| "Queen of the Night" | ||||
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| Single byWhitney Houston | ||||
| from the albumThe Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album | ||||
| Released | October 1993 | |||
| Recorded | November 9, 1991[1] | |||
| Studio | Larrabee Sound (West Hollywood, California) | |||
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| Label | Arista | |||
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| Whitney Houston singles chronology | ||||
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| "Queen of the Night" onYouTube | ||||
"Queen of the Night" is a song co-written by American singer and actressWhitney Houston along withL.A. Reid,Babyface andDaryl Simmons. Produced by Reid and Babyface along with Simmons and Houston and performed by Houston, it was released on October 13, 1993, byArista Records, as the fifth and final single from the soundtrack albumThe Bodyguard (1992), and is played during the closing credits ofthe film of the same name.
The song was an uptempohard rock number in which Houston expresses how she "rules the club scene" as the self-proclaimed "queen of the night". It was the fifth and last single released from the soundtrack. In the US, it was released as a radio-only single and the song became a top 40 hit on severalBillboard airplay charts in early 1994. Ahouse remix version by British remixerC.J. Mackintosh helped Houston earn her fifth number one single on theBillboardHot Dance Club Songs chart.
It entered the top 40 in several global countries such as Canada, Switzerland, Ireland and the Netherlands while finding its biggest success on the charts in Portugal, Iceland, Belgium and the UK, where it landed inside the top 20.
Houston and the duo of Babyface and L.A. Reid began working together for the former's album,I'm Your Baby Tonight in March 1990. At the time, Houston had been accused of having her music catering to white audiences and her labelArista hired the duo to silence critics.[7][8]
The album became a hit and thetitle track became the duo's first number one single on theBillboard Hot 100. The duo would have two more hits with Houston on the album including thesoul ballad "Miracle" and "My Name Is Not Susan". It would start a lifelong collaboration and friendship between the three.
In April 1991, Houston announced that she would begin filming her debut leading role as Rachel Marron inThe Bodyguard.[9] AfterClive Davis complained of the film not having accompanying music to explain Houston's role as a temperamental, talenteddiva being protected by a bodyguard she ends up falling in love with, Houston signed a deal to produce herfirst soundtrack album, agreeing to record the majority of the songs.[10]
The soundtrack would be Houston's second asexecutive producer. Maureen Crowe was hired as the film's musical supervisor. Houston, who was attaining more control of her career after years of being guided and mentored by Davis, chose Babyface and Reid to contribute to the soundtrack.[11]
On November 9, 1991, weeks before filming commenced in Hollywood, Houston entered Larrabee Sound there to record with the producers. The songsmiths were busy at work on the soundtrack to theEddie Murphy vehicle,Boomerang, which led to delays in production on Houston's song.[11]
Houston insisted on helping out with the lyrics, music and arrangement, alongsideDaryl Simmons, on what eventually became "Queen of the Night".[11]
Said Crowe, "She felt like they had limited time and they wanted to make sure they were writing something she was comfortable with." Crowe continued: "she had been working on her character, so they wanted her to come in, ‘we’ll hammer this out together,’ with the idea of getting the rhythm right, the attitude right."[11]
It would be the first song to be recorded for the soundtrack. The song played a pivotal role in the film where Houston, as Rachel Marron, performs the song at a rowdyrock nightclub before audience members grabbed her offstage, causing a near-riot before she's saved by co-starKevin Costner's character, bodyguard Frank Farmer.[11]
The original soundtrack version of "Queen of the Night" is ahard rock andR&B song withfunk,glam metal andnew jack swing elements.[12] It has a medium rock tempo with a time signature of4
4 common time and 106 beats per minute and plays in the key ofA major.[12]
Part of the chorus was inspired byMichael Jackson's 1987 song "Dirty Diana".Vernon Reid of theheavy metal bandLiving Colour contributed a guitar solo. Houston contributed both lead and background vocals.
Later, Arista senthouse music remixes of the song, mainly from British remixerC.J. Mackintosh, which was released to nightclubs and radio. Much like the original, the song starts in the key of A major and has a dance beat of 120 beats per minute.[13]
A reviewer fromAllMusic complimented "Queen of the Night" as "a first-rateurban pop song that skillfully captures Houston at her best."[14]Larry Flick fromBillboard magazine commented, "If anyone can successfully bringhouse music back topop radio, it's Houston", describing it as "a wickedly catchy ditty, armed with achorus that will stick in your mind like sinfully sweet brain candy."[5] Troy J. Augusto fromCash Box named it Pick of the Week, writing that "it's actually one of Houston's least impressive single releases—but its aggressive vocal delivery andEn Vogue-like flow will probably make for another chart-topper."[15] A reviewer fromCD Universe felt that Houston "continues to mine her rich vein of ornateballadry and pop-flavoreddance workouts, [like] on her own 'Queen of the Night,' with its percolating upbeat production a laL.A. Reid &Babyface."[16]
Chris Willman of theL.A. Times assessed the song negatively, "The only obvious dud (on the album) is 'Queen of the Night,' a silly stab athard-rock that's almost a dead ringer for En Vogue's "Free Your Mind", particularly where her vocals are multi tracked."[2] Howard Cohen fromThe Miami Herald said the singer "slips into a downright funky mode on theR&B workout".[4] Dave Piccioni fromMusic Week'sRM Dance Update stated that Houston "returns to the pure house sound with this wonderfulCJ Mackintosh collaboration", remarking that she "is in as full vocal form as ever and thegospelled vocal harmonies are sweet and strong."[6] AnotherRM editor,James Hamilton, called it a "CJ Mackintosh remixed pleasant but bland jigglygarage-style loper".[17]Stephen Holden fromThe New York Times deemed it a "run-of-the-mill dance tune".[18] Popdose compared its production toJanet Jackson's "Black Cat".[19] Arion Berger fromRolling Stone said that "on "Queen of the Night", L.A. and Babyface start out stomping and never stop, letting Houston belt riotously along until she drops or they do. (They do.)"[20]USA Today writerJames T. Jones IV described it as a surprise, "rocking" tune.[21] James Hunter fromVibe noted that it lets the remixer replace the producer's "guitar slams with snare-happy waves of glowing rhythm that add up todisco for a generation that's unsure whether disco is nostalgic or eternal."[22]
The song was released to US as an airplay-only single in November 1993. Due toBillboard's charting requirements at that time, singles without a commercial release were ineligible to chart on theBillboard Hot 100.
