"I Have Nothing" is a song by American singer and actress

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

, 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 Entertain ...

. The song was written by

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

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/ ...

. 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 ...

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 t ...

, 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 (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 Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1 ...

series around the world, in particular ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to ...

'', 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 Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...

''.

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, oc ...

from

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

viewed the song as a "first-rate urban pop song that skillfully captures Houston at her best" in a review for '' The Bodyguard'' 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 adverti ...

'' called it a "booming

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. ...

", 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 producti ...

on October 24, 1998, issue, described "I Have Nothing" as "bombastic and ultra-challenging." Jan DeKnock of ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' 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 p ...

'' 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 The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.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 ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' 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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that the song and " Run to You" are "booming generic ballads to which Houston applies her typical stentorian delivery."

James T. Jones IV James T. Jones IV (died March 13, 1996) was an American music journalist and critic who covered R&B, jazz, and hip hop music for ''USA Today''. Biography The nephew of Betty Carter, Jones was born in Detroit, Michigan. He received his master's d ...

of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' commented that " he songand '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.

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 th ...

on March 1, 1994. The song was also nominated for Best R&B Single, Female but lost to

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won ...

's "

Breathe Again "Breathe Again" is a song by American R&B singer Toni Braxton. It was written by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and produced by Edmonds, L.A. Reid, and Daryl Simmons for Braxton's self-titled debut album (1993). Its lyrics evokes a sense of nostal ...

" 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 The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acro ...

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 onli ...

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 Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...

's "

Freak Me "Freak Me" is a song by American R&B group Silk. It was released in February 1993 as the second single from their debut album, '' Lose Control''. It was co-written and co-produced by Keith Sweat, for whom Silk was a touring opening act. Tim Camer ...

" 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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

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 Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

, 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

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

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 Bodyguard'', the same thing for ''

''). It was later published on Houston's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

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 The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' 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 ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', ...

'', "

And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (also known in short as just "And I Am Telling You") is a torch song from the Broadway musical '' Dreamgirls'', with lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger. In the context of the musical, "And I Am ...

" from ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,G ...

'', 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'' magazine wrote about the AMA performance that "she

ouston Ouston can refer to three places in England: * Ouston, County Durham Ouston is a village in County Durham, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England. The main village of Ouston (formerly called Ulkerton in earlie ...

brought the house down with her soulful, stirring medley renditions." On November 12, 1994, Houston sang the song during the concert in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

, South Africa, entitled '' Whitney: The Concert for a New South Africa'', telecast live via satellite on HBO. 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 Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

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 Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

. Though "I Have Nothing" is one of Houston's notable hits during her career, the song was performed solely on The Bodyguard World Tour (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 Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

on January 23,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

on April 14,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

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 th ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

on April 21.

Cover versions

Official recording versions

Filipino singer

Charice Pempengco Jake Zyrus (formerly known under the mononym Charice; born 10 May 1992) is a Filipino singer and television personality. In 2007, after some appearances on Philippine television, Zyrus sang on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'', and the followin ...

recorded a version of the song on her debut release, the self-titled ''

Charice Jake Zyrus (formerly known under the mononym Charice; born 10 May 1992) is a Filipino singer and television personality. In 2007, after some appearances on Philippine television, Zyrus sang on '' The Ellen DeGeneres Show'', and the followi ...

'' EP released in May 2008. Korean singer SunMin has a cover of the song on her mini album ''

Cover Girl A cover girl is a woman whose photograph features on the front cover of a magazine. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a casual, once-off appearance by a person on the cover of a maga ...

'', released in Japan, August 2008. The Italian variety TV show, ''

Ti Lascio Una Canzone ''Ti lascio una canzone'' (English: ''Leavin' you a song'') was an Italian music talent show for aspiring singers aged 7 to 15, all of whom were required to cover the most beloved songs in the history of Italian pop music. The songs covered in th ...

'' 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'' in episode 17 of

season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In tempera ...

, "

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 Christopher Paul Colfer (born May 27, 1990) is an American actor, singer, and author. He gained international recognition for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television musical '' Glee'' (2009–2015). Colfer's portrayal of Kurt received cr ...

(as his character

Kurt Hummel Kurt Elizabeth Hummel is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series '' Glee''. Series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan initially conceived of him as a fashionable gay countertenor who is routinely bullied ...

). The whole episode pays tribute to

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, ''Swee ...

recorded a version of the song as a demonstration when she was a teenager age. Britney Spears revealed on VH1's ''

Behind the Music ''Behind the Music'' is a documentary television series on VH1. Each episode profiles and interviews a popular musical artist or group. The program examines the beginning of their career, their road to success, and the hardships they may have ...

'', 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, ...

. 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 Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

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 and ...

, May 22, 1997.

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved natio ...

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 The Honeymoon Tour was the second concert tour and the first arena tour by American singer Ariana Grande in support and to further promote her second studio album, '' My Everything'' (2014). It was officially announced on September 10, 2014. It tr ...

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 Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, which she went on to win.

Edyta Górniak Edyta Anna Górniak (; born 14 November 1972) is a Polish pop singer with a career spanning 3 decades. Górniak started as a musical theatre actress in 1990. She performed in the most popular musical in Polish history, the Tony Award-nominated ...

performed this song with

on the stage of Indonesia's 71st

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

Day Celebration.

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

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 Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

samples this song for "

Tuscan Leather "Tuscan Leather" is a song by Canadian recording artist Drake for his third studio album, ''Nothing Was the Same'' (2013). It was written by Drake along with Anthony Palma and Noah Shebib, who produced the song under his production name "40" alo ...

" from his third studio album ''

Nothing Was the Same ''Nothing Was the Same'' is the third studio album by Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on September 24, 2013, through OVO Sound, Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Republic Records. Work on the record began in 2012 and ...

''.

Track listings and formats

* UK 12-inch vinyl single :A1. "I Have Nothing" ― 4:45 :A2. "

All the Man That I Need "All the Man That I Need" is a song written by Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore. The song was first recorded as "All the Man I Need" by Linda Clifford for her album ''I'll Keep on Loving You'' (1982). In 1990, American singer Whitney Houston had a ...

" ― 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 Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

. "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 Thalí ...

– mixing engineer

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

I Have Nothing
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

{{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