Whitney: The Greatest Hits

The Essential
Review scores
AllMusic

Whitney: The Greatest Hits
Review scores
AllMusic
Entertainment Weekly	C+
Newsweek
New York Daily News	(First LP); (Second LP)
The Guardian
CANOE	Positive
USA Today
Billboard	Positive
NME
The Baltimore Sun

"Could I Have This Kiss Forever"
Whitney: The Greatest Hits
	File:Whitney Houston- Greatest Hits Cover.jpg
Greatest hits album by Whitney Houston
Released	May 16, 2000; (see release history)
Recorded	1984–March 2000
Genre	R&B; pop; soul;
Label	Arista
Producer	Clive Davis; Whitney Houston;
Whitney Houston chronology
Singles from Whitney: The Greatest Hits
	"Could I Have This Kiss Forever"; Released: July 25, 2000; "If I Told You That"; Released: August 8, 2000; "Same Script, Different Cast"; Released: October 10, 2000; "Fine"; Released: November 14, 2000;

Whitney: The Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American singer Whitney Houston, released in May 2000. The set consists of disc one with ballads and disc two with uptempo numbers and remixes. Houston's performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV, and 1988 Olympics tribute "One Moment in Time" are also included in the set. The collection includes four new songs—"Could I Have This Kiss Forever", duet with Enrique Iglesias, "If I Told You That", duet with George Michael, "Same Script, Different Cast", duet with Deborah Cox and "Fine"—all of which were released as singles. It also includes three other songs that had never appeared on a Houston album: "One Moment in Time", "The Star Spangled Banner", and "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful", a duet with Jermaine Jackson from his 1986 Precious Moments album. Along with the album, an accompanying VHS and DVD was released featuring the music videos to Houston's greatest hits, as well as several hard-to-find live performances including her 1983 debut on The Merv Griffin Show, and interviews.^[1]

Upon its release Whitney: The Greatest Hits was a commercial success, but it received mixed reviews from music critics. Many complained about the inclusion of remixes on disc two, instead of their original versions. It peaked within top ten in most European countries, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and received numerous platinum and multiplatinum awards.The IFPI also certified it three times platinum in 2000 for sales exceeding three million copies in Europe.

After Houston's passing in February 2012, it saw resurgence in sales and re-entered album charts in many countries in Europe and in North America. In the United States, it reached a new peak of number two on the Billboard 200. In July 2012, it was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales exceeding 2.5 million in the United States. Worldwide the album has sold an estimated twelve million copies to date.^[2]

In the United States, copies sold at Circuit City stores included a third disc containing new club remixes. Whitney: The Unreleased Mixes is a limited-edition four-record vinyl set, containing eight full club versions of selected remixes found on the American release. In June 2006, it was released digitally and re-titled Dance Vault Mixes: Whitney Houston – The Unreleased Mixes (Collector's Edition). In January 2011, the album was re-issued in Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand with the international track listing, but the set was re-titled as The Essential Whitney Houston, as part of Sony Legacy's The Essential series.^[3] In addition to the title change, the re-release also features different artwork. The cover picture of the original release was taken by David LaChapelle.^[4]

