"I Have Nothing" is a song by American singer and actress Whitney Houston, released on February 20, 1993 as the third single from '' The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album'' (1992) 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 ...

. The song was written by David Foster and Linda Thompson, and produced by Foster. After the back-to-back successes of Houston's "

I Will Always Love You "I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career, ...

" and " I'm Every Woman," "I Have Nothing" became yet another hit, peaking at number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and being certified Platinum by 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 ...

. The song also became a hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B Singles chart, with a number four peak, and a number-one peak on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart. Houston established another historic milestone in ''Billboard'' chart history with the two previous singles off the soundtrack and this song, becoming the first artist to have three songs inside the top 11 of the Hot 100 chart in the same week since the chart began using Broadcast Data System and SoundScan data in 1991. Internationally, the song reached number one in Canada, the top five in Ireland and the United Kingdom, the top ten in Denmark and Portugal, and peaked within the top forty in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland. The song received various nominations, including for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...

Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media. Recipients * Each year is linked ...

, and Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B Single (Female). The song was promoted by Houston with live performances on her worldwide concert tour,

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) only, and also at various awards ceremonies and concerts such as the 4th Billboard Music Awards in 1993, the 21st American Music Awards in 1994, '' Whitney: The Concert for a New South Africa'' in 1994, and the 1st BET Awards in 2001. "I Have Nothing" also features on compilations like '' Whitney: The Greatest Hits'' (2000) and '' Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances'' (2014). As with much of Houston's material, the song has been an extremely popular choice on many reality television series around the world, in particular '' American Idol'', on which it has become one of the most performed songs in the show's history; as of 2014, it had been covered eight times. "I Have Nothing" was also featured on the second half of the trailer, for the estate-approved documentary on Houston's life, '' Whitney''.

Critical reception

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 ...

from AllMusic viewed the song as a "first-rate urban pop song that skillfully captures Houston at her best" in a review for ''

The Bodyguard A bodyguard is an individual who protects another from harm or threats. Bodyguard may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * The Bodyguard (1944 film), ''The Bodyguard'' (1944 film), a Tom and Jerry short * Bodyguard (1948 film), ...

'' soundtrack.

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' called it a "booming power ballad", adding that it "has the same lung-bursting drama" as "

", "tweaked with a quasi-symphonic climax that never fails to push all the right buttons. No need to predict single's future. Just count the minutes to its planting at No. 1." Another editor, Chuck Taylor, in his writing about

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

on October 24, 1998, issue, described "I Have Nothing" as "bombastic and ultra-challenging." Jan DeKnock of '' Chicago Tribune'' said it is "yet another scorcher of a ballad" from the soundtrack. Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

'' complimented Houston's "emotionally-charged performance".

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air ...

wrote in his weekly UK chart commentary, "A classic ballad like the Whitney we used to know and love showing her voice off to best effect and making a deservedly high new entry." Howard Cohen from '' The Miami Herald'' noted that "she soars effortlessly as she belts out the brass-inflected ballad". James Montgomery of

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 ...

said the song was "untouchable." Alan Jones from '' Music Week'' described it as "an emotionally charged rollercoaster of a song, giving Ms Houston another chance to display her range."

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

of '' The New York Times'' wrote that the song and " Run to You" are "booming generic ballads to which Houston applies her typical stentorian delivery." James T. Jones IV of '' USA Today'' commented that "

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and 'Run to You' are thrilling ballads, powered by an operatic coloratura alto."

Accolades

"I Have Nothing" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 65th Annual Academy Awards on March 29, 1993. David Foster and Linda Thompson were nominated for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for the song at the

36th Annual Grammy Awards The 36th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 1, 1994. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Whitney Houston was the Big Winner winning 3 awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year while opening t ...

on March 1, 1994. The song was also nominated for Best R&B Single, Female but lost to Toni Braxton's " Breathe Again" at the 8th Annual Soul Train Music Awards on March 15, 1994. Foster and Thompson received the award for Most Performed Song from a Film for the song at the 10th BMI Film & Television Awards on May 17, 1994. In 2012, ''Porcys'' listed it at number 99 in their ranking of "100 Singles 1990-1999". In 2017, ShortList's Dave Fawbert listed the song as containing "one of the greatest key changes in music history".

