Whitney Houston albums discography

The discography of American singer Whitney Houston (1963–2012) consists of seven studio albums, six compilations, two soundtrack albums, five box sets, six extended plays, and 57 singles. In 1985, Houston released her self-titled debut album. It spent 14 weeks at No.1 on the Billboard 200 and was certified 13x platinum (Diamond) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with global sales of 30 million copies.[1][2] The album produced four US top 5 singles, including three Billboard Hot 100 No.1 singles.[3] In 1987, Houston released her second album Whitney. The album debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200 and was supported by four US number-one singles: "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional", and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", which established an unprecedented seven consecutive No.1 hits by a performer.[4] Whitney was certified Diamond by the RIAA and topped the charts in numerous countries, having sold in excess of 20 million copies worldwide.[5] Houston's third studio album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990), peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 chart and yielded two number-one singles; "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "All the Man That I Need", selling 10 million units worldwide.[6] In February 1991, Houston released "The Star Spangled Banner" performance from Super Bowl XXV as a single, becoming the highest-charting rendition of the national anthem on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[7]

Whitney Houston albums discography
Houston performing at Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston in 1991
Studio albums	7
Live albums	1
Compilation albums	6
EPs	7
Soundtrack albums	2
Reissues	1
Box sets	5

The Bodyguard soundtrack from her film debut, was released in November 1992. The album contains tracks by other recording artists but is considered a Houston album by Billboard. It topped the Billboard 200 for 20 non-consecutive weeks, one of the longest tenures by an album in the Nielsen SoundScan era.[8] The album was certified 18× Platinum in the United States and sold over 45 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling soundtrack album and one of the top 5 best-selling albums of all time.[9] The lead single from the soundtrack, "I Will Always Love You", topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a then-record-breaking fourteen weeks and was certified 6× Platinum by the RIAA, peaked at number one on the charts in nearly every country and sold 20 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time.[10] Houston contributed three songs, including her 11th number-one single "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" on the 7x platinum soundtrack album, Waiting to Exhale (November 1995). The following year she released The Preacher's Wife in November 1996. The soundtrack was certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA and became the biggest selling gospel album of all time.[11] In 1998, she released her first studio album in eight years, My Love Is Your Love. The album failed to match the commercial status of her previous albums, peaking at number 13, her lowest chart position on the Billboard 200 among her studio albums. Despite initial weak sales, the album went on to achieve multi-platinum status with 10 million units sold worldwide, being certified 4× Platinum in the United States.[12] From late 1998 to early 2000, the album generated five singles; "When You Believe" (duet with Mariah Carey), "Heartbreak Hotel", "It's Not Right but It's Okay", "My Love Is Your Love", and "I Learned from the Best".[13]

Houston entered the 2000s with her first greatest hits compilation, Whitney: The Greatest Hits, released in May 2000. The double-disc was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA in 2002 and earned 5× Platinum award posthumously, recognizing 2.6 million in sales throughout the United States. The album hit the top position on the UK Albums Chart and sold over 1.66 million copies in the UK alone. Also, it reached the top 10 in many worldwide markets, selling 10 million copies globally.[13] Just Whitney, released in December 2002, became her first album after renewing her contract with Arista for a record $100 million in 2001.[14] The album failed to earn multi-platinum status, receiving only Platinum award in the US, and became her lowest-selling studio album to date. She released a holiday album, One Wish: The Holiday Album in November 2003. In September 2009, Houston returned to the top position of the Billboard 200 with I Look to You, becoming her fourth number-one album on the chart; which was her first non-soundtrack number-one in 22 years, since 1987's Whitney. It also topped the album charts of several European countries and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Her albums Whitney Houston, Whitney, The Bodyguard and Whitney: The Greatest Hits are among the top 100 certified albums according to the RIAA.[15]

According to the RIAA, Houston is the top-selling R&B female artist of the 20th century,[16] and the fourth best-selling female artist in the United States, with shipments of 57 million albums.[17] In addition, until the launch of the RIAA's digital certification program in 2004, she had sold 16.5 million physical singles—more than any other female solo artist in history.[18] According to the Official UK Charts Company in October 2012, Houston is at number four in the top 10 biggest selling female singles artists of all-time list with a sales total of 8.5 million singles.[19][20] Whitney Houston is one of pop music's best-selling music artists of all time, with an estimated 170–200 million records sold worldwide.[21][22]