I'm Your Baby Tonight

Houston's previous efforts featured material mostly chosen by the label. With this project, however, she had more control over the album's content. In addition to working with the previous producers of Narada Michael Walden and Michael Masser, she also worked with the production team of L.A. Reid and Babyface, as well as singer Luther Vandross, and did a collaboration with Stevie Wonder. Houston would also produce the song "I'm Knockin'", with tour music director Ricky Minor and co-write the song "Takin' a Chance".

I'm Your Baby Tonight's Walden-produced songs are divided by contemporary dance-pop tracks and ornate ballads, while Reid and Babyface's productions reappropriate 1970s black pop and danceable funk with aggressive 1980s dance rhythms.[5] According to AllMusic's Ashley S. Battel, Houston "attempts to make a larger foray into dance music" with this album,[3] while David Browne observed light synthesizer flourishes, thumping drum beats, and "dance-fever settings" throughout.[4] James Hunter of Rolling Stone described the album as "a case study in how much [Houston] can get out of her luscious and straightforward vocal gifts within a dancepop framework."[5] J. D. Considine wrote that Houston's singing on the album features "sultry moans, note-bending asides, [and] window-rattling gospel shouts".[8] Rolling Stone magazine's Jim Macnie said that the album "displayed a slick R&B edge" and features "funk-and-dance-driven pop".[1]

I'm Your Baby Tonight yielded four top-twenty singles on the Hot 100 Singles chart, and six top-twenty singles on the Hot R&B Singles chart between 1990 and 1992. "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "All the Man That I Need" both reached #1. This success earned Houston a ranking of #3 Pop singles artist and #1 R&B singles artist on the 1991 Billboard year-end charts.[11][12]

The title track, "I'm Your Baby Tonight", was released as the first single from the album in October 1990. While the L.A. Reid/Babyface mix version was released in the United States, an alternate Yvonne Turner mix, labeled the international version or European version, was released in other countries. The single debuted at number forty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the week ending October 20, 1990. Six weeks later, in the issue dated December 1, 1990, it reached number one and stayed there for a week, becoming Houston's eighth number-one single on the chart.[13] It also peaked at number one in the same week on the Hot R&B Singles chart and remained on the top for two weeks, making it her fourth R&B chart topper.[14] In addition, the song peaked at number seven on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart, spending a total of twenty-eight weeks on the chart.[15] The single was certified Gold for shipments of 500,000 copies by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 27, 1990.[16] Worldwide it was a big hit during her European promotion in November–December 1990. In Italy, it reached number one on the Musica e dischi singles chart in November 1990 and remained atop for five weeks, becoming her second number-one song on the chart, after 1987's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)".[17] In the United Kingdom, the single entered the UK Singles Chart at number sixteen on October 20, 1990, and peaked at number five two weeks later, becoming her eighth top ten hit.[18][19] It also reached the top five in many countries such as Austria,[20] Belgium,[21] France,[22] Germany,[23] the Netherlands,[24] Norway,[25] Sweden,[26] and Switzerland.[27] It also went top ten in Australia and Ireland.[28][29] Houston was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female with this track at the 33rd Grammy Awards of 1991.[30]

Houston's remake of a ballad, "All the Man That I Need" was the album's second single, released in December 1990. The single achieved great success on the Billboard charts. It debuted at number fifty-three on the Hot 100 on December 22, 1990 and topped the chart nine weeks later, in the issue dated February 23, 1991.[31] On March 2, 1991, when it reached the number one on the Hot R&B Singles chart, the single enjoyed its second and third week at the top of the Hot 100 and Hot Adult Contemporary chart, respectively.[32][33][34] As a result, it became her first single to top the Hot 100, Hot R&B, and Hot Adult Contemporary chart simultaneously—which "I Will Always Love You" also achieved for five weeks in 1992/93—and overall her third triple-crown hit, after 1985's "Saving All My Love for You" and 1986's "How Will I Know" both reached the top spot on those three charts in different weeks. The RIAA certified it Gold on March 21, 1991.[35] Unlike the United States, it was a modest hit globally. It peaked at number one on the Canadian RPM Top 100 Singles chart for one week and number ten on Belgian VRT Top 30 chart.[36][37] However, it only reached the top twenty in Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.[29][38][39] With this song, Houston received a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female at the 34th Grammy Awards in 1992, which was her fifth nomination in that category.[30]

After the release of "The Star Spangled Banner" single, "Miracle" was released as the third single from the album in April 1991. It peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 8, 1991, becoming her thirteenth top ten hit on the chart.[40] It also reached number two and number four, on the Hot R&B Singles and Adult Contemporary chart, respectively.[41][42]

The album's fourth single "My Name Is Not Susan" was released in July 1991. In September, the song peaked at number twenty on the Hot 100 and number eight on the Hot R&B, becoming her fifteenth R&B top ten hit.[43]

A fifth single, "I Belong to You", became a top ten R&B single and garnered Houston a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 35th Grammy Awards.[44][45]

"We Didn't Know", a duet with Stevie Wonder, was the sixth and final single from the album, released exclusively for R&B airplay in April 1992. It peaked at number twenty on the Hot R&B Singles chart in the issue dated July 4, 1992.[46] Included on the tracklisting of the album's Japanese edition is a cover of Steve Winwood's "Higher Love", which was resurrected by Norwegian DJ Kygo in 2019, and "Takin' a Chance"; the latter became a success in the country.

In the United States, I'm Your Baby Tonight debuted at number 22 on the Billboard 200 chart, the issue dated November 24, 1990. In its second week, it leaped to number five and the following week reached its peak position at number three. The album spent 22 weeks in the top ten and was on the chart for a total of 51 weeks.[47] It also debuted at number 10 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart, the issue date of December 1, 1990, and reached the number one in three weeks later.[48][49] It stayed on the top of the chart for eight non-consecutive weeks and was present on the chart for a total of 53 weeks.[49][50] Due to its great performance on the chart, it became the #1 R&B album on the Billboard year-end charts for 1991.[11][51] The album was certified 4× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on April 5, 1995, and since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data in May 1991, it sold, as of 2009, 1,728,000 copies in the United States, an amount which does not include copies sold in the first months of release and sales through BMG Music Club.[52][53] It is not its sales total, as the biggest part of the sales occurred between November, 1990, before there was Nielsen SoundScan.

The album was a hit internationally though its sales didn't reach the level as high as the previous two albums, boosting Houston to global super-stardom. In the U.K., it entered the UK Albums Chart at number 6 on November 17, 1990 and peaked at number 4 nine weeks later.[54][55] The British Phonographic Industry certified it Platinum for shipments of 300,000 units on November 1, 1990.[56] In Germany, the album peaked at number three on the Media Control Albums Chart, receiving Platinum certification for shipments of 500,000 copies by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie in 1991.[57] It also reached the top five in other countries such as Austria,[58] Norway,[59] Sweden,[60] and Switzerland.[61] To date the album has sold approximately 10 million copies worldwide.[62]

Notes

• All Non-North American countries had the "Yvonne Turner Mix" of "I'm Your Baby Tonight" replacing the L.A. Reid/Babyface original version as Track 1.

• I'm Your Baby Tonight at AllMusic
• I'm Your Baby Tonight at Discogs