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Miracle (Whitney Houston song)

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"Miracle"
Song
B-side"After We Make Love"

"Miracle" is the third single from Whitney Houston's multi-platinum third album, I'm Your Baby Tonight. It was written and produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface. The single reached #9 on the US Hot 100 (becoming her 13th Top Ten hit), #2 on the R&B Chart, and #4 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.

Composition

During an interview with Jet Magazine on its June 14, 1991 issue, Houston said that she did not intend the song or the video to be only about abortion: “I think about the air we breathe, the earth we live on. I think about our children. I think about a lot of things, things God put here for us to have, things that we need and we take for granted. I think all of these things are miracles and I think we should try to take better care of them,” she notes.[1]

Critical reception

Rolling Stone editor James Hunter praised the ballad: "when L.A. and BabyFace follow her into ballad-land on the despondent "Miracle," Houston's own moods call the shots more clearly."[2] Allmusic editor Ashley S. Battel called this ballad a high point of the album and praised the lyrics "the powerful verses surrounding a love lost through one's own devices in 'Miracle.'"[3] Entertainment Weekly editor David Browne called the melody of this song "indiscernible" and that the song itself is "nonentity."[4]

Chart performance

"Miracle" entered The Billboard Hot 100 at 63, and stayed on the chart for 14 weeks.

Music video

The video shows Houston by herself in an empty studio singing the song. As she sings the first verse of the song, sad images of people facing prison sentences, living in poverty and having an abortion are shown. During the second verse, the images shown gradually changes to a lighter tone with pictures of children growing up, winning a competition, graduating school and enjoying their lives as young adults. The video ends with various pictures of children smiling.

Due to the manner of the music video, it was widely believed that the song was about a girl who had an abortion but later feels she made a mistake. Houston, however denied it in during an interview with Jet Magazine.[1]

Track listing & format

Side A: "Miracle" - 7 Inch 45 RPM -- 5:43

Side B: "After We Make Love" - 7 Inch 45 RPM -- 4:59

"Miracle" - CD, Single, Promo (Radio Edit)

Charts

Chart positions

Chart (1991) Peak
Position
Canada (RPM 100 Singles)[5] 17
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 9
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[7] 4
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[8] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1991) Position
Canadian Adult Contemporary Tracks[9] 11
US Adult Contemporary Singles[10] 33
US R&B Singles[11] 24

References

  1. ^ a b Waldron, Clarence. "Whitney Houston performs with Soul and Sass On World Tour". 24 June 1991. Jet Magazine. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/im-your-baby-tonight-19910110
  3. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/im-your-baby-tonight-mw0000309480
  4. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,318684,00.html
  5. ^ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.1552&type=2&interval=24&PHPSESSID=9cvp3eo6c6t70dvkgmtc6th3t4
  6. ^ "Whitney Houston Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  7. ^ "Whitney Houston Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  8. ^ "Whitney Houston Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  9. ^ "RPM 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1991". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. December 21, 1991. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  10. ^ http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/854606
  11. ^ http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/854593
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