The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Soundtrack album by Whitney Houston / various artists | ||||
Released | November 17, 1992 | |||
Recorded | 1991–1992 1987 for Joe Cocker's song | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 57:44 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Whitney Houston chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Bodyguard | ||||
|
Initial reviews (in 1992/1993) | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Entertainment Weekly | B [5] |
Los Angeles Times | [1] |
NME | 4/10 [6] |
New York Times | (favorable) [7] |
Orlando Sentinel | [8] |
Q | [9] |
Select | [10] |
USA Today | [11] |
Retrospective reviews (after 1992/1993) | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Rolling Stone | [12] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [13] |
The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album is the first soundtrack album by American singer Whitney Houston. It was released on November 17, 1992 by Arista Records to promote the film of the same name. It also contains songs by her label mates Lisa Stansfield, Kenny G, The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. and Curtis Stigers as well as artists such as Aaron Neville and Joe Cocker. The album is credited as a Whitney Houston album despite her performing six of the twelve tracks. The Bodyguard was Houston's first box office film, after turning down offers from film producers such as Robert Townsend, Spike Lee and Robert De Niro in the past. Initially, Houston was reluctant to take on the role and was convinced by co-producer and co-star Kevin Costner to pursue it, to which she agreed. Arista Records president Clive Davis had apprehensions of Houston's role in the film without much music from the script, convincing Costner and the film's distributor Warner Bros Pictures to add songs to the film, in which Houston made a deal for back royalties for its music. Houston agreed to record six tracks, four of which was eventually featured in the film.
Houston began working on the soundtrack in November 1991, and contacted previous producers of her work, including Babyface, Antonio "L.A." Reid, BeBe Winans and Narada Michael Walden, to participate in the album. It also marked the first time Houston worked with renowned producer David Foster, who would produce three of the six Houston tracks, as well as the production duo of Clivillés and Cole, while Houston herself co-produced two of the songs. It marked the first time in Houston's career where Clive Davis didn't handpick the material. After hearing five of the songs, Houston convinced Davis to add additional songs by other artists on the Arista label. Both Houston and Davis were listed as executive producers on the album. [14]
Upon its release in November 1992, The Bodyguard was praised by music critics for Houston's vocal performance and its production. The album was a global success, topping the charts in 21 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Italy and Japan as well as the European album chart. In the United States, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, before climbing to number one in its second week of release, remaining there for 20 non-consecutive weeks, making it the first female album to top the charts for that many weeks and held a nineteen-year chart record for being the album to stay at number one for the most weeks by a female album until Adele's 21 broke the record in 2012. In its sixth week, it sold one million copies within a single week, making Houston the first artist to accomplish this following verification by Nielsen SoundScan. It would continue to sell a million copies per week for several weeks in a row and would eventually be certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of ten million copies in November 1993, becoming the first female album to sell that many copies in the United States and would be one of three Houston albums to receive that milestone, eventually selling 18 million in the country alone. [15] [16] Overall, the album would sell 45 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling soundtrack album of all time, the best-selling album by a woman in music history, and the best-selling album of the decade. [17] [18]
The soundtrack resulted in several awards and accolades for Houston, including seven American Music Awards, a Brit Award, a Juno Award and the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, marking only the second time in Grammy history that an African American woman won the Grammy in that category. [19] Two of the tracks on the soundtrack, "Run to You" and "I Have Nothing" were each nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, while Houston herself won the MTV Movie Award for Best Song for the soundtrack's leading single and its biggest hit, "I Will Always Love You".
