Whitney (album)

1987 studio album by Whitney Houston

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 self-titled debut album, Whitney Houston.[1]

Whitney
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 2, 1987
Recorded1986-1987
Genre
Length52:48
LabelArista
Producer
Whitney Houston chronology
Whitney Dancin' Special
(1986)
Whitney
(1987)
I'm Your Baby Tonight
(1990)
Singles from Whitney
  1. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"
    Released: May 2, 1987
  2. "Didn't We Almost Have It All"
    Released: August 13, 1987
  3. "So Emotional"
    Released: October 12, 1987
  4. "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"
    Released: February 25, 1988
  5. "Love Will Save the Day"
    Released: July 5, 1988
  6. "I Know Him So Well"
    Released: November 30, 1988 (Germany)

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 (Who Loves Me)", "Didn't We Almost Have It All," "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"—all hit number one on the US Hot 100, making her the first female singer to get four number one hits from one album. Along with three straight to number one singles from Houston's previous album, this gave the singer a seven consecutive number one hits, surpassing popular boy bands the Beatles and the Bee Gees, who each had six number one consecutive hits.[2][3][4]

Critical reception

change
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Associated Press(mixed)
AllMusic     [5]
Robert ChristgauC+[6]
Los Angeles Times(mixed)[7]
The New York Times(negative)[8]
Rolling Stone(mixed)[9]
The San Diego Union-Tribune(favorable)[10]
St. Petersburg Times(favorable)
Q     [11]

When the album was released, the critical reviews of Whitney were mixed. Some liked the material released from the album and compared it to her 1985 self-titled debut album, whereas some felt that Houston was not able to show her individuality as a singer.[8][9][7]

Track listing

change
No. TitleProducer(s) Length
1. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"  Narada Michael Walden 4:51
2. "Just the Lonely Talking Again"  Narada Michael Walden 5:32
3. "Love Will Save the Day"  Jellybean 5:21
4. "Didn't We Almost Have It All"  Michael Masser 5:05
5. "So Emotional"  Narada Michael Walden 4:36
6. "Where You Are"  Kashif 4:10
7. "Love Is a Contact Sport"  Narada Michael Walden 4:19
8. "You're Still My Man"  Michael Masser 4:16
9. "For the Love of You"  Narada Michael Walden 5:31
10. "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"  Narada Michael Walden 4:37
11. "I Know Him So Well" (duet with Cissy Houston)Narada Michael Walden 4:30

Personnel

change

Charts

change

Certifications and sales

change
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[39] 3× Platinum 210,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[40] 2× Platinum 100,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[41] 7× Platinum 700,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[42] Platinum 20,000 
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[43] Platinum 59,053[43]
France (SNEP)[44] Platinum 300,000*
Germany (BVMI)[45] Platinum 500,000^
Greece (IFPI Greece)[46] Gold 50,000^
Italy (FIMI)[47] Gold 100,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[48] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[49] Platinum 15,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[46] Platinum 100,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[50] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Sweden (GLF)[51] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[52] 2× Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[54] 7× Platinum 2,237,603[53]
United States (RIAA)[55] Diamond 10,000,000 
Summaries
Worldwide 20,000,000 

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
 sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

change
  1. "Whitney Houston - Whitney (Vinyl, LP, Album) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  2. Whitney Breaks Record for Consecutive No.1 Tunes. Johnson Publishing Company. May 2, 1988. Retrieved January 19, 2010. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. Whitney Houston Talks About Her Long Awaited Album, 'I'm Your Baby Tonight'. Johnson Publishing Company. November 5, 1990. Retrieved June 22, 2010. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. Stephen Holden (April 20, 1988). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
  5. Ron Wynn. Whitney at AllMusic
  6. Robert Christgau. "Whitney, Robert Christgau Review". Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Robert Hilburn (June 1, 1987). "Album Review, Houston: Commercial Sparkle, Artistic Fizz". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Jon Pareles (June 7, 1987). "Whitney Houston: She's Singing by Formula". The New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Vince Aletti (August 13, 1987). "Whitney". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  10. Divina Infusino (June 2, 1987). "Houston's new LP almost has it all". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  11. "Whitney, Q Magazine Review". Q. December 1999. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  12. "Austriancharts.at – Whitney Houston – Whitney" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  13. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0868". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  14. "Whitney Houston: Whitney" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  15. "Lescharts.com – Whitney Houston – Whitney". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  16. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: {{{date}}}" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  17. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  18. "Italiancharts.com – Whitney Houston – Whitney". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  19. "Charts.nz – Whitney Houston – Whitney". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  20. "Norwegiancharts.com – Whitney Houston – Whitney". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  21. "Spanishcharts.com – Whitney Houston – Whitney". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  22. "Swedishcharts.com – Whitney Houston – Whitney". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  23. "Swisscharts.com – Whitney Houston – Whitney". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  24. "Whitney Houston | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  25. "Whitney Houston Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  26. "Whitney Houston Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  27. List of Top 25 albums for 1987 in Australia
  28. "Austriancharts.at – Jahreshitparade 1987". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on October 12, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
  29. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts 1986" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  30. "Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1987" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
  31. "Hitparade.ch – Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1987". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
  32. "Top Albums of 1987". everyhit.com. The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on June 14, 2002. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  33. "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End 1987". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  34. "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - Year-End 1987". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  35. "Austriancharts.at – Jahreshitparade 1988". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on October 12, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
  36. "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End 1988". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  37. "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - Year-End 1988". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  38. "Austriancharts.at – Besstenlisten – 80er Album". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  39. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). Sydney: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 978-0-646-11917-5.
  40. "Austrian album certifications – Whitney Houston – Whitney" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  41. "Canadian album certifications – Whitney Houston – Whitney". Music Canada. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  42. "Danish album certifications – Whitney Houston – Whitney". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  43. 43.0 43.1 "Whitney Houston" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  44. "Les Certifications depuis 1973: Albums". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved April 15, 2020. (select "Whitney Houston" from drop-down list)
  45. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Whitney Houston; 'Whitney')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  46. 46.0 46.1 "European Gold & Platinum Awards 1987" (PDF). Music & Media. December 26, 1987. p. 44. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  47. "A Platinum Debut" (PDF). Music & Media. July 4, 1987. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  48. "Dutch album certifications – Whitney Houston – Whitney" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved April 15, 2020. Enter Whitney in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1988 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  49. "New Zealand album certifications – Whitney Houston – Whitney". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  50. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. p. 926. ISBN 978-84-8048-639-2.
  51. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 17, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  52. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Whitney')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  53. Harris, Bill (November 17, 2006). "Queen rules – in album sales". Jam! Showbiz. Canoe Inc. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2021.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  54. "British album certifications – Whitney Houston – Whitney". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Whitney in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  55. "American album certifications – Whitney Houston – Whitney". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 15, 2020.