Critical reception

Upon its release, Whitney: The Greatest Hits received generally mixed reviews from music critics. CANOE reviewer Jane Stevenson felt that it is "a greatest hits package that makes good listening sense."^[10] Steve Huey from AllMusic showed his dissatisfaction with Arista's choice for the accompanying second disc included their remix instead of the original version, stating "the Greatest Hits disc amply reinforces once again what a fine singles artist Houston has been for the entirety of her career. Still and all, though, it's a frustrating package marred by record company greed."^[5] Unlike Huey, Jim Farber of New York Daily News rated the second disc more highly than the first which "recycles Houston's boring old ballads." He commented: "In her dance mixes, she exudes an erotic dynamism that no one else has the lung power to match. This album['s second disc] isn't just an ecstatic piece of party music ― it utterly redefines Houston as an artist."^[8] Newsweek's Allison Samuels wrote "No one of her generation sings with more character and conviction," giving the album four stars out of five.^[7] Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly commented harshly on the album: "To listen to the two discs is to hear the sound of a gift being squandered," advising her "Continually pursuing mega record sales at the expense of invention, Houston needs to exhale — to loosen up and put more shoop-shoop R&B into her creative life." A reviewer from The Guardian commented that "[disc two] is eminently more listenable. The likes of I Will Always Love You and Greatest Love of All weren't just a waste of one of the potentially great soul voices; they opened the door for Celine Dion. But Houston remembers her gospel and R&B roots often enough to counterbalance the slush with rootsier offerings like I'm Your Baby Tonight and It's Not Right But It's Okay. New duets with George Michael and (especially titanically) Enrique Iglesias complete a couple of hours of diva-style fun."^[9] Steve Jones form USA Today rated the album four stars out of four, commenting that "Whitney: The Greatest Hits [...] puts its subject in context by smartly arranging the material so it's easy to follow Whitney Houston's 15 year progression from ingenue to mature singer. [...] The set does its job well, encapsulating a career that's still a work in progress."^[11] Billboard called it "quite [a] stellar collection", adding that "timing couldn't be better for this [...] career retrospective."^[12] In contrast, according to NME "[t]he timing couldn't be worse. Issuing a double CD of Whitney Houston's finest moments was intended to shore up her rapidly eroding soul diva supremacy against the rising tide of clued-up, modern successors to her throne – Missy Elliott, Lauren Hill, Kelis."^[13] It rated the collection, however, five stars out of five.^[13] LA Weekly reviewed the collection negatively, stating that "it's damn near unlistenable. The first of the two discs is the Cool Down side, i.e., the ballads. One track slides too smoothly into the next, with Whitney's voice — so strong, so assured, so boring — anchoring saccharine production and even sappier songwriting. [...] The 'Throw Down' disc is filled with astonishingly bad dance remixes of old hits[.]"^[16] According to Ebony, "Whitney: The Greatest Hits reminds listeners of the enormous talent this artist demonstrated on "You Give Good Love" 15 years ago, how she has grown, and the fact she has a long career road ahead."^[17] Sonia Murray from Atlanta Journal and Constitution graded the album B+, commenting that "What makes Whitney Houston's first collection of hits great is her. Not the songs. [...] On the first CD there's her masterfully manipulated big pop confections ("I Will Always Love You"), the occasional, really soulful R&B tunes ("Saving All My Love for You") and new radio-ready duets with Whitney-in-training Deborah Cox and Latin smolderer Enrique Iglesias. The second CD of dance remixes is an appropriate nod to an artist who has held sway over so many genres. But without a gospel single from "The Preacher's Wife" soundtrack --- some of her most emotive work --- this isn't Whitney at her best."^[18] AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine felt that "The Essential Whitney Houston plays much like The Greatest Hits; even if it has a handful of songs not on the 2000 collection, it covers the same territory equally well and equally entertainingly."^[15] The Orlando Sentinel wrote that the "double album contains almost all of her hit singles from the past 15 years".^[19]

Commercial performance

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.In February 2012, following Houston's death, the album re-entered the Billboard 200 at number 6 with 64,000 copies sold.^[20] It sold 886,000 copies in 2012; all but 2,500 were sold after her death. The album had previously sold 1,738,000 copies prior to 2012.^[21]

In Canada, the album jumped up to number 3 with 7,800 copies sold.^[22] On February 29, Houston became the first woman to place three albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart at the same time (Whitney: the Greatest Hits at #2, The Bodyguard at #6 and Whitney Houston at #9).^[23] On March 7, 2012, Houston set two Billboard chart records; she became the second female artist after Adele to place two albums in the top five of the Billboard 200 with Whitney: The Greatest Hits at #2 and The Bodyguard at #5, and the first female to place nine albums within the top 100^[24](with Whitney: The Greatest Hits at #2, The Bodyguard at #5, Whitney Houston at #10, I Look to You at #13, Triple Feature at #21, My Love Is Your Love at #31, I'm Your Baby Tonight at #32, Just Whitney at #50 and The Preacher's Wife at #80).^[25]^[26]

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Whitney: The Greatest Hits was the 32nd global best-selling album of 2012 with sales of one million copies.^[27]

