My Love Is Your Love


My Love Is Your Love is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Whitney Houston, released worldwide on November 17, 1998. It was Houston's first studio album in eight years, following I'm Your Baby Tonight although she had released several movie soundtracks in that time. My Love Is Your Love is composed of mid-tempo R&B, hip hop soul, pop, reggae, and torch songs, produced by musicians such as Rodney Jerkins, Soulshock & Karlin, Missy Elliott, Wyclef Jean, David Foster, and Babyface. It is notable for introducing elements of hip hop into Houston's work, only sparingly used in her previous material.
Although the album sold less than Houston's previous albums in the US, it was a hit globally, particularly Europe, selling over 10 million copies worldwide. It was certified four times platinum in the United States. It generated several hit singles: "When You Believe", a duet with Mariah Carey, which also won an Academy Award at the 71st Annual Academy Awards ceremony; "Heartbreak Hotel", which features Kelly Price and Faith Evans; "It's Not Right, But It's Okay"; the title track "My Love Is Your Love", was certified platinum and became Houston's third best-selling single ever; and "I Learned from the Best". It was followed by a successful world tour.
My Love Is Your Love received positive reviews and is often regarded as one of her best releases. At the 42nd Grammy Awards of 2000, the album received six nominations, including Best R&B Album and Best R&B Song, twice. Houston won for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "It's Not Right But It's Okay", giving her sixth and final Grammy Award.

Promotion and appearances

Concerts

Houston performed two sold-out concerts a few days before the album's release, on November 13 and 14 at Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. Both concerts showcased new songs from the album as well as hit songs from previous releases. Several media critics as well as a host of celebrities attended, including Luther Vandross, Brandy, and Wyclef Jean. On November 19, Houston performed an expensive invitation-only concert at Cipriani's Wall Street, audience attendees included Clive Davis, Kevin Costner, P. Diddy, Babyface, Mary J. Blige, and wealthy business socialites.
Set list
1 performed at the show of November 13
2 performed at the show of November 14
3 performed at the show of November 19
Shows
DateCityVenue
November 13, 1998Atlantic City, New JerseyTrump Taj Mahal
November 14, 1998Atlantic City, New JerseyTrump Taj Mahal
November 19, 1998New York City, New YorkCipriani Grand Ballroom

