"Count on Me" | ||||
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Single by Whitney Houston and CeCe Winans | ||||
from the album Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album | ||||
B-side | "One Moment in Time" | |||
Released | March 4, 1996 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:26 | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Babyface | |||
Whitney Houston singles chronology | ||||
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CeCe Winans singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Whitney Houston,CeCe Winans - Count On Me (Official HD Video)" on YouTube |
"Count on Me" is a song recorded by American singers and best friends Whitney Houston and CeCe Winans. Produced by Babyface and co-written by Babyface,Houston and her brother Michael,it is an uplifting song about leaning on a friend for support when needed. Released in early 1996,the song was the fourth single from the soundtrack album of the motion picture Waiting to Exhale ,and the second single by Houston released from that album and its soundtrack. "Count on Me" became Winans's highest-charting single on the US Hot 100,peaking at number eight. It was certified gold in the US.
AllMusic editor Craig Lytle wrote,"She (Whitney) teams with Cece Winans on the inspirational duet "Count on Me",and both accomplished singers raise all hopes with their comforting vocals." [1] A reviewer from Billboard deemed the song "torchy". [2] The magazine's Larry Flick commented,"The touch of superstar producer Babyface is,as always,unmistakable,and he excels with this song's lush string arrangement. Vocally,Houston dominates the track,though Winans makes a strong-enough impression that those who have yet to hear her fine recordings will yearn to hear more. A buddy song for the diva generation that is destined to saturate pop radio airwaves into the spring." [3]
Gil L. Robertson IV from Cash Box picked it as a "standout track" of the soundtrack album. [4] Chicago Tribune editor Greg Kot felt that Winans's is one of the few voices on the album that sounds enraptured. [5] British magazine Music Week rated it four out of five,adding,"a slightly lethargic ballad from the Waiting To Exhale soundtrack but,since everything Houston touches turns to gold,put your money on this reaching the Top 10." [6] Gary Darling from The Orlando Sentinel commented that "with its swelling choruses and shouted pledges of friendship",the song "is infused with We Are the World earnestness and overkill,but the performances save it from being too treacly". [7]
The accompanying music video for the song features Houston and Winans giving a concert performance,while clips of the Waiting to Exhale feature film are sporadically mixed in. The "Count on Me" music video peaked at number one on music channels BET,MTV,and VH1.
On a Valentines Day episode of Sister,Sister ,the three principal actors:Tia Mowry,Tamera Mowry and Marques Houston,sing the song at a karaoke bar. They sing the first two verses and the chorus.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [30] | Gold | 800,000 [31] |
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer, actress, film producer, and philanthropist. Known as "the Voice", she is one of the most awarded entertainers and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 220 million records worldwide. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts and her performances influenced the breaking down of gender and racial barriers, as well as popular culture. Known for her vocal delivery and distinctive timbre, Houston was ranked second by Rolling Stone on its list of the greatest singers of all time. Her life and career have been the subject of multiple documentaries and television specials.
Waiting to Exhale is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Forest Whitaker and starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett. The film was adapted from the 1992 novel of the same name by Terry McMillan. Lela Rochon, Loretta Devine, Dennis Haysbert, Michael Beach, Gregory Hines, Donald Faison, and Mykelti Williamson rounded out the rest of the cast. The original music score was composed by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. The story centers on four women living in the Phoenix metropolitan area and their relationships with men and one another.
Priscilla Marie Winans Love, known professionally as CeCe Winans, is an American gospel singer who has garnered 15 Grammy Awards, the most for any female gospel singer; 31 GMA Dove Awards, 19 Stellar Awards, 7 NAACP Image Awards, 1 Billboard Music Award along with many other awards and honors to her credit including being one of the inaugural inductees into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. Winans is the best-selling and most awarded female gospel singer of all time, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Music City Walk of Fame.
