I Learned from the Best

Houston's collaborations with Diane Warren were sporadic at best. Their first collaboration was the 1989 star-studded duet between Houston and longtime family friend Aretha Franklin with the new jack swing song, "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be". That duet was a moderately successful hit that won the pair a Grammy Award nomination.^[3]

In 1996, Warren wrote the sentimental ballad "You Were Loved", to which Houston recorded for the soundtrack to The Preacher's Wife. But it would be while recording the My Love Is Your Love album that Warren would heavily contribute in composition.

"I Learned From the Best" would be one of three songs where Warren wrote for the album. Lyrically, the song is about a woman refusing to return to an ex, reminding him of the times he broke her heart and how she would take him back, now telling him she can do the same to him ("I learned from the best / I learned from you").

Produced by longtime collaborator David Foster, Houston actually was hands-on with the song, at one point asking Foster, who once produced hits for the rock band Chicago, to "add some Chicago horns on [this song]."^[4] Houston was the vocal arranger and provided background vocals herself.

"I Learned From the Best" is a pop and R&B song with elements of pop rock. It has a slow tempo with 84 beats per minute.^[5] The song starts in the key of G♯ minor and then shifts to A minor near the end.^[5] Houston's vocal range on the song spans from the low note of D♯₃ to the high note of C₅.^[5] Besides the key shift, the song is known for Houston holding a long soprano note at the end at around 12 seconds long.

The song received favorable reviews from music critics. Nekesa Mumbi Moody from Associated Press said it "sound decent with her pipes".^[6] Billboard constated that it is "a song that has most-added stamped all over it," writing further, "Written by the ultimate pop/R&B scribe of the 1990s, Diane Warren, this gorgeous ballad will take fans old and new to that sacred territory that Whitney established back in the years of classics like "Saving All My Love for You" and "All the Man That I Need". But make no mistake; the Houston of today is a fully seasoned, well-traveled diva, leaving the wannabes in scattered remains with this spine-chilling performance. You'll be throwing your hands in the air over the wisdom she's gained in this tale of the strong woman who's breaking bad with her lessons about heartbreak. Producer/arranger David Foster, meanwhile, puts forth all that he's learned in the past two decades with a forceful instrumental package that borrows from his days of commandeering the horns-heavy Chicago through its comeback in the early 1980s. The three together—Houston, Warren, and Foster—simply can't miss in this stellar effort that brings together the best of their talents".^[7]

Sonia Murray from Cox News Service viewed the song as a "by-the-numbers big ballad".^[8] Henrik Bæk from Danish Gaffa noted it as a "typical Whitney ballad".^[9] Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel described it as a "classy David Foster-produced" song, and added that Houston is "predictably stately".^[10] Christopher Tkaczyk from The Michigan Daily said in his review of My Love Is Your Love, that the song a "heart-racing R&B track".^[11] Sun-Sentinel picked the song as the "one truly satisfying song" on the album, noting it as "an unassuming ballad".^[12]

"I Learned from the Best" became the fifth and final single to be released from the album. In the United Kingdom, it was issued on November 29, 1999,^[13] while in the United States, it was released in 2000. The song debuted at number eighty-three on the Hot 100 and peaked at number twenty-seven.^[14][15] It reached the number thirteen on the Hot R&B Singles & Tracks.^[16] According to the Nielsen SoundScan, the single sold 500,000 units in the United States and certified Gold. Outside the US, the song topped the charts in Romania and Poland. The single reached number three in Iceland, number six in Finland,^[17] number eight in Spain,^[18] number ten in Hungary and number nineteen in the United Kingdom with 95,000 copies sold.^[19][20] Besides, it went to the top forty in the Netherlands,^[21] Sweden,^[22] and Switzerland.^[23]

The accompanying music video for "I Learned from the Best", directed by Kevin Bray, features Houston giving a concert performance of the song to a small intimate audience, as a man—presumably the ex-lover referenced in the song—watches with regret. It was filmed in October 1999 and world-premiered on November 2, 1999 on MTV's Making the Video.^[24]

Note: The Junior Vasquez Disco mix is unique in that Houston re-recorded her vocals for this version.^[25]

• Number-one dance hits of 2000 (USA)
• List of Romanian Top 100 number ones of the 2000s