"I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston" is a posthumous greatest hits album by American recording artist Whitney Houston. Released on November 13, 2012, via RCA Records, it spans most of Houston's career, featuring 29 of her biggest chart hits from five of her seven studio albums, as well as all of her soundtracks, including The Bodyguard and The Preacher's Wife. The album includes all of Houston's eleven number-one Billboard Hot 100 singles and 21 of her 23 top ten singles, covering the period from 1985 to 2000. The original release featured two new tracks: a duet version of "I Look to You" with R. Kelly, and the Jermaine Dupri-produced "Never Give Up."
In August 2021, the album was re-released, with the duet version of "I Look to You" replaced by the original 2009 solo version and the addition of Houston's first posthumous hit, "Higher Love." This reissue was accompanied by a vinyl release, which included the 2019 remix of "Higher Love" by Norwegian DJ Kygo. I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston is currently the longest-charting female compilation album of all time on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B Albums charts.
The album won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Album in 2013, and the song "I Look to You" was also recognized for Outstanding Song.
This compilation is Houston's second major greatest hits collection after Whitney: The Greatest Hits. It features remastered versions of her hits from nearly all of her studio and soundtrack albums, excluding Just Whitney (2002) and One Wish: The Holiday Album (2003). Unlike Whitney: The Greatest Hits, which contained several remixes, the tracks on I Will Always Love You are presented in their original versions or radio edits. The album also includes new liner notes written by Clive Davis.
Internationally, the compilation was available in both standard and deluxe editions. In North America, the album was released as a single-disc version, mirroring the first disc of the international deluxe edition. A special two-disc edition was made available exclusively through HSN, which included five duets recorded by Houston with various artists. Among the new content, two previously unreleased tracks were included: the new song "Never Give Up" and a duet version of "I Look to You" with R. Kelly. The song "I Look to You" was released as the album's lead single on September 25, 2012. Additionally, "Never Give Up" was released as a lyric video on Whitney Houston's official YouTube (Vevo) channel on November 6, 2012.
Upon its release, I Will Always Love You peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200 and reached number 2 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. The album spent 217 weeks on the Billboard 200, making it Houston's longest-charting album on the chart. It is also the longest-charting female compilation album in the history of the Billboard 200, surpassing the previous record set by H.E.R.'s H.E.R. (2017). On the Top R&B Albums chart, it has spent a total of 58 weeks and is currently the longest-charting female greatest hits compilation, having surpassed Madonna's The Immaculate Collection in 2023.
The album was certified gold by the RIAA on March 3, 2020, for selling over 500,000 copies. "I Look to You" became a hit on several Billboard charts, reaching number 90 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 29 on the Adult R&B Songs chart. It also achieved significant success on the gospel charts, debuting at number one on the Gospel Digital Songs chart in October 2012, where it stayed for a week.
In the UK, I Will Always Love You peaked at number 13 in 2023 and has been certified platinum for selling over 300,000 copies. It spent 177 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, making it Houston's second-longest-charting album in the country. As of May 2024, the album achieved its 150th cumulative week on the UK Albums Chart. It also reached number 25 on the Irish Albums Chart and has spent 128 weeks on that chart.
In Poland, the album hit number 1 on the OLiS albums chart in 2018 and was certified platinum in the region.