Track listings

North American release

Disc 1: Cool Down
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"You Give Good Love" (from Whitney Houston)	LaLa	Kashif	4:11
2.	"Saving All My Love for You" (from Whitney Houston)	Michael Masser, Gerry Goffin	Michael Masser	3:57
3.	"Greatest Love of All" (from Whitney Houston)	Michael Masser, Linda Creed	Michael Masser	4:54
4.	"All at Once" (from Whitney Houston)	Michael Masser, Jeffrey Osborne	Michael Masser	4:29
5.	"If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful" (Duet with Jermaine Jackson from his LP Precious Moments)	Elliot Willensky	Jermaine Jackson, Tom Keane	4:20
6.	"Didn't We Almost Have It All" (from Whitney)	Michael Masser, Will Jennings	Michael Masser	4:38
7.	"Where Do Broken Hearts Go" (from Whitney)	Frank Wildhorn, Chuck Jackson	Narada Michael Walden	4:38
8.	"All the Man That I Need" (from I'm Your Baby Tonight)	Dean Pitchford, Michael Gore	Narada Michael Walden	3:57
9.	"Run to You" (from The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album)	Allan Rich, Jud Friedman	David Foster	4:27
10.	"I Have Nothing" (from The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album)	David Foster, Linda Thompson	David Foster	4:53
11.	"I Will Always Love You" (from The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album)	Dolly Parton	David Foster	4:28
12.	"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" (from Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album)	Babyface	Babyface	3:25
13.	"Why Does It Hurt So Bad" (from Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album)	Babyface	Babyface	4:40
14.	"I Believe in You and Me" (from The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album)	David Wolfert, Sandy Linzer	Mervyn Warren, Whitney Houston	3:54
15.	"Heartbreak Hotel" (Featuring Faith Evans & Kelly Price (from My Love Is Your Love)	Carsten Schack, Kenneth Karlin, Tamara Savage	Soulshock & Karlin	4:06
16.	"My Love Is Your Love" (from My Love Is Your Love)	Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplessis	Wyclef Jean, Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	4:19
17.	"Same Script, Different Cast" (Duet with Deborah Cox) (Previously unrelased)	Anthony Crawford, Shae Jones, Stacey Dove Daniels, Montell Jordan	Shep Crawford	4:58
18.	"Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (Metro Mix) (duet with Enrique Iglesias) (previously unreleased)	Diane Warren	David Foster	3:55

