Fine (Whitney Houston song)

"Fine" is a mid-tempo R&B tune, written and produced by Raphael Saadiq and Kamaal Fareed. According to Billboard, it features "languid retro-funk guitars" and a "sneaky hook", brought to life by "richly layered harmonies".[1] It was described as having "a sleek lite-funk sound" by The Star-Ledger.[2]

Billboard wrote that "Fine" is "perhaps her most convincing crack at urbanized pop music to date. [Houston] seems to have eased into the chilled soul that propels a street-wise track. She wisely does not give into the temptation to belt and wail her way through the song [...]. Instead, Houston works the more sultry lower register of her voice, saving the big, beautiful notes as a dramatic accent toward the end of the cut".[1] LA Weekly in its review for Whitney: The Greatest Hits wrote that "Only on the stellar R&B track “Fine” does Whitney stand out. [...] “Fine” is soulful, funky and tight as hell. And the vocal performance ranks among Whitney’s best."[3] The Baltimore Sun wrote that "Of the new tracks [on Whitney: The Greatest Hits], only the sultry, soulful "Fine" manages to convey any of the strengths that made Houston a star." and "hearing [Houston] work the tune's insistent, retro-funk groove, there's no doubting that she still has what it takes to make hits".[4] CANOE reviewer Jane Stevenson felt that the song "falls flat".[5] The Star-Ledger wrote that the song "grows tiresomely repetitious".[2] According to New Nation the song takes Houston "to even greater heights, changing [her] vocals to a much lower tone, with an added hip-hop bassline".[6] The St. Louis Post-Dispatch called it "a wonderful composition".[7]

"Fine" appeared on the singles charts only in the United States and in Sweden.[8][9] The song peaked at number 51 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.[8] In Sweden, it debuted and peaked at number 50, but spent only one week on the chart.[9]

The music video, directed by Kevin Bray, features Houston at a rooftop cocktail party. In the US, a DVD single was released. It includes the videos for "Fine" and the Houston-George Michael duet "If I Told You That", plus behind-the-scenes footage from the "Fine" video shoot. Houston's then-husband Bobby Brown also appears in the video.

• Fine at Discogs