"Love That Man" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston. It was written by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Rob Fusari, Calvin Gaines, Eritza Laues, Bill Lee, and Balewa Muhammad for her fifth studio album Just Whitney (2002), with production helmed by Edmonds and Fusari. The song was released as the album's fourth and final single on May 20, 2003 by Arista Records. Commissioned as a remix single in the United States, Peter Rauhofer and The Pound Boys produced remixes of the song. "Love That Man" became Houston's 12th number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Background

"Love That Man" was written by Babyface, Rob Fusari, Calvin Gaines, Eritza Laues, Bill Lee, Balewa Muhammad, while production was helmed by Babyface and Fusari. Having previously worked with Houston, Babyface was approached by L.A. Reid to contribute to the album, while Fusari, who was then primarily known for his contribution on Destiny's Child's Survivor (2001), became involved became involved after a demo of "Love That Man" reached executives at Houston's label, Arista Records. Commenting on his involvement with Just Whitney, Fusari said: "Arista liked my song "Love That Man," and they wanted me to produce it on Whitney's new album [...] They flew me down to Miami to work with Whitney on this song. I ended up co-producing this song with Babyface."

Critical reception

Critics offered mixed assessments of "Love That Man," with several praising its retro-inspired R&B sound and Houston's vocal performance. Dom Phillips of Heat named it the album's best track, describing it as a "bass-snappin' 80s-style groover," while Blues & Soul called it a "sublimely soulful" R&B track and praised Houston's vocals and the song's production. Ernest Hardy of LA Weekly described the song as a "giddily disposable" track that recalled Houston's earlier pop hits "How Will I Know" and "So Emotional," while Dan Aquilante of the New York Post characterized it as an "up-tempo devotional."

Keysha Davids of BBC Music viewed the song as an apparent ode to Bobby Brown, praising Houston as "soulful and sincere" and noting its mid-tempo arrangement, simple bass line and restrained production. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian similarly regarded it as a throwback to the crossover pop-soul of Houston's earlier work, particularly "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." Less favorable, Dallas Morning News likened the song to "second-rate" Michael Jackson and describing its subject as Houston's devotion to her husband. Joan Anderman of The Boston Globe reduced the song to Houston "stand[ing] by her bad boy," while Music Week characterized it as "dull pop-funk."

Commercial performance

Released as a single in North America only, "Love That Man" became Houston's 12th number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Track listings

All tracks written by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Rob Fusari, Calvin Gaines, Eritza Laues, Bill Lee, and Balewa Muhammad.

Notes

• denotes additional producer

Credits and personnel

Credits lifted from the liner notes of Just Whitney.

• Babyface – producer, writer

• Rob Fusari – producer, writer

• Calvin Gaines – writer

• Eric Kupper – keyboards

• Eritza Laues – writer

• Bill Lee – writer

• George O. Luksch – keyboards

• Balewa Muhammad – writer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

See also

• List of number-one dance singles of 2003 (U.S.)

References

External links