"So Emotional" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston. It was released as the third single from her second studio albumWhitney on October 12, 1987 by Arista Records. The song was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. Commercially, it peaked at number five in the UK and number one in the Billboard Hot 100, where it became her sixth consecutive number one, and a dance chart hit. It would become the sixth best charting song of 1988, and was the fourth most played song on the club charts; it is her sixth biggest hit on the Hot 100 chart.
Composition
"So Emotional" was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, who also penned Madonna's "Like a Virgin," Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors," Heart's "Alone," and The Bangles "Eternal Flame," all of which reached #1 on the charts. The song centers on Houston loving being in love, singing, "I get so emotional baby / Every time I think of you / I get so emotional baby / Ain't it shocking what love can do."
Critical reception
Allmusic editor Ron Wynn highlighted this track. Vince Aletti of Rolling Stone wrote: "Walden covers all these bases, out-hopping Kashif with "So Emotional." St. Petersburg Times Eric Snider and Annelise Wamsley wrote: "`So Emotional,`` the record's token rock offering, is hollow and contrived, as if the trumped-up power guitars are supposed to give the song some guts."
Chart performance
At this time Houston already had a string of five consecutive number-one hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. "So Emotional" reached the top of the chart in January 1988, giving her six consecutive number-one singles, putting her in a three-way tie with The Beatles and The Bee Gees. It made its debut at number 47 on October 31, 1987 and after 11 weeks became the first number-one of 1988, eventually receiving gold certification. The single remained in the Top 40 for 14 weeks, and also reached number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart. "So Emotional" was ranked sixth on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end charts. The song has sold over 1.7 million copies worldwide. In the United Kingdom and France the song was remixed by Shep Pettibone when released as a single and peaked at #5 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1987, remaining in the chart for 11 weeks. Elsewhere the single performed moderately well reaching 21 in France, 26 in Australia and 30 in Switzerland.
Additional engineers – Lincoln Clapp, Gordon Lyon, Jay Rifkin, Ken Kessie, Maureen Droney
Additional assistant engineers – Gordon Lyon, Stuart Hirotsu, Paul "Goatee" Hamingson, Noah Baron, Bill "Sweet William" Miranda, Ross Williams, Rob Beaton