Five of the Houston tracks were released as singles. "I Will Always Love You" became Houston's tenth number one single on the Billboard Hot 100, matching the number for most number one singles by a female artist at the time and eventually topped the charts in 34 countries entirely and went on to sell more than 24 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling single by a female artist of all time. "I'm Every Woman" was released as the second single and became another international top ten hit and peaked inside the top five of the Billboard Hot 100, as did its third single, "I Have Nothing". In March 1993, the three aforementioned singles were placed inside the top 11 for two consecutive weeks, marking the first time in the Nielsen SoundScan era that an artist had three singles simultaneously chart at the same time. "Run to You" was the fourth single released from the album and became a modest hit globally, reaching the top 40 in the United States and the top 20 in the United Kingdom. "Queen of the Night" was a European market only release and reached the top 20 in the United Kingdom while a dance remix of the song topped the Billboard dance chart. In Europe, the only non-Houston single to be released was Lisa Stansfield's "Someday (I'm Coming Back)", while in the United States and Canada, the dance group, The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M., released their cover of Bill Withers' "Lovely Day", which was retitled "It's Going to Be a Lovely Day". The Bodyguard received further promotion from the successful Bodyguard World Tour. In 2017, a 25th anniversary re-release, I Wish You Love: More from The Bodyguard , was issued. [20] [21] [14]
By the late summer of 1990, Houston had become a commercially successful recording artist. Her first two albums, Whitney Houston and Whitney , sold 25 and 23 million copies worldwide respectively. Houston was planning on releasing her third album, I'm Your Baby Tonight , when Houston received a call from actor Kevin Costner to accept a leading role in a film titled The Bodyguard . Back in December 1986, Billboard magazine mentioned that Houston would take part in the film, only with Clint Eastwood as the co-lead. [22] Costner convinced Silverado director and friend Lawrence Kasdan to let him be a co-producer for the project. Kasdan had originally written the script for the film back in 1975 and after his script was sold off to Warner Bros. Pictures, the film had originally been pegged as a project for Diana Ross and Steve McQueen in 1977, but both actors had backed off when neither actor could agree on who deserved top billing.
A year later, in November 1978, Ross rejoined the project after Warner brought in Ryan O'Neal to the project, only for the film to return to development hell a year later. Following Houston's rise, she had been sought after for film roles by the likes of Robert Townsend, Spike Lee and Robert De Niro. It's claimed Costner was convinced Houston was right for the role after viewing her concert at the Assembly Hall in Champaign, Illinois in September 1987. Still, it took three years before Houston was contacted for the film. When Costner finally reached Houston, the singer, who had only took brief acting cameos on television shows such as Silver Spoons , was reluctant but agreed to read the script. [23] Houston held off on the film until Costner convinced a nervous Houston in another phone call that he will "not let [her] fall". [23]
The film's director Mick Jackson initially was unsure of Houston's chances of leading a film, especially after the release of I'm Your Baby Tonight and, according to Costner, suggested veteran actresses such as Michelle Pfeiffer or Kim Basinger, to which Costner flatly turned down. Jackson then agreed to give Houston a screen test in January 1991, to which she passed. In April 1991, Houston and Costner announced that they would co-star in The Bodyguard. [24] Costner delayed production on the film until Houston finished her world tour that year until it was announced that principal photography would begin in late November 1991.
Prior to shooting the film, Arista Records CEO Clive Davis wasn't sure about the film that, at the time, had little music attached to it and didn't understand why Houston's character, Rachel Marron, "needed a bodyguard" due to the lack of music. Davis admitted he was "nervous". After reading the initial script, Davis wrote a letter to Costner and the film's director Mick Jackson, arguing to them that the film "is nowhere near fulfilling the potential of what Whitney could contribute to the role". Costner agreed with Davis and Houston, in a deal with Warner Bros Pictures, signed a deal for rights to the soundtrack's back catalog and agreed to record at least six tracks, with four of them to be featured on the film. Maureen Crowe became the film's music supervisor and worked with Houston and Costner on finding songs for the material; once Davis learned of Houston's deal, he joined the team in assembling songs, to which he and Houston would then spend days alone at Davis' hotel suite going over the material. [25]
