"One Moment in Time" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Whitney Houston | ||||
from the album 1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time | ||||
B-side | "Love Is a Contact Sport" | |||
Released | August 27, 1988 | |||
Recorded | May–July 1988 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:44 | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Narada Michael Walden | |||
Whitney Houston singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"One Moment in Time" on YouTube |
"One Moment in Time" is a sentimental ballad by American singer Whitney Houston and written by Albert Hammond and John Bettis, produced by Narada Michael Walden for the 1988 Summer Olympics held in South Korea. It was released by Arista Records on August 27, 1988, as the first single from the compilation album, 1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time , the soundtrack for the games. The song was Houston's third number one in the UK Singles Chart, and reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was later included on the second disc of her first greatest hits Whitney: The Greatest Hits and also on The Ultimate Collection and on the second disc of I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston .
The song's melody was inspired by the timeless figure of Elvis Presley, with Hammond imagining it as being sung by Presley "in lavish style" at the Olympics' opening ceremony. [1] It appeared on the album 1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time , produced in conjunction with NBC Sports' coverage of the Seoul Olympic Games and which, in addition to Whitney Houston who sang it live at the main ceremony, also featured artists such as: The Four Tops, The Bee Gees, Eric Carmen, Taylor Dayne and the film composer John Williams. The track is an anthem for believing in yourself against all odds as Houston asks for "One moment in time/when I'm racing with destiny/Then, in that one moment of time, I will feel eternity."
Houston recorded the song in May 1988 while in London for eight consecutive sold-out concerts at Wembley Arena during her Moment of Truth World Tour. [2] Houston's vocals and orchestral backing by the London Symphony Orchestra were recorded at the AIR Studios complex owned by former Beatles producer George Martin, with additional backing recorded at Walden's Tarpan Studios in San Rafael, California. At Clive Davis's request, Houston recorded a final set of vocals at her home studio in Mendham Township, New Jersey in July 1988. According to Walden, Houston resented that Davis had interrupted her brief rest at home during a year-long world tour but agreed to make the final recording.
"One Moment in Time" was released by Arista Records on August 27, 1988, as the first single from 1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time, the soundtrack for the Games in Seoul, South Korea. [3] The song debuted at number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100, the issue dated September 10, 1988. [4] Nine weeks later, it peaked at number five on the chart, the issue date of November 12, 1988, becoming Houston's tenth top 10 hit on the Hot 100, and spent 17 weeks on the chart. [5] It also debuted on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (formerly "Hot Black Singles") at number 78, the issue dated September 17, 1988, and six weeks later reached a peak of 22, her lowest position on the R&B chart at the time. [6] On the issue date of November 5, 1988, the single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart, making it her seventh number-one single on the chart, and stayed on the top for two weeks. [7] [8] It ranked number 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End chart of 1988. [9]
Worldwide, it was a big hit. In the United Kingdom, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 24, the week ending date of September 24, 1988, and within four weeks of its release reached the top position, a peak it maintained for two weeks, becoming Houston's third UK number-one single. [10] [11] The single was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 200,000 copies on October 1, 1988. [12] According to The Official Charts Company, the single has sold 400,000 copies in the country. [13] In West Germany, it debuted at number 58 on the Media Control Top 100 Singles chart, the week dated September 26, 1988, and the following week went straight into the top ten. [14] On October 24, 1988, the fifth week of its release, the song reached number one on the chart and stayed there for two weeks, making it her second West German number-one hit. [15] The single was certified Gold for shipments of 250,000 copies or more by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) in 1988. [16] Across Europe, "One Moment in Time" was successful, topping the European Hot 100 Singles chart for five weeks. It peaked inside the top five in Austria, [17] Belgium, [18] Finland, Iceland, Norway, [19] Sweden, [20] and Switzerland, [21] and reached top ten in France [22] and the Netherlands. [23] But the single became a minor hit in Oceania region, peaking at number 53 and 34 on the singles chart, in Australia and New Zealand, respectively. [24] [25] The song re-entered the UK Singles Chart for week ending February 18, 2012, following Houston's death. [26]
Pan-European magazine Music & Media described "One Moment in Time" as "a grand ballad in a pompous production by Narada Michael Walden." [27] Following Houston's death, Entertainment Weekly published a list of her 25 best songs and ranked it #14 because: "The Seoul Olympics needed an anthem, and Houston rose to meet the challenge with this majestic carpe diem chest-thumper. The song, a staple of sports montages, yielded one of Houston's all-time best performances at the 1989 Grammys ceremony." [28]