Disc 2: Throw Down
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer / Remixer	Length
1.	"Fine" (Previously unreleased)	Raphael Saadiq, Kamaal Fareed	Raphael Saadiq, Q-Tip	3:35
2.	"If I Told You That" (Duet with George Michael)	Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Toni Estes	Rodney Jerkins (Additional production: George Michael)	4:33
3.	"It's Not Right but It's Okay" (Thunderpuss Mix) (B-side from "It's Not Right but It's Okay")	Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Isaac Phillips, Toni Estes	Rodney Jerkins / Thunderpuss 2000 (Chris Cox, Barry Harris)	4:15
4.	"My Love Is Your Love" (Jonathan Peters Mix) (B-side from "My Love Is Your Love")	Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplessis	Wyclef Jean, Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis / Jonathan Peters, Tony Coluccio	4:18
5.	"Heartbreak Hotel" (featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price) (Hex Hector Mix) (B-side from "Heartbreak Hotel")	Carsten Schack, Kenneth Karlin, Tamara Savage	Soulshock & Karlin / Hex Hector	4:20
6.	"I Learned from the Best" (HQ² Mix) (B-side from "I Learned from the Best")	Diane Warren	David Foster / Hex Hector, Mac Quayle	4:23
7.	"Step by Step" (Junior Vasquez Mix) (B-side from "Step by Step")	Annie Lennox	Stephen Lipson / Junior Vasquez	4:04
8.	"I'm Every Woman" (Clivilles & Cole Mix) (B-side from "I'm Every Woman")	Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson	Narada Michael Walden / Robert Clivilles, David Cole	4:30
9.	"Queen of the Night" (CJ Mackintosh Mix) (B-side from "Queen of the Night")	L.A. Reid, Babyface, Whitney Houston	L.A. Reid, Babyface, Whitney Houston, Daryl Simmons / CJ Mackintosh	3:45
10.	"I Will Always Love You" (Hex Hector Mix) (B-side from "My Love Is Your Love")	Dolly Parton	David Foster / Hex Hector	4:48
11.	"Love Will Save the Day" (Jellybean & David Morales Mix) (B-side from "Love Will Save the Day")	Toni C.	Jellybean / Jellybean, David Morales	5:06
12.	"I'm Your Baby Tonight" (Dronez Mix) (B-side from "I'm Your Baby Tonight")	L.A. Reid, Babyface	L.A. Reid, Babyface / The Dronez (aka Harry "Choo-Choo" Romero, José Nunez, Erick Morillo)	5:05
13.	"So Emotional" (David Morales Mix)	Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly	Narada Michael Walden / David Morales	3:57
14.	"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (Junior Vasquez Mix)	George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam	Narada Michael Walden / Junior Vasquez	4:24
15.	"How Will I Know" (Junior Vasquez Mix)	George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam, Narada Michael Walden	Narada Michael Walden / Junior Vasquez	4:09
16.	"Greatest Love of All" (Junior Vasquez Mix)	Michael Masser, Linda Creed	Michael Masser / Junior Vasquez	5:09
17.	"One Moment in Time" (from 1988 Summer Olympics Album)	Albert Hammond, John Bettis	Narada Michael Walden	4:47
18.	"The Star Spangled Banner" (live at Super Bowl XXV on January 27, 1991)	Francis Scott Key	Musical arrangement: John Clayton, Jr. featuring the Florida Orchestra	2:15

Circuit City bonus disc
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Greatest Love of All" (Club 69 Mix)	11:54
2.	"So Emotional" (David Morales Emotional Club Mix)	11:21

International and European edition

Disc 1: Cool Down
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Saving All My Love for You"	Michael Masser	3:57
2.	"Greatest Love of All"	Michael Masser	4:52
3.	"One Moment in Time"	Narada Michael Walden	4:46
4.	"I Have Nothing"	David Foster	4:51
5.	"I Will Always Love You"	David Foster	4:27
6.	"Run to You"	David Foster	4:27
7.	"You Give Good Love"	Kashif	4:11
8.	"All at Once"	Michael Masser	4:30
9.	"Where Do Broken Hearts Go"	Narada Michael Walden	4:38
10.	"If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful" (Duet with Jermaine Jackson)	Jermaine Jackson, Tom Keane	4:20
11.	"Didn't We Almost Have It All"	Michael Masser	4:38
12.	"All the Man That I Need"	Narada Michael Walden	3:56
13.	"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)"	Babyface	3:25
14.	"Count On Me" (Duet with CeCe Winans)	Babyface	4:27
15.	"I Believe in You and Me"	Mervyn Warren, Whitney Houston	3:55
16.	"I Learned from the Best"	David Foster	4:23
17.	"Same Script, Different Cast" (Duet with Deborah Cox)	"Shep" Crawford	5:00
18.	"Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (Metro Mix) (Duet with Enrique Iglesias)	David Foster	3:55

