"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" 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 second studio album, ''

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 ...

'' (1987). It was released as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the album on May 2, 1987, 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 ...

. It was produced by

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 ...

, and written 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 ...

, of the band Boy Meets Girl, who had previously collaborated with Houston on "

How Will I Know "How Will I Know" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her Whitney Houston (album), self-titled debut studio album. The song was released on November 22, 1985, by Arista Records as the album's third Single (music), single. ...

." "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" received mixed reviews from

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, who praised Houston's vocal performance but critiqued its musical arrangement comparing it to "How Will I Know" and

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

's "

Girls Just Want to Have Fun "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a song written, recorded and performed by American musician Robert Hazard, who released it as a Single (music), single in 1979. It is best known for the version of American singer Cyndi Lauper, who covered the s ...

." Despite the mixed critical response, the song became a worldwide success, topping the charts in eighteen countries including Australia, Italy, Germany and the UK. In the US, it became Houston's fourth consecutive chart topper and is certified 6× platinum with sales of over 6 million copies. At the

30th Annual Grammy Awards The 30th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1988, at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Album of the Year went to U2 for ''The Joshua Tree'', and Song of the Year went ...

, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" won for

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

, marking Houston's second win in the category.

Background

"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" was written by George Merrill and

, who wrote Houston's 1985 song "

," which became successful, and as a result, they were asked to come up with another song for Houston's then-new album. Originally the song that gave Merrill and Rubicam their US/UK top ten success as Boy Meets Girl, " Waiting For a Star to Fall" was intended by the duo to be a song for Houston. The duo sent it to

, but they passed on it citing it was not suitable for Houston. Undeterred by this minor setback, the pair continued working on finding a song that would be ideal for Houston and was inspired to come up with "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." Later on, Rubicam explained the idea behind the song: The song failed to impress producer

, who had produced "How Will I Know." He took a little more persuading with regard to the song's potential, and at first was not too keen on having Houston record it, as he felt it was too "country and western sounding." He said of it, For the song's production, a

Roland TR-808 The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patte ...

was used to produce the drum machine percussion.

Critical reception

"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" received mixed reviews from critics.

Vince Aletti Vince Aletti (born 1945) is a curator, writer, and photography critic. Career Music industry Aletti was a contributing writer for ''Rolling Stone'' from 1970 to 1989. He was the first person to write about disco in an article published by the m ...

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 ...

'' magazine, in a review of the album ''

'', criticized the song, commenting that "not taking any chances, the songwriters erill Griffith and Shannon Rubicamhave simply come up with a clever anagram of their original hit ow Will I Know and

arada Michael Arada may refer to: Geography * Arada, Chad, a town and subprefecture in the department of Biltine in eastern Chad * Arada (Addis Ababa), one of the 10 subcities of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia * Arada, Honduras, a municipality in the Hond ...

Walden has glossed it over in an identically perky style. The strategy is not so different from that behind Hollywood's blockbuster sequels: this is 'How Will I Know II'." ''

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 Un ...

s pop music critic,

Robert Hilburn Robert Hilburn (born September 25, 1939) is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As critic and music editor at the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays and profiles appeared in publications around the wor ...

described the song as "a deliciously raucous tune with a bit of the synthesizer underpinning and giddy zest of

's '

.'" In his review of ''Whitney'',

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.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 ...

'' gave a negative comment, writing that listening to "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and "You're Still My Man," another track on the album was like "watching television while someone fiddles with color controls." In 2006, ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' ranked the song at #88 in their 100 Greatest Dance Songs, commenting that "with its parenthetical title, gummy bassline, schmaltzy horns, tinkling keyboards, and half-step key changes,

he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

is definitive '80s

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 ...

Accolades

"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" won the award for " Favorite Pop/Rock Single" at the 15th American Music Awards on January 25, 1988. Additionally, Houston won the Grammy award for "

Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

" with the song at its 30th ceremony on March 2, 1988, where she received a total of three nominations. The music video for the song was nominated for "

Best Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. Hon ...

