Whitney Houston was an American singer and actress born in a musical family on August 9th, 1963 in New Jersey. As a young child, she would sing in the choir at her church and backup vocals alongside her mother. She was discovered by a photographer who was intrigued by her natural beauty and soon became a teen-model, one of the first African-American women to appear on the cover of Seventeen magazine.

In 1985, Houston released her debut album, “Whitney Houston”, and charted top in Billboards 200 for 14 consecutive weeks. Her top singles during this time were, “Saving All My Love for You” and “How Will I Know.” The album has sold over 22 million copies worldwide.

One of the biggest hit songs was “I Will Always Love You,” by Dolly Parton. Houston recorded her version of the song as a soundtrack for the film The Bodyguard. The song skyrocketed to number one on the Billboards Top 100 for 14 consecutive weeks and re-entered the charts in 2012. It also was certified 4× platinum for shipments of over four million copies by the Recording Industry Association of America on January 12, 1993, making Houston the only and first female artist with a physical single to reach that level in the RIAA history. The song is one of the best selling singles of all time and continues to be an icon in the present day.

My personal favorite from The Bodyguard soundtrack is “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”. It has a vibrant presence that makes people want to move along the beat. Although the song was released around 1987, it is still a well-known song in today’s world. The single earned Houston the Grammy awards of the “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance” and “American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Single”.