Whitney Houston | ||||
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Studio album by Whitney Houston | ||||
Released | February 14, 1985 | |||
Recorded | 1983–1984 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 46:54 | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Producer |
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Whitney Houston chronology | ||||
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Singles from Whitney Houston | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Entertainment Weekly | A- |
Los Angeles Times | |
PopMatters | 7/10 |
Q | |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
The Village Voice | C |
Whitney Houston is the eponymous debut album of American R&B and pop singer Whitney Houston. It was released on February 14, 1985, by Arista Records. The album initially had a slow commercial response, but began getting more popular in the summer of 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" (a cover of "The Greatest Love of All", originally recorded in 1977 by George Benson) — on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which made it both the first debut album and the first album by a solo female artist to produce three number-one singles. The album topped the albums charts in many countries, including Canada, Australia, Norway and Sweden, peaking at number 2 in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland. The album was certified diamond for shipments of 10 million units or more on March 16, 1999, and later 13× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on July 29, 1999, making it one of the top 100 best-selling albums in the United States. It has sold over 25 million copies worldwide.
In 1986, at the 28th Grammy Awards, Whitney Houston received four nominations; including Album of the Year and won one, Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for "Saving All My Love for You". For the 29th Grammy Awards of 1987, the album earned one nomination for Record of the Year for "Greatest Love of All". In 2003, the album was ranked number 254 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.