About The Song
“So Emotional” is a song by American singer Whitney Houston. It was released as the third single from her second studio album Whitney (1987) on October 12, 1987 by Arista Records. The song was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and produced by Narada Michael Walden.
Commercially, it peaked at number five in the UK and number one in the Billboard Hot 100, where it became her sixth consecutive number one, and a dance chart hit. It would become the sixth best charting song of 1988, and was the fourth most played song on the club charts; it is her sixth biggest hit on the Hot 100 chart.
“So Emotional” was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, who also penned Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors,” Heart’s “Alone,” and The Bangles “Eternal Flame,” all of which reached #1 on the charts. The song centers on Houston loving being in love, singing, “I get so emotional baby / Every time I think of you / I get so emotional baby / Ain’t it shocking what love can do.”
“So Emotional” was the final song recorded for the album. Arista President Clive Davis reportedly told Steinberg and Kelly that 10 songs had already been recorded but he was looking for one more uptempo song. The recording was overseen by producer Narada Michael Walden, who asked Houston to record the vocals on a day she was scheduled to make minor changes to existing tracks for the album. Walden asked Houston to record “So Emotional” first, before she had warmed up, resulting in a fresh, edgy sound.
Although the recording became a number-one hit, the production was bittersweet for the songwriters. As Kelly explained in an interview, “If you fall in love with (your) version of the song, and you’re used to hearing it the way you conceived it … it’s always hard to get used to.”
Video
Lyrics
I don’t know why I like it
I just do
I’ve been hearing your heartbeat inside of me
I keep your photograph beside my bed
Livin’ in a world of fantasies
I can’t get you out of my head
I’ve been waiting for the phone to ring all night
Why you wanna make me feel so good
I got a love of my own baby
I shouldn’t get so hung up on you
Oh I remember the way that we touch
I wish I didn’t like it so much
Oh I get so emotional baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional baby
Ain’t it shocking what love can do
Ain’t it shocking what love can do
Ain’t it shocking what love can do
I gotta watch you walk in the room baby
I gotta watch you walk out
I like the animal way you move
And when you talk
I just watch your mouth
Oh I remember the way that we touch
I wish I didn’t like it so much
Oh I get so emotional baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional baby
Ain’t it shocking what love can do
I get so emotional baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional baby
Ain’t it shocking what love can do
Ain’t it shocking what love can do
Ain’t it shocking what love can do
See I remember the way that we touch
I wish I didn’t like it so much
No no no, I get so emotional baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional baby
Ain’t it shocking what love can do
I get so emotional baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional baby
Ain’t it shocking what love can do
I get so emotional baby
I get so emotional baby
Ain’t it shocking what love can do
I get so emotional baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional baby
Ain’t it shocking what love can do
I get so emotional baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional baby
Ain’t it shocking what love can do