Disc 2: Throw Down
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"If I Told You That" (Duet with George Michael)	Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Tony Estes	Rodney Jerkins (Additional production: George Michael)	4:33
2.	"Fine"	Raphael Saadiq, Kamaal Fareed	Raphael Saadiq, Q-Tip	3:35
3.	"My Love Is Your Love"	Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplessis	Wyclef Jean, Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	4:18
4.	"It's Not Right But It's Okay"	Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Isaac Phillips, Tony Estes	Rodney Jerkins	4:49
5.	"Heartbreak Hotel" (Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price)	Carsten Schack, Kenneth Karlin, Tamara Savage	Soulshock & Karlin	4:35
6.	"Step by Step"	Annie Lennox	Stephen Lipson	4:12
7.	"Queen of the Night" (CJ Mackintosh Mix)	L.A. Reid, Babyface, Whitney Houston	L.A. Reid, Babyface, Whitney Houston, Daryl Simmons	3:46
8.	"I'm Every Woman"	Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson	Narada Michael Walden	4:45
9.	"Love Will Save the Day"	Toni C.	Jellybean	5:21
10.	"I'm Your Baby Tonight"	L.A. Reid, Babyface	L.A. Reid, Babyface	4:58
11.	"So Emotional"	Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly	Narada Michael Walden	4:32
12.	"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"	George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam	Narada Michael Walden	4:49
13.	"How Will I Know"	George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam, Narada Michael Walden	Narada Michael Walden	4:33
14.	"I Will Always Love You" (Hex Hector Mix)	Dolly Parton	David Foster / Remixed by Hex Hector	4:52
15.	"Greatest Love of All" (Club 69 Mix)	Michael Masser, Linda Creed	Michael Masser / Remixed by Peter Rauhofer	4:43
16.	"It's Not Right But It's Okay" (Thunderpuss Mix)	Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Isaac Phillips, Tony Estes	Rodney Jerkins / Thunderpuss 2000 (Chris Cox, Barry Harris)	4:16
17.	"I'm Your Baby Tonight" (Dronez Mix)	L.A. Reid, Babyface	L.A. Reid, Babyface / Remixed by the Dronez	5:03

DVD

Music videos
No.	Title	Director	Length
1.	"You Give Good Love"
2.	"Saving All My Love for You"
3.	"How Will I Know"
4.	"Greatest Love of All"
5.	"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"
6.	"Didn't We Almost Have It All"
7.	"So Emotional"
8.	"Where Do Broken Hearts Go"
9.	"I'm Your Baby Tonight"
10.	"All the Man That I Need"
11.	"The Star Spangled Banner" (live at Super Bowl XXV, 1/27/91)
12.	"I Will Always Love You"
13.	"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)"
14.	"I Believe in You and Me"
15.	"I'm Every Woman"
16.	"I Have Nothing"
17.	"Run to You"
18.	"Queen of the Night"
19.	"Step by Step"
20.	"Heartbreak Hotel"
21.	"My Love Is Your Love"
22.	"It's Not Right But It's Okay"
23.	"I Learned from the Best"

Bonus content
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Home" (Live on The Merv Griffin Show, 4/29/85)
2.	"Lover for Life" (A Concert for a New South Africa, 11/12/94)
3.	"One Moment in Time" (Live from the 1989 Grammy Awards)
4.	"My Love Is Your Love: The Making of an Album"
5.	"My Love Is Your Love" (Live from Mannheim, Germany, 1999)
6.	"Why Does It Hurt So Bad" (Live from the 1996 MTV Movie Awards)
7.	"It's Not Right But It's Okay" (from MTV All Access, 7/9/99)
8.	"Interviews with Whitney and Clive Davis"
9.	"Behind-the-scenes footage from the "Greatest Hits" photo shoot"
10.	"Song lyrics"

Whitney: The Unreleased Mixes

Whitney: The Unreleased Mixes
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"How Will I Know" (Junior Vasquez Mix)			7:38
2.	"Greatest Love of All" (Club 69 Mix)			11:54
3.	"I'm Every Woman" (Clivilles & Cole Every Woman's House/Club Mix)			10:21
4.	"Greatest Love of All" (Junior Vasquez Club Mix)			12:33
5.	"Love Will Save the Day" (Jellybean & David Morales 1987 Classic Underground Mix)			7:37
6.	"I Will Always Love You" (Hex Hector Club Mix)			9:56
7.	"So Emotional" (David Morales Emotional Club Mix)			11:21
8.	"I'm Your Baby Tonight" (Dronez Mix)			8:33
Total length:				1:19:52

Promotional concerts

Following the release of her Greatest Hits album, Houston promoted it by performing three sold-out shows at Caesars in Atlantic City from June 30 to July 3, 2000.^[28] She performed an additional date during the fall on November 10, at the Aladdin Theater in Las Vegas, with husband at that time, Bobby Brown opening the show.^[29] Brown performed a few of his hit songs, both performers closed the show singing their hit duet, "Something in Common".