TV

Singles

All five singles released from My Love Is Your Love were great success worldwide. In the United States, they were all top forty Billboard Hot 100 hits, with three reaching the top five on the chart, selling a total of 3.9 million copies. The album generated two Platinum and two Gold singles, awarded by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1999. In the United Kingdom, Houston also had five top forty singles including three top five hits from the album, with a total of 1.09 million copies sold, becoming the eighth best-selling singles artist of 1999. The singles also achieved success in other countries such as Canada, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.
"When You Believe", duet with Mariah Carey, was released as the lead single of the album on November 2, 1998. The song debuted at number fifty-one without retail single on the new Billboard Hot 100 chart, which had changed to allow airplay-only tracks to enter the chart, the issue date of December 5, 1998. Before release, it led to expectations that the song would be a smash hit due to the star power of two music rivals. However, after the single had released, it managed to peak at number fifteen on the chart, the issue dated January 30, 1999. It reached number thirty-three on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles & Tracks chart. Billboard was unfavorable towards the single, commenting "Given the potential of these two powerhouse voices, however, the song falls flat with a surprisingly understated and downright disappointing bridge: You wait and wait for the duel of the divas, and it simply never materializes," but positive of Houston's performance; "The genuine story in this track is the return of Houston, who sounds fantasticㅡas clear and confident as ever." The RIAA certified it Gold for shipments of 500,000 copies on March 24, 1999. Unlike in the United States, the single was a success on the world charts. It reached the top five in the U.K. with 260,000 copies sold, Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the top ten in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand. Thanks to popularity for the song across Europe, it eventually peaked at number two on the Eurochart Hot 100.
The album's second single, "Heartbreak Hotel" which features Faith Evans and Kelly Price, entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number eighty-four, the issue date of December 15, 1998. In its first week when the song was commercially available, it leaped to number twenty-nine, and after six weeks peaked at number two on the Hot 100, making it the first Houston single to peak in the runner-up spot. The song entered the revamped Billboard Hot R&B Singles & Tracks chart at number twenty-three with the mark of its seventh week on the chart, the issue date of January 9, 1999. In Its first week of retail release, it reached the number six and the following week topped the chart, becoming her eighth No.1 single on the Hot R&B chart. The single stayed on the summit for seven consecutive weeks from February 13 to March 27, 1999, which was her third longest stay atop this chart behind "I Will Always Love You" for eleven weeks and "Exhale " for eight weeks, and was on the chart for a total of thirty-one weeks. The single sold over 1,400,000 copies in the U.S. alone, becoming the third best-selling single of 1999, and was certified Platinum by the RIAA on March 2, 1999.
"It's Not Right, But It's Okay" was released as the third single from the album on January 25, 1999. Before May, it was featured as the B-side of maxi-singles with "Heartbreak Hotel", and charted on the Hot 100 and Hot R&B with its only airplay and sales of maxi-singles. The song appeared firstly at number sixty-four on the Hot R&B Singles & Tracks chart, the issue date of January 9, 1999. It rose higher position of the chart steadily, and eventually reached its peak position, number seven, in its twenty-fourth week on the chart. On the Hot 100 chart, the single debuted at number eighty-seven, the issue date of May 8, 1999, and after the regular-length cassette & CD configurations had hit stores, peaked at number four, selling 522,000 copies in the United States. The RIAA certified it Gold on June 29, 1999. It was also successful in the United Kingdom. The single reached the number three on the singles chart, making it her twelfth top ten hits, and sold over 510,000 units, ranked at number twenty-five in the list of UK's best-selling singles in 1999. In Canada, it made rare chart performances, peaking at number three for the regular single and number five for its import single simultaneously on the Canadian SoundScan Singles chart in August 1999. After her European promotion during February in 1999, it was popular in many countries of Europe, reaching the number one in Spain, top twenty in Austria, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden. Finally it peaked at number nine on the Eurochart Hot 100.
The title track, "My Love Is Your Love" was the fourth single from the album. It was a massive hit worldwide, becoming another signature song for Whitney. Firstly, the single was released in each country of Europe from June 1999, prior to the United States. Upon release, the song was popular immediately across Europe, and became a bigger hit during her My Love Is Your Love European Tour. In the U.K., it went straight to its peak position, number two, on the singles chart, the issue date of July 3, 1999. The single sold 525,000 copies, becoming the twenty-second best-selling single of 1999. In Germany, it peaked at number two and was certified Platinum for shipments of 500,000 copies by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie. It also reached the number two in countries such as Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. It went to top ten in Belgium, Denmark, France, and Norway. Eventually the single topped the Eurochart Hot 100 for a week, becoming her fourth number one single, and was positioned at number six in the Europe's Top Singles list of 1999. In New Zealand, it peaked at number one for a week, which was Houston's third number-one single after 1987's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody " and 1992's "I Will Always Love You". Likewise, it was a hit in the United States. The song debuted at number eighty-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in September 1999 and peaked at number four in January 2000, becoming her 22nd top ten hit. In addition, it reached the number two position on the Hot R&B Singles & Tracks chart, spending a total of twenty-nine weeks on the chart. The single sold 1,100,000 copies and was certified Platinum by the RIAA on December 14, 1999. Worldwide it sold over 3 million copies and became her third best-selling single ever, behind "I Will Always Love You" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody ", with 12 million and 4.2 million copies sold, respectively.
"I Learned from the Best" became the fifth and final single to be released from the album on November 29, 1999 in the UK, and on February 22, 2000 in the United States. The song debuted at number eighty-three on the Hot 100 and peaked at number twenty-seven. It reached the number thirteen on the Hot R&B Singles & Tracks. According to the Nielsen SoundScan, the single sold 352,000 units in the United States alone. Outside the U.S., it wasn't successful as big as the previous singles from the album. The single reached the number six in Finland, the number eight in Spain, and the number nineteen in the United Kingdom with 95,000 copies sold. Besides, it went to the top forty in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.

