"The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album" is the soundtrack to the 1996 film of the same name, featuring songs performed and produced by American singer Whitney Houston, who also stars in the film. The soundtrack was released on November 26, 1996, by Arista Records and BMG Entertainment. With over 6 million copies sold worldwide, it is the best-selling gospel album of all time.
Upon its release, The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on December 14, 1996, selling 90,500 units in the first week. In its second week, the album jumped to number four on the chart, and the following week reached number three, its peak position. The album also debuted at number eight on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart and later peaked at number one, becoming Houston’s fourth number one album on the chart. It stayed on the chart for a total of 43 weeks on the Billboard 200 and 49 weeks on the Top R&B Albums chart.
On the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart, the soundtrack was especially successful, debuting at number one. It became the first album by a female solo artist to achieve this, spending 26 consecutive weeks at the top from December 14, 1996, to June 7, 1997. It remained on the chart for 117 weeks during its initial run and later returned for another 44 weeks, bringing its total to 161 cumulative weeks. It was the number one gospel album on the 1997 Billboard Top Gospel Albums year-end chart.
Before its release, industry insiders expected The Preacher's Wife soundtrack to perform similarly to the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, which sold 5.1 million copies in the U.S. The album was recognized as the Best-selling Gospel Recording by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) in 1996–1997. It was certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping 3 million copies in the U.S. by June 30, 1998. By 2012, the album had sold 2,627,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The album's lead single, "I Believe in You and Me" (a cover of The Four Tops' song), became a top-five hit in the U.S. and was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 40th Grammy Awards, where the soundtrack was also nominated for Best R&B Album. Another hit single, "Step by Step," peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. "My Heart Is Calling" was released as the soundtrack's final single.
