It sounds impossible, but that's the magic of it. On Thursday, a new Whitney Houston song arrives 13 years after her death, and English singer Calum Scott is responsible. The single is a duet between Scott and Houston, a balladic reinterpretation of the timeless "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)," using Houston's original vocal stems. (Stems are the individual musical elements that, when combined, make up a song.) "It wasn't even something I could have dreamt as a possibility, and the fact that I'm getting to do it is, geez, one of the honors of my career," Scott told the AP. Houston's voice is one that soundtracked his childhood—courtesy of his mom—and he refers to Houston as one of the most influential performers in his life and the lives of many. "Timeless," he describes her.
Such an undertaking couldn't be possible without the approval of a number of parties. Specifically, it required Pat Houston, Whitney's sister-in-law and the executor of her estate, and Primary Wave, which acquired the copyrights to hit Whitney Houston songs in a 2022 deal. Pat Houston says the idea for Scott's version actually came from Primary Wave. They were familiar with Scott's live cover version of the song from his stint opening for Ed Sheeran in 2024. On that tour, Scott stripped the 1987 classic down into a ballad, blending it with Robyn's "Dancing On My Own."
After hearing what Scott could do with the song—taking it from its up-tempo pop spirit to a big-hearted ballad, while also taking into consideration that 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of Houston's music career—Pat Houston was on board. It was yet another opportunity for celebration. "I said, you know what, this is a no-brainer. This is the Houston style. So, let's go with this," she said. "Whitney was a balladeer and that's why we all fell in love with her," she continued. "And Calum turned the song into a beautiful ballad." More here.
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