Whitney Houstons I Will Always Love You Tops 1 Billion Views on YouTube

 Posted on July 29, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  685 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Song becomes only fourth from the '90s to reach milestone

Whitney Houston’s Grammy-winning smash “I Will Always Love You” is the fourth song from the ’90s — and the first solo track from the decade — to join YouTube‘s billion-views club.

Originally written and recorded by Dolly Parton in 1973, the song was recorded and released by Houston in 1992. The Houston version of “I Will Always Love You” topped the charts in the early part of that decade after it was featured in “The Bodyguard,” in which Houston co-starred with Kevin Costner. Houston’s rendition spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is one of the bestselling singles of all time.

The Houston power ballad joins three other ‘90s favorites on YouTube’s billion-plus views list: Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain,” Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and the Cranberries’ “Zombie.”

In 2020, Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” has averaged over 350,000 views per day. The official YouTube channel for the singer, who died in 2012, currently has 5.33 million subscribers.

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Meanwhile, Houston’s 1987 hit “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” returned to the YouTube Top Songs chart this year in countries including the U.K., Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Ireland. Kygo’s reworking of Houston classic “Higher Love” in 2019 reached the YouTube Top Songs charts in over 30 markets globally.

Here’s the current list of the most-viewed songs from the ’90s, with 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up” nearing the billion-views mark:

1. Guns N’ Roses – November Rain: 1.45B views

2. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit: 1.14B views

3. The Cranberries – Zombie: 1.05B views

4. Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You: 1B views

5. 4 Non Blondes – What’s Up: 925M views

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