Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The song reached the top of the U.S. chart in the issue dated June 27, 1987, becoming Houston’s fourth number-one single.
Released as the lead single from her second studio album, Whitney, the track was written by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, the same songwriting team behind Houston’s earlier hit “How Will I Know.” Producer Narada Michael Walden gave it a bright, energetic dance-pop arrangement that contrasted with the song’s slightly yearning lyrics.
Its chart performance was especially significant because Houston became the first female artist to send four consecutive singles to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The song remained on the chart for 18 weeks overall, including nine weeks in the top ten.
The two-week figure applies specifically to the Hot 100’s overall chart. Some related chart statistics differ: the song led the Hot 100 Airplay chart for three weeks and reached number one in many countries for varying lengths of time.