Exhale (Shoop Shoop)

This article is about the Whitney Houston single. For other uses, see Exhale (disambiguation).

"Exhale"
Song

"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" is a 1995 hit single by R&B singer Whitney Houston, featured on the soundtrack of the film Waiting to Exhale, nominated for Song of the Year in 1997.

Song information

The song, written and produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, is a call to handle the emotional pain of a breakup by leaning on your friends. Houston sings the lyrics "When you got friends to wish you well... you'll find the point when, you will exhale". The song is also notable for the 1960s arrangement of the chorus, repeating 'shoop shoop shoo-be-doop.'

Music video

The camera mainly focuses on Houston with close-ups as she sings. The video is also cut with intermediate scenes from the Waiting To Exhale movie. Directed by Forest Whitaker.

Track listing

1. "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" (Album Version)
2. "Dancin' on the Smooth Edge"
3. "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (with Aretha Franklin) (album edit)
4. "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
5. "Moment of Truth"

Chart performance

Houston entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at the #1 position with "Exhale", becoming only the third single in U.S. history to enter at number one. It stayed at number-one for just one week as Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's duet "One Sweet Day" debuted at the summit the next week. This in turn led to "Exhale" settling into the number-two position where it resided for eleven weeks, becoming the single with the longest stay at number two on the U.S. Hot 100 in Billboard history. The single was certified platinum, and remained in the Top 40 for twenty weeks.

The song was also successful on other Billboard charts, logging eight consecutive weeks at number one on the U.S. R&B chart. The song also reached number five on the Adult Contemporary chart.

The song performed well in a few other major markets outside the U.S., reaching number one in Canada, the top ten in both Italy and Switzerland, and the top twenty in the UK and France.

Chart (1995)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	1
ARC Weekly Top 40	1
UK Singles Chart	11
ARIA Singles Chart	18
Germany Singles Chart	26
Italy Singles Chart	6
Switzerland Top 75 Singles	13
France Top 100 Singles	16
Switzerland Top 100 Singles	10