''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music chart

The songs with various remix versions, released from My Love Is Your Love, were very popular in dance clubs and smash hits on the Billboard Dance Music chart. Four consecutive singles reached the number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chartㅡ"It's Not Right But It's Okay" for three weeks, "Heartbreak Hotel" for a week, "My Love Is Your Love" for two weeks, and "I Learned from the Best" for three weeks. Moreover, the maxi-singles, released as vinyl, cassette and CD formats, were successful on the Billboard Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart. "My Love Is Your Love" topped the chart for two weeks, and "I Learned from the Best" for one week. "Heartbreak Hotel/It's Not Right But It's Okay" and "It's Not Right But It's Okay/I Will Always Love You" peaked at number two on the chart, respectively.

Critical reception

Upon the album's debut, the album received rave responses from music critics. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone magazine commented that "It's easily her most consistent album ever—in fact, it's her first consistent album", and praised her mature voice as follows:
Jon Pareles, in his review for the New York Times, praised her fully developed voice, too. He stated that her sound was "supple and devout", comparing Carey's fidgetting sound with every phrase in "When You Believe", and commented "Ms. Houston used to be similarly showy and disjointed, but now her improvisations bring emotional coherence to technical feats." With expressing his interest about any connections between her troubled marriage and her new materials, commented "Lest anyone draw other conclusions from the songs, the album carries a disclaimer." Also, he was almost positive about songs such as "It's Not Right But It's Okay", "Heartbreak Hotel" and "My Love Is Your Love".
In Billboard magazine's review, the issue dated November 28, 1999, the magazine called the album "A tour de force that showcases her strengths in a wide array of musical genres from pop to R&B to gospel to dance." The publication also opined: "On an album with writing and production input from a diverse roster of players, Houston keeps it all together with her spectacular voice and singular artistic persona", declaring the album had "immense crossover potential"
Mark Bautz of Entertainment Weekly gave the album B+, calling My Love Is Your Love "A schizophrenic album" and "A primer on today's hip-hop/R&B scene: the good, the bad." by reason of the unevenness of the album. He commented "Wyclef Jean's gorgeous reggae-tinged title song and three funky cuts by Rodney Jerkins showcase the 35-year-old Whitney Houston in all her creative, soulful maturity. In contrast, a trio of schmaltzy Babyface-produced tunes expose her as merely a gifted interpreter of bland radio-ready fare.". Similarly, TIME praised some new songs, calling the title song "superb" and Houston's remake of Stevie Wonder's classic "fabulous", but criticized the old-fashioned songs of the album sharply, commenting "The problem is with the Old Guard: producer David Foster's work is dull, and Dianne Warren and Babyface, who both wrote tracks, have better work on their respective resumes."
Writing for USA Today in November 1998, Steve Jones made a favorable comment on almost every song whether it is a ballad with her formula for success or a new styled song produced by hot, young producers who've updated and diversified her sound, stating "There's something here for just about everybody, whether you favor R&B, pop or adult contemporary radio." But he chose the remake "I Was Made To Love Him" as the best track of the album, complimenting the song highly, "The rollicking, gender-flipping remake". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic, who gave the album four out of five stars, called it "easily ranks among her best" and complimented the musical diversity "Houston has never been quite so subtle before, nor has she ever shown this desire to branch out musically." But he also wasn't positive for adult contemporary ballads of the album, stating "In fact, the songs that feel the stiffest are the big production numbers; tellingly, they're the songs that are the most reminiscent of old-school Houston." Los Angeles Times gave it three out of four stars, writing " reflect her growth as an artist and as an individual."

