Commercially, it peaked at number five in the UK and number one on the Billboard Hot 100, where it became her sixth consecutive number one, and a dance chart hit. It would become the sixth best-charting song of 1988, and was the fourth most played song on the club charts; it is her sixth biggest hit on the Hot 100 chart.[2]
"So Emotional" was the final song recorded for the album. Arista President Clive Davis reportedly told Steinberg and Kelly that 10 songs had already been recorded but he was looking for one more uptempo song. The recording was overseen by producer Narada Michael Walden, who asked Houston to record the vocals on a day she was scheduled to make minor changes to existing tracks for the album. Walden asked Houston to record "So Emotional" first, before she had warmed up, resulting in a fresh, edgy sound. The song was Houston's first venture into rock music.
Although the recording became a number-one hit, the production was bittersweet for the songwriters. As Kelly explained in an interview, "If you fall in love with (your) version of the song, and you're used to hearing it the way you conceived it ... it's always hard to get used to."[3]
Critical reception
AllMusic editor Ron Wynn highlighted this track.[4] Vince Aletti of Rolling Stone wrote: "Walden covers all these bases, out-hopping Kashif (but not Jellybean) with "So Emotional."[5]St. Petersburg Times Eric Snider and Annelise Wamsley wrote: "So Emotional," the record's token rock offering, is hollow and contrived, as if the trumped-up power guitars are supposed to give the song some guts."[6] Zodiac Mindwarp of Smash Hits considered "So Emotional" "a good record" that he liked and which was likely to "put [him] in a good mood for the day".[7]
Chart performance
At this time Houston already had a string of five consecutive number-one hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. "So Emotional" reached the top of the chart in January 1988, giving her six consecutive number-one singles, putting her in a three-way tie with the Beatles and the Bee Gees. Houston also broke Elvis Presley's long-standing record of achieving the most consecutive number-one singles by a solo artist. It made its debut at number 47 on October 31, 1987 and after 11 weeks became the first number-one of 1988, eventually receiving gold certification. In January 2023, the song was certified platinum for sales of one million copies.[8] The single remained in the top 40 for 14 weeks, and also reached number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart as well as the Crossover Top 30 chart. Due to Houston's crossover appeal, the dance-rock track reached number eight on the adult contemporary chart and number five on the Hot Black Singles chart. It was Houston's third single to reach the top ten on four major Billboard charts after "How Will I Know" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)". "So Emotional" was ranked sixth on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end charts as well as the fourth best-selling song on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play year-end charts (1988). The song has sold more than 1.7 million copies worldwide.
In the United Kingdom and France the song was remixed by Shep Pettibone when released as a single and peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart in November 1987, remaining on the chart for 11 weeks. Elsewhere the single performed moderately well, reaching number 21 in France, 26 in Australia and 30 in Switzerland.
Robert "Bongo Bob" Smith – drum sampling and percussion programming
Background vocals – Whitney Houston
Produced and arranged by Narada Michael Walden
Recorded and mixed by David Frazer
Assistant engineer – Dana Jon Chappelle
Additional engineers – Lincoln Clapp, Gordon Lyon, Jay Rifkin, Ken Kessie, Maureen Droney
Additional assistant engineers – Gordon Lyon, Stuart Hirotsu, Paul "Goatee" Hamingson, Noah Baron, Bill "Sweet William" Miranda, Ross Williams, Rob Beaton
In the music video for Childish Gambino’s 2018 promo single, "Feels Like Summer", Houston depicted in animated form - appears along with several other famous and iconic figures/people. Her look is based on the single cover for the 1987 single.[35]
In S1 E2-E3 of the 2020 Netflix show Julie and the Phantoms, the character Alex Mercer (Owen Joyner) wears a "So Emotional" t-shirt. This is a play on his character being the emotional, sensitive one of the group. They were not allowed to use Whitney Houston's image.[36]
The poster for the 2022 biopic Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, was revealed with actress Naomi Ackie depicted as Houston in her “So Emotional” look. Much like the single cover/video Ackie is donning a leather jacket, tank top, jeans & boots with socks.[37]
1 2 Breihan, Tom (April 5, 2021). "The Number Ones: Whitney Houston's "So Emotional". Stereogum. Retrieved November 9, 2023. So Emotional" is at least a little bit of a rock song...Whitney Houston's "So Emotional" is by-the-numbers late-'80s dance-pop.
↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrateded.). Sydney: Australian Chart Book. p.143. ISBN0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between 1983 and 26 June 1988.
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