I Wanna Dance with Somebody (The Movie: Whitney New, Classic and Reimagined) is the soundtrack album to the biographical film, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, based on the life of American singer and actress Whitney Houston. The soundtrack was released by RCA Records on December 16, 2022, a week before the film's theatrical release. The album was produced by Rodney Jerkins and Marvin "Tony" Hemmings and executive produced by Clive Davis, who also serves as one of the producers of the film.
Contents
Content and release
I Wanna Dance with Somebody soundtrack comprises 35 tracks, most of which are by Houston chronicling her career. It also includes reimagined remixes of some of Houston's classics featuring producers such as Sam Feldt, Moto Blanco and P2J and contemporary acts of various genres; Lucky Daye, Oxlade, Pheelz and Samaria. The album also features unreleased recordings from Houston's vault, including the Michael Masser composed soul ballad "Far Enough", "Moment of Truth" culled from the Whitney album sessions of 1986. Two covers from the Winans family, "Tomorrow", originally recorded by The Winans and in which Houston is joined by Samaria, and "Don't Cry for Me", which Houston covered from BeBe & CeCe Winans originally at the Commitment to Life benefit concert for AIDS Project Los Angeles in January 1994. The latter track includes a remastered ballad production by Jerkins and an a cappella version. It is Houston's first posthumous soundtrack release since her death in 2012.
In 2023, Houston's official website announced that the soundtrack via RCA Records would be released as a two-disc set limited edition available only through the official Whitney Houston webstore on July 13. The double set would include all 35 tracks same as the digital release, including the unreleased "Far Enough", "Don't Cry For Me", and Houston's first posthumous 2019 hit single "Higher Love" with DJ Kygo.
Track listing
Notes
Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 29, 34, and 35 do not appear anywhere in the film, in the given version here.
Sample credits
"Honest (Heartbreak Hotel)" contains a sample of "Heartbreak Hotel", sung by Houston, Faith Evans and Kelly Price.
"Okay (It's Not Right)" contains a sample of "It's Not Right but It's Okay", sung by Houston.
"Impossible Things" contains a sample of "Impossible/It's Possible", sung by Houston and Brandy.
Personnel
Adapted from album liner notes