Queen of the Night (song)

"Queen of the Night"
Single by Whitney Houston
from the album The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album
Released October 13, 1993
Format CD single, cassette single, 7" single, 12" single
Recorded 1991
Genre R&B, pop, pop rock, dance, new jack swing
Length 3:06
Label Arista
Writer(s) Whitney Houston, Antonio "L.A." Reid, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Daryl Simmons
Producer(s) L.A. Reid & Babyface
Whitney Houston singles chronology
"Run to You"
(1993)
"Queen of the Night"
(1993)
"Something in Common"
(1994)
Music video
"Queen Of The Night" on YouTube
The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album track listing
"Run to You"
(4)
"Queen of the Night"
(5)
"Jesus Loves Me"
(6)

"Queen of the Night" is a song co-written and performed by American pop/R&B singer Whitney Houston. It was the fifth and final single released from her multi-platinum soundtrack The Bodyguard, and it is played during the closing credits of the film.

"Queen of the Night" is an uptempo pop rock/dance number, with Houston expressing how she "rules the club scene", proclaiming herself "queen of the night". It was not released as a single in America, but it received such substantial radio play that it rose to number 36 on the Hot 100 Airplay. However, because of Billboard magazine rules at the time (which have since been modified), a song with no commercial single available could not chart on the main Billboard Hot 100. The song reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, becoming Houston's fifth number 1 dance single. It was released in several other countries, peaking at number 14 in the UK.

The music video for "Queen of the Night" is the full performance Houston gives in the motion picture The Bodyguard. In the film, the performance is interrupted by violence.

In live performances by Houston, the song's arrangement was faithful to the 1993 CJ Mackintosh remix, which was used during Houston's 1993-94 The Bodyguard World Tour and also for her performance at the 1994 Soul Train Music Awards.

Critical reception

Chris Willman of the L.A. Times wrote a negative review: "The only obvious dud (on the album) is "Queen of the Night," a silly stab at hard-rock that's almost a dead ringer for En Vogue's "Free Your Mind," particularly where her vocals are multitracked."[1] Also, Stehen Holden of NY Times wrote a similar review: "Only "Queen of the Night," a run-of-the-mill dance tune" which falls below the par.[2] A positive review came from Allmusic: "Queen of the Night" is first-rate urban pop song that skillfully captures Houston at her best.[3] Popdose compared its production to Janet Jackson's "Black Cat."[4] CD Universe review is also positive: "Elsewhere Houston continues to mine her rich vein of ornate balladry and pop-flavored dance workouts, on her own "Queen Of The Night," with its percolating upbeat production a la L.A. Reid & Babyface."[5] USA Today editor Larry A. called this song a surprise and "rocking" tune.[6]

Track listings

CD single
  1. "Queen of the Night" (CJ's Single Edit) – 3:21
  2. "Queen of the Night" (Album Version) – 3:06
CD maxi-single
  1. "Queen of the Night" (CJ's Single Edit) – 3:21
  2. "Queen of the Night" (CJ's Master Mix) – 6:35
  3. "Queen of the Night" (CJ's Instrumental Mix) – 9:35
  4. "Queen of the Night" (Mackapella Mix) – 5:21
  5. "Queen of the Night" (Dub of the Night) – 5:21
Additional mixes
  1. "Queen of the Night" (CJ's Single Edit) – 3:13 (UK cassette single)
  2. "Queen of the Night" (CJ's Single Edit) – 4:04 (UK 12")

Charts

Chart positions

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Belgian Singles Chart[7] 20
Dutch Singles Chart[8] 21
French Singles Chart[9] 47
German Singles Chart[10] 64
Ireland (IRMA)[11] 26
Swiss Singles Chart[12] 36
UK Singles Chart[13] 14
US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay[14] 36
US Dance/Club Play[15] 1
US R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay[16] 47
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA Singles Chart)[17] 88

Year-end charts

Chart (1994) Position
U.S Dance/Club Play Singles[18] 38

Chart precession and succession

Preceded by
"I Love Music" by Rozalla
Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
January 29, 1994
Succeeded by
"Joy" by Staxx of Joy featuring Carol Leeming

Popular culture

This song was covered by American Idol contestant Haley Scarnato in 2006. This song was covered during Australian singer Delta Goodrem's Believe Again Tour at various locations throughout Australia in 2009. The 2009 X Factor contestants also performed this song on Sunday, October 18, 2009 as a group performance. Contestant Stacey Solomon, who came third, performed this song on The X Factor Live Tour 2010. The independent, web-based, electronic/dubstep artist known as Futret released a remix/crossover-cover of the song in early February 2012. The song is also mentioned in the show Bob's Burgers, the episode O.T.: The Outside Toilet in which the character Gene talks to an expensive talking toilet, who can answer any of your questions. Gene asks "Who is the queen of the night?" and the toilet responds saying "Whitney Houston". The song was covered by Monika Linkytė in week two of "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka.[19] Madame tussands Hollywood's wax figure of Houston depicts her performance of the title song in the bodyguard

References

  1. http://articles.latimes.com/1992-11-22/entertainment/ca-1891_1_whitney-houston
  2. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/20/arts/record-brief-944292.html
  3. http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-bodyguard-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-mw0000180918
  4. "‘Face Time: Whitney Houston, "Queen of the Night" - Popdose". Heyliger, Cass Giles (Popdose.com). 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  5. http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1110178&style=music&fulldesc=T
  6. http://www.whitney-fan.com/music/reviews/36/65
  7. Belgian Singles Chart. Ultratop.be. Retrieved on 2012-02-16.
  8. Dutch Singles Chart. Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on 2012-02-16.
  9. French Singles Chart
  10. German Singles Chart. Worldcharts.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-02-16.
  11. The Irish Charts
  12. Swiss Singles Chart. Hitparade.ch. Retrieved on 2012-02-16.
  13. UK Singles Chart Archived March 14, 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  14. Hot 100 Airplay. Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2012-02-16.
  15. Hot Dance Club Play. Billboard.com (2012-02-11). Retrieved on 2012-02-16.
  16. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2012-02-16.
  17. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  18. Billboard.BIZ. Billboard.BIZ (1994-12-31). Retrieved on 2012-02-16.
  19. ""Eurovizijos" atranką paliko pirmieji dalyviai". LRT (in Lithuanian). 10 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.

External links

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