Editing Whitney Houston (section)

=== 1985–1986: ''Whitney Houston'' and rise to international prominence ===
''[[Whitney Houston (album)|Whitney Houston]]'' was released on [[Valentine's Day]], February 14, 1985.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/feb/12/whitney-houston-obituary |last=Sullivan |first=Caroline |title=Whitney Houston obituary |work=[[The Guardian]]|date=February 11, 2012|access-date=July 27, 2019}}</ref> The album received mixed to positive reviews in its initial run, with most of the positive remarks aimed at Houston's vocal ability. ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' called Houston "one of the most exciting new voices in years" while ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the album "an impressive, musically conservative showcase for an exceptional vocal talent".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Shewey|first=Don|title=Music Review: ''Whitney Houston''|date=June 6, 1985|magazine=Rolling Stone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/whitney-houston-19850606|access-date=March 17, 2011|archive-date=June 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628231222/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/whitney-houston-19850606|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author-link=Stephen Holden|last=Holden|first=Stephen|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/12/arts/critics-choices-pop-music.html|title=Critic's Choice; Pop Music|newspaper=The New York Times|page=A2|date=May 12, 1985}}</ref> Debuting at number 166 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] on March 30, 1985, the album reached the top ten 23 weeks later.<ref name="BB081985">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1985-08-31/ |title=Billboard 200 (week of August 31, 1985) |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=August 31, 1985 |accessdate=July 28, 2024}}</ref> It reached number one in March 1986, starting a 14-week run, which is the longest run for a female debut album in history.<ref name="Inc.1986">{{cite magazine|title=Charts '86|magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tiQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA52|date=December 27, 1986|page=52|issn=0006-2510}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://billboard.com/artist/whitney-houston/chart-history/tlp |title=Whitney Houston - Chart History: Billboard 200 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |accessdate=June 19, 2023}}</ref>

''Whitney Houston'' launched four top ten singles on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], with the first, "[[You Give Good Love]]" reaching number three on July 27, 1985.<ref name="houstonhits">{{cite news|last=Grein|first=Paul|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-06-08-ca-9249-story.html|title=Houston Hits: Master Plan, Blind Luck|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 8, 1986}}</ref>  The song attracted some notoriety after advice columnist [[Eppie Lederer|Ann Landers]] included it in her list of rock songs deemed "trashy music" on her ''[[Ask Ann Landers]]'' column; Houston quickly addressed Landers's comments in an interview with ''[[The Chicago Tribune]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title= Hope your children outgrow trashy music |first= Ann|last=Landers |author-link= Ann Landers |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YiFRAAAAIBAJ&pg=6796,627717&dq | newspaper = [[Telegraph Herald|The Telegraph-Herald]] |publisher = Woodward Communications, Inc | date= July 7, 1985 | access-date=July 28, 2024}}</ref><ref name="850929chicagotribune">{{cite news | author = Lynn Van Matre | url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/09/29/with-dionne-cissy-and-aretha-in-the-family-how-can-whitney-houston-fail/ | title = With Dionne, Cissy And Aretha In The Family, How Can Whitney Houston Fail? |work=Chicago Tribune | date = September 29, 1985 | access-date =April 1, 2018 }}</ref> The song was followed by Houston's [[cover version|rendition]] of "[[Saving All My Love for You]]", which became her first number one single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on October 26, two days before Houston opened at [[Carnegie Hall]].<ref name="whitneyosborne">{{cite web |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1985/08/04/singer-whitney-houston-hits-a-high-note-early-in-her-career/ |title=SINGER WHITNEY HOUSTON HITS A HIGH NOTE EARLY IN HER CAREER |work=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |date=August 4, 1985 |accessdate=June 20, 2023}}</ref><ref name="CarnegieHall">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/29/arts/pop-whitney-houston-in-carnegie-hall-debut.html |title=POP: WHITNEY HOUSTON IN CARNEGIE HALL DEBUT |work=[[New York Times]] |date=October 29, 1985 |last=Holden|first=Stephen |accessdate=May 17, 2023}}</ref> The album's follow-up singles, "[[How Will I Know]]" and "[[The Greatest Love of All#Whitney Houston version|Greatest Love of All]]", also topped the charts, with the former peaking on February 15, 1986 for two weeks and the latter peaking on May 17, 1986 for three weeks. In accomplishing this, Houston became the first female artist to land three number one singles off the same album on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also becoming the first female solo artist to produce three consecutive number one singles. In addition, the ballad "[[All at Once (Whitney Houston song)|All at Once]]" became an international hit in Europe and Japan.<ref name="Inc.1985">{{cite magazine|title=Whitney Houston's Success Is Global|magazine=Billboard|date=June 8, 1985|page=54|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> 

