How Will I Know

Initially, husband-and-wife songwriters George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam had written the song's demo in 1984 for pop singer Janet Jackson, who was managed by A&M Records executive John McClain.^[1] However, after hearing the song, Jackson's management passed on it, feeling it was not a compatible fit with material already in development for her. In an interview with Fred Bronson, Merrill expressed his feelings after learning of Jackson's decision: "We were pretty upset because we thought it was perfect for her at the time. We had written it with her completely in mind."^[1] During this period, Brenda Andrews at Almo-Irving Music, Merrill and Rubicam's publisher, played the song for Gerry Griffith, the director for R&B music at A&M and Arista Records. Griffith, who was then compiling material for Houston's debut album, felt the song perfectly matched her musical style. He soon contacted Andrews and the song's two writers and suggested that they give the song to him for Houston's debut album.^[1] Griffith described his discovery of the song and what he and Clive Davis thought of it:

"We had a lot of R&B-based tunes, we had a few ballads, but we didn't have a pop crossover song. So when I heard 'How Will I Know,' I said 'this is absolutely perfect.' I played it for Clive [and] he fell in love with it. I wasn't very familiar with her family background; I didn't realize that, even at that time, there was a pretty big industry buzz about her future."^[1]

After receiving permission from Merrill to use the song, Griffith quickly turned to Narada Michael Walden, who at the time was producing material for Aretha Franklin's album Who's Zoomin' Who?. ^[1] Griffith implored him to produce it, describing how important the song would be for Houston's upcoming album. After hearing the demo, Walden agreed to fly to San Rafael, California to arrange it. He was not very impressed with the demo and requested permission to change some of the lyrics and chord progression, inducing Merrill and Rubicam to deny him the right to their song.^[1] After a lot of back-and-forth with Griffith, they compromised and allowed Walden to de-construct the song and change the key and tempo. After completing the song, Houston came in to the studio to record her vocal in late 1984. Her mother Cissy Houston joined her on background vocals. Griffith stated:

"I asked Whitney to sing on the background session. She was reluctant because she wanted to enjoy hearing her mother sing. I said, 'No, get out there and sing,' so she did. The background sounded incredible ... Clive Davis heard the mix and immediately gave it a 10, which is outrageous for him, because he doesn't like anything!"^[1]

The tenor saxophone is played by Premik Russell Tubbs.^[2]

"How Will I Know" (1985)

A sample of the song's chorus, where Houston sings "How will I know if he really loves me?". It also makes use of drums.

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"How Will I Know" is a synth-funk^[3] and dance-pop^[4][5] song composed in a 1980s dance beat.^[6] According to Kyle Anderson of MTV, the song found Houston hitting an "incredible groove".^[7] It is written in the key of G flat major.^[6] The beat is set the time signature of common time and moves at a fast tempo of 120 beats per minute.^[6] The song also has the sequence of G♭-B♭m₇-G♭/C♭-D♭-E♭m-D♭ as its chord progression.^[6] Houston's vocals in the song span from the note of D♭₄ to the high note of G₅.^[6] Lyrically, the song speaks about the lead woman trying to discern whether a man she likes will ever like her back.^[8] She is also hesitant, because her friends tell her "love can be deceiving", and she is so shy that she cannot call him.^[8] Later, she feels that it might be a dream, but realizes that "there's no mistaking", and that what she feels is really love.^[8]

"How Will I Know" mainly garnered positive reviews from music critics, with some noting it as a standout on the album.^[9] Don Shewey of Rolling Stone commented "Although it's awfully reminiscent of the Pointer Sisters' 'He's So Shy', 'How Will I Know' is still irresistibly danceable."^[10] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote "...what really impresses some 20-plus years on are the lighter tracks, particularly the breakthrough single 'How Will I Know'."^[9] While reviewing the Deluxe Anniversary Edition of the album, Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly commented on the a cappella version of the song, noting, "a cappella mix of 'How Will I Know' displays the singer's precision long before the advent of Auto-Tune."^[11] While reviewing The Ultimate Collection, Nick Levine of Digital Spy added, "Houston's floor-fillers have aged a little more gracefully, although their clunky, thudding drum sounds are as unmistakably Eighties as Joan Collins' Dynasty wardrobe."^[12] Dave Rimmer of Smash Hits considered that "this dreary bit of disco isn't anywhere near as good" as "Saving All My Love for You," adding that it "sounds positively snoozeworthy, in fact."^[13] The song was voted number 12 in VH1's List of Greatest Songs of the 1980s.^[14][15]

"How Will I Know" debuted at number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in the December 7, 1985 issue.^[16] Nine weeks later it peaked at number one in the issue dated February 15, 1986, becoming Houston's second number-one single on that chart.^[1] It displaced Houston's cousin Dionne Warwick's "That's What Friends Are For," stayed at number one for two weeks, and was displaced by Mr. Mister's "Kyrie."^[1] It also debuted on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart at number 60, and later peaked at number one for one week. ^[16] In the issue dated January 25, 1986, "How Will I Know" entered the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart at number 30, and later peaked at number three in the February 22, 1986, issue.^[16] It also reached number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.^[16] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the single Gold on December 6, 1985, for shipments of 500,000 copies or more, and later Double Platinum, for an equivalent sales of 2,000,000 units.^[17] It ranked at number six on the Billboard year-end chart. In Canada, the single debuted at number 80 on the RPM Top 100 Singles chart in the issue dated December 14, 1985.^[18] It later peaked at number one in the week dated March 1, 1986, becoming Houston's first number-one single in Canada.^[19] It was later certified Gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) on May 1, 1986, for shipments of 200,000 copies or more.^[20]

