American singer Whitney Houston released 60 singles as a leading artist and 18 promotional singles and was either a featured artist or guest appeared in 14 other songs. Known as “The Voice”, she is one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. One of the best-selling artists of all time, Houston has sold over 220 million units worldwide. According to Billboard, Houston is the ninth most successful solo artist in US chart history. Houston has accumulated 11 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles (fifth most by a solo female artist and sixth overall) and was one of the very few artists to enter the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in four different decades. Houston sold the most physical singles in the United States with 16.5 million units. Houston has sold 17.5 million singles in the United Kingdom alone and according to the Official Charts Company in 2012, was the fourth best-selling female singles artist of all time. Between 1985 and 2019, Houston scored 32 top ten singles in at least one official record chart in the biggest music markets in the world.
Following her chart debut in "Hold Me" (1984), a duet with Teddy Pendergrass, Houston's first leading single off her self-titled debut, "You Give Good Love" (1985) became her first top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 while "Saving All My Love for You" became her first number-one single on the same chart. With "How Will I Know" and "Greatest Love of All" peaking at number one, Houston became the first female artist to have three singles off the same album reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Houston continued to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 following the release of her second effort, Whitney in 1987, the album's lead single, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)," reached global acclaim, selling over 18 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling single of the 1980s by a female artist, the best-selling single worldwide in 1987, Houston's best selling digital single, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. The album's next three singles, "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", all peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first album by a woman to have four singles off the same album reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Houston became the first and only artist to produce seven consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, a record that has yet to be broken.
After scoring an international Olympics hit "One Moment in Time", Houston continued to record hits in the 1990s. "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "All the Man That I Need", from the I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990) album, made Houston the first solo female artist to have multiple songs off three albums to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Houston's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" (1991), recorded at Super Bowl XXV, became the first version of the national anthem to reach the top twenty of the Billboard Hot 100. The same song peaked in the top ten of the same chart ten years later. "I Will Always Love You" (1992), from The Bodyguard soundtrack, became the biggest hit of Houston's recording career, reaching number one for 14 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It still holds the record for the longest consecutive run at number one by a female artist. Topping the charts in 34 countries and selling 24 million global units, it's the best-selling physical single by a woman in music history and went diamond in the United States. The album's follow-ups, "I'm Every Woman" and "I Have Nothing", each entered the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100. In March 1993, all three entered the top eleven of the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously, the first for an artist since SoundScan began tallying record sales in 1991.
Houston continued to record hit singles for the duration of her career, entering number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Exhale" (1995), just the third time a single had done so. Houston produced international hits with "Step by Step" (1996), "When You Believe" (1998), "It's Not Right but It's Okay" (1999), "My Love Is Your Love" (1999), "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (2000) and "Million Dollar Bill" (2009). Following her death in 2012, Houston re-entered various record charts worldwide, with "I Will Always Love You" reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Houston returned to various charts with her multi-platinum rendition of "Higher Love" (2019), which became her 40th chart hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and charted successfully all over the world. Houston is one of the few artists to have a number one single on a Billboard chart in five decades.
Singles
1980s
+ List of singles, with selected chart positions Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Sales Album US Peak chart positions for singles not listed on the chart archive: "Hold Me": "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be": AUSAustralian peak chart positions: Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to June 12, 1988: N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and June 12, 1988. Top 50 (ARIA) peaks from June 13, 1988: "Love Will Save the Day" and "One Moment In Time" (ARIA) peaks: Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: "My Name Is Not Susan" (ARIA) peak: "Queen of the Night" (ARIA) peak: N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached. "Something in Common" (ARIA) peak: "Count on Me" (ARIA) peak: "My Name is Not Susan" (ARIA) peak: "Learned from the Best" (ARIA) peak: "Million Dollar Bill" (ARIA) peak: "Saving All My Love For You", "How Will I Know", "Greatest Love of All", "Didn't We Almost Have It All" and "I'm Every Woman" (ARIA) 2012 re-entries: AUT CANPeak chart positions for singles in Canada from 1985–1998, are based on the RPM Singles Chart. "You Give Good Love": "Saving All My Love for You": "How Will I Know": "Greatest Love of All": "I Wanna Dance with Somebody": "Didn't We Almost Have It All": "So Emotional": "Where Do Broken Hearts Go": "Love Will Save the Day": "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be": "I'm Your Baby Tonight": "All the Man That I Need": "Miracle": "My Name Is Not Susan": "I Will Always Love You": "I'm Every Woman": "I Have Nothing": "Run to You": "Something in Common": "Queen of the Night": "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)": "Count on Me": "Why Does It Hurt So Bad": "I Believe in You and Me": "Step by Step": "When You Believe": GER IRE NLDPeak chart positions for most of Houston's singles in the Netherlands are based on the Dutch Top 40 charts, but which for some singles, not reached top 40 of the chart, on the Mega Top 50 Singles Chart from Hung Medien.