Two weeks before filming commenced, Houston began working on the album. According to session dates, the first song to be recorded was the rock song "Queen of the Night", to which Houston played a part in composing after the song's original writers Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Daryl Simmons struggled to compose the song themselves. Longtime composer Antonio "L.A." Reid became a fourth contributor. Houston recorded the song on November 9, 1991. [26] The guitar solo was played by Living Colour lead guitarist Vernon Reid. It was Houston's second composition as a songwriter after co-penning her 1989 Japanese chart hit, "Takin' a Chance". Three days later, on November 12, with Foster, Houston recorded the love ballads, "Run to You" and "I Have Nothing" despite recovering from a recent cold. [27] [28] After filming much of the film and engaging in other non-related events, Houston returned to the studio during January-February 1992 to record a pop-oriented rendition of the old gospel hymn, "Jesus Loves Me" with BeBe Winans producing the song alongside Houston, in her second production on the record. [29]
Initially, Foster had settled on Houston recording the old Motown standard, "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted", but the song's choice didn't please Houston, Costner, or Crowe, who felt the song was too "depressing". Once it was learned the song was used for the film, Fried Green Tomatoes , and made into an Billboard chart hit by singer Paul Young in January 1992, Foster agreed to replace it with another song. According to Houston, Costner was the one to suggest the country ballad, "I Will Always Love You", originally recorded and composed by Dolly Parton. Houston eventually was convinced to record it after hearing a 1975 rendition by Linda Ronstadt. Houston first performed it live at the Fountainebleau in Miami Beach in March 1992 during the final shooting. [30] It was suggested by Costner that Houston started the performance acapella. A month later, a studio recording commenced at Ocean Way Recording on April 22, 1992. [31] Prior to recording, Foster contacted Dolly Parton about recording the song. When the songwriter learned Foster was gonna record the Ronstadt version, Parton suggested that Houston sing the third verse from her original recording. Houston used her own band musicians, including drummer Ricky Lawson and saxophonist Kirk Whalum for the song's production. [32] The final Houston song to be recorded, "I'm Every Woman", was recorded at producer Narada Michael Walden's Tarpan Studios in San Rafael, California on August 19, 1992. [33]
For the six Houston tracks, the artist recorded under various musical genres other than the typical R&B and pop recordings that she had done in her three previous albums. [34] [1]
"I Will Always Love You", originally a country song dedicated to Dolly Parton's former business and musical partner Porter Wagoner, record producer David Foster and Houston, who served as the song's co-executive producer alongside Clive Davis, re-arranged the song into a contemporary soul ballad, with strings and saxophone. The song's famous acapella introduction had been suggested by Bodyguard co-star Kevin Costner. The dramatic key change near the end of the song transformed the ballad into a "grand pop-gospel declaration of lasting devotion to a departing lover". The song was first used in the bar scene of the film where Houston's and Costner's characters Rachel Marron and Frank Farmer slow dancing in a version recorded by a singer only going by the name "John Doe". Near the end of the film, the song is sung by Marron as she and Farmer part ways. "I Have Nothing", a ballad penned by Foster and then-wife, country singer-songwriter Linda Thompson, had been inspired by Thompson's previous relationship with rock and roll artist Elvis Presley and, upon Houston's recording of it, the singer was praised for her characteristic stentorian delivery, similar to another love ballad on the record, "Run to You". Both songs were recorded on the same day due to filmmakers' push for film production at the end of November 1991. Much like "I Have Nothing" and "I Will Always Love You", "Run to You" also included a dramatic key change near the end. For the film portions for the songs, in "I Have Nothing", Marron is seen singing the song at a nightclub whereas for the film portion featuring "Run to You", Marron is showcased singing it in a music video with long hair and running around with clouds in the background, with Farmer viewing the video on television in amazement, which later leads to the two characters falling for one another.
Houston's recording of "I'm Every Woman" was Houston's first venture into house music, due to the participation of C+C Music Factory founders Clivillés and Cole, who co-produced the song with Houston's longtime producer Narada Michael Walden. The soul music introduction of the song was inspired by similar recordings by disco singer Donna Summer, according to Walden, which helped to differentiate from the original by Chaka Khan, who had recorded it in 1978 with Houston's mother Cissy providing background vocals. The recording of Houston's rendition of "I'm Every Woman" was considered a feminist anthem, later amplified by its music video, which featured Houston and other famous notable women, including Khan, the song's female composer Valerie Simpson, the R&B group TLC and Houston's mother Cissy. The song wasn't used in the film.