Commercial performance

"I Have Nothing" was released as the third single from '' The Bodyguard Soundtrack'' in February 1993. The single debuted at number 42 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Singles chart, the issue date of February 27, 1993, when her two songs, "

" and " I'm Every Woman" still placed within the top ten. Remarkably, for the weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart ending March 13 and 20, Houston had three songs inside the top 11, making her the first artist to achieve the trifecta on the same week since 1991, when the Hot 100 using Broadcast Data System and SoundScan data. On the Hot 100 Airplay chart, Houston equaled the feat with the aforementioned tracks on the February 27 and March 6 issues. The song peaked at number four on the Hot 100 on the April 3 issue, becoming Houston's 14th top five hit, spending 20 weeks on the chart. The single entered the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B Singles chart at number 37 on the February 27 issue and peaked at number four on the chart in the April 10 issue. The song reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Adult Contemporary chart the issue dated May 1, 1993, and remained there for two weeks, becoming her tenth number-one song on the chart. It placed at number thirty and thirty-two on the ''Billboard'' Year-End Hot 100 and Hot R&B Singles charts respectively. On the

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

pop singles charts, the song peaked at number one each on the week of April 10, 1993. On Cash Box's R&B chart, it peaked at number two behind Silk's " Freak Me" on the week of April 24 of 1993. The single was certified Gold for shipments of 500,000 copies or more by the

on June 1, 1993. On March 11, 2019, it was certified platinum for shipments of 1 million copies or more by the Recording Industry Association of America and then, two years later, on what would've been Houston's 58th birthday, the song was certified double-platinum for sales of 2 million copies or more. In Canada, the song debuted at number 50 on the ''RPM'' Top 100 Hit Tracks chart on March 13, 1993, and four weeks later reached the top ten. In its eighth week of release, on May 1, 1993, the single topped the chart and spent three weeks at the summit, staying on the chart for 18 weeks. The song entered the ''RPM'' Adult Contemporary Tracks chart at number 20 in the same week of its top 100 debut. Within five weeks, it hit the pole position of the chart on April 17, 1993, and stayed on the top for six weeks. Worldwide, the song was a success but not as big as two previous singles from its parent soundtrack. In the United Kingdom, the single debuted at number nine on the UK Singles Chart on April 24, 1993, and the following week peaked at number three on the chart, making it Houston's ninth UK top five hit. According to The Official Charts Company, the single sold 220,000 copies in the country. It peaked at number four in Ireland, number 16 in Belgium, and number 20 in New Zealand. The song also reached a peak of number 28 in Australia, number 50 in France, number 39 in Germany, number 22 in the Netherlands, and number 39 in Switzerland.

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by S. A. Baron. It depicts Houston performing the song to an audience in a dining room hall. The video is intercut with scenes from the film (''

'', the same thing for ''

''). It was later published on Houston's official YouTube channel in November 2009. The video has amassed more than 700 million views as of February 2023.

Live performances

Houston performed "I Have Nothing" at the 4th Billboard Music Awards on December 9, 1993, receiving a standing ovation. Chris Willman of '' Los Angeles Times'' commented on the performance, saying "Houston's physically stationary, vocally mobile approach to the ballad―backlit behind the mike in a she-got-back-her-figure-flattering gown―effectively heightened the tune's diva dramaturgy, making it an easy highlight in a night otherwise short on compelling performances." She also performed a rousing 10-minute-medley of show tunes that ended with the song―" I Loves You, Porgy" from '' Porgy and Bess'', " And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from '' Dreamgirls'', and "I Have Nothing"―at the 21st Annual American Music Awards, where she won the record eight awards, on February 7, 1994. This performance was included in the 2014 CD/DVD release, '' Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances''.''

Jet Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline * Journey to Enceladus a ...

'' magazine wrote about the AMA performance that "she

ouston Ouston can refer to three places in England: * Ouston, County Durham * Ouston, Ninebanks, Northumberland * Ouston, Stamfordham, Northumberland Other locations: * RAF Ouston Royal Air Force Ouston, or more simply RAF Ouston, is a former Royal ...

brought the house down with her soulful, stirring medley renditions." On November 12, 1994, Houston sang the song during the concert in Johannesburg, South Africa, entitled '' Whitney: The Concert for a New South Africa'', telecast live via satellite 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 ...

. The performance is found in VHS and DVD with the same title of the concert, originally released in December 1994, and later re-released on June 24, 2010. The song was also performed on the concert to celebrate the wedding of Brunei royalty, at the Jerudong Park Garden on August 24, 1996. Houston sang the short-edited version of the song along with "

," which were followed by a standing ovation, at the 1st BET Awards on June 19, 2001, becoming the first artist ever to be given the Lifetime Achievement Award. Though "I Have Nothing" is one of Houston's notable hits during her career, the song was performed solely on

(1993–94) among her ten tours. Houston performed the song as the final part of a medley which included the aforementioned songs from Broadway shows on first North American leg of the tour in 1993, but since the European leg in 1993, the song was performed solely without two show tunes on almost all the rest of the tour dates. Four performances of the song on the South American leg of the tour (1994) were broadcast on each country's TV channel: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on January 23, Santiago, Chile on April 14, Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 16, and

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, Venezuela on April 21.

