what was whitney houston's first number one song
Whitney Houston (album) The label, wanting Houston to have a solid urban fanbase first, released "You Give Good Love" as the first single.[22] The soulful ballad would top the R&B chart and surprise the label by crossing over and reaching number three on the pop chart while the singer was playing at nightclubs in the United States.[67][68] The jazzy-pop "Saving All My Love for You" was released next and really put her on the map. The single was an even bigger success hitting number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[69] It would reach number one in the United Kingdom and was successful around the world.[70] With her first number one, Houston began appearing on high-profile talk shows and became the opening act for Jeffrey Osborne and Luther Vandross. Thinking About You was released as the single only to R&B-oriented radio stations. It peaked at number 10 on the Hot Black Singles chart and at number 24 on the Hot Dance/Disco Club Play chart.[71][72]
Waiting to Exhale (soundtrack) "Why Does It Hurt So Bad" by Whitney Houston became the seventh and final single to be released off the album in July, 1996. Christopher John Farley of the TIME magazine commented "Houston more than holds her own, particularly on [this], with its masterly balance of pop zip and soulful melancholy."[64] At the time the single was issued, Billboard said "this should have been the follow-up to 'Exhale (Shoop Shoop)'" and added "she[Houston] was positively luminous on this heartbreak ballad."[65] On August 3, 1996, the single debuted at number sixty and number thirty-four, on the Hot 100 and Hot R&B singles chart, respectively.[66][67] In a few weeks later, it peaked at number twenty-six on the Hot 100 and number twenty-two on the Hot R&B.[68][69] Houston performed the song at the 1996 MTV Movie Awards. The track was also included in a medley along with "I Believe in You and Me" and "It Hurts Like Hell" in her set list on her My Love Is Your Love World Tour in 1999.