''Whitney Houston'' did not just perform well on the domestic charts; it became a global success as well. The album reached the top ten in 19 other countries, including the [[UK Albums Chart|UK]], and topping in six other countries, including [[Canadian Albums Chart|Canada]] and [[ARIA Albums Chart|Australia]]. The album has since been certified [[RIAA certification#List of certifications|Diamond]] in the United States for sales of 14 million copies,<ref name="whitneycert">{{cite certification|region=United States|artist=Whitney Houston|type=album|accessdate=June 19, 2023}}</ref> with over 25 million units sold worldwide, becoming the best-selling solo debut album in music history and the [[List of best-selling albums by women|best-selling debut album by a female artist]].<ref>{{cite news |date=February 11, 2012 |title=Music Industry Pays Tribute to Whitney Houston |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/singer-whitney-houston-memorialized-at-pre-grammy-awards-gala-139178279/151922.html |access-date=June 15, 2024 |work=[[Voice of America]]}}</ref> The album is also listed in the ''[[Guinness World Records]]'' as the best-selling R&B studio album by a female artist in history.<ref name="ww">{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3088195/ns/dateline_nbc/t/inside-whitneys-world/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212083629/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3088195/ns/dateline_nbc/t/inside-whitneys-world|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 12, 2013|title=Inside Whitney's world|publisher=[[NBC News]]|date=September 28, 2013|access-date=June 18, 2017}}</ref><ref name="ww2">{{cite web|url=http://www.phillytrib.com/news/philly-reflects-on-houston-s-legacy/article_22dfde85-a3d9-5e50-a559-101ab627e6d3.html|title=Philly reflects on Houston's legacy|work=[[The Philadelphia Tribune]]|first1=Bobbi|last1=Booker|date=February 14, 2012|access-date=June 18, 2017}}</ref><ref name="guinness5">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec2000engl/page/126/mode/1up?view=theater&q=whitney+houston |title=Guinness world records 2000 |last=Kynaston|first=Nic |page=126 |date=2000 |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |isbn=978-1-892051-00-4 |access-date=June 1, 2023}}</ref><ref name="popqueen"/>

In a May 25, 1986 article on ''The New York Times'', journalist [[Stephen Holden]] declared Houston "the new [[Honorific nicknames in popular music|queen of pop]]".<ref name="popqueen">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/25/arts/whitney-houston-pop-s-new-queen.html |title=WHITNEY HOUSTON - POP'S NEW QUEEN |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 25, 1986 |author=[[Stephen Holden]] |accessdate=April 7, 2025}}</ref> The album's success was attributed to performances on [[late-night talk show]]s, a format not often accessible to emerging black talent at the time and exposure on music video stations, including [[MTV]], which at the time was receiving harsh criticism for not playing enough videos from artists of color while favoring predominantly white acts.<ref name="Inc.1986"/><ref name="Whitney Houston">{{cite episode|title=Whitney Houston |series=Headliners And Legends |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036702/|date=August 11, 2000|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091021140553/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036702 |archive-date=October 21, 2009 }}</ref> Houston stated the channel rejected the clip to "You Give Good Love" for "being a very R&B kind of song", only for them to play the clip for "Saving All My Love for You" due to the song "hit(ting) so hard and explod(ing) so heavy" that they "had no choice but to play it".<ref name="whitneyMTV">{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzZgor4981M |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/IzZgor4981M| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Whitney Houston Reminisces About '80s Music on MTV (2001 interview) |year=2001 |publisher=[[MTV]] |access-date=January 13, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In December, the video to "How Will I Know" was submitted and accepted by MTV brass and sent the video to heavy rotation almost immediately after it debuted that month and later led to Houston's music regularly being played on the channel, the first occurrence for a [[Black women in the American music industry|black female artist]].<ref name="MTVBarriers">{{cite web |url=https://www.yahoo.com/now/whitney-houston-1985-mtv-debut-114702351.html |title=Whitney Houston's 1985 MTV Debut Broke Barriers for Black Artists |date=February 12, 2023 |accessdate=May 17, 2023}}</ref><ref name=salon>{{cite web|last=Traister|first=Rebecca|title=Didn't She Almost Have It All|work=Salon|date=April 13, 2006|url=https://www.salon.com/2012/02/12/didnt_she_almost_have_it_all/|access-date=July 27, 2019}}</ref> The success of the "How Will I Know" video resulted in Houston winning the [[MTV Video Music Awards|MTV Video Music Award]] for [[MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video|Best Female Video]] in September. In July 1986, her first major world tour, ''[[The Greatest Love World Tour]]'', was launched and Houston performed at four continents for 53 shows until that December. 

