The Bodyguard (soundtrack)
The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album | ||||
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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 | ||||
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The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album is the first soundtrack album by American singer Whitney Houston. It was released onNovember 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.[5]
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.[6][7] 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.[8][9]
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.[10] 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.[11][12][5] In 2024, The Bodyguard was included in Rolling Stone's list of the 101 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time.[13]
Background
[edit]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 20 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.[14] 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.[15] Houston held off on the film until Costner convinced a nervous Houston in another phone call that he will "not let [her] fall".[15]
The film's director Mick Jackson initially was unsure of Houston's chances of leading a film and, according to Costner, suggested veteran actresses such as Michelle Pfeiffer or Kim Basinger for the role, 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.[16] 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.
Recording
[edit]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". [17] Davis admitted later he was "nervous" of Houston's acting aspirations. 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".[17] 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.[18]
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 collaborator Antonio "L.A." Reid became a fourth contributor. Houston recorded the song on November 9, 1991.[19] 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.[20][21] 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.[22]
Initially, Costner and Foster had settled on Houston recording the old Motown standard, "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted", but the song's choice didn't please neither Houston or Crowe, who felt the song was "like a dirge: 'Happiness is just an illusion, filled with sadness and confusion...'", adding jokingly, "you wanna kill yourself at the end of it!"[17] 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 and Costner agreed to replace it with another song. According to Crowe, she was the one to suggest the country ballad, "I Will Always Love You", originally recorded and composed by Dolly Parton after hearing a rendition by Linda Ronstadt.[17] Houston first performed it live at the Fountainebleau in Miami Beach in March 1992 during the final shooting.[23] 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.[24] 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.[25] 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.[26]
Music
[edit]The soundtrack featured six Houston tracks, five various tracks by various other artists, and an instrumental, with most of Houston's material consisting of R&B, urban pop, pop and soul with rock, house and gospel elements added to it.[27][1] With the Houston tracks, the themes on the album include heartbreak, love, feminism and religion.
"I Will Always Love You" is a song dedicated to the end of a parting relationship. In the original version of the song, recorded by Dolly Parton, the song had been inspired by Parton's former musical and business partner Porter Wagoner after she aspired for a full-fledged solo career in 1972. Once it was recorded and arranged by Houston and Foster, the song transformed into a plaintive love ballad dedicated to a former lover, as Houston's character in The Bodyguard, Rachel Marron, sang in tribute to her former bodyguard, Frank Farmer, played by Kevin Costner, after they parted ways after Farmer saved her from a murder. Transforming into a soul/R&B song, after Houston begins the song a cappella, strings and soft keyboard riffs come in as Houston sings the chorus. In the middle of the song, during an instrumental break, Houston's saxophonist at the time, Kirk Whalum, adds a solo before Houston sings the third verse, before the song shifts into a dramatic key change thanks to a drum beat by Ricky Lawson, before Houston belts out a gospel-emulated wail in the last chorus before the song slows in the end in which Houston ends it singing an obbligato on the word "you".
"I Have Nothing", penned by Foster and then-wife Linda Thompson and inspired by Thompson's former relationship with American singer Elvis Presley, continued the theme of unrequited love shown in "I Will Always Love You". Much like "I Will Always Love You", the song's female composer was also a country musician and under Foster and Houston is also transformed into a soul ballad, with Houston singing the first verse in a soft soprano vocal, before belting in the bridge and chorus, which includes another key change. Much like "I Will Always Love You", the song includes another dramatic key change.
Originally recorded by funk singer Chaka Khan in 1978, "I'm Every Woman", penned by Ashford & Simpson, was Houston's first venture into house music, co-produced by longtime collaborator Narada Michael Walden and the production team of Clivillés and Cole and focused on a feminist direction, dedicated to women. The song's soulful intro, according to Walden years later, was inspired by the music of disco artist Donna Summer, who would, in songs such as "Last Dance", "Dim All the Lights" and "On the Radio", would begin those songs under a soulful ballad vocal, which helped to differentiate from Khan's original disco-funk version. Near the end of the song, Houston shouts out Khan's name in reference to Khan's 1984 hit, "I Feel for You", in which rap artist Melle Mel similarly shouted out Khan's name.
