France Album Sales: Whitney Houston
Whitney (1987) Era
Back with her Whitney album in 1987, Whitney Houston confirmed her new status of global superstar with huge lead single I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me). The track was #1 in all major occidental markets – US, UK, Canada, Australia, Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, South Africa, Netherlands. All but France where the track failed to go higher than #15. It just go on to illustrate how tough to penetrate this market has always been. The album still responded rather well yet as it peaked at #6 one month after its #17 debut.
By the end of the summer the album went Gold, representing 100,000 units, before leaving charts in October. If both Didn’t We Almost Have It All and Where Do Broken Hearts Go topped US charts, they failed the Top 50 in France. The album wasn’t dead yet as the fourth US #1 single, So Emotional, took over in France in April 1988. Peaking at #21, it was enough to send Whitney back on Top 30 Album Chart for 18 weeks, with a top position that year of #14. Steady sales for so many months after the initial release led the album to 2xGold award, 200,000 units, in 1988 and Platinum, 300,000 units, after the end of the promotional campaign in late 1989.
In the meantime, 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics song One Moment In Time peaked at #8 in France, providing the artist her first Top 10 hit here, benefitting of its absence from Whitney Houston studio albums.
Top 3 Most Streamed Tracks on Spotify
- I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) – 60,709,000
- Where Do Broken Hearts Go – 6,468,000
- So Emotional – 4,395,000