Original Album Sales – Comments
1985 Whitney Houston – 21,900,000
1987 Whitney – 19,800,000
1990 I’m Your Baby Tonight – 9,900,000
1992 The Bodyguard – 41,100,000
1996 The Preacher’s Wife – 5,300,000
1998 My Love Is Your Love – 10,400,000
2002 Just Whitney… – 1,900,000
2003 One Wish: The Holiday Album – 900,000
2009 I Look to You – 2,400,000
It is difficult to define a pattern or even an average for Whitney Houston’s album sales considering how diverse their fortunes have been. Out of the 9 records listed above, two are soundtracks featuring songs by other artists – more on next page about this – and one is a Christmas album. Plus, her latter albums sold fairly low amounts in comparison to her earlier sets.
Nevertheless, a total of 113,6 million over 9 album represents a pretty healthy average of 12,6 million per album. Obviously owning a 41-million seller helps. The Bodyguard confirms its status of gigantic smash by being quite simply the highest selling album studied so far, eclipsing the previous mark of 38,1 million registered by another classic soundtrack, Grease. Its lead is rather impressive with a 3 million gap, plus a 10 million gap over the 5th biggest album met up to now – list below:
1 1978 Soundtrack – Grease – 38,100,000
2 1971 Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV – 36,800,000
3 1977 Fleetwood Mac – Rumours – 35,500,000
4 1997 Shania Twain – Come On Over – 33,500,000
5 1987 Guns N’ Roses – Appetite For Destruction – 30,900,000
As with every monster success, it makes flops look even bigger. Shifting 108,4 million across her first sex 80s-90s albums, Whitney Houston took a massive hit with 2002 album Just Whitney, an album that has yet to reach 2 million units and arguably one of the biggest bombs of all-time for the music industry. While I Look to You had started to turn things to a more positive side after a terrible decade, the final whisper of the singer prevented us from getting additional chapters.
MJD, If Waiting To Exhale Soundtrack wasn’t included in Whitney’s Albums, can you still have study on it at least?
You mean to tell me she didn’t sell anything in africa. When she had 3 successful concerts in africa??
Where is it stated she sold nothing in Africa exactly? 😉
Well where are her sales for africa then?
They’re just now shown in the breakdown but they are taken into account. Africa + Middle Eastern sales should be around 1.6m
MJD, Can you please update this article?
Because it’s really needed since her Higher Love Single and now
Whitney Album turns to Diamond in US:
https://news.yahoo.com/whitney-houston-makes-history-3rd-111409063.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cDovL20uZmFjZWJvb2suY29tLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGmr2spsrG8ISrQkv3ksMwHofdx73RXd1r1AqfriA6UnvHYEgCzQ2Zw-HwwQuX8QaiG-xMczTPkcLcaL4f_poV4Zn_Hln7PAUahS60Do_FfI21x8rs6TPJB9OsVF1mi9W15IfZlGAu2GdG1KUcT7lDexSSI0hO_n-dgVcCgrQPof
The ‘Whitney’ album has finally gone diamond! The first African American artist to ever have 3 diamond albums in the US
This needs to be updated. I know for a fact she has sales in Africa!!
Please update Whitney’s discography. We wait for so long
Her appeal in Europe surprises me. 40 million albums sold there is very impressive. Even during her most R&B era “My Love Is Your Love,” that album sold an impressive 4 million copies in Europe.
Her latest hit “Higher Love” did best in Europe and was a true hit for her. Europeans have stayed loyal to Whitney no matter what.
This needs to be updated. I know for a fact she has sales in Africa.
Higher love sold more than 2 million in 2019.. it is still in UK chart on it’s 47th week. Her Ultimate album is in the top 40 again in UK after what 7- 8 yrs in the chart? it is gonna be 6x platinum in us soon, Whitney’s second album will be diamond in US soon, I read somewhere only less than 50k needed to be certified 10x platinum . and her first album is almost 14x olatinum if that happens, whitney will have 3 diamond albums. This is from world music 1994 award whitney was the biggest selling female… Read more »