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I Have Nothing

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"I Have Nothing"
Song

"I Have Nothing" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston and is the third single released from The Bodyguard album, the adjoining soundtrack from the motion picture in which she also starred.

Written by David Foster and Linda Thompson, the song is a richly orchestrated power ballad about deep love and commitment to one's lover, through lines such as "I don't want to go where you don't follow" and "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".

As of most of Houston's material, this song has been an extremely popular choice on the reality television series American Idol. It is one of the most performed songs on American Idol, tied for first place alongside Phil Collins' "Against All Odds".

Charts

After the back to back successes of Houston's "I Will Always Love You" and "I'm Every Woman," The Bodyguard soundtrack album had become a massive international success. "I Have Nothing" became yet another hit, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and being certified Gold by the RIAA.

On secondary charts, the song became a hit with a #1 peak (for 2 weeks) on the Adult Contemporary chart and a #4 peak on the R&B Chart. Internationally, the song performed well in the UK (peaking at #3) and hit the top twenty in a few other markets; but performed moderately in Australia (#28), Germany (#39), and Switzerland (#39). Remarkably, for the weeks on the Billboard chart ending March 13 and March 20, Houston had three 3 songs in the Top 11: "I Will Always Love You", "I'm Every Woman", and "I Have Nothing"; all from her "Bodyguard" soundtrack album which currently stands at 37 million copies sold.

Awards

The song received nominations for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and for a 1994 Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B Single - Female, although not winning either nomination.

Track listing

  1. "I Have Nothing"
  2. "All the Man That I Need"
  3. "Where You Are"
  4. "Lover for Life"

Music video

The music video (directed by Steve A. Barron), shows Houston performing the song to an audience in a dining room hall. The video is intercut with scenes from The Bodyguard.

Comprehensive charts

  • Debuted at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100
  • Was ranked #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end charts (1993)
  • Remained in the Billboard Hot 100 for 20 weeks
  • Was Houston's 9th #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay
  • Was Houston's 10th #1 single on the Billboard Adult Contemporary

Renditions

  • Christina Aguilera performed her own rendition of the song while appearing on the Mickey Mouse club
  • Jessica Simpson recorded a version of the song as a demo, it is so far only available on YouTube for people to hear it.
  • Britney Spears revealed on VH1's Behind The Music, that she recorded a demo of this song before she was signed to Jive Records.
  • Charice Pempengco, a Filipina international singer, recorded a version of the song for her debut album.
  • SunMin has a cover on her her mini-album COVER GIRL.
  • Jennifer Hudson drew herself huge attention after a fantastic rendition on the third season of American Idol.
  • Leona Lewis performed this song in one of the weeks at the competition she won, X Factor.
  • Frenchie Davis revealed that she was to sing the song as her next performance before being removed from American Idol season 2.

US

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Billboard Hot 100 4
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 4
Billboard Adult Contemporary 1
UK Singles Chart 3
ARIA Singles Chart 28
Canadian Hot 100 1
Dutch Singles Chart 23
German Singles Chart 39
Sweden Top 60 Singles 39
France Singles Chart 50