Today is an exciting day for PopWatch: I’m launching a fun, new recurring feature here on the blog: This or That. The idea behind This or That is so ridiculously simple it’s criminal. Basically, it’s all about pop culture debates. Long-running or newly born. Silly or smart. Inconsequential or not. A PopWatch blogger will present your two options, and then you simply pick: This or That. (You may have played a fun drinking game called this, too. It’s very similar, except you don’t have to chug your beer if you don’t pick the right option. Unless you want to.)
So, today, we start with a raging (ha!) Whitney Houston debate. Why? Because it’s only 14 days until her new album, I Look To You, hits stores, and I couldn’t be more excited. (The title single is already available for download.) Plus, I was just hashing this debate out with my roommate recently (hi, Tiff!) and couldn’t stop thinking about the stark division between us on this topic — both of us rather unwilling to see the other’s point of view. So here it is. When it comes to Whitney Houston’s vault of great ’80s jams, two in particular instantly come to mind: “How Will I Know” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” So which is your fave? This or That, if you will.
To get things started, I polled 37 willing EW staffers, and the results — what do you know! — were crazy split right down the middle. A whopping 17 voted for “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” while 18 staffers chose my personal choice, “How Will I Know” (the photo of Whitney here is from the video for this song). And what of the two unaccounted for votes? They proceeded to poke holes in my debate and assured me the songs were far too similar. “Wait,” said movie reviews editor Thom Geier, “they’re different songs?” Point taken — they are similar — but screw them. This is an important debate, people! Inquiring minds — like mine — want to know!
I’ll go on the record and say that “How Will I Know” wins for me because it’s catchier and has those lyrics that seem to somehow just rise every time Whitney goes back to them. Yeah, sure, “I Wanna Dance” has that awesome “somebody hooo! somebody hooo!” which is more addictive than crack, but “How Will I Know” is just so pent-up and passionate. Like, when the hell am I just gonna know? Maybe it’s because that’s how I’m always feeling, and honestly, I have more than enough people to dance with me.
Below, enjoy both jams via clips of the awesomely tragic music videos from the ’80s. Then, vote in our This or That poll. (Please!) And burn up those message boards with which song you voted for and why!
Here’s “How Will I Know”:
And here’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”:
So which are you gonna go with? And yes, I decided to give you the option to say they’re the same song. (There you go, Thom!)
PopWatchers, which classic Whitney ’80s jam — “How Will I Know” or “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” — did you choose? Why? Let me know on the message boards! (And feel free to suggest other pop culture debates you’d like to see here in This or That on PopWatch in the future.)
PHOTO CREDIT: Neil Matthews/Retna
Comments (1-15) of 52 Add your comment
I went with “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” because I, in fact, usually wanna dance with somebody.
Also, I happen to think it’s catchier than “How Will I know” and I’m a sucker for the key change 2/3 of the way in.
Oh, please. How will I Know also modulates to a higher key… but the video should win if for no other reason than the wig is better.
I realize “How Will I Know” also modulates to a higher key seeing as how, as stated in the article, they’re practically the same song (which makes this is a silly/fun little argument). I just like the effect better in “Dance.”
I’m with you on the video though…the wig in “Dance” is some kind of awful.
How Will I Know is catchier and easier to sing along to. And I never did like that “somebody, hooo” background sound. Plus Whitney looks much cuter in the HWIK video.
They were both written by the same husband/wife team George Merill and Shannon Rubicam. They offered Whinety another song “Waiting For A Start To Fall” and she passed. So they recorded it themselves as BOY MEETS GIRL and took it to #5 in 1988
That is an excellent bit of trivia. I love LOVE Waiting for a Star to Fall.
I vote for How Will I Know because on top of being fun and catchy, it actually has super-cute lyrics. Also, I’m trying to figure out if you used the phrase “more addictive than crack” ironically or not (we are talking about Whitney).
‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’
I had to choose I Wanna Dance With Somebody – I couldn’t remember How Will I Know off the top of my head, but I can still remember all the lyrics to I Wanna Dance with Somebody.
How Will I Know, hands down. It was the first song I ever heard of hers and the eleven-year old me loved to boogie to that song!
How Will I Know… hands down. And the “there’s a boy I know takes me to the clouds above” is one of the most joyous expressions in pop. I like this song so much it almost pales in comparison to the LMC vs. U2 “Take Me to the Clouds Above” mash up that is sheer bliss.
I had to go with “How Will I Know” because it brings back fond memories of a particular summer road trip with my best high school friends. Plus, it’s catch as hell.
I meant to say catchy as hell (which makes much more sense).
One of the first cassettes I owned was Whitney Houston’s “Whitney”, which had “I Wanna Dance.” I loved that cassette but I do like “How Will I Know” better. I would say it is catchier and I do enjoy the lyrics a little more.
Because of this post, I’m going to have to find “Whitney” on iTunes now. I miss that cassette.
How Will I Know, by a small margin. (But really, The Greatest Love of All is Whit’s best accomplishment, IMO.)
Duh, I voted for I Wanna Dance because, friends, isn’t that what it comes down to?!? Wanting to dance with somebody / wanting to feel the heat with somebody?! Some full BODY?
I wanna dance with somebody obviously. As soon as I saw the title to the post I started singing…oooh I wanna dance with somebody. It took me a few minutes to remember how will I know.
My vote is for “How Will I Know” (although Whitney is a genius and they’re both amazing) – simply because Eric Hutchinson (of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants theme-song fame) sang this song to my friends and I after his concert recently. A hit sung equally well by 80s divas and male singer-songwriters.
I mean, isn’t the real question big metallic bow versus awesomely curly weave and paint versus confetti?
That bow paved the way for Aretha Franklin’s hat at the inauguration!