Whitney Houston, I Have Nothing | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 17^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 17^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “I Have Nothing”, performed by Whitney Houston. 

“Share my life, take me for what I am / ‘Cause I’ll never change all my colors for you.”  Ah, such beautiful lyrics! It’s rare a soundtrack wins the prestigious Grammy for Album Of The Year.  The Bodyguard – Original Soundtrack Album, is one of few that have taken home the top prize.  Of course, six of its twelve songs were performed by the late, great Whitney Houston.  Notably, her remake of “I Will Always Love You” earned two Grammys itself.  While “I Will Always Love You” is and will always be Houston’s ‘ace in the hole,’ she had another epic song from The Bodyguard too: “I Have Nothing”. The ballad was written by Linda Thompson and David Foster, who also produces the adult contemporary R&B gem.  Another top-five hit for Houston, this humongous ballad, featuring multiple modulations (key changes), peaked at no. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It takes a big voice to even think about covering this one!

Whitney Houston slays vocally – PERIOD.  She delivers both tender and dynamic moments, as she sings about those matters of the heart.  “You see through, right to the heart of me,” she sings in the second verse, continuing, “You break down my walls with the strength of your love.” At the end of the second pre-chorus, she sings, “I can’t run from myself, there’s nowhere to hide / Your love, I’ll remember forever,” before killing it on the centerpiece, the chorus:

“But don’t make me close one more door

I don’t wanna hurt anymore

Stay in my arms if you dare

Or must I imagine you there

Don’t walk away from me

I have nothing, nothing, nothing

If I don’t have you.”

In addition to the high-flying, once in a lifetime vocals, memorable lyrics, and tuneful melodies, the supporting instrumental is terrific too.  Foster serves up a refined backdrop that packs a mean punch during the chorus.  “I Have Nothing”, a multiplatinum single easily sits near the top of Whitney Houston catalog.

🎙 Whitney Houston • 💿 The Bodyguard – Original Soundtrack Album • 🏷 Arista • 📅 1992

 Whitney Houston, I Have Nothing: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 17 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Arista; OpenClipart-Vectors, Speedy McVroom via  Pixabay]