The recording of "Queen of the Night", was Houston's second composition as a songwriter and also her second recording of rock music, having previously recorded under the genre with the 1987 hit, "So Emotional" and featured Vernon Reid of Living Colour performing the guitar solo. "Queen of the Night" is featured in a now-famous scene in the film, with Rachel Marron removing her cloak to reveal a metallic outfit while performing at a rock bar, which interrupts in chaos when fans rush the stage and send her into the audience being mobbed before Farmer saves her from the onslaught.
"Jesus Loves Me" was Houston's first gospel recording on an album, save for the recording of "Do You Hear What I Hear" for the Christmas album, A Very Special Christmas , in 1987. In the past, Houston, who grew up singing at New Hope Baptist Church, was kept from recording under the genre by Clive Davis because he felt gospel music didn't sell and feared Houston would alienate her crossover fan base by recording such material. The song was used acapella in the film by Michele Lamar Richards, who played Rachel's sister Nikki Marron, and Houston in a much shorter version. During production, Houston advised co-producer BeBe Winans to add additional lyrics to the song. The song also includes a key change and a bridge near the end. Houston produced and arranged the song in a pop format. [7]
Houston and Davis included fellow Arista label mates such as Kenny G, Lisa Stansfield, Curtis Stigers and The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. on the album. Alongside Aaron Neville, Kenny G would record the middle-of-the-road ballad, "Even If My Heart Would Break", which was recorded prior to the soundtrack and released on the saxophonist's Breathless album, which was released on the same day as the soundtrack. Stansfield provided the disco and pop effort "Someday (I'm Coming Back)", while jazz singer Stigers lent his 1991 recording of Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" to the project. The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M., a dance/R&B/hip-hop hybrid group that featured future RuPaul's Drag Race judge Michelle Visage as the group's lead singer, recorded their rendition of Bill Withers' 1977 hit, "Lovely Day", under the title "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day!" Kevin Costner advised Houston and Davis to include the song "Trust in Me" by Joe Cocker and Sass Jordan due to him being a fan of the vocalists. Originally recorded by Cocker in 1987 for his album, Unchain My Heart , Cocker agreed to re-record the song with Jordan for the soundtrack as a favor to Costner. To conclude the album, Alan Silvestri's instrumental Theme from The Bodyguard was added as the final song in the selection. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine views that the first half is characterized by urban pop songs similar to I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990), while the second half has miscellaneous tracks more "typical of a big-budget soundtrack". [2]
The album is most notable for Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You", written by Dolly Parton. The song received wide airplay, appealing to the pop, R&B, adult contemporary, and soul radio markets. The single spent 14 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. [35] "I Will Always Love You" was successful worldwide, peaking at number one for 14 weeks in New Zealand, 10 weeks in the UK and Australia, 9 weeks in Norway, 8 weeks in France and Switzerland, 6 weeks in the Netherlands, and 3 weeks in Sweden. [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43]
With the next two Top 5 singles [44] "I'm Every Woman" (originally a Chaka Khan hit) and "I Have Nothing", following on the heels of "I Will Always Love You", Houston became the first female act to have three songs in the Top 20 simultaneously. Two songs, "Run to You" and "I Have Nothing", were each nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, [45] but lost out to "A Whole New World" from the animated film Aladdin . The same two songs were nominated for Grammy Awards in the category Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television. Other songs garnering significant radio airplay included "Jesus Loves Me" on gospel stations, and "Queen of the Night" on pop and dance stations.
The Bodyguard debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart and the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, behind Ice Cube's The Predator , selling 144,500 copies in its first week. [46] [47] In its second week, the album topped both of the charts, with sales of 292,000 units. [48] [49] [50] While the album stayed the summit on the charts, it broke the record for the most one-week sales twice. In its fifth week, it sold 831,000 copies, breaking the old sales record of 770,000 set by Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion II in the fall of 1991. [51] The following week, the album once again set a record for the most albums sold in a single week, since the Nielsen SoundScan introduced a computerized sales monitoring system in May 1991; when it sold 1,061,000 copies, making it the first album to sell over 1 million copies in one week since tracking began. [52] [53] [54] The soundtrack stayed at number one for 20 cumulative weeks on the Billboard 200 chart (including 13 consecutive weeks), and spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Top R&B Albums chart, remaining on the charts for a total of 155 weeks and 122 weeks, respectively. [55] [56] [57] The album held the record for the most weeks at number one, and the record for the most cumulative chart-topping weeks on the Billboard 200 chart in the Nielsen SoundScan era [58] until 2012 when it was overtaken by Adele's 21 which spent 24 cumulative weeks at the summit. Both albums remain the only female albums in the history of the Billboard 200 to accumulate 20 or more weeks at number one. The album continues to hold the record as the second female album with the most consecutive weeks at the summit, surpassed only by Carole King's Tapestry with 15 weeks. Houston is only one of two solo artists in the Billboard 200 era to have two or more albums spent ten consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200.