("Where Do Broken Hearts Go", "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be", "I Belong to You", "I Believe in You and Me", "Whatchulookinat", "One of Those Days", "Million Dollar Bill", and "I Look to You") SWE SWI UK "Hold Me" (with Teddy Pendergrass) 1984 46 — — — ― 25 22 — — 44 Love Language and Whitney Houston "You Give Good Love" 1985 3 58 — 7 — — ― — — 93 RIAA: Platinum Whitney Houston "All at Once" — — — — — — 5 — — — "Saving All My Love for You" 1 20 12 8 18 1 12 — 5 1 RIAA: 2× Platinum BPI: Gold UK: 740,000 "Thinking About You" — — — — — — — — ― — "How Will I Know" 1 2 28 1 26 3 15 2 11 5 RIAA: 3× Platinum BPI: 2× Platinum BVMI: Gold MC: Platinum "Greatest Love of All" 1986 1 1 25 1 30 4 17 14 20 8 RIAA: 2× Platinum BPI: Platinum MC: Platinum "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" 1987 1 1 3 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 RIAA: 9× Platinum ARIA: 8× PlatinumARIA certifications for singles: "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)": "I'm Every Woman" and "I Will Always Love You": "Step by Step": "When You Believe": "Could I Have This Kiss Forever": BPI: 5× Platinum BVMI: Platinum GLF: GoldIFPI Sweden certifications for albums and singles: From 1987 to 1998: Since 2000: My Love Is Your Love, Whitney: The Greatest Hits and "Could I Have This Kiss Forever": The Ultimate Collection: I Look to You: MC: Gold NVPI: Gold World: 18,000,000 Whitney "Didn't We Almost Have It All" 1 27 — 2 20 4 20 — 18 14 RIAA: Gold BPI: Silver "So Emotional" 1 26 — 9 — 3 23 — 30 5 RIAA: Platinum UK: 215,000 "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" 1988 1 48 — 6 — 2 47 — — 14 RIAA: Gold BPI: Silver "Love Will Save the Day" 9 84 — 8 37 8 6 — 18 10 "One Moment in Time" 5 53 5 4 1 2 6 3 4 1 RIAA: Gold BPI: Gold BVMI: Gold SNEP: SilverSNEP certifications for singles: "One Moment in Time", "My Love Is Your Love" and "I Will Always Love You": "When You Believe": "Higher Love" and "Could I Have This Kiss Forever": UK: 326,000 1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time "I Know Him So Well"(with Cissy Houston) — — — — 46 — 14 — — — Whitney "—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not released as a single in that territory
1990s + List of singles, with selected chart positions Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Sales Album US AUS AUT CANFrom 1999–present, the peak chart positions for Houston's singles in Canada, are based on the SoundScan singles chart in the Billboard Hits of the World section. "Heartbreak Hotel": "It's Not Right but It's Okay": "My Love Is Your Love": "Could I Have This Kiss Forever": "The Star-Spangled Banner": "Whatchulookinat" GER IRE NLD SWE SWI UKUK chart peaks: Top 100 peaks:
"I Look to You" (single): "I'm Your Baby Tonight" 1990 1 7 3 2 5 6 2 4 4 5 RIAA: Platinum GLF: Gold UK: 175,000 I'm Your Baby Tonight "All the Man That I Need" 1 59 21 1 37 16 9 ― 28 13 RIAA: Platinum UK: 120,000 "The Star Spangled Banner" 1991 20 — — 5 — — — — — — RIAA: Platinum "Miracle" 9 — — 17 — — — — — — I'm Your Baby Tonight "My Name Is Not Susan" 20 118 — 43 52 14 22 31 ― 29 "I Belong to You" — — — — — — 79 — — 54 "We Didn't Know" (with Stevie Wonder) 1992 — — — — — — — — — — "I Will Always Love You" 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 RIAA: 11× Platinum ARIA: 4× Platinum BPI: 2× Platinum BVMI: Platinum IFPI AUT: Gold GLF: Platinum NVPI: Platinum SNEP: Gold World: 24,000,000 UK: 2,289,000 The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album "I'm Every Woman" 1993 4 11 19 2 13 4 3 7 18 4 RIAA: Platinum BPI: Silver ARIA: Gold UK: 205,000 "I Have Nothing" 4 28 — 1 39 4 22 ― 39 3 RIAA: 4× Platinum BPI: 2× Platinum"Run to You" 31 72 — 10 58 9 33 — — 15 RIAA: Platinum BPI: Gold "Queen of the Night" — 88 — 39 64 26 21 ― 36 14 "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" 1995 1 18 15 1 26 16 7 10 13 11 RIAA: Platinum BPI: Silver US: 1,500,000 UK: 100,000 Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album "Count On Me" (with CeCe Winans) 1996 8 87 28 26 75 ― 30 ― 31 12 RIAA: Platinum World: 2,000,000 US: 800,000 "Why Does It Hurt So Bad" 26 99 — 45 — — — — — — "I Believe in You and Me" 4 70 — 59 98 — 74 46 ― 16 RIAA: Platinum The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album "Step by Step" 1997 15 12 6 23 8 14 11 15 15 13 RIAA: Gold ARIA: Gold BPI: Gold BVMI: Gold "My Heart Is Calling" 77 — — — — — — — — — "When You Believe" (with Mariah Carey) 1998 15 13 6 20 8 7 5 2 2 4 RIAA: Platinum ARIA: Gold BPI: Platinum BVMI: Gold GLF: Platinum IFPI SWI: Gold SNEP: Gold My Love Is Your Love "Heartbreak Hotel"(with Faith Evans and Kelly Price) 2 17 — 16 61 41 35 — 77 25 RIAA: 2× Platinum US: 1,300,000 "It's Not Right but It's Okay" 1999 4 88 20 3 14 21 10 12 18 3 RIAA: Platinum BPI: 2× Platinum "My Love Is Your Love" 4 27 2 10 2 2 3 2 2 2 RIAA: 2× Platinum BPI: Platinum BVMI: Platinum IFPI AUT: Platinum IFPI SWI: Platinum GLF: Platinum NVPI: Gold SNEP: Silver "I Learned from the Best" 27 116 — — 48 18 20 23 28 19 UK: 95,000 "—" denotes releases that did not chart
2000s