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)
Dear John Letter
Whitney Houston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In my own head thinking
How you could be staring in
Got my number too
And I'm writing you
Contemplating on the paper what I should do
On the fireplace with the mail man
Should I tell you or should I hold it in
Baby you could just forget it
I'd be gone in a New York minute
You never give me attention
I know you never had bad intentions for us
So I'm writing you but I always fail to mention
Cause you know I really don't like to fuss
So I'm gonna hold it in
[Chorus]
(I'm writing you a) Dear John letter
I tried to stay but it never got better
I couldn't tell you face to face but I,
I had to let you know
Sometimes I want to hit the door
(I'm writing you Dear John)
Sometimes I think that I've had enough
My hands freeze and I can't write fast enough,
I want to get away but I can't obey when my heart speaks,
You know I'm listening
Some days I'm really touchy and
Some days I'm willing to forget and
Some days I'm still in love with you
Some days I'm sad and blue
When I don't check myself
I get frustrated with you
And I don't know what I'm gonna do
I know that it's not just you
It's some of my negligence too
And I can't go through with mailing this to you
[Chorus: x2]
When I don't check myself
I get frustrated with you
And I don't know what I'm gonna do
I know that it's not just you
It's some of my negligence too
And I can't go through with mailing this to you
[Chorus: x2]
I'm writing this letter
Because it makes me feel better
The lyrics to Whitney Houston's song "Dear John Letter" express the inner turmoil of a woman who is contemplating ending her relationship but struggles with communicating her feelings to her partner, John. She imagines writing and sending him a letter, but ultimately decides not to follow through. The lyrics suggest that she feels neglected and frustrated in the relationship, but also acknowledges that some of the issues in the relationship are due to her own faults.
The first verse describes the process of the woman contemplating writing the letter, questioning whether or not she should tell John how she truly feels. She recognizes that if her heart is not fully in the relationship, she must leave quickly. The second verse highlights the woman's frustration with the lack of attention from John, but also her hesitation to speak up and cause conflict. The chorus reveals her attempts to write the letter but struggling with actually mailing it. The song ends with the woman expressing her inner turmoil, finding some release in writing the letter, but ultimately deciding not to send it.
Overall, the song captures the complex emotions of someone struggling to leave a relationship, and the challenges of communication and introspection that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm sitting here, In my own head thinking
I am lost in thought, contemplating a decision to be made
How you could be staring in, Got my number too
You have my contact details and can reach me anytime
And I'm writing you, Contemplating on the paper what I should do
I am putting my thoughts on paper, unsure of what action to take
On the fireplace with the mail man, Should I tell you or should I hold it in
I have not yet decided whether to send this letter or keep my feelings to myself
If my heart wasn't in it, Baby you could just forget it
If I wasn't in love with you, it would be easy to let go
I'd be gone in a New York minute
I would leave without hesitation
You never give me attention, I know you never had bad intentions for us
You are not giving me the attention I need, but I know you mean well
So I'm writing you but I always fail to mention, Cause you know I really don't like to fuss
I struggle to bring up issues, as I dislike conflict
So I'm gonna hold it in
I will continue to keep my feelings to myself
(I'm writing you a) Dear John letter
I am writing this letter to express my feelings towards you
I tried to stay but it never got better
I attempted to maintain our relationship, but it did not improve
I couldn't tell you face to face but I, I had to let you know
I lack the courage to say this in person, but it needs to be said
Sometimes I want to hit the door, Sometimes I think that I've had enough
I feel like leaving and giving up on our relationship
My hands freeze and I can't write fast enough, I want to get away but I can't obey when my heart speaks, You know I'm listening
I struggle to find the words to express myself, but I am conflicted about leaving
Some days I'm really touchy and, Some days I'm willing to forget and, Some days I'm still in love with you, Some days I'm sad and blue
My emotions fluctuate, and I am unsure about what I want
And I don't know what I'm gonna do, I know that it's not just you, It's some of my negligence too
I am uncertain about the future, as I realize my own shortcomings in the relationship
And I can't go through with mailing this to you
I am hesitant to send this letter
I'm writing this letter, Because it makes me feel better
I am writing this letter to process my emotions
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DWIGHT REYNOLDS, KEVIN BRIGGS, PATRICE STEWART, WHITNEY HOUSTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind