Babyface Reveals Why Whitney Houston Didn’t Initially Want to Sing ‘Why Does it Hurt So Bad’
Whitney Houston turned out to be more than just a powerhouse vocalist when she took the lead in creating the soundtrack to Waiting to Exhale soundtrack. Alongside Babyface, Houston chose all artists and songs to be featured to coincide with the theme of female empowerment in the film. But one of the songs almost didn’t make it on the album. Houston initially refused to record “Why Does it Hurt So Bad” because she couldn’t relate to the lyrics.
Babyface says Whitney Houston initially didn’t want to sing ‘Why Does it Hurt So Bad’ because she didn’t understand the heartbreak
Houston contributed three songs to the soundtrack. Two of which were solo singles in “Exhale (Shoop Shoop),” and “Why Does It Hurt So Bad.” The second song was a duet with gospel artist Cece Winans, “Count on Me,” a song about friendship. Babyface revealed in a recent interview with The Breakfast Club that he pitched “Why Does It Hurt So Bad” to Houston years before the soundtrack project, but she turned it down.
“First time I worked with Whitney, I remember I played her the song “Why Does It Hurt So Bad,” and she heard that and she goes, ‘I can’t sing that…I don’t know anything about that…I would never be that kind of person, so there’s no reason for me to sing that.’ And then she sang it on Exhale years later. Unfortunately, she learned about it,” he said.
But the song almost didn’t happen for a second time because Houston never intended to sing on the soundtrack, she simply wanted to help produce it. At the last moment, she opted to participate.
Whitney Houston spearheaded the all-female ‘Waiting to Exhale’ soundtrack
Houston didn’t only star in the film, but she also helmed the soundtrack with Babyface as the writer and main producer. In a 1995 interview with The New York Times, Babyface revealed that it was Houston’s idea to have a soundtrack featuring only all-female artists.
“It was partly Whitney’s idea doing all the women,” he explained. “She feels like ‘Waiting to Exhale’ isn’t her movie, but an ensemble movie about the friendship of four women. So the soundtrack has a lot to do with the film.”
Babyface knew the soundtrack was gold. “I don’t think you’ll ever see another project that includes all these women at the same time,” he told the publication. The Waiting to Exhale soundtrack featured 16 songs in total. With the exception of a remake of “My Funny Valentine,” Babyface wrote all original material.
How well ‘Why Did it Hurt So Bad’ fared commercially
The song was released in July 1996 as the seventh and final single from the soundtrack. It peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached No. 22 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and No. 6 on the Adult Contemporary chart. There is no official music video for the song, but Houston performed it live during the 1996 MTV Movie Awards.