" at the 2nd Soul Train Music Awards on March 30, 1988. Houston won the award for "Best Music Video" for the video at the 1st Garden State Music Awards. In 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation's fifth favourite 1980s number one in a poll for

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

. In 2021, ''

'' ranked "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" at number 231 on their updated list of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

Chart performance

"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" was released as the first single from Houston's second studio album at the beginning of May 1987. It entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the issue dated May 16, 1987, at number 38, her highest debut in the 1980s. Six weeks later, it reached the top spot of the chart, making it Houston's fourth number-one single in the United States, the issue date of June 27, 1987 ― the same day that Houston's album ''Whitney'' debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 (known at the time as "Top Pop Albums") the first time ever by a female artist. It remained there for two weeks, spent nine weeks in the top ten (more than any other song that year) and spent 18 weeks on the chart. The song reached number one on the

Hot 100 Single Sales The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart for two weeks, and 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), Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout ...

chart for three weeks, her longest run at that time. The single also peaked at number one on the

Hot 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, quiet ...

and the remixed dance / club version by Steve Thompson and

Michael Barbiero Michael Francis Barbiero (born June 25, 1949)Infidel Biography
. Infidel Records. Retri ...

became Houston's first chart-topper on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance/Club Play Songs, staying on the top position of the charts for three weeks and two weeks, respectively. In addition, it reached a peak of two on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (known then as "Hot Black Singles"), the issue date of July 4, 1987. It remained at that position for two weeks, behind " I Feel Good All Over" by

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' from 1974 to 1979. The song " Home" from t ...

(which never appeared on the Hot 100 at all), and spent 15 weeks on the R&B chart. On July 28, 1987, the single was certified

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 ...

by the

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(RIAA), for shipment of 1,000,000 copies of the single, and re-certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

, making it Houston's first single to achieve that feat, for the same shipment on February 13, 1989, with the change of the RIAA certification criteria for singles. (The number of sales required to qualify for gold and platinum discs was higher prior to January 1, 1989. The thresholds were 1,000,000 units (gold) and 2,000,000 units (platinum), reflecting a decrease in sales of singles. It placed at number four on the ''Billboard'' Year-End Top Pop Singles chart for 1987. In Canada, the song debuted at 74 on the ''RPM'' Top 100 Singles chart, the issue dated May 9, 1987, and reached the top of the chart on July 4, 1987. It was ranked second on the ''RPM'' Year-End Top 100 Singles chart for 1987. The single was later certified Gold by the

Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

(CRIA) on February 29, 1988. Internationally, the song was a massive hit, becoming her most successful single at the time. It reached number one in fourteen countries. The song debuted at number 10 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 ...

, the week ending date of May 23, 1987. Two weeks later, it reached number one on the chart, the week ending June 6, 1987, becoming her second UK number-one single. The single was certified Gold 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) on August 1, 1987, for shipments of 400,000 copies. 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 ...

, it has sold 760,000 copies in the United Kingdom and was the first number one hit to be released with a CD single in the UK. The single also topped the singles chart in Belgium for three weeks, the Netherlands for four weeks, Germany for five weeks, Italy for a week, Norway for seven weeks, Sweden for six weeks and Switzerland for six weeks, and peaked inside top five in Austria and Ireland. This popularity of the single across Europe led to the song topping the

European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and '' Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

chart for eight weeks. It became Houston's second number-one single on the Australian ''

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, staying at the top for five weeks. The song also peaked at number one on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

and remained there for four weeks, making it Houston's first number-one single in the country. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" the single sold 4.2 million copies worldwide. After her death, the single returned to the Billboard Hot 100 debuting at number 35 the same week "I Will Always Love You" re-entered at number 7, giving Houston two posthumous Top 40 hits.

Music video

The

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

for "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" was directed by

Brian Grant Brian Wade Grant (born March 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions for five teams during 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was known for his tenacious ...

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 ...

