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)
Dancin
Whitney Houston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You sure got a lot of nerve
The way you take your sweet time
All around me like your work of art
Who said you know me so good
You're a dangerous angel
Should have seen right from the start
Still I'd never change you
[Chorus 1:]
You've got me dancin on the smooth edge (2x)
Hearts on fire
Filled with desire
And I'm waiting for the words you say
On the smooth edge (2x)
So funny how the night just slips on by
In a long slow dance with you
Crazy how you keep on leading me boy
To a place beyond taboo
You're a cool persuader
Hey don't you have no shame
Still I'm gonna take you
Anyway?
[Chorus 2:]
You've got me dancin on the smooth edge (2x)
Hearts on fire
Filled with desire
And I'm reaching for your every move
Dancin on the smooth edge
On the smooth edge
Smooth edge, smooth edge
Oh, oh you're an angel, yes you are
[Chorus 3:]
You've got me dancin on the smooth edge (2x)
Hearts on fire
Filled with desire
And I'm deeper, deeper in love with you
Dancin on the smooth edge
The lyrics to Whitney Houston's song "Dancin' on the Smooth Edge" describe a relationship that is both exciting and dangerous. The singer is enamored by her lover's confidence and charm, despite the fact that he can be reckless and unpredictable. She feels like the night slips away from her when she's with him, and that he leads her to a place beyond taboo.
The chorus of the song repeatedly uses the phrase "dancin' on the smooth edge" to describe the feeling of being caught between pleasure and danger. The singer's heart is on fire with desire, but she knows that her lover is a "dangerous angel." Despite these fears, she is willing to take the risk and continue the dance because she is deeply in love with him.
Overall, the lyrics to "Dancin' on the Smooth Edge" explore the conflicting emotions that come with falling for someone who is both exhilarating and unpredictable. The singer is willing to take the risk and continue the dance, even though she knows that she could fall off of the smooth edge at any moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Boy, you drive me crazy
The singer is highly attracted to the subject, to the point of losing control over their emotions.
You sure got a lot of nerve
The subject exhibits a behavior that is simultaneously impressive and annoying, possibly by subjecting the singer to emotional stress.
The way you take your sweet time
The subject employs a slow-pace approach to create a sense of suspense or anticipation in the singer.
All around me like your work of art
The subject exerts an artistic influence on the artist's surroundings, contributing to the romantic atmosphere.
Who said you know me so good
The artist doubts the subject's claims of fully understanding them or their actions.
You're a dangerous angel
The subject embodies traits of a magnanimous and heavenly figure, yet imposing risk or danger to the singer.
Should have seen right from the start
The singer recognizes the subject's problematic behaviors, but was powerless to change the situation.
Still, I'd never change you anyway?
The artist, despite recognizing the subject's flaws, admits to being fiercely attracted to them and unwilling to change them.
You've got me dancin' on the smooth edge (2x)
The subject puts the artist in a precarious situation by alluring them to a life of risk and danger.
Hearts on fire, filled with desire, and I'm waiting for the words you say
The artist's emotions are aflame with passion, and they eagerly anticipate hearing the subject's words of love and commitment.
So funny how the night just slips on by, in a long slow dance with you
The singer finds it amusing how time seems to lose meaning when they're with the subject, embracing the slower tempo of their romantic moments.
Crazy how you keep on leading me, boy, to a place beyond taboo
The subject takes the artist on a journey that is not only unconventional but possibly frowned upon by society, further fueling the artist's attraction to them.
You're a cool persuader, hey, don't you have no shame
The subject has an effortless and suave ability to convince the singer of anything while also skillfully evading any sense of guilt, willingness to surprise or shock the singer.
Still, I'm gonna take you anyway?
The singer accepts the subject's lack of shame and their seductive advances, despite considering possible consequences.
You've got me dancin on the smooth edge (2x)
Reiteration of the subject's influence over the singer and the risks they pose.
Hearts on fire, filled with desire, and I'm reaching for your every move
The artist's feelings are still passionately burning, and they want to be around the subject at every possible moment.
On the smooth edge (3x), oh, oh, you're an angel, yes, you are
The artist is mesmerized by the subject's magical properties, in conflict with the danger that the subject emits surrounding them.
You've got me dancin' on the smooth edge (2x)
Reiteration of the subject's influence over the singer, and the potential risks they face.
Hearts on fire, filled with desire, and I'm deeper, deeper in love with you
The singer's passion is growing even stronger and becomes the source of the singer's obsession and emotions.
Dancin' on the smooth edge
The subject pulls the artist into a danger that is disguised as pleasure, leaving the artist to dance around a dangerous social precipice.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROBBIE LONG, DAVID LASLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind