"How Will I Know" is a song recorded by American singer

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

for her self-titled debut studio album. The song was released on November 22, 1985, by

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

as the album's third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

. Originally written and composed by George Merrill and

Shannon Rubicam Shannon Rubicam (born October 11, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who is best known for being half of the mid-to-late-1980s pop duo Boy Meets Girl. Her husband, George Merrill, was the other half of Boy Meets Girl, best known for their ...

, the song was originally intended for R&B singer

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, but she passed on it. Houston then recorded the song with altered lyrics and production from

Narada Michael Walden Narada Michael Walden ( ; Michael Walden; born April 23, 1952) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy. He began his career as a drummer, working primarily in the jazz ...

. The lyrics speak about the protagonist trying to discern if a boy she likes will ever like her back. "How Will I Know" received mostly positive reviews from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s. It became Houston's second number-one single on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in February 1986, spending two weeks atop the chart and also became her first chart topper on the Canadian ''RPM'' Top 100 Singles chart. It also reached top 10 positions in Australia, Sweden, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom, and top 20 positions in the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland. The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "How Will I Know" features scenes of Houston dancing in a setting of video screens and colored partitions. The music video gave Houston exposure to the teenagers and

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. It received two nominations at the

1986 MTV Video Music Awards The 1986 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 5, 1986, honoring the best music videos from May 2, 1985, to May 1, 1986. The show was hosted by MTV VJs Downtown Julie Brown, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn, and Dweezil Zappa, an ...

;

Best Female Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video is one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, however, the award was briefly renamed Female Artist of the Y ...

and Best New Artist, winning the former category. The song was performed on many of her tours including

Greatest Love Tour The Greatest Love World Tour is the debut worldwide concert tour by American singer Whitney Houston, in support of her debut studio album ''Whitney Houston''. The four-month tour began in North America on July 26, 1986 at the Merriweather Post Pa ...

(1986) and her Nothing but Love World Tour (2009–10). "How Will I Know" is also featured as a remix on Houston's compilation album '' Whitney: The Greatest Hits'' (2000), whereas the original single version is featured on ''The Ultimate Collection'' (2007) and '' I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston'' (2012).

Background and recording

Initially, songwriters George Merrill and

had written the song's demo in 1984 for R&B singer

, employed by A&M Records executive, John McClain. However, after hearing the song, Jackson's management passed on the song, feeling it was too weak in comparison to her other material. In an interview with Fred Bronson, Merrill expressed his feelings after learning of Jackson's decision. "We were pretty upset because we thought it was perfect for her at the time. We had written it with her completely in mind." During this period, Brenda Andrews, at Almo-Irving Music, Merrill and Rubicam's publisher, played the song for Gerry Griffith, the director for R&B music at A&M and

. Griffith, who was compiling material for Houston's debut album at the time, felt the song perfectly matched her sound. He soon contacted Andrews and the song's two writers and prompted that they should give up the song to him for Houston's debut album. Griffith described his discovery of the song and what he and

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

thought of it:

"We had a lot of R&B-based tunes, we had a few ballads, but we didn't have a pop crossover song. So when I heard 'How Will I Know,' I said 'this is absolutely perfect.' I played it for Clive ndhe fell in love with it. I wasn't very familiar with her family background; I didn't realize that, even at that time, there was a pretty big industry buzz about her future."

After getting permission to use the song from Merrill, Griffith quickly turned to

, who was producing for

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

, material for her album ''

Who's Zoomin' Who? ''Who's Zoomin' Who?'' is the thirtieth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on July 9, 1985, by Arista Records. A departure from the Luther Vandross-produced adult contemporary sound of her previous albums '' Jump to It'' (1 ...

'', at the time. After getting in touch with Walden, Griffith frantically prompted him to produce the song, describing how important the song would be for Houston's upcoming album. After hearing the song's demo, Walden agreed to fly down to

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...

to arrange it. He was not much impressed with the demo and requested permission to change some of the song's lyrics and chord progression. Distracted by his request, Merrill and Rubicam denied him the right to their song. After a lot of back-and-forth with Griffith, they compromised and allowed Walden to de-construct the song and change the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

and

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

. After completing the song, Houston came into the studio to record her vocals in late 1984.

Cissy Houston Emily "Cissy" Houston ( ''née'' Drinkard; born September 30, 1933) is an American soul and gospel singer. After a successful career singing backup for such artists as Roy Hamilton, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, Houston embar ...

, Whitney's mother, joined her daughter to perform the song's background vocals. Griffith stated:

"I asked Whitney to sing on the background session. She was reluctant because she wanted to enjoy hearing her mother sing. I said, 'No, get out there and sing,' so she did. The background sounded incredible...Clive Davis heard the mix and immediately gave it a 10, which is outrageous for him, because he doesn't like anything!"

The

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

is played by

Premik Russell Tubbs Premik Russell Tubbs is an American saxophonist, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. Career Since the 1970s he worked with a wide range of artists such as John McLaughlin, Narada Michael Walden, Jackson Browne, Carlos Santana, ...

Composition

"How Will I Know" is a

synth-funk Post-disco (also called boogie, synth-funk, or electro-funk) is a term to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1985, imprecisely beginning with an unprecedented backlash against disco music in the United States, leading to c ...

and

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song composed in a 1980s

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

beat. According to Kyle Anderson of

, the song found Houston hitting an "incredible groove". It is written in the

G flat major G-flat major (or the key of G-flat) is a major scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has six flats. Its relative minor is E-flat minor (or enharmonically D-sharp minor), and its parallel m ...

. The beat is set the

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

of common time and moves at a fast

of 120 beats per minute. The song also has the sequence of G-Bm₇-G/C-D-Em-D as its chord progression. Houston's vocals in the song span from the note of D₄ to the high note of G₅. Lyrically, the song speaks about the lead woman trying to discern whether a man she likes will ever like her back. She is also hesitant, because her friends tell her "love can be deceiving", and she is so shy that she cannot call him. Later, she feels that it might be a dream, but realizes that "there's no mistaking", and that what she feels is really love.

Critical reception

"How Will I Know" mainly garnered positive reviews from

s, with some noting it as a standout on the album. Don Shewey of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' commented "Although it's awfully reminiscent of the

Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, bl ...

' '

He's So Shy "He's So Shy" is a song recorded by American vocal group The Pointer Sisters for their seventh studio album ''Special Things'' (1980). Written, as "She's So Shy" and intended for Leo Sayer, in December 1979 by Tom Snow and Cynthia Weil, "He's So ...

', 'How Will I Know' is still irresistibly danceable."

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote "...what really impresses some 20-plus years on are the lighter tracks, particularly the breakthrough single 'How Will I Know'." While reviewing the ''Deluxe Anniversary Edition'' of the album, Mikael Wood of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' commented on the

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

version of the song noting, "a cappella mix of 'How Will I Know' hatdisplays the singer's precision long before the advent of

Auto-Tune Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances. Auto-Tu ...

." While reviewing '' The Ultimate Collection'', Nick Levine of

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

added, "Houston's floor-fillers have aged a little more gracefully, although their clunky, thudding drum sounds are as unmistakably eighties as

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...

' ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' wardrobe." The song was voted number 12 in

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

's ''List of Greatest Songs of the 1980s''.

Commercial performance

"How Will I Know" debuted at number 60 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, on the December 7, 1985 issue. Nine weeks later, it peaked at number one on the issue dated February 15, 1986, becoming Houston's second number-one single on that chart. It displaced Houston's cousin

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

's "

That's What Friends Are For "That's What Friends Are For" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. It was first recorded in 1982 by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack of the film '' Night Shift'', but it is better known for the 1985 cover version by Dionn ...

", and was displaced by

Mr. Mister Mr. Mister was an American rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, active from 1982 until 1990. The band consisted of Richard Page (musician), Richard Page on lead vocals and bass guitar, Steve George (keyboardist), Steve George on keyboards/backing v ...

's " Kyrie". It stayed on the peak for two weeks. The single also debuted on the ''Billboard''

Hot Black Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart at number 60 and later peaked at number one, a peak it maintained for one week. On the issue dated January 25, 1986, "How Will I Know" entered the ''Billboard''

Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart at number 30 and later peaked at number three on the February 22, 1986 issue. It also peaked at number one on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. The

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) certified the single

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

on December 6, 1985, for shipments of 500,000 copies or more, and later Double Platinum, for an equivalent sales of 2,000,000 units. It ranked at number six on the ''Billboard'' year-end chart. In Canada, the single debuted at number 80 on the ''RPM'' Top 100 Singles chart on the issue dated December 14, 1985. It later peaked at number one on the week dated March 1, 1986, becoming Houston's first number-one single in Canada. It was later certified Gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) on May 1, 1986, for shipments of 200,000 copies or more. The single performed well in other countries. In United Kingdom, it debuted at number 36, during the week of January 25, 1986 and later peaked at a position of number five. It was also certified Silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI). According to

MTV UK and Ireland MTV is a British pay television channel focusing on reality TV and music programming operated by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. The channel launched as part of MTV Networks Europe localisation strategy in 1997. MTV UK (previously MTV UK & ...