The love ballad, "Run to You", returned to the unrequited love theme of "I Will Always Love You" and "I Have Nothing", and much like the rest of Foster's productions, featured Houston singing softly in the verses before belting and hitting high notes in the chorus, ending in yet another dramatic key change with limited use of background vocals.
"Queen of the Night" presents a harder rock sound similar to "So Emotional" from Whitney (1987). Houston's second composition as a songwriter, the singer expresses how she "rules the club scene" as the self-proclaimed "queen of the night". Part of the lyrics was inspired by Michael Jackson's 1987 song, "Dirty Diana", from his Bad album and featured Living Colour lead guitarist Vernon Reid providing the guitar solo. Houston provides both lead and background vocals to the song. "Jesus Loves Me" was a pop-arranged gospel song dedicated to Jesus.[28] Produced by Houston and collaborator, gospel singer BeBe Winans, it featured new lyrics written by Winans, as suggested by Houston, and included a church organ in the beginning and several key chord changes throughout the song and a soulful bridge.[28]
The Lisa Stansfield recording, "Someday (I'm Coming Back)" was a disco-pop effort, similar to material Stansfield composed for her 1991 album, Real Love while the Kenny G song, "Even If My Heart Would Break", featuring Aaron Neville on vocals, was a middle of the road ballad also featured on the jazz musician's best-selling 1992 album, Breathless, which was released on the same day as The Bodyguard and helped to bring sales to his own album and helped Kenny G later win the American Music Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist, the only award Houston lost out of eight nominations for the soundtrack. Curtis Stigers lent his 1991 rendition of Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding", while the R&B and dance act The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M., provided a dance music version of Bill Withers' "Lovely Day", recorded under the title, "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day!". This is then followed by Alan Silvestri's instrumental theme to the film. The inclusion of Joe Cocker's "Trust in Me" was arranged by Kevin Costner and featured Canadian singer Sass Jordan as a duet vocalist.
Promotion
[edit]Tour
[edit]Houston embarked on a world tour to continue promoting the album, which would remain on the charts throughout its duration. During the tour, Houston performed full length versions of all six of the Bodyguard tracks on the tour, with "I Have Nothing" and "I Will Always Love You" being prominently featured on the tour as showstoppers, with the latter song being performed before she left the stage before returning onstage to sing "I'm Every Woman" as an encore, while "Jesus Loves Me" was performed as part of the gospel music portion of the show. "Queen of the Night" would start with the original hard rock version before Houston returned onstage and then it transformed into the house version, produced by CJ Mackintosh. "Run to You" was sporadically performed during the tour on select dates.
Houston launched the tour at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida on July 5, 1993 and ended it at the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa on November 19, 1994, where she performed a total of 120 shows in front of more than half a million fans in five global continents and performed at the continents of South America and Africa for the first time in her career. During the 1993 leg, most of the dates were at theaters because Houston wanted an intimate setting. During the second North American leg of the tour, Houston performed at the opening ceremony of the 1994 FIFA World Cup at the Rose Bowl Stadium.[29] Houston performed for the first time at stadiums in South America and South Africa to audiences as large as 75,000. The South Africa concerts in particular were special due to Houston being the first international artist to headline at the country following the abolishing of apartheid in the region and the presidential election win of Nelson Mandela. The Johannesburg show aired on HBO to high ratings on November 12, while the November 8th show at Durban's Kings Park Stadium was posthumously shown at selected film theaters in October 2024 and was followed by a live recording, released on the 30th anniversary of the concert.