Set list

Bobby Brown

November 10

"My Prerogative"

"That's the Way Love Is"

"Roni"

"Rock Wit'cha"

"Every Little Step"

"Get Away"

"Don't Be Cruel"

Whitney Houston

"Get It Back"

"If I Told You That"

"Heartbreak Hotel"

Medley: "Saving All My Love for You"/"Until You Come Back"

"I Learned from the Best"

"Step by Step"

"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"

"How Will I Know"

"I Love the Lord"¹

"I Go to the Rock"¹

Medley: "I Believe in You and Me"/"Why Does It Hurt So Bad"/"It Hurts Like Hell" (contain excerpts from "The Glory of Love")

"I Will Always Love You"

"Blessed Assurance"²

"My Love Is Your Love" (with Bobby Brown)¹

"Something in Common" (with Bobby Brown)¹

¹performed only in Las Vegas, Nevada
²only performed at the July 3, concert

Dates

Date	City	Venue
June 30, 2000	Atlantic City, New Jersey	Caesars Atlantic City
July 1, 2000
July 3, 2000
November 10, 2000	Las Vegas, Nevada	Aladdin Theater

Personnel

Nick Ashford — composer
Babyface — composer, producer, executive producer
John Bettis — composer
Toni C. — composer
Anne Catalino — engineer
John Clayton — arranger
Robert Clivillés — mixing
David Cole — mixing
Tony Coluccio — mixing
Chris Cox — mixing
Deborah Cox — performer, vocals, vocals (background)
Shep Crawford — composer, conductor, instrumentation, producer, vocal arrangement
Linda Creed — composer
LaShawn Daniels — composer
Stacey Daniels — composer
Dave Darlington — mixing
Clive Davis — executive producer, producer
Jon Douglas — mixing
Dronez — remixing
Jerry Duplessis — composer, producer
Peter Edge — A&R
Toni Estes — composer
Faith Evans — performer, vocals
Kamaal Fareed — composer, producer
Raul Flores — assistant engineer

David Foster — arranger, composer, producer
Jud J. Friedman — composer
Gerry Goffin — composer
Martin Gore — composer
Hosh Gureli — A&R
Albert Hammond — composer
Hex Hector — mixing
Whitney Houston — composer, executive producer, liner notes, producer, vocal arrangement, vocals
Enrique Iglesias — performer, vocals
Chuck Jackson — composer
Jermaine Jackson — performer, producer, vocals
Wyclef Jean — composer, producer
Jellybean — mixing, producer
Will Jennings — composer
Rodney Jerkins — composer, instrumentation, producer
Shae Jones — composer, vocals (background)
Montell Jordan — composer
K. Karlin — composer, arranger, producer
Kashif — arranger, producer
Tom Keane — producer
Tom Kelly — composer
Francis Scott Key — composer
Eric Kupper — keyboards
Lala Brothers — composer
Annie Lennox — composer

Amy Linden — liner notes
Sandy Linzer — composer
Steve Lipson — mixing, producer
George O. Luksch — overdubs
C.J. Mackintosh — mixing, producer
Joe Mardin — conductor
Michael Masser — composer, producer
Al McDowell — bass, guitar
George Merrill — composer
George Michael — performer, producer
Peter Mokran — mixing
David Morales — mixing
Erick "More" Morillo — mixing
Mya — liner notes
Keith Naftaly — A&R
Jose Nunez — mixing
Jeffrey Osborne — composer
Dolly Parton — composer
Jonathan Peters — mixing
Isaac Phillips — composer
Dean Pitchford — composer
Kelly Price — performer, vocal arrangement, vocals
Mac Quayle — engineer, keyboards, mixing, programming
Peter Rauhofer — producer, remixing
Brian Rawling — mixing, re-produced, reproduction