The video for the song does not show Houston performing the song but is a basic collage of clips from the 1988 Olympic games. It opens from the Olympic flame march in Seoul as a black and white video until the lighting of the cauldron from the 1988 games is shown which fades to color. As the song plays throughout, footage from the games in 1988 are shown. When the chorus is sung for the last time, midway through it, scenes of the awarding of winners are depicted. The song video ends with the 1988 Olympic Cauldron blazing. The featured athletes include: Florence Griffith Joyner, Greg Louganis, Janet Evans, Kennedy McKinney, Matt Biondi, Phoebe Mills, Rosa Mota, John Smith, and Sergey Bubka.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
France (SNEP) [82] | Silver | 200,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [83] | Gold | 250,000^ |
Sweden (GLF) [84] | Gold | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [85] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [86] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
"One Moment in Time" was performed live by then-11-year-old Teodora Sava in the auditions of the first edition of the Romanian children's talent show Next Star in 2013. Her performance gathered praise and positive reactions from all of the judges (who were seeing her for the first time) and online, and had 2.65 million combined YouTube views, making her well known to a wider audience in Romania and abroad. [87] [88] [89] Soon after, she recorded the song in a studio. [90]
British instrumental rock group the Shadows did a version on their 1989 album, Steppin' to the Shadows: 16 Great Tracks As Only the Shadows Can Play Them. [91]
In 1998, Diva Jane McDonald sang Houston's version of the song from the album Jane McDonald.
Dana Winner did a cover of the song; her version has garnered more than 35 million views on YouTube. [92]
Appropriately for the song's origins as an Olympic anthem, British Olympic gold medal-winning heptathlete Denise Lewis selected the song as one of her eight recordings on the BBC's Desert Island Discs in February 2012. That same month, the song featured at the beginning of the 2012 Brit Awards at London's O2 Arena in tribute to Houston who had died earlier in the month by playing the song accompanied with a 30-second-video montage of her music videos. [93]
Dexter Darden performs the song in Season 2 Episode 10 of Saved by the Bell.
Whitney Houston is the debut studio album by American singer Whitney Houston, released on February 14, 1985, by Arista Records. Whitney Houston initially had a slow commercial response, but began getting more popular in mid-1985. It eventually topped the Billboard 200 for 14 weeks in 1986, generating three number-one singles—"Saving All My Love for You", "How Will I Know" and "Greatest Love of All"—on the Billboard Hot 100, which made it both the first debut album and the first album by a solo female artist to produce three number-one singles in the United States.
Whitney is the second studio album by American singer Whitney Houston, released on June 2, 1987, by Arista Records as the follow-up to her debut album. Whitney is one of the best-selling albums of all time, with sales of over 20 million copies worldwide. The album features five top 10 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100, which also became international hits. The album's first four singles—"I Wanna Dance with Somebody ", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"—all peaked at number one on the US Hot 100, making her the first female act to achieve four number-one hits from one album.
"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.
"How Will I Know" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her self-titled debut studio album. It was released on November 22, 1985, by Arista Records as the album's third single. Originally written and composed by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, it was originally intended for pop singer Janet Jackson, who passed on it. Houston then recorded the song with altered lyrics and production from Narada Michael Walden.
"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, Whitney (1987). It was released as the lead single from the album on April 28, 1987, by Arista Records. It was produced by Narada Michael Walden, and written by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, of the band Boy Meets Girl, who had previously collaborated with Houston on "How Will I Know". At the 30th Annual Grammy Awards, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" won for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, marking Houston's second win in the category.
"Saving All My Love for You" is a song written by Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin, originally recorded by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. for their album Marilyn & Billy (1978). American singer Whitney Houston recorded it for her self-titled debut studio album (1985). It was released on August 13, 1985, by Arista Records, as the second single from the album in the United States, and third worldwide.
"So Emotional" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston. It was released as the third single from her second studio album Whitney (1987) on October 12, 1987 by Arista Records. The song was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and produced by Narada Michael Walden.
"Where Do Broken Hearts Go" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, Whitney (1987). It was released as the fourth single from the album in February 1988. The song was written by Frank Wildhorn and Chuck Jackson and produced by Narada Michael Walden. A pop ballad set in the key of D major, the record is about someone seeking for a former lover to return after a breakup. Upon its release, the song received mixed reviews from critics.
