Queen of the Night (song)

"Queen of the Night" is a song co-written and performed by American singer Whitney Houston. It was the fifth and final single released from the soundtrack album The Bodyguard, and is played during the closing credits of the film of the same name.

"Queen of the Night"
Single by Whitney Houston
from the album The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album
ReleasedOctober 13, 1993
Recorded1991
Genre
Length3:06
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • L.A. Reid
  • Babyface
Whitney Houston singles chronology
"Run to You"
(1993)		 "Queen of the Night"
(1993)		 "Something in Common"
(1993)
Music video
"Queen of the Night" on YouTube

"Queen of the Night" is an uptempo pop rock/dance number, with Houston expressing how she "rules the club scene", proclaiming herself "queen of the night". "Queen of the Night" was released to US radio in November 1993 and peaked at number 36 on the Hot 100 Airplay and number 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, becoming Houston's fifth number 1 dance single. Due to Billboard's charting requirements at that time, singles without a commercial release were ineligible to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was released in several other countries and peaked at number 14 in the UK.

Critical reception

The song received mixed to negative reviews from the music critics. Chris Willman of the L.A. Times assessed the song negatively: "The only obvious dud (on the album) is 'Queen of the Night,' a silly stab at hard-rock that's almost a dead ringer for En Vogue's "Free Your Mind", particularly where her vocals are multi tracked."[1] The New York Times's Stephen Holden gave a similar review: "Only 'Queen of the Night,' a run-of-the-mill dance tune, [falls] below par."[2] A positive review came from AllMusic, which called it "a first-rate urban pop song that skillfully captures Houston at her best."[3] James Hunter from Vibe noted that "Queen of the Night" "lets CJ Mackintosh replace LA & Babyface's guitar slams with snare-happy waves of glowing rhythm that add up to disco for a generation that's unsure whether disco is nostalgic or eternal."[4] Popdose compared its production to Janet Jackson's "Black Cat."[5]

CD Universe's review was also positive: "Elsewhere Houston continues to mine her rich vein of ornate balladry and pop-flavored dance workouts, on her own 'Queen Of The Night,' with its percolating upbeat production a la L.A. Reid & Babyface."[6] USA Today writer James T. Jones IV. called this song a surprise, "rocking" tune.[7]

Music video

The music video for "Queen of the Night" is the full performance Houston gives in the motion picture The Bodyguard. In the film, the performance is interrupted by violence.

Live performances

In live performances by Houston, the song's arrangement was faithful to the 1993 CJ Mackintosh remix, which was used during Houston's The Bodyguard World Tour (1993-1994) and also for her performance at the 1994 Soul Train Music Awards.

Track listings
Japan CD single
  1. "Queen of the Night" (CJ's Single Edit) – 3:21
  2. "Queen of the Night" (Album Version) – 3:06
UK CD maxi-single
  1. "Queen of the Night" (CJ's Single Edit) – 3:21
  2. "Queen of the Night" (CJ's Master Mix) – 6:35
  3. "Queen of the Night" (CJ's Instrumental Mix) – 9:35
  4. "Queen of the Night" (Mackapella Mix) – 5:21
  5. "Queen of the Night" (Dub of the Night) – 5:21
UK Cassette single
  1. "Queen of the Night" (CJ's Single Edit) – 3:13
  2. "Queen of the Night" (Album Version) – 3:06

Other versions

  1. "Queen of the Night" (CJ's Single Mix) – 4:04
  2. "Queen of the Night" (CJ Mackintosh Mix) – 3:46 (Whitney: The Greatest Hits, Disc 2 - CJ Mackintosh Mix with roughly 20 extra seconds of music)

Charts

This song was covered by American Idol contestant Haley Scarnato in 2006. This song was covered during Australian singer Delta Goodrem's Believe Again Tour at various locations throughout Australia in 2009. The 2009 X Factor contestants also performed this song on Sunday, October 18, 2009 as a group performance. Contestant Stacey Solomon, who came third, performed this song on The X Factor Live Tour 2010. The independent, web-based, electronic/dubstep artist known as Futret released a remix/crossover-cover of the song in early February 2012. The song is also mentioned in the show Bob's Burgers, the episode O.T.: The Outside Toilet in which the character Gene talks to an expensive talking toilet, who can answer any of your questions. Gene asks "Who is the queen of the night?" and the toilet responds saying "Whitney Houston". The song was covered by Monika Linkytė in week two of "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka.[25] Madame Tussauds Hollywood's wax figure of Houston depicts her performance of the title song in the bodyguard.

References
  1. https://articles.latimes.com/1992-11-22/entertainment/ca-1891_1_whitney-houston
  2. https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/20/arts/record-brief-944292.html
  3. https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-bodyguard-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-mw0000180918
  4. "Single File". Vibe. 1994-04-01. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  5. "'Face Time: Whitney Houston, "Queen of the Night"". Cass, Giles, Heyliger. Popdose.com. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  6. http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1110178&style=music&fulldesc=T
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2010-09-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 30 Jan 1994". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved July 3, 2018. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
  9. Belgian Singles Chart Archived February 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Ultratop.be. Retrieved on 2012-02-16.
  10. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. November 20, 1993. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  11. "Lescharts.com – Whitney Houston – Queen Of The Night" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Whitney Houston – Queen Of The Night". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  13. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (13.01.1994 - 19.01.1994)" (PDF) (in Icelandic). Dagblaðið Vísir - Tónlist. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  14. The Irish Charts Archived 2010-02-01 at WebCite
  15. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Whitney Houston" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Whitney Houston – Queen of the Night" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  17. "Top 10 Portugal" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  18. "Swisscharts.com – Whitney Houston – Queen Of The Night". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  19. "Whitney Houston: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  20. "Whitney Houston Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  21. "Whitney Houston Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  22. "Whitney Houston Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  23. "Jaarlijsten 1993" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  24. Billboard.BIZ. Billboard.BIZ (1994-12-31). Retrieved on 2012-02-16.
  25. ""Eurovizijos" atranką paliko pirmieji dalyviai". LRT (in Lithuanian). 10 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
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