I Look to You

iTunes Review

I Look To You is Whitney Houston’s first album in seven years, and only her sixth album in 25 years of recording. With her longtime mentor Clive Davis once again assuming the role of executive producer, I Look You to You shrewdly applies Houston’s talents to a variety of carefully selected material. On their two tracks apiece, modern R&B masterminds Akon (“I Got You,” “Like I Never Left”) and R. Kelly (“I Look to You,” “Salute”) do a fine job of balancing vintage Whitney with current trends. In the mold of the classic Whitney Houston ballads, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength” reunites the singer with David Foster, who wrote songs for The Bodyguard soundtrack. The song is an affecting and revealing expression of Houston’s injury and resilience in the face of personal obstacles. While “Nothin’ But Love” and “For the Lovers” perhaps try too hard to fit Houston into a modern club mold, Alicia Keys’ “Million Dollar Bill” is a timeless old-school disco jam that ranks alongside the singer’s classic uptempo anthems “I’m Every Woman” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”