, the single has sold about 280,000 copies in the United Kingdom. In New Zealand, the single debuted at number 35 and later peaked at number 19. In Austria, the single reached a peak position of number 28, while reaching a peak of number 12 in the Netherlands. It also reached number two in Norway and Sweden, while charting at number 11 in Switzerland. According to

, "How Will I Know" has sold about 1.5 million copies worldwide. In Australia, "How Will I Know" was released as the first single from the album in March 1985. It spent a single week in the

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

chart at number 97 in July 1985, before re-entering the chart in February 1986, eventually peaking at number two.

Music video

The accompanying

for "How Will I Know", directed by British director Brian Grant and choreographed by

Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment. For many years, she was most noted as the c ...

, was filmed before the release of the single and album. Unlike her past music videos, Houston was given the opportunity to move beyond the staged performance settings to demonstrate straightforward dance moves. The music video is set against a strikingly designed, vividly colored setting of video screens and partitions. Houston's hair is dyed honey blonde and is worn by a dazzling colored hairbow. She is also seen underlined by a form-fitting silver dress made of metal mesh, reaching almost to her knees, adorned with matching fingerless gloves. Houston is also seen reaching out with backup dancers, in black outfits and wearing French-style makeup. The music video also has a scene of splattering of paint and drizzling down the screen. Houston's labelmate and family friend

also makes a black-and-white cameo appearance in the otherwise colourful music video. In 2011, Kyle Anderson of

wrote that the video was "eye-opening to watch her cut loose in a fun environment", since her past songs were ballads. The music video was her first to receive heavy rotation on

. Also, the music video was nominated for two awards at the

, in the categories of Best New Artist and

, winning the latter.

Live performances

Houston performed the song on her

(1986), Moment of Truth World Tour (1987–88), Feels So Right Japan Tour (1990), I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour (1991),

The Bodyguard World Tour The Bodyguard World Tour is the fifth concert tour by American recording artist, Whitney Houston. The tour was in support of her multi-platinum soundtrack album, '' The Bodyguard'', and also of the movie of the same name. Following the success o ...

(1993–94), My Love Is Your Love World Tour (1999) and Nothing but Love World Tour (2009–2010). Apart from the concert tour performances, Houston has performed the song on many other occasions like the third annual

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

in 1986, where she sang "How Will I Know" and " Greatest Love of All", 13th annual American Music Awards (1986), and

1987 BRIT Awards Brit Awards 1987 was the 7th edition of the Brit Awards, an annual pop music awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. It was organised by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 9 February 1987 at Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The ...

. The latter performance is included in the 2014 CD/

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

release, '' Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances''. On May 15, 1987, during her European promotion for then-new album, '' Whitney'', Houston sang the song at the Montreux Golden Rose Rock Festival: IM&MC Gala with two other 1986 released songs, "

I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, ''Whitney'' (1987). It was released as the lead single from the album on May 2, 1987, by Arista Records. It was produ ...

" and "

Where Do Broken Hearts Go "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, ''Whitney'' (1987). It was released as the fourth single from the album on February 25, 1988. The song was written by Frank Wildhorn ...

". On April 29, 1985, she appeared on '' The Merv Griffin Show'', taped in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and performed "How Will I Know". On her Moment of Truth World Tour, she participated in the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute Concert and performed the song with other seven songs. She also performed the song on " Welcome Home Heroes", a concert dedicated to the U.S. troops, their families, and military and government dignitaries in honor of those returning from the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, which aired on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

on March 31, 1991. The concert was taped and later released as a VHS on May 14, 1991. She also performed the song on The Concert for a New South Africa, three concerts in 1994 to honor President

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

. Houston later performed the song on the closing ceremonies of the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the countr ...

along with five of her other songs. In 2000, she performed the song on

Arista Arista may refer to: Organizations *Arista Networks, a software defined networking company *Arista Records, an American record label, division of Sony Music **Arista Nashville, a record label specializing in country music *Arista (honor society) ...

's 25th Anniversary, along with "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)".

Track listing and formats

*US 7" Vinyl Single **A "How Will I Know (edit)" – 4:10 **B "Someone for Me" – 4:57 *German 12" Vinyl Single **A "How Will I Know" (dance remix) – 6:35 **B1 "How Will I Know" (instrumental version) – 4:42 **B2 "How Will I Know" (LP version) – 4:28 *German 12" Vinyl Single **A "How Will I Know" (dance mix) – 6:10 **B1 "Saving All My Love for You" – 3:55 **B2 "How Will I Know" (dub mix) – 5:36 *Japan CD Single/3" # "How Will I Know" – 4:34 # "Someone for Me" – 5:00

Credits and personnel

;"How Will I Know" * George Merrill – writer *

– writer *

– writer, vocal producer *

– lead vocals *Mary Canty – background vocals * Preston Glass – synthesizer *

– background vocals *

Randy Jackson Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive and television presenter, perhaps best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing bas ...

– bass *Yvonne Lewis – keyboards *

Corrado Rustici Corrado Rustici (born 1957) is an Italian musician, songwriter and producer. Recording career Rustici was a founder member of the Naples-based progressive rock group Cervello. The band recorded the album '' Melos'' in 1973, with Rustici on guitar ...

– guitar *

– saxophone *Bill Schnee – mixer, Firewire synth trumpet,

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Michael Barbiero –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

;"Someone for Me" *Freddie Washington – writer *Raymond Jones – writer * Jermaine Jackson – vocal producer, duet vocals *

– lead vocals *John Barnes – keyboards *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

– bass *

Ed Greene Ed Greene is an American drummer and session musician. In 1971 he recorded with Donald Byrd (''Ethiopian Knights'', 1972), together with Thurman Green, Harold Land, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Sample, Bobbye Porter Hall, David T. Walker, and Wilton ...

– drums *

Paul Jackson, Jr. Paul Milton Jackson Jr. (born December 30, 1959) is an American fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist. He was born and raised in Los Angeles. Jackson knew by the age of fifteen that he wanted to become a professional musi ...

– guitar *Tim May – guitar * Greg Phillinganes – synthesizer * John "J.R." Robinson – drums *

Steve Rucker Stephen "Steve" Rucker (born 2 March 1954) is an American musician and drummer who served as a drummer with many artists. His biggest and well known act was the Bee Gees. With the Bee Gees band, he appeared on '' The Tonight Show'', ''Late Nigh ...

– drums * Freddie Washington – bass *Bill Schnee – mixer

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

David Guetta, MistaJam and John Newman version

In 2021,

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

teamed up with MistaJam and singer John Newman to release a dance track based on an interpolation of "How Will I Know". Now called "If You Really Love Me (How Will I Know)", the song charted in the UK, reaching No. 66 in the Top 75 (for the week ending August 5, 2021) after amassing a sales total of 7,018 units. The song became the fourth entry on that week's chart for Guetta (though the only single out of the four chart hits where he took lead artist credit) and the first chart credit for

Newman Newman is a surname of English origin and may refer to many people: The surname Newman is widespread in the core Anglosphere. A *Abram Newman (1736–1799), British grocer *Adrian Newman (disambiguation), multiple people *Al Newman (born 1960) ...

since "Give Me Your Love" with Sigala and Nile Rodgers in 2016.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Whitney × Clean Bandit version

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

Sam Smith version

English singer

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...

released a cover of "How Will I Know" in June 2014, taking a slower tempo and a snippet of that version was used in an episode of '' Grey's Anatomy''. It was later included in Smith's 2015 '' In the Lonely Hour (Drowning Shadows Edition)'', a re-release of their debut album. It was certified Gold in 2022 by

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

{{authority control Whitney Houston songs 1985 songs 1985 singles 1986 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Clean Bandit songs David Guetta songs John Newman (singer) songs Sarah De Bono songs MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video Number-one singles in Iceland Songs written by Narada Michael Walden Songs written by Shannon Rubicam Songs written by George Merrill (songwriter) RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Narada Michael Walden Torch songs Funk songs Arista Records singles Parlophone singles Dance-rock songs Music videos shot in London

Background and recording

Composition

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Music video

Live performances

Track listing and formats

Credits and personnel

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

David Guetta, MistaJam and John Newman version

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Whitney × Clean Bandit version

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

Sam Smith version

See also

References

Bibliography

External links