Fine (Whitney Houston song)

"Fine" is a song by American R&B singer Whitney Houston, and was the fourth single from her 2000 compilation album, Whitney: The Greatest Hits.

"Fine"
Single by Whitney Houston
from the album Whitney: The Greatest Hits
B-side"Love to Infinity Megamix"
ReleasedNovember 14, 2000 (2000-11-14)
RecordedThe Record Plant
(Los Angeles, California)
GenreR&B
Length3:34
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Whitney Houston singles chronology
"Same Script, Different Cast"
(2000)		 "Fine"
(2000)		 "The Star Spangled Banner"
(2001)
Music video
"Fine" on YouTube

Composition

"Fine" is a mid-tempo R&B tune, written and produced by Raphael Saadiq and Kamaal Fareed. According to Billboard, it features "languid retro-funk guitars" and a "sneaky hook", brought to life by "richly layered harmonies".[1] It was described as having "a sleek lite-funk sound" by The Star-Ledger.[2]

Critical reception

Billboard wrote that "Fine" is "perhaps her most convincing crack at urbanized pop music to date. [Houston] seems to have eased into the chilled soul that propels a street-wise track. She wisely does not give into the temptation to belt and wail her way through the song [...]. Instead, Houston works the more sultry lower register of her voice, saving the big, beautiful notes as a dramatic accent toward the end of the cut".[1] LA Weekly in its review for Whitney: The Greatest Hits wrote that "Only on the stellar R&B track “Fine” does Whitney stand out. [...] “Fine” is soulful, funky and tight as hell. And the vocal performance ranks among Whitney’s best."[3] The Baltimore Sun wrote that "Of the new tracks [on Whitney: The Greatest Hits], only the sultry, soulful "Fine" manages to convey any of the strengths that made Houston a star." and "hearing [Houston] work the tune's insistent, retro-funk groove, there's no doubting that she still has what it takes to make hits".[4] CANOE reviewer Jane Stevenson felt that the song "falls flat".[5] The Star-Ledger wrote that the song "grows tiresomely repetitious".[2] According to New Nation the song takes Houston "to even greater heights, changing [her] vocals to a much lower tone, with an added hip-hop bassline".[6] The St. Louis Post-Dispatch called it "a wonderful composition".[7]

Chart performance

"Fine" appeared on the singles charts only in the United States and in Sweden.[8][9] The song peaked at number 51 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.[8] In Sweden, it debuted and peaked at number 50, but spent only one week on the chart.[9]

Music video

The music video, directed by Kevin Bray, features Houston at a rooftop cocktail party. In the US, a DVD single was released. It includes the videos for "Fine" and the Houston-George Michael duet "If I Told You That", plus behind-the-scenes footage from the "Fine" video shoot. Houston's then-husband Bobby Brown also appears in the video.

Track listings and formats
Maxi single[10]
No.TitleLength
1."Fine" (Album version)3:34
2."Love to Infinity Megamix" (Edit)5:17
3."Hearbreak Hotel" (R.I.P. Mix)3:40
4."Love to Infinity Megamix"9:22
CD single[11]
No.TitleLength
1."Fine"3:34
2."Same Script, Different Cast" (Jonathan Peters Radio Edit)4:20
3."Same Script, Different Cast" (Friburn & Urik Cover Your Ears Mix)10:49
4."Fine" (Instrumental)3:34
"Fine" / "If I Told You That" DVD single[12]
No.TitleLength
1."Fine" (Music video)3:35
2."If I Told You That" (Music video)4:12
3."Behind-the-scenes footage of the "Fine" video shoot" 

Personnel

Charts
Chart (2001) Peak
position
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[9] 50
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[8] 51
gollark: Hmm, so we just need to nonrandomly ping 8 more people?
gollark: How many VOŦE§ did we OBTAIN?
gollark: Really? GøøÐ.
gollark: <@319753218592866315> vote gibson.
gollark: ||spoiler: snape kills trinity with rosebud||

References
  1. "Billboard magazine – Reviews & Previews – p.24". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. September 2, 2000. Retrieved August 13, 2012. (Transcription of original at Classic-Whitney.com)
  2. Lustig, Jay (May 16, 2000). "The greatest hits of all, but the remix is just so-so". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 18 April 2014. (Full review available at Classic-Whitney.com)
  3. Hardy, Ernest (Jun 28, 2000). "Saving It". LA Weekly. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  4. J. D. Considine (May 25, 2000). "Whitney Houston The Greatest Hits". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  5. Stevenson, Jane. "Album Review: Whitney's greatest hits and misses". CANOE - JAM!. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  6. http://whfan.free.fr/rv00cd.htm
  7. Johnson, Kevin C. (June 25, 2000). "Whitney Houston "The Greatest Hits," Arista Records". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 19 April 2014. (Full review available at Classic-Whitney.com)
  8. "Whitney Houston Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  9. "Swedishcharts.com – Whitney Houston – Fine". Singles Top 100. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  10. Fine (Maxi-Single). Whitney Houston. EU: Arista. 2000. 74321 82188 2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. Fine (CD-Single). Whitney Houston. EU: Arista. 2001. 74321-84665-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. Fine (DVD). Whitney Houston. US: Arista. 2000. 13920-9.CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. Whitney: The Greatest Hits (Album). Whitney Houston. Europe: Arista, BMG. 2000. 74321 75895 2.CS1 maint: others (link)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.