz album??
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