So Emotional

"So Emotional" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston. It was released as the third single from her second studio album '' Whitney'' (1987) on October 12, 1987, by Arista Records. The song was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and produced by Narada Michael Walden.

Commercially, it peaked at number five in the UK and number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it became her sixth consecutive number one, and a dance chart hit. It would become the sixth best-charting song of 1988, and was the fourth most played song on the club charts; it is her sixth biggest hit on the Hot 100 chart.

Composition

"So Emotional" was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, who also penned Madonna's " Like a Virgin", Cyndi Lauper's " True Colors", Heart's " Alone", and the Bangles' "Eternal Flame", all of which reached No. 1 on the charts. The song centers on Houston loving being in love, singing: "''I get so emotional baby / Every time I think of you / I get so emotional baby / Ain't it shocking what love can do''."

"So Emotional" was the final song recorded for the album. Arista President Clive Davis reportedly told Steinberg and Kelly that 10 songs had already been recorded but he was looking for one more uptempo song. The recording was overseen by producer Narada Michael Walden, who asked Houston to record the vocals on a day she was scheduled to make minor changes to existing tracks for the album. Walden asked Houston to record "So Emotional" first, before she had warmed up, resulting in a fresh, edgy sound. The song was Houston's first venture into rock music.

Although the recording became a number-one hit, the production was bittersweet for the songwriters. As Kelly explained in an interview, "If you fall in love with (your) version of the song, and you're used to hearing it the way you conceived it ... it's always hard to get used to."

Considered a dance-pop and rock song with R&B and medium funk influences according to Musicnotes.com under Sony Music Publishing, the song is mostly played to the key of E minor, with Houston's vocal range going from B₃ to F₅.

Critical reception

AllMusic editor Ron Wynn highlighted this track. Vince Aletti of ''Rolling Stone'' wrote: "Walden covers all these bases, out-hopping Kashif (but not Jellybean) with "So Emotional." ''St. Petersburg Times'' Eric Snider and Annelise Wamsley wrote: "So Emotional," the record's token rock offering, is hollow and contrived, as if the trumped-up power guitars are supposed to give the song some guts." Zodiac Mindwarp of ''Smash Hits'' considered "So Emotional" "a good record" that he liked and which was likely to "put imin a good mood for the day".

Chart performance

It made its debut at number 47 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on October 31, 1987. Six weeks later, on December 5, it entered the top ten at number 8. Five weeks later, it became the first new number-one single of 1988, reaching the pole position of January 9 replacing George Michael's "Faith" where it stayed for a week, eventually receiving gold certification in the US seven years later in 1995. It would spend eight weeks inside the top ten, fourteen weeks inside the top 40 and a cumulative total of nineteen weeks on the chart altogether.

In accomplishing this, Houston broke a 27-year chart record held by Elvis Presley for the most consecutive number-one singles by a solo artist; Presley had held the record with five major singles — "A Big Hunk O' Love", " Stuck On You", " It's Now or Never", "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" and " Surrender" — each topping the charts between 1959 and 1961. With six consecutive number one singles at the time, it put her in a three-way tie with the Beatles and the Bee Gees for most consecutive number one singles, a record she'd later break with the ballad, "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", on April 23 of the same year. It also put her in another three-way tie with artists Michael Jackson and Madonna for the most number one singles of the 1980s.

In January 2023, nearly 28 years after its last certification, the song was certified platinum for sales of one million copies in the US alone. The single also reached number one on ''Billboard'''s Hot Dance Club Play chart as well as the Crossover Top 30 chart.

Due to Houston's crossover appeal, the dance-rock track reached number eight on the adult contemporary chart and number five on the Hot Black Singles chart. It was Houston's third single to reach the top ten on four major ''Billboard'' charts after "How Will I Know" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)". "So Emotional" was ranked sixth on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 year-end charts as well as the fourth best-selling song on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play year-end charts (1988). The song has sold more than 1.7 million copies worldwide.

In the United Kingdom and France the song was remixed by Shep Pettibone when released as a single and peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart in November 1987, remaining on the chart for 11 weeks. Elsewhere the single performed moderately well, reaching number 21 in France, 26 in Australia and 30 in Switzerland. It reached number 20 on the Eurochart Hot 100.

Music video

The music video for "So Emotional", directed by Wayne Isham, features Houston on tour and preparing for the night's concert. It was filmed at Lehigh University's Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania between dates of her 1987-1988 Moment of Truth Tour.

Track listings and formats

*US 7" single
#"So Emotional" – 4:36
#"For the Love of You" – 4:29

*UK 7" single
#"So Emotional" (Edited remix) – 4:20
#"For the Love of You" – 4:32

*UK CD single
#"So Emotional" (Extended remix) – 7:51
#"Didn't We Almost Have It All" (live) – 6:28
#"For the Love of You" – 4:32

Personnel

*Narada Michael Walden – drums
* Walter "Baby Love" Afanasieff – keyboards and synth bass
*Corrado Rustici – guitar synth
*Robert "Bongo Bob" Smith – drum sampling and percussion programming
*Background vocals – Whitney Houston
*Produced and arranged by Narada Michael Walden
*Recorded and mixed by David Frazer
*Assistant engineer – Dana Jon Chappelle
*Additional engineers – Lincoln Clapp, Gordon Lyon, Jay Rifkin

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