The tour proved to be a huge success as most of the dates were sold out. The success of the tour helped Houston make Forbes magazine's Richest Entertainers list. Houston earned over $33 million during 1993 and 1994, the third highest for a female entertainer.[30] The tour led to several positive reviews of Houston's performance. During her first Radio City Music Hall performance in New York City, Stephen Holden of the New York Times wrote that "her stylistic trademarks — shivery melismas that ripple up in the middle of a song, twirling embellishments at the ends of phrases that suggest an almost breathless exhilaration — infuse her interpretations with flashes of musical and emotional lightning."[31] At one of her Atlantic City dates, Kevin L. Carter of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that Houston handled her songs "with subdued emotionalism and the intelligence that only a gifted musician can bring to a song.[32]
"Saving All My Love for You" was turned into a "smoky saloon-style ballad".[33] Many critics noted that the highlight of the show was when Houston took on "And I Am Telling You" from Dreamgirls, and "I Loves You Porgy" from Porgy and Bess. Stephen Holden wrote of the medley that "her voice conveyed authority, power, determination and just enough vulnerability to give a sense of dramatic intention".[31] As always, Houston included gospel songs. She introduced her band while performing 'Revelation.' Houston spoke about the Lord before going into 'Jesus Loves Me' which was often accompanied with complete silence from the mesmerized crowd."[34] During Houston's seven consecutive sold-out residency at Radio City Music Hall in September 1994, New York Times critic Jon Pareles wrote, "Houston belted ballads, predictably bringing down the house with songs that moved from aching verses to surging choruses. A medley of hits from Dionne Warwick, Ms. Houston's cousin, lacked Ms. Warwick's lightness, but Ms. Houston made "Alfie" sound like the ethical wrangle it is".[35] Ira Robbins of Newsday wrote, "Houston peaked in the Warwick segment with marvelous adaptions of "I Say a Little Prayer" and "Alfie", and "after the powerful one-two of "I Have Nothing" and a rendition of "Run to You" so compelling it would have been no shock to see Kevin Costner jog out".[36]
Singles
[edit]"I Will Always Love You" was released as the lead single from the soundtrack, on November 2, 1992. The song became an immediate hit upon its release, receiving extensive airplay on multi-format stations as well as genre stations all over the country, appealing to pop, adult contemporary and R&B radio markets. On the November 14th issue of Billboard, "I Will Always Love You" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 40, making it Houston's third highest debut at the time. Three weeks later, on its November 28th issue, the song shot to number one, giving Houston her career tenth number one single, tying her with Madonna for most number ones by a female artist at the time. The song stayed at number one for a record fourteen weeks, all of them spent consecutively, which remains a record to this day.[37] The song took off internationally as well, landing number one for fourteen weeks in New Zealand, ten weeks in the United Kingdom and Australia, nine weeks in Norway, 8 weeks in France and Switzerland, six weeks in the Netherlands and 3 weeks in Sweden, as well as thirteen weeks atop the European Singles chart.[38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45] Eventually, the song would reach the top ten in more than 40 countries and top the charts in 34 of those countries. At 24 million copies sold globally, it is the best-selling single of all time by a female artist. The music video for the song, notable for Houston sitting on a stool singing the song while scenes of the film were interpolated, became an immediate hit on all music video stations including MTV, earning heavy rotation. The success of the video helped Houston win the MTV Movie Award for Best Song. The song also became her career sixth number one single on the Hot R&B Singles chart, where it stayed for a then-record 11 consecutive weeks, and also became her career ninth number one hit on the adult contemporary chart, where it stayed for 5 consecutive weeks.
The album's second single, "I'm Every Woman, was released on January 2, 1993. The song also became an immediate success, eventually peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, all while "I Will Always Love You" remained at number one on the chart. The song followed "I Will Always Love You" to international chart success, reaching the top ten in fifteen other countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Poland, New Zealand, Italy, Belgium, Denmark and the European Singles chart, placing in more top ten placements throughout its tenure than the Chaka Khan original did fifteen years earlier. The song's music video, directed by Randee St. Nicholas, was also a hit, with Houston featuring notable women such as the song's original co-writer Valerie Simpson, R&B group TLC, mother Cissy Houston and the song's original vocalist Khan. It later won Houston the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video. The song reached number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, earning Houston her fourth career number one hit on the chart and her first to top the chart since "So Emotional" in 1987.
The third single, "I Have Nothing", was released on February 20, 1993 and also became an immediate hit, eventually peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. During the week of March 13, 1993, Houston made chart history as the first artist to land three songs simultaneously in the top twenty of the Billboard Hot 100, where "I Have Nothing" shot up to number 11 while "I'm Every Woman" and "I Will Always Love You" were numbers five and seven respectively, repeating this for the week of March 20, 1993.[46][47] In addition to its Academy Award nomination[48], the same song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media, alongside "Run to You". The song reached number one on the Billboard Radio Songs and adult contemporary chart, earning a career tenth number one on the latter chart. The music video for the song also became a hit on every music video station as soon as it premiered.
The fourth song, "Run to You", was released as the next single on June 21, 1993. By the time, the soundtrack was selling anywhere between half a million and a million sales per week and due to this, the song only reached as high as number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming more of a modest success, though the song would spent 20 cumulative weeks on the chart, which showed Houston's strong chart presence at the time. Globally, its success was also modest, reaching the top ten in Canada, Ireland and Portugal, while peaking at number 15 in the United Kingdom. It was a bigger hit on the Billboard adult contemporary chart, reaching number ten.
The fifth song, "Queen of the Night", was mainly released only as a European market-only single on October 13, 1993. Its success on the European charts was also modest, reaching the top 20 in Belgium, Iceland, and the United Kingdom, where it reached number 14. In the US, a commercial single wasn't released, but the song made the top 20 on the Billboard Pop Airplay chart at number 17 and number 36 on its Radio Songs chart. Meanwhile, a house remix of the song by CJ Mackintosh, helped to send Houston a number one hit on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, giving Houston her first career number one chart single as a songwriter.
While it was never released as a single, "Jesus Loves Me" earned significant radio airplay on gospel stations. Following Houston's sudden passing in 2012, the song reached the Billboard Gospel Digital Song Sales chart at number four, giving Houston a sixth top ten Billboard chart single from the soundtrack, becoming the last song from the soundtrack to reach the Billboard charts.
Critical reception
[edit]Initial reviews (in 1992/1993) | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Entertainment Weekly | B[49] |
Los Angeles Times | [1] |
NME | 4/10[50] |
New York Times | (favorable)[28] |
Orlando Sentinel | [51] |
Q | [52] |
Select | [53] |
USA Today | [54] |
Retrospective reviews (after 1992/1993) | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
MusicHound R&B | [55] |
Rolling Stone | [56] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [57] |
Sputnikmusic | [58] |
Upon its release, The Bodyguard received mixed-to-positive reviews, with most of the positive reviews, aimed at the production of Houston's songs and Houston's vocals. 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]
In her Entertainment Weekly review, Amy Linden wrote, "Houston’s portion [of the soundtrack] is evenly divided between (a) the pleasantly efficient, yet soulless stuff from her three albums and (b) two stunning cover versions, whose selection is both artistically satisfying and uncharacteristically hip for the MOR songbird."
In its retrospective review, MusicHound declares the album "contains Houston's best vocal performance ever" with "I Will Always Love You".
In its Rolling Stone review, the soundtrack "is nothing more than pleasant, tasteful and urbane, but for a phenomenon, it's worthy of its numbers."
