I'm Your Baby Tonight

"I'm Your Baby Tonight"
Single by Whitney Houston
from the album I'm Your Baby Tonight
Released	October 1990 (US, UK)
Format	CD Single Cassette Single 7" Single
Genre	R&B, New Jack Swing
Length	5:00
Label	Arista Records
Writer(s)	L.A. Reid Babyface
Producer	L.A. Reid Babyface
Certification	Gold (US, SWE)
Whitney Houston singles chronology
"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (1989) "I'm Your Baby Tonight" (1990) "All The Man That I Need" (1991)

"I'm Your Baby Tonight" is the lead single and title track off Whitney Houston's third studio album of the same name. The song was produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface. Reid and Babyface had been an integral part of the New Jack Swing movement and would incorporate that sound into this single as well as other songs on Houston's album.

Track listing

1. "I'm Your Baby Tonight" (album version) – 5:00
2. "I'm Your Baby Tonight" (radio edit) – 4:16
3. "I'm Your Baby Tonight" (instrumental)
4. "I'm Your Baby Tonight" (LA Reid/Babyface Mix)
5. "I'm Knockin"
6. "Feels So Good" 4:54 ***

***The single "Feels So Good" is a B-side/Bonus Cut...It has not been featured on any Whitney Houston album.

Music video

The music video (directed by Julian Temple) features an edgier, rougher Houston (much different than she was in videos such as "How Will I Know" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody") paying homage to the sounds of black music that have helped define her sound, paying tribute in simulation of the Harlem Renaissance (with Houston as Marlene Dietrich), Motown (most notably The Supremes as Houston uses cloning imagery to create two clones of herself), and Hollywood's Golden Age (with Houston dressed as Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face), finally returning to present day by the video's end.

Chart information

United States

After having charted ten Top 10 hits (and seven consecutive number ones) on the Billboard Hot 100, Houston continued her chart momentum as "I'm Your Baby Tonight" would become her eleventh Top 10 hit and eighth number one. The song had an impressive debut at number 42 the week of October 20, 1990. Six weeks later, it hit number one, ending Mariah Carey's three-week run at the top with "Love Takes Time". "I'm Your Baby Tonight" spent only one week at number one, being knocked out by Stevie B's "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)". Altogether, the single spent seven weeks in the Top 10, twelve weeks in the Top 20, and fourteen consecutive weeks in the Top 40. It also reached number one on the Billboard R&B singles chart for two weeks. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA.

"I'm Your Baby Tonight":

• Debuted at number forty-two on the Billboard Hot 100
• Was ranked number forty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 Year End Charts (1991)
• Remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for nineteen weeks
• Was Houston's eighth number-one single on The Billboard Hot 100
• Was Houston's sixth number-one single on The Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart
• Was Houston's fourth number-one single on The Billboard R&B singles chart

International

"I'm Your Baby Tonight" hit the Top 10 in several major markets including Australia (#7), France (#4),Italy (#2), Switzerland (#4), UK (#5), and Germany (#5).

References