Queen of the Night (song)


"Queen of the Night" is a song co-written and performed by American singer Whitney Houston. It was the fifth and final single released from the soundtrack album ', and is played during the closing credits of the film of the same name.
"Queen of the Night" is an uptempo pop rock/dance number, with Houston expressing how she "rules the club scene", proclaiming herself "queen of the night". "Queen of the Night" was released to US radio in November 1993 and peaked at number 36 on the Hot 100 Airplay and number 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, becoming Houston's fifth number 1 dance single. Due to Billboard's charting requirements at that time, singles without a commercial release were ineligible to chart on the 'Billboard Hot 100. The single was released in several other countries and peaked at number 14 in the UK.

Critical reception

The song received mixed to negative reviews from the music critics.
Chris Willman of the L.A. Times assessed the song negatively: "The only obvious dud is 'Queen of the Night,' a silly stab at hard-rock that's almost a dead ringer for En Vogue's "Free Your Mind", particularly where her vocals are multi tracked." The New York Times's Stephen Holden gave a similar review: "Only 'Queen of the Night,' a run-of-the-mill dance tune, below par." A positive review came from AllMusic, which called it "a first-rate urban pop song that skillfully captures Houston at her best." James Hunter from Vibe noted that "Queen of the Night" "lets CJ Mackintosh replace LA & Babyface's guitar slams with snare-happy waves of glowing rhythm that add up to disco for a generation that's unsure whether disco is nostalgic or eternal." Popdose compared its production to Janet Jackson's "Black Cat."
CD Universe's review was also positive: "Elsewhere Houston continues to mine her rich vein of ornate balladry and pop-flavored dance workouts, on her own 'Queen Of The Night,' with its percolating upbeat production a la L.A. Reid & Babyface." USA Today writer James T. Jones IV. called this song a surprise, "rocking" tune.

Music video

The music video for "Queen of the Night" is the full performance Houston gives in the motion picture The Bodyguard. In the film, the performance is interrupted by violence.

Live performances

In live performances by Houston, the song's arrangement was faithful to the 1993 CJ Mackintosh remix, which was used during Houston's The Bodyguard World Tour and also for her performance at the 1994 Soul Train Music Awards.

Track listings

;Japan CD single
  1. "Queen of the Night" – 3:21
  2. "Queen of the Night" – 3:06
;UK CD maxi-single
  1. "Queen of the Night" – 3:21
  2. "Queen of the Night" – 6:35
  3. "Queen of the Night" – 9:35
  4. "Queen of the Night" – 5:21
  5. "Queen of the Night" – 5:21
;UK Cassette single
  1. "Queen of the Night" – 3:13
  2. "Queen of the Night" – 3:06
Other versions
  1. "Queen of the Night" – 4:04
  2. "Queen of the Night" – 3:46

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
US Dance/Club Play Singles38

Popular culture

This song was covered by American Idol contestant Haley Scarnato in 2006. This song was covered during Australian singer Delta Goodrem's Believe Again Tour at various locations throughout Australia in 2009. The 2009 X Factor contestants also performed this song on Sunday, October 18, 2009 as a group performance. Contestant Stacey Solomon, who came third, performed this song on The X Factor Live Tour 2010. The independent, web-based, electronic/dubstep artist known as Futret released a remix/crossover-cover of the song in early February 2012. The song is also mentioned in the show Bob's Burgers, the episode in which the character Gene talks to an expensive talking toilet, who can answer any of your questions. Gene asks "Who is the queen of the night?" and the toilet responds saying "Whitney Houston". The song was covered by Monika Linkytė in week two of "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka.
Madame Tussauds Hollywood's wax figure of Houston depicts her performance of the title song in the bodyguard.