Accolades
[edit]Both The Bodyguard soundtrack and its singles received many accolades following its release. At the 65th Academy Awards in 1993, both "I Have Nothing" and "Run to You" received nominations for Best Original Song for its songwriters. At the 36th Annual Grammy Awards, Houston received four nominations and won three, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Record of the Year for "I Will Always Love You", while winning the Album of the Year for The Bodyguard, which made Houston just the second black female artist in Grammy history to win the coveted award. At the 1994 American Music Awards, Houston won a staggering seven awards for the soundtrack including Favorite Pop/Rock Album, an additional eighth American Music Award for Award of Merit earned Houston a record for the most American Music Awards won by a woman, tying overall with Michael Jackson. Houston received 11 Billboard Music Awards in 1993, including Top Billboard 200 Album for The Bodyguard. Internationally, Houston won five World Music Awards, six Japan Gold Disc Awards, a Juno Award for International Album of the Year and a Brit Award for Soundtrack/Cast Recording.
In later years, the soundtrack has been regarded as one of the best albums of all time. The Ringer ranked it the seventh best movie soundtrack of the past 50 years in 2021.[59] On Pitchfork's 2022 list of its 150 Greatest Albums of the 1990s, the Houston soundtrack was listed at number 147, crediting Houston for influencing future stars such as Christina Aguilera and Ariana Grande. In 2023, the A.V. Club listed it as the 12th best movie soundtrack of all time.[60] That same year, Cosmopolitan ranked it as the 38th best movie soundtrack of all time, while The Independent ranked it 35th place in its best top 40 film soundtracks.[61][62] In 2024, it was listed among the 101 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time on Rolling Stone. A year later, in 2025, Entertainment Weekly listed it as one of the best film soundtracks of the 1990s.[63]
The album's leading single, "I Will Always Love You", has been included in all-time lists itself. In 2001, the National Endowment for the Arts in collaboration with the Recording Industry Association of America listed the song at number 108 in its list of 365 songs of the 20th century.[64] In 2004, the American Film Institute ranked it 65th place in its top 100 songs in American cinema of the 20th century.[65] In his 2015 book, The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015, Dave Marsh listed it as the top song of the rock era.[66] In 2021, Rolling Stone listed the song as the 94th greatest song of all time on its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.[67] Two years later, in 2023, Billboard listed it as the 60th best pop song of all time.[68] In 2018, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, followed by an inclusion on the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry for preservation.
Commercial performance
[edit]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.[69][70] In its second week, the album topped both of the charts, with sales of 292,000 units.[71][72][73] 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.[74] 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.[75][76][77] 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.[78][79][80] 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[81] 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.[82] 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.[83][84] 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 weeksㅡWhitney 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".[85]
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.[86] The record was broken by 'N SYNC's No Strings Attached, certified 7× Platinum initially in April 2000.[87] 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.[88][89] It was certified 17× Platinum by the RIAA on November 1, 1999, becoming the best-selling soundtrack album of all-time in United States.[90][91][92] 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.[93] 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.[94]
In 1992–1993, with the international success of the film The Bodyguard, the soundtrack was also a hit worldwide.[95] It topped the albums chart in Australia for five weeks,[96] Austria for nine weeks,[97] Canada for 12 weeks,[98] France for eight weeks, Germany for 11 weeks,[99] Hungary for two weeks,[100] Italy for two weeks, Japan for two weeks,[101] Netherlands for six weeks,[102] New Zealand for eight weeks,[103] Norway for six weeks,[104] Sweden for four weeks[105] and Switzerland for nine weeks.[106] 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.[107] 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.[108] In the UK, the album was certified 7× platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on January 1, 1994,[109] and has sold 2,255,000 copies, landing at number sixty on the list of UK's 100 best-selling albums of all time.