Released February 25, 1988 Genre R&B
pop | Recorded 1986 Length 4:38 | |
B-side "Where You Are" "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful" Format CD single, Cassette single, 7" single | ||
"Where Do Broken Hearts Go" is the fourth single from Whitney Houston's second album, Whitney. The ballad was released in February 1988. The song was written by Frank Wildhorn and Chuck Jackson and produced by Narada Michael Walden. Wildhorn approached Jackson about the opportunity to write for Whitney Houston. He gave him the title, and Wildhorn completed the music and lyrics for the song.
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Initially, Houston did not want to record the song, feeling there was no special message to convey. In a 2000 interview, Houston jokingly reported that she initially "hated the song". However, Arista Records CEO Clive Davis believed the song would go to number one if she recorded it, so she agreed. It indeed became a number one, Houston's seventh consecutive number-one single in the United States.
Critical reception
Allmusic's Ron Wynn highlighted this track. Robert Hilburn described this song as a ballad "that raises questions without making you care about the answers."
Chart performance
"Where Do Broken Hearts Go", released off Whitney as the fourth single in February 1988, debuted at number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart in the issue dated February 27, 1988. Within four weeks of its release the single reached the top ten on the chart, and finally peaked at number one in the issue dated April 23, 1988 after nine weeks on the chart, making Houston the only artist in pop history with seven consecutive number-one hits. In addition, she became the first female artist to achieve four number-one singles from one album, Whitney. To date, only four other albums by women have yielded four Hot 100 number-one hits; Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl in 1988, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 in 1989, Mariah Carey's self-titled debut in 1990 and Katy Perry's Teenage Dream in 2010. Houston also had the most number-one hits (7) by a female artist in the 1980s, a feat equaled only by Madonna. The song topped the chart for two weeks, and spent 18 weeks on the chart. It entered the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (formerly "Hot Black Singles") at number 60, the issue date of March 5, 1988 and nine weeks later reached a peak of number two (behind "Nite and Day" by Al B. Sure!), becoming Houston's ninth R&B top five hit. On the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart, the single peaked at number one, the issue dated April 2, 1988, and remained there for three weeks, making it her sixth No. 1 single on the chart. It was ranked number 33 and 47, on the Billboard Top Pop and Top Black Singles year-end charts for 1988, respectively. The single also placed at number two on the Top Adult Contemporary Singles year-end chart of the same year. In Canada, the song entered RPM Top 100 Singles chart at number 76, the issue date of March 5, 1988, and peaked at number six on the chart on May 14, 1988, becoming Houston's eighth top ten hit in the country.
Worldwide, "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" was not as commercially successful as her previous singles from the album Whitney. The single debuted at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart, the week ending date of March 12, 1988, and three weeks later reached a peak of number 14 on the chart. In Ireland, it peaked at number two, the highest chart position of the song outside the United States. The song also reached number 48 in Australia, number 24 in Italy, number 47 in the Netherlands, and number 23 in New Zealand. The song was very popular in the Philippines, and it became one of the main focus of the 2014 indie romantic film That Thing Called Tadhana.
Music video
The music video (directed by Peter Israelson) features Houston breaking up with a boyfriend and reflecting on happy memories; asking herself the title question, "where do broken hearts go?" At the conclusion of the music video, the couple reunites.
Houston is depicted in various "glamour girl" shots throughout the video; Arista executives reportedly joked at the time, "there's her screen test", referring to rumors about Houston's Hollywood ambitions.
The video was moderately controversial since the ambiguous ethnic background of Houston's love interest highlighted the racial sensitivities that accompanied Houston's success during the 1980s. The singer had been criticized for "selling out" and "acting white". A mostly-black audience jeered when "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" was nominated for an award at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards.
Live Performances
Notable live performances include Houston's televised renditions at the 15th Annual American Music Awards on January 25, 1988, and at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute on July 18, 1988. From 1990 onward, Houston typically performed the song as part of her "Love Medley" during live concerts.