"Love Will Save the Day" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston from her second multi-platinum studio album Whitney (1987). The song was released in May 1988 by Arista Records as the album's fifth single. The song did not have a music video but was still successful, climbing into the US top ten. Written by Toni C and produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez, it is one of the uptempo singles on the album that also includes "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and "So Emotional".
"All the Man That I Need" is a song written by Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore. The song was first recorded as "All the Man I Need" by Linda Clifford for her album I'll Keep on Loving You (1982). In 1990, American singer Whitney Houston had a number-one multiple chart hit with this song, recorded as "All the Man That I Need", from her third album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990).
"The Star Spangled Banner" is a charity single recorded by American singer Whitney Houston to raise funds for soldiers and families of those involved in the Persian Gulf War. Written by Francis Scott Key and John Stafford Smith, "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The musical arrangement for Houston's rendition was by conductor John Clayton. The recording was produced by music coordinator Rickey Minor, along with Houston herself. The recording was included in the 2014 CD/DVD release, Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances and the US edition of the 2000 release, Whitney: The Greatest Hits.
"I Have Nothing" is a song by American singer and actress Whitney Houston, released on February 20, 1993 as the third single from The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album (1992) by Arista Records. The song was written by David Foster and Linda Thompson, and produced by Foster.
"Run to You" is a song performed by American singer and actress Whitney Houston, released on June 21, 1993, by Arista Records as the fourth single from The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album (1992). It was written by Jud Friedman and Allan Rich, and produced by David Foster. Originally intended to be a break-up song, it was approved by the production and stars. However, a month later, the director of The Bodyguard called, saying he liked the song so much, but he'd rather have it to be a love song so the entire song was rewritten, except for the title.
"You Give Good Love" is the debut solo single by American singer Whitney Houston for her 1985 eponymous debut studio album. It was written by La Forrest 'La La' Cope and produced by Kashif. When La La sent Kashif a copy of the song, originally offered to Roberta Flack, he thought it would be a better fit for Houston and told Arista Records he would be interested in recording with her.
"I'm Every Woman" is a song by American singer Chaka Khan, released in September 1978 by Warner Bros. as her debut solo single from her first album, Chaka (1978). It was Khan's first hit outside her recordings with the funk band Rufus. "I'm Every Woman" was produced by Arif Mardin and written by the successful songwriting team Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. The single established Chaka's career outside the group Rufus, whom she would leave after their eighth studio album, Masterjam, was released in late 1979.
"My Love Is Your Love" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston. It was written and produced by Wyclef Jean and Jerry Duplessis for Houston's fourth studio album of the same name (1998). Released on May 31, 1999, as the album's fourth single, it received positive reviews and was successful worldwide, hitting the top 10 in 23 international markets. The song peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100, number two in the United Kingdom, and number one in New Zealand and Poland. It was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston. Originally written for inclusion on TLC's third studio album FanMail, it was later recorded by Houston after TLC rejected the song. The song was written by Carsten Schack, Kenneth Karlin and Tamara Savage, and produced by Soulshock & Karlin. It was released on December 15, 1998, by Arista Records, as the second single from Houston's 1998 album My Love Is Your Love. The song prominently features R&B singers Faith Evans and Kelly Price during the choruses and bridge.
"Thinking About You" is the fifth single by American singer Whitney Houston. It was written by Kashif Saleem and La Forrest "La La" Cope for Houston's debut studio album Whitney Houston (1985), while production was helmed by the former, released in October 1985. Even though it was not promoted as a single to top 40 radio stations, "Thinking About You" became a top 10 hit on the Hot Black Singles chart in the United States. It later appeared as the B-side to Houston's 1986 single, "Greatest Love of All".
American singer Whitney Houston, known as "The Voice", released 57 singles as a leading artist and 4 as a featured artist. Houston is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold worldwide. In the United States, Houston amassed 11 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, all of whom have been certified either gold, platinum, multi-platinum or diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America and was one of a selected group of artists to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in four different decades. She is currently ranked in seventh place of the artists with the most number one singles in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. Prior to the introduction of digital singles, Houston sold 16.5 million physical singles in the country, the most ever by a female recording artist. In October 2012, the Official Charts Company claimed Houston was the fourth biggest-selling female singles artist of all time with a sales total of 8.5 million singles in that country.