Rihanna: This Whitney Houston Hit Made Her Want to Pursue Music
Rihanna’s music is very different from Whitney Houston’s music, however, Houston still had a major impact on Rihanna. One of Houston’s songs is what made Rihanna develop her passion for music. She even partially credits this song for inspiring her to enter the entertainment industry. Here’s a look at the song — and which singer is more popular on the charts.
The first song Rihanna fell in love with
Firstly, a little background. Over the course of her career, Rihanna released songs from many different genres. She’s recorded everything from soft rock songs to uptempo dance tracks to hip-hop-inspired jams. While she’s not as associated with ballads as Adele or Celine Dion, many of her most famous songs are ballads. Some of these ballads include “Diamonds,” “Love on the Brain,” “Unfaithful,” and “Take a Bow.” Fittingly, one of Houston’s ballads inspired Rihanna to pursue music.
“My first song that I remember falling in love with was a Whitney Houston song: ’I Will Always Love You,’” Rihanna told MTV News. “It was really inspiring, and it made me develop a passion for music, so really, she’s partly responsible for me being here in this industry.”
Why Rihanna sees Whitney Houston’s life as a cautionary tale
Rihanna also sees Houston as an idol — and her life as a cautionary tale. “I love Whitney Houston,” she told Contact Music. “She is a big idol of mine and so influential. Seeing how things can go wrong when you seem to have everything is educational. Whitney has made some of the greatest songs ever. I don’t want what’s happened to her to happen to me and that’s why I don’t take fame too seriously.”
How Rihanna feels about the prospect of playing Whitney Houston in a movie
In addition, Rihanna told MTV News in 2012 she’d like to play Houston in a movie. “That would be something that I would have to give my entire life to do, because I would really want to pull it off,” she said. “That’s a huge, huge role, and whoever does it has to do a good job.” So far, this Houston biopic has not materialized. Perhaps it could get made today due to the recent success of music biopics like Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman.
Which singer is more popular?
Clearly, Houston’s life and work meant a lot to Rihanna. This raises an interesting question: Did Rihanna outperform Houston on the pop charts? Houston released 23 singles that charted in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Of those singles, 11 reached No. 1. One of those No 1 songs was “I Will Always Love You.”
On the other hand, Rihanna has had 31 top 40 hits so far on the Billboard Hot 100, 14 of which have reached No. 1 RiRi has categorically outperformed Houston as an artist. However, her hits might not exist if not for her love of Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”
