"Celebrate" is a song performed by American singers Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks. R. Kelly wrote and made the song for the Sparkle soundtrack, which is from the 2012 musical drama film with the same name. The film featured Houston and Sparks. RCA Records released "Celebrate" as the first official song from the soundtrack.
This was the last song Houston recorded before she passed away on February 11, 2012. It was officially released as Houston's first song released after her death on June 5, 2012, for digital download on iTunes and Amazon. The song first played on radio on May 21, 2012, on the show On Air with Ryan Seacrest.
The music video for the song was filmed on May 30, 2012, over two days by director Marcus Raboy. The video was first shown on BET's 106 & Park on June 27, 2012.
After its release, the song was successful. It reached the top ten on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs and Gospel Digital Song Sales charts. It also entered the top 40 on the Adult Contemporary and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. On the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, Houston had her 40th top 40 hit. The song was nominated for Best Song at the Black Reel Awards and won the Soul Train Music Award for Best Gospel/Inspirational Song at the 2012 ceremony.
Background and recording
From October to December 2011, Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks filmed their parts for the new version of the movie Sparkle in Detroit. That same year, Houston moved to RCA Records after her long-time record company, Arista, closed. RCA later received the rights to distribute and release the movie’s soundtrack, which Houston and Sparks both contributed to. The soundtrack was produced by R. Kelly. Houston recorded two songs for the soundtrack, including a version of "His Eye Is on the Sparrow."
In early 2012, Houston and Sparks were assigned the song "Celebrate," written by R. Kelly. While Kelly produced the song and Sparks’ vocals in Chicago, Houston traveled to Los Angeles in February to record the song with Harvey Mason Jr. as an associate producer. Houston recorded her vocals on February 7. Four days later, on February 11, Houston accidentally drowned in her hotel bathtub at The Beverly Hilton, one day before the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. Later, Sparks added extra vocal lines to the song and can be heard saying, "We miss you Whitney."
Release
RCA released the song as the first single from the movie's soundtrack on June 5, 2012, to online music stores like iTunes and Amazon.
The song was first played on U.S. radio on the show On Air with Ryan Seacrest one month earlier, on May 21, 2012.
Composition
"Celebrate" is a soul and R&B song with a medium pace, inspired by music from the 1960s. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard said the song is a very positive track that mixes Sparks' American Idol-winning singing with the voice of her idol. In the second verse, Houston sings: "Though we've been going through changes / Just trying to make it from day to day / Tonight, don't you worry about a thing / Just cast your cares away," then the chorus comes back.
Critical reception
The song "Celebrate" received praise from music critics. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard noted that the song is a very positive track that combines smoothly Jordin Sparks' American Idol-winning vocals with those of her idol.
Chart performance
For the week of June 16, 2012, the song "Celebrate" first appeared at number 34 on the Billboard Adult R&B Airplay chart. It later reached number 10 for the week of September 1, 2012. This made "Celebrate" Houston's 14th top ten single on that chart. At that time, Houston matched Toni Braxton and Alicia Keys for the second-highest number of top ten singles by a female artist on the chart.
During the same week, "Celebrate" also first appeared at number 84 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It reached its highest position at number 39. This was Houston's 40th top 40 R&B hit.
The song first appeared and reached its highest position at number 26 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. This made it Houston's 32nd top 40 hit on that chart.
Additionally, "Celebrate" reached number 9 on the Gospel Digital Song Sales chart. This made it Houston's 10th top ten single on that chart and Sparks' first top ten single on that chart.
Music video
The music video for "Celebrate" was filmed on May 30, 2012. It was shot over two days in downtown Los Angeles and directed by Marcus Raboy. A preview of the video first appeared on Entertainment Tonight on June 4, 2012. The video made its world premiere on BET's 106 & Park on June 27, 2012. Originally, the video was planned to include both Sparks and Houston. However, after Houston's unexpected passing, the plan was changed.
Sparks said, "When we made the song, we planned for Whitney and me to be in it. But she is not here, so we wanted to make it a tribute to her. The video is fun, upbeat, and exciting. It includes clips from the movie Sparkle and features the main cast, including me, Tika Sumpter, Carmen Ejogo, Derek Luke, Omari Hardwick, Goapele, and Mike Epps. The video shows people coming to my house to sing along to Whitney's music. It is a celebration of her life and a way to remember her."
In the video, Sparks hosts a house party with other cast members from Sparkle. Footage from the movie, especially scenes featuring Houston, is included throughout the video. Houston's scenes show her smiling in some clips and crying in others, highlighting her acting skills. The final image in the video is a picture of Houston from the film. The song "Celebrate" is dedicated to Houston's memory.
The video received positive reviews. Rebecca Ford from The Hollywood Reporter called it "a very positive and uplifting video." Sabrina Rojas Weiss from VH1 said, "For a while, we thought of Sparkle as a movie that made us sad about Whitney Houston. We probably weren’t alone." She added, "Releasing the video 'Celebrate' was a smart decision." Tanner Stransky from Entertainment Weekly praised the video, saying, "It feels triumphant that they completed the video without Whitney." Byron Flitsch from MTV.com said, "We love how the video includes a mix of movie scenes. The emotional, home-movie style honors Whitney's presence on screen."
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from Sparkle: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack liner notes.
- Recorded at The Chocolate Factory, Chicago, IL
- Mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, VA
- Lead vocals – Whitney Houston & Jordin Sparks
- Composition, Production, Arrangement, co-mixing, Keyboards & Additional Vocals – R. Kelly
- Vocal Production – Harvey Mason, Jr.
- Guitar – Donnie Lyle
- Bass – Bigg Makk
- Additional Keyboards – Bigg Makk, Rodney East
- Choir – Joan Collaso, Yvonne Gage, Pastor Chris Harris, Mike Harvey, Jeff Morrow, Lauren Pilot Morrow, Robin Robinson
- Recording & Programming – Ian Mereness, Abel Garibaldi
- Vocals Recorded by Andrew Hey at Mason Sound, North Hollywood, CA
- Assisted by Davad Boyd, Micheal Daley & Dabling Harward
- Engineering – John Hanes
- Assistant Engineer – Phil Seaford