The Bodyguard soundtrack was ranked #1 in the 1993 Billboard year-end charts, on the Top Billboard 200 Album and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album. [59] In addition, the album was the first in Nielsen SoundScan history to rank among the top three albums in two consecutive years (#3 for 1992, #1 for 1993), and the best-selling soundtrack by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) in 1993–1994. [60] [61] When the soundtrack to The Bodyguard was credited as a Whitney Houston album in Billboard's archives, she became the only artist with three albums to remain on top of the Billboard 200 chart for over ten weeksㅡ Whitney Houston (14 weeks), Whitney (11 weeks) and The Bodyguard (20 weeks). Houston also broke the record for the most cumulative weeks at number one by a female artist with 46 cumulative weeks until Taylor Swift surpassed it on 2020 with her album "Folklore". [62]
The album received the largest initial certification of any album for 6× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on January 18, 1993. [63] The record was broken by 'N SYNC's No Strings Attached , certified 7× Platinum initially in April 2000. [64] On March 16, 1999, when the RIAA launched the Diamond Awards, honoring sales of 10 million copies or more of an album or single, the album received the award with 62 other albums initially. [65] [66] It was certified 17× Platinum by the RIAA on November 1, 1999, becoming the best-selling soundtrack album of all-time in United States. [67] [68] [69] According to a new update from Whitney Houston's estate, particularly, Arista, The Bodyguard soundtrack has been certified 18× Platinum by RIAA in November 2017. It is the first album to reach both the 10 million and 11 million sales mark in the US since 1991, when Nielsen SoundScan started tracking music sales. [70] As of late 2014, it had sold 12,140,000 copies; it is the sixth best-selling album of the SoundScan era in the United States. [71]
In 1992–1993, with the international success of the film The Bodyguard, the soundtrack was also a hit worldwide. [72] It topped the albums chart in Australia for five weeks, [73] Austria for nine weeks, [74] Canada for 12 weeks, [75] France for eight weeks, Germany for 11 weeks, [76] Hungary for two weeks, [77] Italy for two weeks, Japan for two weeks, [78] Netherlands for six weeks, [79] New Zealand for eight weeks, [80] Norway for six weeks, [81] Sweden for four weeks [82] and Switzerland for nine weeks. [83] In the United Kingdom, the album didn't chart on the main albums chart because compilation albums were excluded from the main albums chart from January 1989. [84] Instead, the album reached the top on the official compilation albums chart and stayed there for 11 weeks, spending 60 non-consecutive weeks in the top 10 and for a total of 107 weeks on the chart. Through its massive success across Europe, it topped the European Top 100 Albums chart for 15 non-consecutive weeks. [85] In the UK, the album was certified 7× platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on January 1, 1994, [86] and has sold 2,255,000 copies, landing at number sixty on the list of UK's 100 best-selling albums of all time. [87] In Japan, it was certified 2× million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) in 1994, the first time a foreign artist achieved that feat in Japanese music history, and eventually became the best-selling foreign album with 2.8 million copies sold. [88] [89] The record was later broken by Mariah Carey's #1's, certified 3× million in 1998. [89] In Germany, the album has sold more than 1.7 million, earning 3× platinum awards by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI). [90] [91] In addition, it was awarded Diamond for the sales of over 1 million in both France and Canada. [92] [93] It was certified 3× platinum in Brazil, becoming one of the best-selling international album by a female artist and set a record for the best-selling foreign album with the sales of 1.2 million over in South Korea. [94] [95] [96] In Australia, it became the best selling album of 1993. [97] In Mexico, the soundtrack sold more than 500,000 copies, making it the best-selling English-language record in 1994. [98] To date, the album has sold 45 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling soundtrack of all time. [17]
