I Look To You
by Whitney Houston
  • Record Label: Sony BMG
  • Release Date: Aug 31, 2009
Metascore
66

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. AllMusic
    60
    What she undoubtedly is, is a pro--she sells these subdued glitzy productions, she makes boring songs interesting, she remains a forceful, tangible presence.
  2. Billboard.com
    85
    The set is a nice welcome back and a new beginning for the singer.
  3. Dot Music
    60
    For all that she's miraculously clawed back here, the one thing that eludes her is the one thing that made her exceptional: her voice. Without it she's just another R&B singer, and, good as it is in places, I Look To You is just another R&B album.
  5. Entertainment Weekly
    67
    Whitney Houston's first album in seven years, doesn't pretend to offer the unblemished 21-year-old we met on her smash 1985 debut, but it never?truly lets listeners inside the heart and head of the woman she is today.
  6. Hot Press
    40
    Houston, We’ve got problems
  7. Los Angeles Times
    75
    Though I Look to You doesn't soar like the old days, it's fine to hear Houston working on her own recovery plan.
  8. Mojo
    60
    Houston has delivered an album that, despite a few middling tracks, is genuinely moving. [Nov 2009, p.95]
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  9. musicOMH.com
    60
    The only evidence we have is a middling album marking a new chapter in a diva's life that doesn't sound any cheerier than the chapters that went before.
  10. NOW Magazine
    80
    If you let go of your preconceptions, what you’ll hear is a strong soul album by a mature singer who’s successfully channelling a lot of real pain in her music.
  11. Q Magazine
    60
    You can hear where the money went, even if her voice is far from the soaring force of yore. [Nov 2009, p.114]
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  12. Rolling Stone
    70
    I Look to You spends little time looking back. It is a modern soul record, a collection of sleek, often spunky love songs that aim at something more immediate and tangible than nostalgia or catharsis: Houston wants back in the diva stakes.
  13. Slant Magazine
    60
    For the most part, I Look to You manages to sound completely contemporary without the use of guest rappers, dumbed-down lyrics, or slang.
  14. The Boston Phoenix
    63
    Houston's version of Leon Russell's American Idol staple "A Song for You" works up to a deliciously cheesy club-pop climax. Still, with a pair of "I Believe I Can Fly"–style contributions from R. Kelly and a blustery Diane Warren ballad called "I Didn't Know My Own Strength," there's no denying the message that I Look to You was designed to hammer home. Expect fresh drama soon.
  15. The Guardian
    60
    The album concentrates on reinstalling Houston, never resident at R&B's cutting edge, as an unchallenging pop-soul diva. This it does with style, weaving flashes of eurodisco thump around hooky melodies.
  16. The New York Times
    70
    She’s tentatively climbing back into the pop machinery, no longer invincible but showing a diva’s determination.

Awards & Rankings

35
#35 Most Discussed Album of 2009
66
#66 Most Shared Album of 2009

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 85 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 64 out of 85
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 85
  3. Negative: 9 out of 85
  1. moshek.
    Sep 5, 2009
    5
    She can do so much better, i know she is not a song writter but common wh, we want to hear about those demones that got u down , and how you She can do so much better, i know she is not a song writter but common wh, we want to hear about those demones that got u down , and how you beat them...not the generic stuff… Full Review »
  2. AbrahamBJ
    Oct 10, 2017
    10
    Looking back, we can see it wasnt a new beginning for the legendary vocalist who had taken multiple hits to the top ten to worldwide charts asLooking back, we can see it wasnt a new beginning for the legendary vocalist who had taken multiple hits to the top ten to worldwide charts as had a fair share of contreversy after its release and soon passd away, but the talent and emotion Whitney showcased was heartfelt. She expressed pain and regret yet also managed to bring put the diva side of her and, for a final time on a studio set, would she give us chills with her one in a lifetime voice.… Full Review »
  3. Cadmielt
    Oct 29, 2012
    10
    the album one of the best of his career but with a grave lack of producers for the album that had a global boom had released more singlesthe album one of the best of his career but with a grave lack of producers for the album that had a global boom had released more singles because there are many great songs. Whitney's voice is magical and captivates you one of the best albums of the 2000s.… Full Review »
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