Despite this, the single still found success on severalBillboard component charts. The original version peaked at number 17 on theBillboardTop 40/Mainstream chart and number 36 on theBillboardHot 100 Airplay chart. It found more modest success on the Hot R&B Airplay chart where it peaked at number 47 and stayed on the chart for 11 weeks.
In January 1994, the C.J. Mackintosh remix topped theBillboardHot Dance Club Play chart, becoming Houston's fifth number-one dance single and her firstBillboard chart-topper as a songwriter and producer.
The single was released to several other countries. In Canada, it peaked at number 39. In the UK, it peaked at number 14 on theUK singles chart, and numbers nine and four on theMusic Week dance singles and airplay charts. It also reached the top 20 in Belgium and Iceland and was a top ten single in Portugal.
It also placed in the top 40 in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Ireland and had more modest success in Germany, France and Australia. It peaked at number 33 on theEurochart Hot 100.
The accompanying music video for "Queen of the Night", directed by English film director and television producerMick Jackson,[23] features the full performance Houston gives in the motion pictureThe Bodyguard, which is interrupted by violence. The video features footage from the 1927 filmMetropolis.[24]
During theBodyguard World Tour (1993-1994), the band would start the song off with the hard rock original while Houston was in intermission before she'd return to the stage.
Houston would sing the original before she reappeared and then the band would launch into the C.J. Mackintosh remix version.
At the1994 Soul Train Music Awards, Houston would play bits of the hard rock version of the song before launching into "I'm Every Woman" when she showed up onstage.
For the taped shows in South America -- such asRio de Janeiro,Santiago,Buenos Aires andCaracas, Houston performed both the hard rock and dance versions and would do the same inJohannesburg on November 12, 1994 for theHBO-TVSouth Africa concert special.
A June 23, 1994 performance of the song atThe Spectrum inPhiladelphia was included in the soundtrack reissue,I Wish You Love: More from The Bodyguard, in November 2017.
Since its release, the song has been covered numerous times over the years by various artists. In 1993, Chinese-Canadian singerSally Yeh covered it for her album,與你又過一天 Another Day With You. In 2006, it was covered byAmerican Idol contestantHaley Scarnato. It was also covered by Australian singerDelta Goodrem during herBelieve Again Tour at various locations throughout Australia in 2009.
The2009X Factor contestants also performed this song on Sunday, October 18, 2009, as a group performance. ContestantStacey Solomon, who came third, performed this song onThe X Factor Live Tour 2010. Theindependent, web-based,electronic/dubstep artist known as Futret released a remix/crossover-cover of the song in early February 2012.[25]
The song is also mentioned in the showBob'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.[26]
Ariana Grande performed the dance remix version of the song and "How Will I Know" as a tribute to Houston in theABC series finale ofGreatest Hits.[27]Madame Tussauds Hollywood's wax figure of Houston depicts her performance of the song inThe Bodyguard.
SingerKelly Clarkson recorded covers of "Queen of the Night" on two occasions: the first was on Clarkson's original demo tape recorded in 2001,[28] while the second was for the album,Kellyoke.[29]
In its 1994 year-end list, the C.J. Mackintosh house remix was the 38th best performing single of the year on theBillboard Dance Club Songs chart.
BET ranked the song 40th place in their list of the forty best Whitney Houston songs, writing that Houston "returned to her sassy mid-80s form with this rocked-outEn Vogue-esque scorcher".[30]
Rob Sheffield ofRolling Stone wrote of the song in his 2012 write-up of his favorite Houston songs, "This isn’t one of her more famous songs, but it’s a special fan favorite – Whitney goesglam-metal. It’s the only time she sounded like a bigZiggy Stardust fan, but maybe once was enough."[31]Classic Pop described the song as "afunk-filled floorfiller".[32]
In their retrospective appraisal of the soundtrack,BuzzFeed News stated that, thanks to Houston's compositional and production input in the song, "'Queen of the Night' became a high-energy, drum-centric,pop-rock showpiece, withTina Turner–esque growling, that showed a different side of her persona," calling her lyrics in the song "her most in-your-face yet."[11]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | October 1993 | N/a | Arista | |
| Australia | November 15, 1993 |
| [56] | |
| Japan | December 16, 1993 | Mini-CD | [57] |
...hard-rocking ("Queen of the Night")...
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