I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) - Commercial Reception

Commercial Reception

"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" was released as the first single from Houston's second studio album, in April 1987. It entered the Billboard Hot 100, the issue dated May 16, 1987, at number 38, her highest debut in 1980s. Six weeks later, it reached the top spot of the chart, making it Houston's fourth number-one single in the United States, the issue date of June 27, 1987 ― the same day that Houston's album Whitney debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 (formerly "Top Pop Albums") the first time ever by a female artist. It remained there for two weeks, and spent 18 weeks on the chart. The song reached number one on the Hot 100 Single Sales chart for two weeks, and on the Hot 100 Airplay chart for three weeks, her longest run at that time. The single also peaked at number one on the Hot Adult Contemporary and the 12" remixed dance / club version by John "Jellybean" Benitez became Houston's first chart-topper on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play Songs, staying on the top position of the charts for three weeks and two weeks, respectively. In addition, it reached a peak of two on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (formerly "Hot Black Singles"), the issue date of July 4, 1987. On July 28, 1987, the single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipment of 1,000,000 copies of the single, becoming one of only three singles to reach that level in that year, and re-certified Platinum, making it Houston's first single to achieve that feat, for the same shipment on February 13, 1989, with the change of the RIAA certification criteria for singles. (The number of sales required to qualify for gold and platinum discs was higher prior to January 1, 1989. The thresholds were 1,000,000 units (gold) and 2,000,000 units (platinum), reflecting a decrease in sales of singles.) It placed at number four on the Billboard Year-End Top Pop Singles chart for 1987. In Canada, the song debuted at 74 on the RPM Top 100 Singles chart, the issue dated May 9, 1987, and reached the top of the chart on July 4, 1987. It was ranked second on the RPM Year-End Top 100 Singles chart for 1987. The single was later certified Gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) on February 29, 1988.

Internationally, the song was a massive hit, becoming her most successful single at the time. It reached number one in about 12 countries. The song debuted at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, the week ending date of May 23, 1987. Two weeks later, it reached number one on the chart, the week ending June 6, 1987, becoming her second UK number-one single. The single was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on August 1, 1987, for shipments of 400,000 copies. According to The Official Charts Company, it has sold 760,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The single also topped the singles chart in Belgium for three weeks, the Netherlands for four weeks, Germany for five weeks, Italy for a week, Norway for seven weeks, Sweden for six weeks and Switzerland for six weeks, and peaked inside top five in Austria and Ireland. This popularity of the song across Europe led to topping the European Hot 100 Singles chart for eight weeks. It became Houston's second number-one single on the Australian Kent Music Report chart, staying at the top for five weeks. The song also peaked at number one on the New Zealand Singles Chart and remained there for four weeks, making it Houston's first number-one single in the country. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" was a strong seller for its time, having sold 4.2 million copies worldwide; Houston's second best-selling single after "I Will Always Love You" with 12 million copies sold. After her death, the single returned to the Billboard Hot 100 debuting at number 35 the same week I Will Always Love You re-entered at number 7, giving Houston two posthumous Top 40 hits. As of May 2012 the song has sold over 2,179,000 copies in the US and as of June 2012, over 7.4 million World Wide making it her second best selling single behind I Will Always Love You 19,000,000.