L.A. Reid — composer, producer
Allan Rich — composer
Harry "Choo Choo" Romero — mixing
Shannon Rubicam — composer
Raphael Saadiq — composer, producer
T. Savage — composer
C. Schack — composer
Jamie Seyberth — tracking
Daryl Simmons — composer, producer
Dexter Simmons — remixing
Valerie Simpson — composer
John Stafford Smith — composer
Soulshock — arranger, producer
Billy Steinberg — composer
Ren Swan — mixing engineer
Mark Taylor — mixing, re-produced, reproduction
Linda Thompson-Jenner — composer
Thunderpuss — remixing
Lenny Underwood — keyboards
Junior Vasquez — mixing
Narada Michael Walden — producer
Diane Warren — composer
Mervyn Warren — producer
Frank Wildhorn — composer
Elliot Willensky — composer
Jay Williams — guitar
David Wolfert — composer

Charts

Chart positions

Chart (2000)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart^[30]	8
Austrian Albums Chart^[31]	3
Belgian Albums Chart (Vl)^[32]	2
Belgian Albums Chart (Wa)^[33]	2
Canadian Albums Chart^[34]	4
Danish Albums Chart^[35]	2
Dutch Albums Chart^[36]	2
European Top 100^[37]	2
Finnish Albums Chart^[38]	7
French Albums Chart^[39]	2
German Albums Chart^[40]	2
Hungarian Albums Chart^[41]	7
Italian Albums Chart^[42]	4
Irish Albums Chart^[43]	1
Japanese Albums Chart^[44]	3
Malaysian Albums Chart^[45]	8
New Zealand Albums Chart^[46]	9
Norwegian Albums Chart^[47]	6
Spanish Albums Chart^[48]	4
Swedish Albums Chart^[49]	4
Swiss Albums Chart^[50]	2
UK Albums Chart^[51]	1
U.S. Billboard 200^[52]	5
U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop Albums^[53]	3
Chart (2006)	Peak position
Spanish Albums Chart^[54]	90
Chart (2012)	Peak position
Argentine Albums Chart^[55]	9
Australian Albums Chart^[56]	3
Austrian Albums Chart^[57]	42
Croatian Albums Chart^[58]	32
Danish Albums Chart^[59]	10
French Albums Chart^[60]	9
Italian Albums Chart^[61]	29
Mexican Albums Chart^[62]	79
New Zealand Albums Chart^[63]	18
Norwegian Albums Chart^[64]	11
Portuguese Albums Chart^[65]	17
Swiss Albums Chart^[66]	14
UK Albums Chart^[67]	7
UK R&B Albums Chart^[68]	2
U.S. Billboard 200^[69]	2
U.S. Catalog Albums^[69]	1
Chart (2015)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200^[70]	133

The Essential

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart^[71]	7
Austrian Albums Chart^[71]	29
Canadian Albums Chart^[72]	3
Croatian Albums Chart^[73]	17
Czech Albums Chart^[74]	22
Danish Albums Chart^[71]	26
French Albums Chart^[71]	56
German Albums Chart^[75]	20
Greek Albums Chart^[76]	46
Irish Albums Chart^[77]	7
Italian Albums Chart^[78]	21
Mexican Albums Chart^[62]	16
New Zealand Albums Chart^[71]	18
Polish Albums Chart^[79]	42
South African Albums Chart^[80]	3
South Korean Albums Chart^[81]	11
Swiss Albums Chart^[71]	15
UK Albums Chart^[82]	7
UK R&B Albums Chart^[83]	2

Year-end charts

Chart (2000)	Position
Australian Albums Chart^[84]	63
Austrian Albums Chart^[85]	31
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)^[86]	18
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)^[87]	10
Dutch Albums Chart^[88]	32
Swedish Albums Chart^[89]	19
Swiss Albums Chart^[90]	24
UK Albums Chart^[91]	10
U.S. Billboard 200^[92]	81
U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop Albums^[93]	77
Chart (2012)	Position
Australian Urban Albums^[94]	27
U.S. Billboard 200^[95]	18
Chart (2012) The Essential	Position
Australian Urban Albums^[94]	20
South Korean International Albums^[96]	37

Decade-end charts

Chart (2000–2009)	Position
UK Albums Chart	48

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by Play by Moby	Irish Albums Chart number-one album May 15, 2000 – June 11, 2000	Succeeded by Play by Moby
Preceded by Reload by Tom Jones	UK Albums Chart number-one album May 27, 2000 – June 9, 2000	Succeeded by Crush by Bon Jovi

Certifications