Commercial performance

In the United States, My Love Is Your Love was released on November 17, 1998 when major records were released simultaneously for the holidays by high-profile musicians like Garth Brooks, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Jewel, Method Man, The Offspring and Seal besides her. Time magazine wrote, "Music-industry folks have dubbed it Super Tuesday because more than ten major pop acts issued new CDs on the single day, making it the heaviest release date ever." The week of December 5, 1998 the album entered the US Billboard 200 chart at number thirteen, which was the peak position of the album, and her lowest chart position at that point in time, with sales of 123,000 copies in its first week. That result was disappointing because the release was Houston's first non-soundtrack album in eight years and was highly anticipated. But eventually, the album became a commercial success, thanks to a series of hit singles, her energetic promotions and a successful world tour. My Love Is Your Love was present on the Billboard 200 chart for over a year, at 75 weeks, and on Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for 79 weeks, peaking at number seven. The Recording Industry Association of America certified the album 4× platinum on November 1, 1999, for shipments of four million copies. According to the Nielson SoundScan, the album has sold 2,753,000 copies.
Across Europe, it was more successful than in United States. In early times of its release, the commercial response for the album was short of expectations. But its sales rose sharply during the European leg of the My Love Is Your Love World Tour, which was the highest grossing arena concert tour of 1999 on the continent, and consequently My Love Is Your Love became the second best-selling album of 1999 in Europe, behind Cher's Believe, spending more than one year on the charts in many countries. In the United Kingdom, it reached number four on the albums chart and was certified 3× Platinum for shipments of 900,000 copies of the album by the British Phonographic Industry. In France, the album peaked at number two on the albums chart, and was certified 2× platinum by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique, selling 700,000 copies. In Germany, it climbed to the number two on the albums chart on its 35th week and has sold more than 670,000 copies. The album reached number one on the albums charts in Austria, Switzerland and Netherlands, and the top five in Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Finland. My Love Is Your Love was certified 4× platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for shipments of four million copies of the album in Europe.
Worldwide, the album has sold over 10 million copies.

Track listing

Australian and Korean 2CD Limited Edition
  1. It's Not Right But It's Okay – 9:15
  2. My Love Is Your Love – 4:10
  3. Heartbreak Hotel – 4:20
  4. It's Not Right But It's Okay – 4:14
  5. My Love Is Your Love – 8:23
U.S. vinyl edition
Side A
  1. Heartbreak Hotel – 4:41
  2. It's Not Right, But It's Okay – 4:51
  3. Get It Back – 4:56
Side B
  1. If I Told You That – 4:31
  2. Oh Yes – 6:52
  3. I Bow Out – 4:30
Side C
  1. My Love Is Your Love – 4:24
  2. In My Business – 3:26
  3. I Was Made to Love Him – 4:29
Side D
  1. I Learned from the Best – 4:19
  2. Until You Come Back – 4:53
  3. When You Believe – 4:32
  4. You'll Never Stand Alone – 4:21

    Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

Accolades

Academy Awards

American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Awards

American Music Awards

During Houston's career, she was nominated a total of seven times for "Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist" and "Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist" category, which of them won four and three respectively. Also, My Love Is Your Love was her fourth nomination for "Favorite Soul/R&B Album" category.

Bambi Verleihung (Bambi Awards)

Houston was honored with "Pop International" award for her 20 years outstanding career as a musical artist.

Billboard Music Awards

Blockbuster Entertainment Awards

BMI Pop Awards

All winners are determined by the number of feature broadcast performances on American radio and TV during the eligibility year.

BRIT Awards

Golden Globe Awards

Grammy Awards

Houston won her first "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" award through her career. She had been nominated six times for this category but not won. This was her sixth and final Grammy Award.

MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Awards

MTV Europe Music Awards

MTV Video Music Awards

Houston was nominated for "Best R&B Video" for "Heartbreak Hotel" music video directed by Kevin Bray, which was her first nomination in thirteen years at VMAs since she has won the "Best Female Video" for "How Will I Know" at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards.

NAACP Image Awards

NRJ Music Awards

Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Awards

Certification awards

Artists of the Century Awards

Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards

Soul Train Music Awards

Houston was honored "the Artist of the Decade, female" award in recognition of extraordinary artistic contributions during the 1990s.

''Billboard'' Magazine Year-End Charts