, who also worked with Houston on the music video for "

". It played on MTV in heavy rotation. The video features Houston in a pink dress and a continuous shot of a purple backdrop that never changes its angle of vision. In the intro of this video, Houston just finishes a performance onstage. She walks backstage, and the scene is intercut with more vivid, colorful images of her. The song then explodes into its beginning, with myriad locations and various outfits by Houston, as dancers trying to impress her as she dances. Towards the end of the song she manhandles a guy, who has a mixture of a look of shock and surprise asking him "Don't you wanna dance say you wanna dance". The video was remastered in 4K to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the release of the ''Whitney'' album and it has over 377 million views as of November 2022 on YouTube, making it the fifth most watched music video by a female artist released in the

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...

behind

's " Time After Time",

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's "

La Isla Bonita "La Isla Bonita" is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album '' True Blue'' (1986). Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, with additional lyrics by Bruce Gaitsch, the song was originally presented by Leonard ...

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...

's "

Total Eclipse of the Heart "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was written and produced by Jim Steinman, and released on Tyler's fifth studio album, ''Faster Than the Speed of Night'' (1983). The song was released as a single b ...

" and Lauper's "

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a song written, recorded and performed by American musician Robert Hazard, who released it as a single in 1979. It is best known for the version of American singer Cyndi Lauper, who covered the song in 1983. It ...

" respectively.

Live performances

Houston performed the song on almost all of her world and regional tours. She premiered its usage during the later shows of

The Greatest Love World 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 (album), Whitney Houston''. The four-month tour began in North America on July 26, 1986 at ...

in 1986, before its official release of the following year, introducing the song, along with "

Didn't We Almost Have It All "Didn't We Almost Have It All" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, ''Whitney'' (1987). The song was written by Michael Masser and Will Jennings and produced by Masser. Initially, Houston's cover vers ...

", as new tunes from her upcoming album. During her European promotion for a new album from April–May 1987, Houston performed the song on various television series such as ''

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'' (an Italian entertainment programme), the Montreux Golden Rose Rock Festival: IM&MC Gala (May 15, 1987), and ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' (May 21, 1987), where she sang live, unlike some other performers who lip-synched on the programme. Houston's

Moment of Truth World Tour The Moment of Truth World Tour was the second worldwide tour by American recording artist Whitney Houston and supported her ''multi-platinum'' hit album '' Whitney''. The trek started on July 4, 1987 in North America and continued overseas during ...

in 1987-88 had her performing it as the finale song of the tour. She performed it without back-up dancers on the North American leg (1987), and with four dancers on the European leg of the tour (1988). Two different performances of the song were recorded in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

on September 2, 1987, and at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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in May 1988; the first was broadcast on

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 ...

, during the 4th MTV Video Music Awards on September 11, 1987. The second was taken from one night of nine sold-out Wembley Arena concerts, aired by Italian channel

Rai Uno Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and general ...

on a special program for her in 1988. On March 2, 1988, Houston opened the night of the

singing the song. During the European leg of the tour, she participated in the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute Concert and performed the song in front of about 72,000 people at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

on June 11, 1988. Houston also performed "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" as part of her set on fourteen-date

Feels So Right Tour Feels or The Feels may refer to: * "Feels" (song), by Calvin Harris * ''Feels'' (album), a 2005 music album by Animal Collective * ''The Feels'' (film), a 2017 film by Jenée LaMarque * "The Feels" (song), a 2021 song by Twice See also * ''All ...

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. One performance of the song on the tour was recorded at

Yokohama Arena is an indoor arena located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five-minute walk from the ...

on January 7, 1990, and later broadcast on Japanese television. On March 17, she sang the song live on '' That's What Friends Are For: Arista Records 15th Anniversary AIDS Benefit Concert'', televised on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

on April 17, 1990. This performance was included in the 2014 CD/DVD release, '' Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances''. In 1991, Houston opened her

I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour The I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour was a concert tour by American pop/ R&B singer Whitney Houston, in support of her multi-platinum album ''I'm Your Baby Tonight''. Prior to Houston performing two dates in Japan early-March, the official tour ...

with "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)". Three different performances of the song were taped and broadcast: the first was in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, Japan on March 15 and the second was in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, the concert itself entitled '' Welcome Home Heroes'', televised live 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 and later released as the video of the same name; the third was in

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Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

on September 29, broadcast on a Spanish television channel and later featured on the select set-list on ''This Is My Life'', her first hour-long special which aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, May 6, 1992. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" was also performed during

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). On the tour, five different performances of the song were recorded and televised; four were on the South American leg of the tour in 1994 ―

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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 second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

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 ...

