I'm Your Baby Tonight

I'm Your Baby Tonight is the third studio album by American singer Whitney Houston. It was released on November 6, 1990, by Arista Records. Released during a time black music critics accused Houston of neglecting her R&B and soul music roots following the release of her pop-heavy eponymous second album, Whitney, three years before, the album signaled a change in Houston's musical direction as she attained creative control for the first time in her career and received an executive producer credit. The record incorporated the then-current popular sound of new jack swing music along with elements of hip-hop, funk and dance, which helped to shift Houston's focus from love ballads and occasional dance songs to creating a "firmer dance record". The album was further credited later as a "turning point" in Houston's career and which helped to cement her legacy in popular music.

Its sexually aggressive and assertive themes also took a more mature direction than on Houston's previous albums with songs such as the title track, "My Name Is Not Susan" and "I Belong to You". It was the first album to feature production from the team of Antonio "L.A." Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, who would produce four of the album's songs including the title track, "Miracle" and "My Name Is Not Susan", while Houston maintained her previous producer Narada Michael Walden on several other tracks with smaller contributions from Michael Masser, Luther Vandross and Stevie Wonder, the latter of whom Houston sung with on the album's only duet track, "We Didn't Know". In addition to vocally arranging every track, Houston also added to the production on the record on at least one track, the album closer, "I'm Knockin'".

Upon its release, I'm Your Baby Tonight received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with some complimenting the album's more earthy forms of black music, while others viewed this shift as superficial. The album became a global commercial success upon its release, reaching number three on the Billboard 200, whilst staying inside the top ten of that chart for 22 weeks. The same album topped the Top R&B Albums chart, Houston's first album to reach the pole position on that chart since her groundbreaking self-titled debut album, accumulating eight cumulative weeks atop the chart, outperforming the six-week run from her debut. Following its peaks on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B Albums chart, Houston became the first female artist to have their first three albums reach the top three on both charts. It would top the year-end 1991 lists of Billboard and Cashbox magazine as the top selling R&B album of the year. It would become Houston's third consecutive multi-platinum album in the United States, eventually selling more than four million copies alone in the country and being certified platinum four times by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The album would go on to win four Billboard Music Awards, including Top R&B Album, at the second annual ceremony and earned the American Music Award nomination for Favorite Soul/R&B Album as well as the Soul Train Music Award nomination for Best Female R&B/Soul Album in 1992 as well as several NAACP Image Award nominations and the American Black Achievement award as the top music artist of the year.

In addition to its US success, the album was also a worldwide hit, reaching the top ten in 18 other countries and peaked at number two on the European Top 100 Albums chart, earning her third top five album on that chart, while being certified platinum in the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France and the Netherlands, as well as multi-platinum in Japan and Spain, eventually being certified in over 13 countries and would reach global sales of over ten million copies, becoming one of the best-selling female albums of all time.

I'm Your Baby Tonight produced six singles. Its lead single, the title track, hit number one in four countries, including the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top ten in 13 other countries and earning a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1991. "All the Man That I Need" followed the title track to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped to establish a chart record for Houston being the first woman to have multiple chart-toppers off three or more albums while also achieving international success, topping the Canadian RPM chart and hitting the top 20 in the UK; it would be nominated for the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1992. "Miracle" also achieved US success, peaking inside the top ten, while "My Name Is Not Susan" reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.

The remaining two singles — "I Belong to You" and "We Didn't Know" — was only released to R&B retail and radio where it found R&B chart success, both peaking inside the top 20 while the former reached the R&B top ten and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. To further promote the album, Houston embarked on her third concert tour, titled the I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour, from March 1991 until October 1991. During promotion of the album, Houston's status was raised by her Super Bowl XXV appearance where she performed her rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the HBO-TV special, Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston, which included songs from the album performed and viewed by over 50 million viewers.