I'm Your Baby Tonight is the third studio album by American singer Whitney Houston. It was released on November 6, 1990, by Arista Records. The album is one of the best-selling female albums of all time and has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Just Whitney is the fifth studio album by American singer and actress Whitney Houston, released on November 27, 2002, by Arista Records. It was her first studio album to be released after her greatest hits compilation, Whitney: The Greatest Hits (2000), and the follow-up to her multi-platinum fourth studio album, My Love is Your Love (1998). Just Whitney was also Houston's first to be released after re-signing her contract with Arista in 2001 for $100 million - the largest recording contract for a female artist at the time.
"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston, featured on the soundtrack for the film Waiting to Exhale. It was released as the lead single from the soundtrack on November 6, 1995, by Arista Records. The song was written and produced by Babyface. A mid-tempo R&B and soul ballad, composed in the key of D-flat major, the song's lyrics speak about growing up and learning to let go. The song garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, many of whom noted Houston's vocal maturity in the song.
"I'm Your Baby Tonight" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston from her third studio album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990). Written and produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface, in Australia and most European countries it was released as the album's lead single by Arista Records on September 28, 1990; in the United States, the release date was October 2. Following the release of her second studio album Whitney (1987), Houston became the first woman ever to debut atop the Billboard 200; despite this, critics deemed it safe and formulaic. Additionally, she was booed at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards and accused of being "not black enough"; Houston decided she needed to change her sound if she wanted to recapture black audiences.
The albums discography of American singer, actress and producer Whitney Houston consists of seven studio albums, eight compilations, three soundtracks, five box sets and six extended plays. In 1986, Houston's self-titled debut album spent fourteen weeks at number one on the Billboard 200, earned three number one singles in a row on the Billboard Hot 100 including "How Will I Know" and "Greatest Love of All" and was 1986's top album of the year, giving Houston the distinction of the first female artist to earn that honor. The album became the first studio album by a female artist to be certified over ten-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in January 1994, and went on to be certified fourteen-times platinum, tying with Britney Spears' ...Baby One More Time, as the highest-certified debut album by a female artist in history. It sold 25 million copies worldwide and earn a Guinness World Record as the best-selling R&B studio album by a female artist in the United States. Houston's second album, Whitney, was released in 1987 and became the first album by a female artist to debut at the top of the Billboard 200. It also became the first female album to spend its first ten weeks at number one, eventually staying there for eleven consecutive weeks. The album spawned four number one singles in a row including "I Wanna Dance with Somebody ", which helped Houston become the only artist to produce a record seven consecutive number-one hits. The album was certified Diamond by the RIAA for sales of ten million equivalent album sales and topped the charts in other countries, eventually selling in excess of 20 million copies worldwide. Houston earned a third consecutive top ten album on the Billboard 200 with the release of I'm Your Baby Tonight in 1990. The album helped Houston become the first female artist to earn multiple number one singles off three or more albums.
Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album is the soundtrack for the film of the same name, released on November 14, 1995, by Arista Records. Produced by Babyface, the soundtrack features appearances by several prominent R&B artists, including Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, TLC, Brandy, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Faith Evans, Patti LaBelle, SWV and Mary J. Blige.
The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album is the soundtrack to the 1996 film of the same name and features songs performed and produced by American singer Whitney Houston, who also stars in the film. The soundtrack was released on November 26, 1996, by Arista Records and BMG Entertainment. With sales of 6 million copies worldwide, it is the best-selling gospel album of all time.
"I Believe in You and Me" is a song written by Sandy Linzer and David Wolfert in 1982. The song was first recorded and released by the R&B group The Four Tops, who released it as a single from their album One More Mountain (1982). While it failed to reach the US Top 40, it became a moderate hit for the group on the US Billboard R&B chart, peaking at number 40 in early 1983.
"Not Gon' Cry" is a song by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige, from the soundtrack to the film Waiting to Exhale; the song is also featured on Blige's third album, Share My World (1997). It was written and produced by Babyface and became a major hit for Blige in the United States, where it peaked at numbers one and two on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles and Hot 100 charts, respectively. The single sold 1,000,000 copies domestically and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
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