American singer, actress, producer and entertainer Whitney Houston, who is known as “The Voice”, released seven studio albums, eight compilations, three soundtrack albums, five box sets, six extended plays, and 57 singles. She has sold over 220 million records worldwide,[1][2] becoming one of the best-selling music artists in history. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Houston is the best-selling female R&B artist of the 20th century,[3] and has sold 100 million certified records in the United States.[4] She is also the fourth best-selling female album artist in the US with 61 million certified album sales.[5] In addition, until the launch of the RIAA's digital certification program in 2004, she had sold 16.5 million physical singles—more than any other female solo artist in history.[6] According to the Official Charts Company in October 2012, Houston is the fourth-biggest-selling female singles artists of all-time list with a sales total of 8.5 million singles in that country.[7][8]
| Whitney Houston albums discography | |
|---|---|
.JPEG) Houston performing at Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston in 1991 | |
| Studio albums | 7 |
| Live albums | 1 |
| Compilation albums | 8 |
| EPs | 7 |
| Soundtrack albums | 3 |
| Reissues | 1 |
| Box sets | 5 |
In 1985, Whitney Houston released her self-titled debut album. It spent 14 weeks at number-one on the Billboard 200 and was certified 14× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for 14 million units sold in US, with global sales of 25 million copies.[9] The album produced four US top 5 singles, including three Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles; "Saving All My Love for You", "How Will I Know", and "Greatest Love of All".[10] In 1987, Houston released her second album Whitney. The album topped the Billboard 200 and produced five US top ten singles with the first four hitting number-one; "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional", and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", which established a record seven consecutive number-one hits by a performer.[11] " Love Will Save The Day" became the album's fifth top ten hit. Whitney was certified diamond by the RIAA, giving the artist her second diamond album, and topped the charts in numerous countries and sold in excess of 20 million copies worldwide.[12] Houston's third studio album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990), peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 chart and yielded three US top ten singles, two of which hit number-one; "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "All the Man That I Need", selling 10 million units worldwide.[13] In February 1991, Houston released "The Star Spangled Banner" performance from Super Bowl XXV as a single, it became the highest-charting rendition of the American national anthem on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[14]
The Bodyguard, a soundtrack from her film debut, was released on November 17, 1992. The album contains tracks by other recording artists, but was considered to be a Houston album by Billboard. It topped the Billboard 200 for 20 non-consecutive weeks, one of the longest tenures by an album in the Nielsen SoundScan era.[15] The album was certified 18× platinum in the United States, giving the artist her third diamond album, and sold over 45 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female artist, the best-selling soundtrack album of all time, and one of the best-selling albums of all time.[16] The lead single from the soundtrack, "I Will Always Love You", topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a then-record-breaking fourteen weeks and the song alone was certified Diamond in the United States, peaked at number one on the charts in nearly every country and sold over 24 million copies globally, becoming the best-selling single by a female act and one of the best-selling singles of all time.[17][18] Houston contributed three songs, including her eleventh number-one single "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" on the 7× platinum soundtrack album, Waiting to Exhale (November 1995). In November 1996, she released this soundtrack, called The Preacher's Wife. This soundtrack sold six million copies worldwide, certified 3× platinum in the US, and is the best-selling gospel album of all time.[19] In 1998, she released her fourth studio album, My Love Is Your Love. The album went on to achieve multi-platinum status with 10 million units sold worldwide, being certified 4× platinum in the United States.[20] From late 1998 to early 2000, the album generated five singles; "When You Believe" (duet with Mariah Carey); "Heartbreak Hotel" (with Faith Evans and Kelly Price; "It's Not Right but It's Okay"; "My Love Is Your Love"; and "I Learned from the Best".[21]