Houston was ranked the top new pop artist of 1985 by ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''; the following year, her debut was the [[List of best-selling albums by year in the United States|best-selling album of the year]].<ref name="Inc.1986"/> Houston was denied a nomination for the [[Grammy Award for Best New Artist|Best New Artist Grammy]] due to her recordings in the [[1984 in music|previous year]], prompting an angry letter from Clive Davis.<ref>{{cite news| first= Richard | last= Harrington | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/01/10/dire-straits-tops-list-for-grammys/c4a94511-d200-4624-81eb-fcdce2e977f7/| title= Dire Straits Tops List for Grammy's; We are the World Wins 6 Nominations|date=January 10, 1986|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> The album was nominated for five [[Grammy Awards|Grammys]], including [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]].<ref name="Company1986b">{{cite magazine |title=Tina, Whitney Top Picks For Annual Grammy Awards |magazine=Jet |date=January 27, 1986 |page=57 |issn=0021-5996 |access-date=September 7, 2021 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NrMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57}}</ref><ref name="Company1986c">{{cite magazine|title='We Are The World' Big Winner At 28th Grammys |magazine=Jet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CrQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA14 |date=March 17, 1986 |page=14 |issn=0021-5996 |access-date=September 7, 2021}}</ref> She won her first Grammy for "Saving All My Love for You" in the [[Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance|Best Female Pop Vocal Performance]] category. Later, a performance of the song at the ceremony won Houston an [[Primetime Emmy Award|Emmy]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program|Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program]].<ref name="Company1986d">{{cite magazine|title='Cosby Show' Snubbed At Emmy Awards Ceremony; Receives Only One Honor |magazine=Jet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5LADAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16 |date=October 13, 1986 |page=16 |issn=0021-5996 |access-date=September 7, 2021}}</ref> She won her first seven [[American Music Awards]] from the album, out of 13 nominations.<ref name="Company1986e">{{cite magazine |title=Whitney, Aretha, Stevie Snare Honors At Recent American Music Awards |magazine=Jet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lLQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56 |date=February 17, 1986 |page=56 |issn=0021-5996 |access-date=September 7, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Company1987a">{{cite magazine| first1= Aldore | last1 = Collier | title = Whitney Houston: Why Success Won't Go to Her Head | magazine=Jet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wLMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA58|date=February 16, 1987|page=58|issn=0021-5996}}</ref> Houston's debut album is listed as one of ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]] and on the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]]'s Definitive 200 list.<ref name="Rolling Stone Magazine">{{cite magazine| url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/whitney-houston-whitney-houston-19691231 | title= 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |magazine=Rolling Stone| date=November 18, 2003 | access-date =March 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220143033/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/whitney-houston-whitney-houston-19691231 |archive-date=December 20, 2010}}</ref><ref name="The Definitive 200">{{cite web|url=http://www.definitive200.com/200_list.php |title=The Definitive 200|access-date=January 15, 2008 |publisher=The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame|year=2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080113130726/http://definitive200.com/200_list.php |archive-date = January 13, 2008}}</ref> Houston's grand entrance into the music industry was considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to ''[[USA Today]]'' in 2007.<ref name="Gundersen">{{cite news| last=Gundersen | first=Edna | title=25 years of memorable musical moments |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/top25-musicmoments.htm?csp=34| access-date =January 1, 2008 | date=June 18, 2007}}</ref>