'Whitney Houston' at 30: Classic Track-by-Track Review — billboard.com

Few debut albums launch artists from complete obscurity into the heights of cultural and commercial appreciation like Whitney Houston's 1985 eponymous set. Crafted under the careful eye of Arista Records' Clive Davis, the 10-song collection was the result of Davis' two-year voyage for tracks that served his ultimate vision: crossover between the R&B and pop markets. In 1985, Houston must have been a marketer's dream. The 21-year-old former model exuded the sprightly charm of the girl-next-door, but her out-of-this-world voice stunned audiences worldwide. With a few choice notes, the New Jersey native could silence full arenas. For Arista, however, Houston's biggest asset wasn't only that she could sing, but how she sang. At a given moment, Houston could churn a soulful hymn in the style of Aretha Franklin, deliver a smooth R&B groove in the vein of Chaka Khan or burst out with an upbeat pop anthem to rival Diana Ross. In many ways, Houston was the heir to each of these musical legacies, the descendant who finally united the sister strands of R&B and pop. That versatility was the essential ticket to her stardom.

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