Houston began singing at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, as a child and became a background vocalist while in high school. She was one of the first black women to appear on the cover of Seventeen after becoming a teen model in 1981. With the guidance of Arista Records chairman Clive Davis, Houston signed to the label at age 19. Her first two studio albums, Whitney Houston (1985) and Whitney (1987), both peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and are among the best-selling albums of all time. Hit singles from the albums, including "How Will I Know", "Greatest Love of All" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", established her as a catalyst in the acceptance of black female artists on MTV. Her third studio album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990), yielded two Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, the title track and "All the Man That I Need". Houston's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in 1991 received widespread media coverage.
Houston made her acting debut with the romantic thriller film The Bodyguard (1992), which despite its mixed reviews became the tenth highest-grossing film to that date. Its soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and remains the bestselling soundtrack album of all time. It generated multiple hit singles, including "I Have Nothing", "I'm Every Woman" and "I Will Always Love You"; the latter won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, spent a then-record 14 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and became the best-selling single by a woman in music history. Subsequently, she went on to star in the films Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher's Wife (1996), and she recorded their respective soundtracks; the former scored her last Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", while the latter, produced by Houston herself, became the bestselling gospel album of all time. As a film producer, she produced multicultural movies and series such as Cinderella (1997) and The Princess Diaries and The Cheetah Girls.
Houston's first studio album in eight years, My Love Is Your Love (1998), spawned several hit singles, including the title track, "Heartbreak Hotel", "It's Not Right but It's Okay" and the Academy Award-winning Mariah Carey duet "When You Believe". Following the success, she renewed her contract with Arista for $100 million in 2001, one of the biggest recording deals of all time. However, her personal problems began to overshadow her career. Her 2002 studio album, Just Whitney, received mixed reviews, while her drug use and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown received widespread media coverage. After divorcing Brown, Houston returned to the top of the Billboard 200 chart with her final studio album, I Look to You (2009). In February 2012, Houston accidentally drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors. News of her death coincided with the 2012 Grammy Awards, which took place the day following her death, and was covered internationally. Her life and career were dramatized in the 2022 biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Her assets amounted to $250 million, earned over a 25-year career.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Houston
Discography
Whitney Houston (1985)
Whitney (1987)
I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990)
My Love Is Your Love (1998)
Just Whitney (2002)
One Wish: The Holiday Album (2003)
I Look to You (2009)
...Whatchulookinat
Whitney Houston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's time for you to strike back
They're lookin' at you
Whitney Houston
Muhammad 2 G
They're watching your every move
[Whitney:]
Unidentified male:
They're watching you
[Chorus:]
Why you lookin' at me
Don't get mad at me
'Cause I'm still gonna be me
(Tell me, Tell me, Tell me)
Whatchulookinat
(Tell me, Tell me, Tell me)
Whatchulookinat
I feel your eyes on me
You been telling lies on me
(Tell me, Tell me, Tell me)
Whatchulookinat
(Tell me, Tell me, Tell me)
See I don't understand
Why you keep peepin' me
When you don't even like me
You're after me and my man
Don't think you're stressing me
'Cause your lies don't excite me, no no
(Never thought)
Never thought, Never thought
(Never knew)
Never knew that you would do this to me
Do this to me
(Try to ruin me) Ruin me
(Be my enemy) Be my enemy
(Never thought)
Never thought, Never thought, Never thought
(That you) That you
Would act as if you're cool with me
So why you lookin' at me
Why you lookin' at me
(Don't get mad at me)
Don't get mad
('Cause I'm still gonna be) Gonna be me
(Tell me, Tell me, Tell me)
(Whatchulookinat)
Me, Me, Me
(Tell me, Tell me, Tell me)
(Whatchulookinat)
Tell me whatchulookinat
(I feel your eyes on me)
Feel your eyes
(You been telling lies on me)
Telling lies
(Tell me, Tell me, Tell me)
Tell me
(Whatchulookinat)
(Tell me, Tell me, Tell me)
Whatchulookinat
Oh you know you're wrong
Don't want to respect my song
But it's okay 'cause either way
My following is real strong
You try so hard to show the whole world what I do
Now I'm turning the cameras back on you
Same spotlight that once gave me fame
Trying to dirty up Whitney's name
(Never thought)
Never thought, Never thought, Never thought
(Never knew)
Never knew that you would do this to me
Do this to me
(Try to ruin me) Try to ruin me
(Be my enemy) Be my enemy
(Never thought)
Never thought, Never thought, Never thought
(That you) That you
Would act as if you're cool with me
Why you lookin' at me
[Chorus (2x)]
Messing with my reputation
Ain't even got no education
Trying to mess with my concentration
Don't even have a clue of what I'm facing
All you know you need to stop it
Defaming my name for a profit
God is the reason my soul is free
And I don't need you looking at me
[Chorus (2x)]
The song “Whatchulookinat” by Whitney Houston Feat. P. Diddy is about haters and disbelievers trying to bring the singer down. The lyrics convey how people often judge and criticize others, even though they know nothing about them. Whitney Houston appears to be defiant in the face of insults, as she repeatedly asks the question, “Whatchulookinat?” P. Diddy’s rap in the intro talks about Houston’s detractors watching her every move, and how it’s time for her to strike back.
