There have been a lot of great singers in the past century, but there is only one Whitney Houston. She has been remembered as a musical legend, but she also helped break down barriers in the entertainment industry for Black talent. Houston became one of the first women of color to grace the cover of Seventeen and went on to appear in other magazines such as Glamour and Cosmopolitan. Not just a singer and model, but also an actress, Houston starred in 1995’s Waiting to Exhale, which was directed by Forest Whitaker and co-starred Angela Bassett.

Although Houston may no longer physically be with us, her legacy can still be felt today. English actress Naomi Ackie, who played Jannah in 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, recently portrayed Houston in the new biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody. The film featured many songs from Houston’s discography, which sound as great as ever and have stood the test of time. Without further ado, here’s a look at the significance of the songs that were featured in I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

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The Greatest Love of All

     Sony Pictures

During the early-80s, Houston sang as a member of a church choir in New Jersey. Her mother, Emily “Cissy” Houston, was a successful singer, singing backup for famous artists such as Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley. Cissy wanted her daughter to become successful, and an opportunity for Houston arrived in the form of record producer Clive Davis. In I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Houston left a powerful impression on Davis with a performance of “The Greatest Love of All.” The performance led to her almost immediately being offered a record deal, which obviously kick-started her career.

“The Greatest Love of All” was featured on Houston’s debut album, and after being released as a single, spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. While the song has been heavily associated with Houston, the song was originally recorded by George Benson and released in 1977. It was written as the theme for The Greatest, a 1977 biopic about the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali.

How Will I Know

I Wanna Dance With Somebody showed Houston and Davis as they explored what really made a song a hit. They received a demo of “How Will I Know,” which had been written with R&B singer Janet Jackson in mind. However, Jackson passed on the song, leaving another talented artist to imbue it with new energy. In the film, Davis remarked that “it’s got to have a hook,” to which Houston confidently replied, “I’ll give it a hook.”

With new lyrics and production, “How Will I Know” went on to become Houston’s second single to top the Billboard Hot 100. The song contained the lyrics, “How will I know if he really loves me?” but around this time, Houston was romantically involved with Robyn Crawford. I Wanna Dance With Somebody depicted Houston’s father as not being supportive of same-sex relationships. According to Crawford, she and Houston “never talked about labels,” but still knew that they both loved each other, “meant everything to each other,” and that they had “vowed to stand by each other” (via PEOPLE).

I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

A little over a year after the release of “How Will I Know,” Houston released the mega-hit, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me).” The song was the lead single of Houston’s second album, and in 1988, won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 30th Annual Grammy Awards. Despite receiving mixed reviews from music critics, the song managed to become a major commercial success. As seen in the film, one of the criticisms directed towards Houston was that her music didn’t sound “Black enough.” Other criticisms were quick to come Houston’s way, another being that she performed meaningless pop music. This did nothing to stop her success, as even posthumously she has continued to hold the Guinness World Record as the most awarded female artist of all time. In the present day, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” has become Houston’s most streamed song on Spotify.

I Will Always Love You

Houston was given the task of recording a song for 1992’s The Bodyguard, the film in which she made her acting debut. Houston was set to record a cover of Jimmy Ruffin’s “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted,” but later learned that the song would be used in Fried Green Tomatoes (via TIME). Uninterested in sticking with “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted,” Houston looked for a new song to sing, and found it when Kevin Costner played her Linda Ronstadt’s version of “I Will Always Love You.” Ronstadt was not the original artist of the song: it was actually written and originally performed by Dolly Parton. Parton wrote the song for her mentor Porter Wagoner after deciding to leave The Porter Wagoner Show.

It wasn’t until Houston recorded “I Will Always Love You” that the song was able to reach a massive audience. She performed it as a soul ballad while making the song her own. The song played in The Bodyguard when Rachel Marron (Houston) got off a plane to kiss Frank Farmer (Costner) one last time before parting ways. In I Wanna Dance With Somebody, the song played during a Houston performance interwoven with a scene of her marriage. Houston’s vocal performance of “I Will Always Love You” was universally praised, leading to more and more people referring to her as “The Voice.”

I Loves You, Porgy / And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going / I Have Nothing

Towards the end of I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Houston looked back on the night of February 7, 1994. That was the night of the 21st Annual American Music Awards, where Houston performed a medley of three songs: “I Loves You, Porgy,” “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” and “I Have Nothing.” Houston won seven of the eight awards she was nominated for before also winning the Award of Merit. The 1994 American Music Awards was truly a night to remember as Houston gave one of the best performances of her career. It was fitting then, that I Wanna Dance With Somebody chose this performance to draw the film to a close and remember Houston’s legacy.