I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston died on February 11, 2012, a day before the Grammy Awards was to take place.^[2] The day of her death, Houston was set to attend Clive Davis's pre-Grammy party at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. Davis turned his party into a tribute to Houston though he received criticism from not outright cancelling the event.^[3]

Following her death, her record sales spiked. For the next ten months following, Houston would sell over eight million records worldwide. For the weeks of March 3 and 10, 2012, Houston made history as the first female artist to have ten albums charting simultaneously on the Billboard 200 and also became the first female artist to have three albums inside the top ten of the same chart, earning posthumous notices from Guinness World Records. While Taylor Swift later broke the records in 2023, Houston still holds the record as a posthumous artist.

That November, the Recording Academy announced it would air an hourlong Grammy tribute to Houston titled We Will Always Love You: A Grammy Salute to Whitney Houston on CBS. The special event coincided with the upcoming release of Houston's first posthumous compilation album, I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston.

Up until her death, Houston had released four compilation albums, with three released internationally and a fourth, Whitney: The Greatest Hits (2000), being the only Houston compilation released in the United States. The compilation was released on November 13, 2012 by RCA Records, Houston's label at the time of her death.

The CD version of the album initially featured sixteen of her hit singles spanning from 1985 and 1999 and two unreleased tracks, the Jermaine Dupri-produced "Never Give Up", a leftover song from the I Look to You sessions, and a duet rendition of Houston's 2009 comeback hit, "I Look to You" with its writer R. Kelly.

In addition, on digital and streaming services, the album was re-released as a double album with virtually every other hit single in her career, outside the singles from Houston's 2002 album, Just Whitney. It had already been released as a two-disc album outside the US in its initial release.

The tracks featured on I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston appear either as their original album versions or as radio edits, in contrast with Whitney: The Greatest Hits, which featured many of Houston's hits in remixed form. The album also included new liner notes written by Clive Davis. Internationally, the compilation was released in both standard and deluxe versions.^[4][5] In North America, the album was issued as a single-disc release, which contains the same track listing as disc one of the international deluxe edition. An alternate two-disc edition of the album was released in North America available only through HSN. This version contains the standard 18-track version of the album and a second disc comprising five duets Houston recorded with other artists.

The Kelly duet version of "I Look to You" was released as a single on September 25, 2012 as the sole single from the album.^[6] On November 6, 2012, "Never Give Up" was released as a lyric video on Whitney Houston's official YouTube channel.^[7]

At the 2013 44th NAACP Image Awards, the album won two awards in the 'Outstanding Album' and 'Outstanding Song' categories, the latter of which was for "I Look To You".

In 2021, Houston's official website announced that the album would be released on vinyl on October 29. The reissue excluded the Kelly duet version of "I Look to You", replacing it with the solo Houston version, following Kelly's conviction of child abuse charges.

The double vinyl includes an additional track, the 2019 remix of "Higher Love" by Norwegian DJ Kygo.^[8] The original version of "Higher Love" first appeared as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of Houston's third studio album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990).

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AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine described I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston as a posthumous compilation that focuses on Houston's biggest hits, with particular emphasis on her acclaimed ballads and dramatic vocal performances. While noting the inclusion of upbeat hits such as "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)," "So Emotional," "I'm Your Baby Tonight," and "How Will I Know," he observed that the collection favors her more emotional and romantic recordings. Erlewine considered the album a representative overview of Houston's career and concluded that it successfully captures her artistry and enduring appeal as a vocalist.^[9] Writing for Slant Magazine, Sal Cinquemani found that the album effectively showcases Houston's greatest hits and exceptional vocal talent, but argued that the inclusion of later recordings alongside her classic performances highlights the decline of her voice, making the compilation both a celebration of her legacy and a reminder of her tragic decline.^[10]

The week of its release, the album peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums. Following the return of the Top R&B Albums chart on the week of January 26, 2013, the album landed and peaked at number 8 on that chart. On March 3, 2020, the album was certified gold by the RIAA for selling over 500,000 copies, becoming the eleventh consecutive record from Houston to do so.^[11] The duet version of "I Look to You" became a hit on various Billboard charts, reaching number 90 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, giving Houston her career 46th chart entry. On the Adult R&B Songs chart, the same song registered at number 29, becoming Houston's 26th entry on that chart. The song found bigger success on the gospel charts, debuting at number one on the Gospel Digital Songs chart on the week of October 13, 2012, where it stayed for a week becoming Houston's fourth number one single on that chart.

As of September 19, 2026^[update], the album has spent 284 weeks on the Billboard 200 and counting and is her longest charting album ever on the chart.^{[12][1][13][14][15]} It is also the longest charting female compilation in the history of the Billboard 200, replacing H.E.R.'s 2017 compilation as the longest charting female compilation of all time on the chart on the week of February 24, 2024, where it charted for 181 weeks.^[16][17] It is also currently the longest-charting female greatest hits compilation after it surpassed Madonna's The Immaculate Collection after reaching 149 weeks for the week of May 27, 2023.^[18]

On the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, it has spent a cumulative total of 65 weeks while on the Top R&B Albums chart, it has spent a cumulative record-setting 339 weeks on the chart so far.^[1][19]

In the UK, it peaked at number 13 for the week of 19 January 2023 and has been certified double platinum for selling over 600,000 copies and has spent a total 273 cumulative weeks so far on the chart, making it her second longest charting album in that country after The Ultimate Collection and one of the 100 longest charting albums in UK music history.^[20][21] Initially charting for the first eight weeks of its release before the re-emergence of Houston's previous compilation, The Ultimate Collection between the weeks of 1 December 2012 and 19 January 2013, the album returned to the chart for the week of 26 August 2021 and has since spent 265 consecutive weeks on the chart, including 251 weeks inside the top 75.^[21]

For the week of 10 May 2024, the compilation achieved a 150th cumulative week on the chart. In achieving this, Houston joined a handful of recording artists who sent multiple albums on the UK OCC Albums chart for 150 or more weeks.^[22]

The album peaked at number 25 on the Irish Albums chart and has spent 164 weeks on that chart so far.

The album hit No. 1 on the OLiS albums chart in Poland in 2018 and has been certified platinum in the region.

In New Zealand, the album peaked at number 29 and later was certified platinum in that country.