Houston then sings about how she doesn’t understand why people would try to ruin her reputation when they don’t even like her. She appears to be hurt and confused by their actions. However, Houston remains confident in herself, knowing that her following is strong and loyal. She even has a warning for those who try to defame her name for profit, stating that she doesn’t need them looking at her. Overall, the song is about empowerment and not letting other people’s negativity affect your self-worth.
Line by Line Meaning
It's time for you to strike back
It's the right time for you to fight back
They're lookin' at you
They are watching you
Muhammad 2 G
They're watching your every move
They are scrutinizing all your actions
Why you lookin' at me
Why are you staring at me?
Don't get mad at me
Don't be angry with me
'Cause I'm still gonna be me
Because I am going to stay true to myself
(Tell me, Tell me, Tell me)
Whatchulookinat
What are you looking at?
(Tell me, Tell me, Tell me)
I feel your eyes on me
I sense that you are watching me
You been telling lies on me
You have been spreading falsehoods about me
(Tell me, Tell me, Tell me)
Whatchulookinat
What are you looking at?
(Tell me, Tell me, Tell me)
See I don't understand
I don't comprehend
Why you keep peepin' me
Why are you continually observing me
When you don't even like me
Even though you don't have any affection for me
You're after me and my man
You are going after my partner and me
Don't think you're stressing me
Don't assume that you are bothering me
('Cause your lies don't excite me, no no)
(Because your lies don't thrill me)
(Never thought)
Never thought, Never thought
(Never knew)
Never knew that you would do this to me
I never expected you to behave in this manner towards me
(Try to ruin me) Ruin me
(Trying to damage my reputation)
(Be my enemy) Be my enemy
(That you) That you
Would act as if you're cool with me
Would pretend to be friendly with me
So why you lookin' at me
So why are you staring at me?
Oh you know you're wrong
You know that you are incorrect
Don't want to respect my song
You don't want to appreciate my music
But it's okay 'cause either way
But it's all right because either way
My following is real strong
My fans support me strongly
You try so hard to show the whole world what I do
You put in so much effort to show the entire world what I am doing
Now I'm turning the cameras back on you
Now, I'm putting the spotlight on you
Same spotlight that once gave me fame
The same spotlight that brought me popularity
Trying to dirty up Whitney's name
Trying to ruin Whitney's reputation
(Messing with my reputation)
(Interfering with my reputation)
(Ain't even got no education)
(You don't even have any education)
(Trying to mess with my concentration)
(Trying to interfere with my focus)
(Don't even have a clue of what I'm facing)
(You don't even have an idea of what I am facing)
All you know you need to stop it
All you understand is that you need to cease doing it
Defaming my name for a profit
Slandering my name for personal gain
God is the reason my soul is free
God is the explanation why my soul is liberated
And I don't need you looking at me
And I don't require you to keep looking at me
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC., Royalty Network
Written by: JERMAINE DUPRI, JOERG EVERS, JUERGEN KORDULETSCH, SHAWNTAE HARRIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sabrina Doctor
Whitney Houston was" REAL " She was exposing the " Dark Side" of The Music Industry..
She Told the Truth.. RIP Whitney💜
chris holbrook
But isn’t it odd that she went running back to the “dark side” when this album tanked? There’s a distinct difference between this WH & the one from less than 10 years before, & I don’t think it has anything to do with the “dark side” of the industry.
C J.
Nippy was in major denial but she tried so hard to "keep it real" as that was her true self but once u add addiction to the equation it's a whole new ballgame a whole new set of rules
RIP WHITNEY, THE BEST THAT EVER DID IT
DGray78
I remember people laughing at this but I really enjoy this album now! It’s good. I remeber a lot of RnB stuff was out then.
Cory Simon
The album is more her saying "I don't care what you say and do, I'm still going to be myself and do what I do, and stop ruining my name and image." I feel like in those days, people are really that well out to ruin people's image. I was feeling it too as well in those days as well. Like Britney spears, to Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, to Michael Jackson. Just a couple. Now for MJ, he made a song called Privacy for his album Invincible which is about getting to papaprazzi to leave him alone and respect his privacy.
Risa Laughter
Whitney in her 40s......her voice never failed her....it was still strong...I always admired the strength of her gorgeous pipes....and she was still beautiful!
El Chico Anónimo
She is 38 in this video
Great Value Chopped Onions
Her voice changed a lot over the years but she never got to a point where she couldn't sing at all
Regina Munafo
She will always be the best ever singer nobody can take that away from you
Madelyn johnson
It's 2020 and I still love this song. I think she's telling off the media and rightly so. They can never stop Whitney Power!!