I Wish You Love: More from the Bodyguard is the 25th anniversary reissue of the album, released by Legacy Recordings on November 17, 2017. The album was released to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the movie, The Bodyguard, which marked Houston's film debut. [99] It includes the film versions of her six Bodyguard contributions – "I Will Always Love You", "I Have Nothing", "I'm Every Woman", "Run to You", "Queen of the Night" and "Jesus Loves Me" – as well as remixes and live performances of the songs from subsequent tours. [99] The album's release coincided with a tribute to Houston and the music of The Bodyguard at the American Music Awards on November 19 on ABC as performed by Christina Aguilera. [99] Ahead of the performance, Aguilera wrote on Instagram, “I am excited, honored and humbled to perform a tribute to one of my idols.” [100]
All songs performed by Whitney Houston, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "I Will Always Love You" | Dolly Parton | David Foster | 4:31 |
2. | "I Have Nothing" | Foster | 4:49 | |
3. | "I'm Every Woman" | 4:45 | ||
4. | "Run to You" |
| Foster | 4:24 |
5. | "Queen of the Night" |
| 3:08 | |
6. | "Jesus Loves Me" |
| 5:12 | |
7. | "Even If My Heart Would Break" (Kenny G and Aaron Neville) |
| 4:58 | |
8. | "Someday (I'm Coming Back)" (Lisa Stansfield) |
|
| 4:57 |
9. | "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day" (The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. featuring Michelle Visage) |
| 4:47 | |
10. | "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" (Curtis Stigers) | Nick Lowe | Danny Kortchmar | 4:04 |
11. | "Waiting for You" (Kenny G) | Kenny G | Kenny G | 4:58 |
12. | "Trust in Me" (Joe Cocker featuring Sass Jordan) |
| Charlie Midnight | 4:12 |
13. | "Theme from The Bodyguard" (Alan Silvestri) | Alan Silvestri | Alan Silvestri | 2:40 |
Total length: | 57:44 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
14. | "I'm Every Woman" (Clivillés & Cole House Mix) |
|
| 10:37 |
15. | "Queen of the Night" (CJ's Master Mix) |
|
| 6:35 |
Total length: | 74:56 |
Notes
"I Will Always Love You"
"I Have Nothing"
"I'm Every Woman"
"Run to You"
"Queen of the Night"
"Jesus Loves Me"
| "Even If My Heart Would Break"
"Someday (I'm Coming Back)"
"It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day"
"(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?"
"Theme from The Bodyguard"
"Trust in Me"
Production and design
|
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
All-time charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Argentina (CAPIF) [174] | 4× Platinum | 240,000^ |
Australia (ARIA) [175] | 5× Platinum | 350,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria) [176] | 4× Platinum | 200,000* |
Belgium (BEA) [177] | 4× Platinum | 200,000* |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [94] | 3× Platinum | 750,000* |
Canada (Music Canada) [93] | Diamond | 1,000,000^ |
Chile | — | 100,000 [178] |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [179] | 2× Platinum | 160,000^ |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [180] | Platinum | 56,486 [180] |
France (SNEP) [92] | Diamond | 1,300,000 [181] |
Germany (BVMI) [182] | 3× Platinum | 1,700,000 [183] |
Indonesia | — | 320,000 [184] |
Italy 1992-1999 sales | — | 1,000,000 [185] |
Italy (FIMI) [186] sales since 2009 | Gold | 25,000‡ |
Japan (RIAJ) [187] | 2× Million | 2,800,000 [188] |
Mexico | — | 500,000 [98] |
Netherlands (NVPI) [189] | Platinum | 600,000 [190] |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [191] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
Norway (IFPI Norway) [192] | 4× Platinum | 200,000* |
Poland (ZPAV) [193] | Gold | 50,000* |
South Africa | — | 110,000 [194] |
South Korea | — | 1,200,000 [95] [96] |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [195] | 6× Platinum | 600,000^ |
Sweden (GLF) [196] | Platinum | 343,000 [184] |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [197] | 5× Platinum | 250,000^ |
Taiwan | — | 305,000 [184] |
United Kingdom (BPI) [198] | 7× Platinum | 2,255,000 [87] |
United States (RIAA) [199] | 18× Platinum | 18,000,000‡ |
Summaries | ||
Europe ( Music & Media ) | — | 7,000,000 [200] |
Worldwide | — | 45,000,000 [17] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer, actress, and film producer. Known as "the Voice", she is one of the most awarded performers and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of more than 220 million records worldwide. Her crossover appeal on the popular music charts influenced the breaking down of gender and racial barriers in popular culture. Known for her vocal delivery and live performances, Houston was ranked second by Rolling Stone on their 2023 list of the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time".
