Whitney Houston, Miracle | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 99^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “Miracle” by the late, great, 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 99^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2023), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Miracle”, performed by 🎙 Whitney Houston. 

“How could I throw away a miracle?” That is a thought-provoking question 🎙 Whitney Houston asks on 🎵 “Miracle”. “Miracle” appears as the sixth track on her third studio album, 💿 I’m Your Baby Tonight (1990). I’m Your Baby Tonight is a less heralded album by Houston, but still manages to have some excellent moments, with “Miracle” included.  Another top 10 hit (no. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100), the writing and production come from two heavyweights 💪: 🎼✍ 🎛 Babyface and L.A. Reid.  As always, at least in her heyday, Houston sounds fantastic, never missing a note. When she brings the power as “Miracle” progresses, it’s nothing short of special.

Digging deeper into “Miracle,” the 🏆 Academy and Grammy award-winner tackles a controversial topic: abortion. “It’s all my doing, I made a choice / And today, I pay,” Houston sings in the emotional first verse, speaking about the pain, seemingly as the result of the song’s protagonist terminating her pregnancy. The second verse is filled with regret, as Houston asserts, “Thought I was looking out for myself / Now it seems the pain / Is all that I have gained.” Of course, the word abortion is never uttered explicitly, but, it’s clearly implied.  Regarding this beloved pro-life single, Houston stated in a Jet Magazine interview:

“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 and take better care of them.”

In the chorus, where Houston excels the most, she sings, “Nothing should matter / Not when love grows inside you / The choice is yours / There’s a miracle in store.” Conservatives eat this song up for good reason – its pro-life.  That said, even if you’re team pro-choice, you can appreciate (1) the first-class musicianship and (2) the fact that 🎵 “Miracle” eloquently and thoughtfully delivers how emotional such a decision and the aftermath can be.  You don’t have to agree, but, what everyone can agree about is how gorgeous this nearly six-minute song is.

🎙 Whitney Houston • 💿 I’m Your Baby Tonight • 🏷 Arista • 🗓 1990

Whitney Houston, “Miracle”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 99 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Arista; John Alan Sperry, PIRO via  Pixabay]