Music icon Whitney Houston continues to get her flowers from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Her 1985 self-titled debut album has passed the 14x multi-platinum mark for exceeding sales of over 14 million equivalent units. It’s the groundbreaking album’s first new certification since July 1999.
Whitney Houston is Houston’s second best-selling album behind 1992’s The Bodyguard soundtrack, which achieved 18x multi-platinum status in November 2017.
“Greatest Love Of All,” lifted from the Whitney Houston album, is now certified 2x multi-platinum. The ballad peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1986, staying atop for three weeks.
Houston gained new honors for the singles “I’m Your Baby Tonight” (platinum), “So Emotional” (platinum), and “I Look to You” (platinum).
The first two songs topped the Hot 100 for one week in January 1988 and December 1990, respectively.
“I Look to You,” taken from the 2009 comeback album of the same name, reached No. 70 on the Hot 100 chart. Meanwhile, the inspirational tune peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart.
Houston also scored a gold award for “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” a Pentatonix-led seasonal single on which her 2004 vocals appear. It was featured on the group’s 2019 compilation album The Best of Pentatonix.
Last year, Houston picked up four new certifications, including “I Will Always Love You” and “When You Believe,” a duet with Mariah Carey.
The former cover, lifted from The Bodyguard soundtrack, went 10x multi-platinum, advancing to diamond status, while the Oscar-winning collaboration was upped to 2x multi-platinum.
After celebrating the life and legacy in last year’s Kasi Lemmons-directed biopic, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Houston’s 60th birthday and distinguished career will be celebrated in a series of festivities dubbed “Whitney Houston Hotel.”
The week-long event will be held Feb 1-4, during Grammy week, at the W Hotel in Hollywood, California.
According to a press release, the events will include “Sony’s 360 Reality Audio Immersive Listening Lounge, a memorabilia exhibit featuring photos of Whitney as well as several iconic gowns worn throughout her legendary career, a Whitney Houston pop-up shop with exclusive merch, electronics and more.”
Michelle Williams, Amber Riley, Kiana Ledé, Coco Jones and more will deliver live performances over two days.
This year, five of Houston’s beloved albums will be released on vinyl: Whitney Houston (1985), Whitney (1987), I’m Your Baby Tonight (1990), Preacher’s Wife (1996) and My Love Is Your Love (1999).
Whitney Houston and Whitney, available on pre-order, will be available on Feb. 10. Vinyls range from $28.98-$29.98.