The power of Whitney Houston cannot be denied.
Thirteen years after her untimely passing, the iconic singer holds the No. 1 and No. 3 spots on Billboard’s Gospel Streaming Songs chart with two of her classic Christmas songs.
Houston’s take on “Do You Hear What I Hear?” ascended from No. 3 to the No. 1 spot for its 54th week on the chart. “Joy To The World,” another Houston classic, rocketed up from No. 11 to No. 3. CeCe Winans’ “Come Jesus Come” sits at the No. 2 spot and No. 4 with “Goodness of God,” and Kanye West rounds out the top five with “God Is.”
The singer, who died in 2012, has previously reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart 11 times; however, “Do You Hear What I Hear?” routinely tops the gospel chart during the holiday season. The song, originally written in 1962, was initially conceived as a peace anthem that eventually evolved into a commercial holiday single.
Houston first recorded her rendition of the song for the 1987 gospel compilation album ‘A Very Special Christmas,’ and it has endured over the years, even appearing on the back end of her “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” single in 1995.
Her rendition of “Joy To The World” was included on her posthumous gospel album, ‘I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston,’ which was released in 2023 and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Gospel Albums chart. “Joy To The World” also appears on her ‘One Wish’ album and ‘The Preacher’s Wife’ soundtrack. The latter is considered one of the greatest film soundtracks of all time and is often featured during the holiday season.
In total, the pop icon has reached No. 1 on a Billboard chart in five separate decades, showcasing the power of “The Voice” that spans generations.
