“How Will I Know” is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her self-titled debut studio album. It was released on November 22, 1985, by Arista Records as the album’s third single. Written and composed by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, it was originally intended for pop singer Janet Jackson, who passed on it. Houston then recorded the song with altered lyrics and production from Narada Michael Walden.
“How Will I Know” received mostly positive reviews from music critics. It became Houston’s second number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 in February 1986, spending two weeks atop the chart, and also became her first chart-topper on the Canadian RPM Top 100 Singles chart. It also reached top-10 positions in Australia, Sweden, Ireland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, and top-20 positions in the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland.
The accompanying music video for “How Will I Know” features scenes of Houston dancing in a setting of video screens and colored partitions. The music video gave Houston exposure to teenagers via MTV and other video outlets. It received two nominations at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards; Best Female Video and Best New Artist, winning the former category. The song was performed on many of her tours including Greatest Love Tour (1986) and her Nothing But Love World Tour (2009–10). “How Will I Know” is also featured as a remix on Houston’s compilation album Whitney: The Greatest Hits (2000), whereas the original single version is featured on The Ultimate Collection (2007) and I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston (2012). The song cemented Houston’s status as a global pop star.