The single also performed well in other countries. In the United Kingdom it debuted at number 36 during the week of January 25, 1986, and later peaked at number five.^[21] It was also certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).^[22] According to MTV UK and Ireland, the single has sold about 280,000 copies in the UK.^[23] In New Zealand it debuted at number 35, and peaked at number 19.^[24] In Austria it reached a peak position of number 28,^[24] while peaking at number 12 in the Netherlands.^[24] It also reached number two in Norway and Sweden, while charting at number 11 in Switzerland.^[24] According to AllMusic, "How Will I Know" has sold about 1.5 million copies worldwide.^[25]

In Australia "How Will I Know" was released as the first single from the album in March 1985.^[26] It spent a single week on the Kent Music Report chart at number 97 in July 1985,^[27] before re-entering the chart in February 1986, eventually peaking at number two.^[28]

The accompanying music video for "How Will I Know", directed by British director Brian Grant and choreographed by Arlene Phillips,^[29] was filmed prior to the release of the single and album.^[30] Unlike her past music videos, Houston was given the opportunity to move beyond the staged performance settings to demonstrate straightforward dance moves.^[30] The video is set against a strikingly designed, vividly colored setting of video screens and partitions.^[30] Houston's hair is dyed honey blonde and is worn by a dazzling, colored hairbow.^[30] She is also seen underlined by a form-fitting silver dress made of metal mesh, reaching almost to her knees, adorned with matching fingerless gloves.^[30][31] Houston is also seen performing with backup dancers in black outfits and wearing French-style makeup.^[31] The video also has a scene of spattering of paint and drizzling down the screen.^[31] Houston's labelmate and family friend Aretha Franklin also makes a black-and-white cameo appearance in the otherwise colorful music video.^[31] In 2011, Kyle Anderson of MTV wrote that it was "eye-opening to watch her cut loose in a fun environment," since her past songs were ballads.^[7]

The music video was her first to receive heavy rotation on MTV.^[32][33] It was also nominated for two awards at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, in the categories of Best New Artist and Best Female Video, winning the latter.^[34]

Houston performed the song on her Greatest Love Tour (1986), Moment of Truth World Tour (1987–88), Feels So Right Japan Tour (1990), I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour (1991), The Bodyguard World Tour (1993–1994), My Love Is Your Love World Tour (1999) and Nothing But Love World Tour (2009–2010). Apart from the concert tour performances, Houston has performed the song on many other occasions like the third annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1986, where she sang "How Will I Know" and "Greatest Love of All",^[34][35][36] 13th annual American Music Awards (1986),^[37] and 1987 BRIT Awards.^[38] The latter performance is included in the 2014 CD/DVD release, Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances.^[39]On May 15, 1987, during her European promotion for then-new album, Whitney, Houston sang the song at the Montreux Golden Rose Rock Festival: IM&MC Gala with two other 1986 released songs, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go".^[40] On April 29, 1985, she appeared on The Merv Griffin Show, taped in New York City, and performed "How Will I Know".^[41][42] On her Moment of Truth World Tour, she participated in the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute Concert and performed the song with other seven songs. She also performed the song on Welcome Home Heroes, a concert dedicated to the U.S. troops, their families, and military and government dignitaries in honor of those returning from the Gulf War, which aired on HBO on March 31, 1991.^[43][44] The concert was taped and later released as a VHS on May 14, 1991.^[43] She also performed the song on The Concert for a New South Africa, three concerts in 1994 to honor President Nelson Mandela. Houston later performed the song on the closing ceremonies of the 1994 World Cup along with five of her other songs.^[45] In 2000, she performed the song on Arista's 25th Anniversary, along with "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)."^[46]

British singer Sam Smith released a cover of "How Will I Know" in June 2014, taking a slower tempo^[89] and a snippet of that version was used in an episode of Grey's Anatomy.^[90] It was later included on Smith's 2015 In the Lonely Hour (Drowning Shadows Edition), a re-release of their debut album.^[91]

In 2021, French DJ and producer David Guetta teamed up with British DJ and producer MistaJam and singer John Newman to release a dance track based on an interpolation of "How Will I Know".^[100] Now called "If You Really Love Me (How Will I Know)", the song charted in the UK, reaching No. 66 in the Top 75 (for the week ending August 5, 2021) after amassing a sales total of 7,018 units.^[101][102] The song became the fourth entry on that week's chart for Guetta (though the only single out of the four chart hits where he took lead artist credit) and the first chart credit for Newman since "Give Me Your Love" with British DJ and record producer Sigala and American guitarist Nile Rodgers in 2016.

In September 2021, British electronic music group Clean Bandit released a remix of the track.^[115]

In January 2004, British dance group LMC and Irish rock band U2 released the song "Take Me to the Clouds Above", which interpolates the first four lines of "How Will I Know".^[125]

• List of RPM number-one singles of 1986
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1986 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B singles of 1986 (U.S.)
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1986 (U.S.)