Houston entered the 2000s with her first greatest hits compilation, Whitney: The Greatest Hits, released on May 16, 2000. The double-disc has been certified 5× platinum in the United States. The album hit the top position on the UK Albums Chart and sold over 1.66 million copies in the UK alone. It reached number-one and top ten in many international markets, selling 10 million copies globally.[21] Just Whitney, released in December 2002, became her first album after renewing her contract with Arista Records for the largest recording contract in history, a record $100 million deal in 2001.[22] The album received platinum status in the US, and sold two million copies worldwide, but became her lowest-selling album to date. Houston released a Christmas album, One Wish: The Holiday Album in November 2003, which was certified gold in the US, quite a respectable number for a holiday album. In September 2009, Houston returned to the top position on the Billboard 200 chart with her album I Look to You, becoming her fourth number-one album on the chart. It also topped the album charts of several European countries and was certified platinum by the RIAA. Her albums Whitney Houston, Whitney, The Bodyguard and Whitney: The Greatest Hits are among the top 100 certified albums according to the RIAA.[23] In 2020, Houston became the first black artist ever to have three diamond-certified albums; Whitney Houston, Whitney, and The Bodyguard each shipped over 10 million copies in the US alone.[24]
Albums
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Sales | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [25] | US R&B [26] | AUS [27] | AUT [28] | CAN [29] | FRA [30] | GER [31] | NLD [32] | SWE [33] | UK [34] | ||||
| Whitney Houston | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| ||
| Whitney |
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| |
| I'm Your Baby Tonight |
| 3 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| |
| My Love Is Your Love |
| 13 | 7 | 42 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| |
| Just Whitney |
| 9 | 3 | 114 | 33 | 85 | 25 | 16 | 70 | ― | 76 |
| |
| One Wish: The Holiday Album |
| 49 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ― |
| |
| I Look to You |
| 1 | 1 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Soundtracks
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Sales | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [25] | US R&B [26] | AUS [27] | AUT [28] | CAN [29] | FRA [30] | GER [31] | NLD [32] | SWE [33] | UK [34] | ||||
| The Bodyguard |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| The Preacher's Wife |
| 3 | 1 | 34 | 8 | 33 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 35 | ||
| I Wanna Dance with Somebody (The Movie: Whitney New, Classic and Reimagined) |
| — | — | 83 | — | — | — | — | — | — | —[A] | ||
Compilation albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Sales | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [25] | US R&B [26] | AUS [55] | AUT [28] | CAN [29] [56] | FRA [30] [57] | GER [31] | NLD [32] | SWE [33] | UK [34] | ||||
| Whitney: The Greatest Hits |
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | ||
| Love, Whitney |
| — | ― | — | 42 | — | 167 | — | 24 | 12 | 22 | ||
| Artist Collection: Whitney Houston |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| The Ultimate Collection |
| — | — | 3 | 1 | 15 | 52 | 3 | — | 10 | 3 | ||
| The Essential Whitney Houston |
| ― | ― | 7 | 26 | 3 | 51 | 20 | — | ― | 7 |
| |
| All Time Best - Reclam Musik Edition |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 76 | — | — | — | ||
| I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston |
| 14 | 2 | 74 | ― | 94 | 99 | ― | 61 | ― | 13 | ||
| Japanese Singles Collection - Greatest Hits- |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston |
| —[B] | — | — | ― | — | — | ― | — | ― | —[C] | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Live albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [25] | US R&B [26] | AUS [27] | FRA [30] | NLD [32] | UK [34] | |||
| VH1 Divas 1999 | 90 | 78 | — | 42 | 41 | — |
| |
| Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances |
| 19 | 2 | 119 | 123 | 63 | 66 | |
Reissues
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US [25] | US R&B [26] | ||
| I Wish You Love: More from The Bodyguard |
| 165 | 22 |
Box sets
edit| Title | Album details | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Whitney: The Unreleased Mixes |
|
|
| Love Whitney |
|
|
| The Collection: Whitney Houston |
|
|
| The Collection |
|
|
| Triple Feature |
|
|
| Two Original Albums: My Love Is Your Love / I Look to You |
|
|
Extended plays
edit| Title | EP details | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Whitney Dancin' Special |
|
|
| Exhale |
|
|
| You Are Loved |
|
|
| I Didn't Know My Own Strength: The Remixes |
|
|
| The Remixes |
| |
| I Look to You: The Remixes |
| |
| Million Dollar Bill: The Remixes |
|
Notes
edit- ^ I Wanna Dance with Somebody (The Movie: Whitney New, Classic and Reimagined) did not enter the UK Albums Chart, but peaked at number 17 on the UK Album Download Chart chart[53] and number 13 on the UK Soundtrack Albums chart.[54]
- ^ I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston did not enter the Billboard 200 chart, but peaked at number 37 on the US Top Album Sales chart.[63]
- ^ I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston did not enter the UK Albums Chart, but peaked at number 71 on the UK Album Download Chart chart.[64]
References
editExternal links
edit- Official website
- Billboard chart history
- UK chart database
- German chart database
- The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) sales certificate database
- Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sales certificate database
- Rock on the net.com
- Whitney Houston' photos and music
- Whitney Houston albums discography discography at Discogs
- Whitney Houston albums discography discography at MusicBrainz