― and one was in

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, broadcast live via satellite on

on November 12, 1994, the concert itself entitled '' The Concert for a New South Africa''. Houston also performed the song at a 25-minute pregame show of the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final at Rose Bowl in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, broadcast in more than 180 countries on July 17, 1994. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" was included in the set-list on two regional tours, The Pacific Rim Tour (1997) and The European Tour (1998). During the

My Love Is Your Love World Tour The My Love Is Your Love World Tour (advertised as World Tour 1999) was the eighth concert tour by American recording artist Whitney Houston. The tour was in support of her fourth album, ''My Love Is Your Love'' (1998). Beginning in the summer of ...

of 1999, the remix version of the song was performed as a part of '1980s Dance Medley' along with "

". One performance of the song on the tour was recorded in

Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest city ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and broadcast live on Polish channel

TVP1 TVP1 (TVP Jeden, ''Program I Telewizji Polskiej'', ''"Jedynka"'') is the main public television channel of TVP (Telewizja Polska S.A.), Poland's national television broadcaster. It was the first Polish channel to be broadcast and remains one ...

on August 22, 1999. In 2000, Houston performed the song as a similar version to that of her '99 tour at Arista Records 25th Anniversary Celebration, recorded at

Shrine Auditorium The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. It was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 139) in 1975, and ...

on April 10, and broadcast on May 15 on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

Track listing and formats

*US 12" vinyl single (Version 1) # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (12" Remix) – 8:33 # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (Single version) – 4:52 # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (12" Remix Radio edit) – 4:51 # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (Dub Mix) – 6:48 # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (A cappella) – 5:18 *US 12" vinyl single (Version 2) # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (12" Remix) – 8:33 # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (Single version) – 4:52 # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (Dub Mix) – 6:48 # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (A cappella Mix) – 5:18 # "Moment of Truth" – 4:38 *UK 7" vinyl single # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" – 4:52 # "Moment of Truth" – 4:39 *UK promo VHS single # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (Music Video) – 5:15 *UK 5" maxi-CD single # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (12" Remix) – 8:32 # "Moment of Truth" – 4:36 # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (Dub Mix) – 6:48 *US 5" promo maxi-CD single # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (Single version) – 4:52 # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (12″ Remix Radio edit) – 4:51 # "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (12" Remix) – 8:36

Credits and personnel

*Writer ― George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam *Producer, arranger ―

*Vocal arrangement ― Whitney Houston *Drums ― Narada Michael Walden *Synths ― Walter "Baby Love" Afanasieff *Bass synth ― Randy "The King" Jackson *Guitar synth ― Corrado Rustici *Percussion programming ― Preston "Tiger Head" Glass *Alto sax ― Marc Russo *Simmons ― Greg "Gigi" Gonaway *Synth horns ― Sterling *Background vocals ―

Jim Gilstrap James Earl Gilstrap (born November 10, 1946)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 1 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American singer, considered one of the most prolific session musicians in the industry. He is best known for ...

, Karen "Kitty Beethoven" Brewington, Kevin Dorsey, Myrna Matthews, Jennifer Hall, Whitney Houston *Recording, mixing ― David Fraser *Assistant engineer ― Dana Jon Chappelle *Additional engineers ― Lincoln Clapp, Gordon Lyon, Jay Rifkin, Ken Kessie, Maureen Droney *Additional assistant engineers ― Gordon Lyon, Stuart Hirotsu, Paul "Goatee" Hamingson, Noah Baron, Bill "Sweet William" Miranda, Ross Williams, Rob Beaton

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

References

Bibliography *

External links

I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
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 la ...