[110] 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.[111][112] The record was later broken by Mariah Carey's #1's, certified 3× million in 1998.[112] In Germany, the album has sold more than 1.7 million, earning 3× platinum awards by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI).[113][114] In addition, it was awarded Diamond for the sales of over 1 million in both France and Canada.[115][116] 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.[117][118][119] In Australia, it became the best selling album of 1993.[120] In Mexico, the soundtrack sold more than 500,000 copies, making it the best-selling English-language record in 1994.[121] To date, the album has sold 45 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling soundtrack of all time.[8]
I Wish You Love: More from The Bodyguard
[edit]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.[122] 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.[122] 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.[122] Ahead of the performance, Aguilera wrote on Instagram, “I am excited, honored and humbled to perform a tribute to one of my idols.”[123]
Track listing
[edit]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
- On the US edition, Kenny G's "Waiting for You" was not included, with Alan Silvestri's "Theme from The Bodyguard" appearing in its track place (before Joe Cocker feat. Sass Jordan's "Trust in Me")
Personnel
[edit]
"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[edit]
|
Charts
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
Year-end charts[edit]
Decade-end charts[edit]
All-time charts[edit]
|
Certifications and sales
[edit]Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Argentina (CAPIF)[197] | 4× Platinum | 240,000^ |
Australia (ARIA)[198] | 5× Platinum | 350,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria)[199] | 4× Platinum | 200,000* |
Belgium (BEA)[200] | 4× Platinum | 200,000* |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[117] | 3× Platinum | 750,000* |
Canada (Music Canada)[116] | Diamond | 1,000,000^ |
Chile | — | 100,000[201] |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[202] | 2× Platinum | 160,000^ |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[203] | Platinum | 56,486[203] |
France (SNEP)[115] | Diamond | 1,300,000[204] |
Germany (BVMI)[206] | 3× Platinum | 1,700,000[205] |
Indonesia | — | 320,000[207] |
Italy 1992-1999 sales |
— | 1,000,000[208] |
Italy (FIMI)[209] sales since 2009 |
Gold | 25,000‡ |
Japan (RIAJ)[211] | 2× Million | 2,800,000[210] |
Mexico | — | 500,000[121] |
Netherlands (NVPI)[213] | Platinum | 600,000[212] |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[214] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
Norway (IFPI Norway)[215] | 4× Platinum | 200,000* |
Poland (ZPAV)[216] | Gold | 50,000* |
South Africa | — | 110,000[217] |
South Korea | — | 1,200,000[118][119] |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[218] | 6× Platinum | 600,000^ |
Sweden (GLF)[219] | Platinum | 343,000[207] |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[220] | 5× Platinum | 250,000^ |
Taiwan | — | 305,000[207] |
United Kingdom (BPI)[221] | 7× Platinum | 2,255,000[110] |
United States (RIAA)[222] | 18× Platinum | 18,000,000‡ |
Summaries | ||
Europe (Music & Media) | — | 7,000,000[223] |
Worldwide | — | 45,000,000[8] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
See also
[edit]- List of accolades received by The Bodyguard (1992 film)
- List of Top 25 albums for 1993 in Australia
- List of best-selling albums
- List of best-selling albums by women
- List of best-selling albums in Europe
- List of best-selling albums in Brazil
- List of best-selling albums in Chile
- List of best-selling albums in France
- List of best-selling albums in Germany
- List of best-selling albums in Indonesia
- List of best-selling albums in Italy
- List of best-selling albums in Japan
- List of best-selling albums in South Korea
- List of best-selling albums in Taiwan
- List of best-selling albums in the United Kingdom
- List of best-selling albums in the United States
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dall'indimenticao"Bodyguard" che in Italia vendette oltre un milione di copie.
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External links
[edit]- Whitney Houston albums
- Grammy Award for Album of the Year
- Juno Award for International Album of the Year albums
- Albums produced by Narada Michael Walden
- Albums produced by Clive Davis
- 1992 soundtrack albums
- Arista Records soundtracks
- Albums produced by L.A. Reid
- Albums produced by Babyface (musician)
- Albums produced by Whitney Houston
- Romance film soundtracks
- Thriller film soundtracks
- Various artists soundtracks
- Single-artist film soundtracks
- Whitney Houston soundtracks