Cover versions

Official recording versions

Filipino singer Charice Pempengco recorded a version of the song on her debut release, the self-titled '' Charice'' EP released in May 2008. Korean singer SunMin has a cover of the song on her mini album '' Cover Girl'', released in Japan, August 2008. The Italian variety TV show, '' Ti Lascio Una Canzone'' alumna Sonia Mosca covered the song on the compilation album ''Ti Lascio Una Canzone - La Compilation'', released in May 2009. In 2012, the song is performed on the TV musical series ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' in episode 17 of season 3, "

Dance with Somebody "Dance with Somebody" is a song by the alternative rock band Mando Diao. It was released in January 2009 as the lead single from their album, ''Give Me Fire''. A segment of the song was the theme song for the twelfth season of '' Dancing With The ...

", by Chris Colfer (as his character Kurt Hummel). The whole episode pays tribute to Whitney Houston and her music.

Demonstration versions

Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, '' Swe ...

recorded a version of the song as a demonstration when she was a teenager age. Britney Spears revealed on

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 '' Behind the Music'', originally aired on November 9, 2003, that she recorded a demonstration of the song before she was signed to

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...

. Spears also later sang the song at her Jive audition at the age of fifteen.

Live cover versions

On behalf of Houston who had given birth to a daughter the three weeks before the ceremony, Natalie Cole crooned Houston's two nominated songs including "I Have Nothing" at the 65th Annual Academy Awards on March 29, 1993.

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

performed the song as a tribute to Whitney Houston, the first ever recipient of the Triumphant Spirit Award at the 10th annual Essence Awards, taped on April 4, 1997, and broadcast later on

Fox TV The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

, May 22, 1997. Leona Lewis performed the song during the semi-finals of the third season of The X Factor. She later went on to win the season.

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

performed "I Have Nothing" in 2014 at The White House, along with some select dates such as Manila on her Honeymoon Tour.

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

regularly covered the song on her Sweet Talker Tour in 2015 and 2016. She performed it again in 2018 while competing on the sixth season of the Chinese competition show Singer, which she went on to win. Edyta Górniak performed this song with David Foster on the stage of Indonesia's 71st Independence Day Celebration. Christina Aguilera performed the song with a hologram of Houston during the finale of Season 10 of The Voice, which was cut due to failing to meet "high production standards." The performance leaked online several days before the finale aired. Aguilera performed it again at the

2017 American Music Awards The 45th Annual American Music Awards took place on November 19, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. It was broadcast on ABC and was hosted by Tracee Ellis Ross. Performances Notes * Broadcast live from Capital One Aren ...

. Drake samples this song for " Tuscan Leather" from his third studio album '' Nothing Was the Same''.

Track listings and formats

* UK 12-inch vinyl single :A1. "I Have Nothing" ― 4:45 :A2. " All the Man That I Need" ― 3:54 :B1. "Where You Are" ― 4:10 :B2. "Lover for Life" ― 4:48 * European 7-inch vinyl single; Japanese 3-inch CD single :A. "I Have Nothing" ― 4:45 :B. "Where You Are" ― 4:10 * UK 7-inch vinyl single :A. "I Have Nothing" ― 4:45 :B. "All the Man That I Need" ― 3:54 * US maxi-CD single; European maxi-CD single; UK maxi-CD single # "I Have Nothing" ― 4:45 # "Where You Are" ― 4:10 # "Lover for Life" ― 4:48 * UK CD single # "I Have Nothing" ― 4:45 # "All the Man That I Need" ― 3:54 # "Where You Are" ― 4:10 # "Lover for Life" ― 4:48

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from ''The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album'' liner notes. "I Have Nothing" * Whitney Houston – performer * David Foster – producer, arranger * Jeremy Lubbock and David Foster – string arrangement * Dave Reitzas – recording engineer *

Mick Guzauski Nathan "Mick" Guzauski is an American multi-platinum mixing engineer and sound engineer. His work spans a wide range of styles, including jazz, R&B, Latin, rock, pop, easy listening, funk and hip hop. He won a 2002 Latin Grammy for Thalía's ...

– mixing engineer

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

I Have Nothing
at Discogs {{Authority control Whitney Houston songs 1993 singles 1992 songs Arista Records singles Song recordings produced by David Foster Songs written by David Foster Songs written by Linda Thompson (actress) Songs written for films RPM Top Singles number-one singles Pop ballads 1990s ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Film scores 1991 songs Soul ballads