The Bodyguard is a 1992 American romantic thriller drama film directed by Mick Jackson, written by Lawrence Kasdan, and starring Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston, Gary Kemp, Bill Cobbs, and Ralph Waite. The film follows a former United States Secret Service agent turned bodyguard who is hired to protect a famous actress and singer from an unknown stalker. Kasdan wrote the film in the mid-1970s, originally as a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross.
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 1, 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.
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).
My Love Is Your Love is the fourth studio album by American singer Whitney Houston, released worldwide on November 17, 1998. The album is one of the best-selling female albums of all time, having been certified four times platinum in both the United States and Europe. As of May 2000, My Love Is Your Love sold over 10 million copies worldwide. It was Houston's first studio album in eight years, following I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990) although she had contributed to three movie soundtracks during that period. Musically, My Love Is Your Love is a hip hop and R&B album that is composed of elements of pop, gospel and dance music, produced by musicians such as Whitney Houston herself, Rodney Jerkins, Soulshock & Karlin, Missy Elliott, Wyclef Jean, David Foster, Lauryn Hill, and Babyface.
"I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career, the country single was released in 1974. The song was a commercial success for Parton, twice reaching the top spot of the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart: first in June 1974, then again in October 1982, with a re-recording for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas soundtrack.
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. Houston is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold worldwide. 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 earned 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.
"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.
"Queen of the Night" is a song co-written by American singer and actress Whitney Houston along with L.A. Reid, Babyface and Daryl Simmons. Produced by Reid and Babyface and performed by Houston, it was released on October 13, 1993 by Arista Records as the fifth and final single from the soundtrack album The Bodyguard (1992), and is played during the closing credits of the film of the same name.
"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.
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 Look to You is the seventh and final studio album by American singer Whitney Houston. It was first released on August 28, 2009, through Sony Music in Europe, then August 31, 2009 with Arista Records in the United States before being released by RCA Records in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2009. The album was Houston's first non-holiday studio album since 2002's Just Whitney. It received favorable reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 66/100 from Metacritic and debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number one with sales of 305,000 beating her previous career best first-week sale of 205,137 units with Just Whitney (2002), and it was her first album to reach number one in the US since 1992's The Bodyguard. Additionally it became her fourth chart-topping album, thus extending her as the female artist with the most cumulative weeks at the number one position.
I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston is a posthumous greatest hits album by American recording artist Whitney Houston. The album was released on November 13, 2012 via RCA Records.
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.
I Wish You Love: More from The Bodyguard is the 25th anniversary reissue of Whitney Houston's soundtrack album The Bodyguard (1992). It was posthumously released on November 17, 2017 by Legacy Recordings.
"I Will Always Love You" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston released on November 2, 1992, via Arista Records for the soundtrack to The Bodyguard, her film debut. It was released as the soundtrack's lead single. Houston's version was produced by Canadian musician David Foster. The song was a global success topping the singles charts in 34 countries. It sold over 24 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling single by a female artist of all time as well as one of the best-selling singles of all time. It was also the best-selling single of 1992 in UK.
billboard 1993.
dall'indimenticao"Bodyguard" che in Italia vendette oltre un milione di copie.