Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” returns to multiple charts in the U.K. and reaches a new all-time high on one list following Dolly Parton’s death. Whitney Houston performs on stage in 1996. (Photo by Phil Dent/Redferns)
Redferns
Dolly Parton’s name is splashed across the charts in the United Kingdom this week, and it will almost certainly find space on multiple Billboard rankings when the company publishes new tallies. The world is remembering the country legend by buying and streaming her entire catalog at the moment, as is common whenever a beloved performer passes away. Multiple albums by the superstar return to rosters across the Atlantic, and the same can be said for many of her hit singles, some of which come back at new high points.
One track that Parton wrote and turned into a hit multiple times, but which is perhaps most closely connected to another superstar, reenters multiple tallies and even manages to reach a new peak position decades after it took over the world. Whitney Houston’s rendition of “I Will Always Love You” is a bestseller again in the U.K. following Parton’s death, and it’s not the only take on the composition to chart this week.
Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” Returns
Houston’s cover of Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” returns to the Official Singles Downloads and Official Singles Sales charts at Nos. 56 and 61, respectively. The decades-old cut is once again a major player in the music industry, if only for a few days.
“I Will Always Love You” Reaches a New Sales Peak
Amazingly, “I Will Always Love You” is counted as one of the bestselling tunes in the U.K. for only the second time since the introduction of the Official Singles Sales chart. For years, the country’s main songs ranking focused specifically on purchases, but as other forms of consumption were incorporated – such as streaming – a separate sales-only tally became necessary.
Houston’s rendition did not reach the Official Singles Sales ranking until November 2024, when it debuted at No. 83 and then quickly disappeared. Now it returns at a new all-time high of No. 61.
“I Will Always Love You” Lands in the Middle of Whitney Houston’s Catalog
Houston first reached the Official Singles Sales chart posthumously in October 2014, and she has now racked up 10 hits on the roster. Despite its status as perhaps her career-defining track, “I Will Always Love You” sits somewhere in the middle of those successes in terms of peak placement. Several famous Houston cuts have stalled lower, including “I Have Nothing” at No. 66 and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” at No. 75.
Houston has amazingly only reached the top 10 once, as she and Kygo soared to No. 1 with “Higher Love,” which pairs her vocals on the Steve Winwood composition with the DJ’s production. That track spent five weeks running the show in the summer of 2019.
Whitney Houston Returns to the Downloads Chart
“I Will Always Love You” also breaks back onto the Official Singles Downloads chart, where it performs slightly better by appearing at No. 56. The dramatic love song debuted on that tally at its all-time high of No. 13 in February 2012 following Houston’s untimely death. It held on for three frames and then disappeared, and had not returned for more than a decade before this week.
Whitney Houston’s Greatest Hits Album Holds On
Houston’s I Will Always Love You – The Best Of can also be found on two U.K. rankings this frame. The compilation – which shares its name with the hit song – sits at No. 61 on the Official Albums Streaming chart and No. 84 on the Official Albums tally. It has previously climbed to Nos. 12 and 13 on those lists, respectively, narrowly missing out on finding its way into the top 10 on both rankings. The collection has also proved exceptionally sturdy, with 263 weeks on the streaming roster and 271 on the all-encompassing albums rundown.
Dolly Parton’s Original Becomes a Top 10 Hit
Parton’s own “I Will Always Love You,” which was released decades before Houston transformed the composition into the biggest smash from The Bodyguard soundtrack, also surges following the songwriter’s passing. The original tune reenters the Official Singles Downloads and Official Singles Sales charts at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, reaching new peaks on both lists and scoring Parton another pair of posthumous top 10 wins.
Parton’s recording also debuts at No. 96 on the Official Streaming chart. As it arrives, the cut gives the country icon only her fourth career placement on the streaming-focused roster.