Exhale (Shoop Shoop)

"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston, featured on the soundtrack for the film Waiting to Exhale. It was released as the lead single from the soundtrack on November 6, 1995, by Arista Records. The song was written and produced by Babyface. A mid-tempo R&B and soul ballad, composed in the key of D-flat major, the song's lyrics speak about growing up and learning to let go. The song garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, many of whom noted Houston's vocal maturity in the song.

In the United States, it became the third single to debut on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in Billboard's history, and Houston's eleventh (and final) number one single. It was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of one million copies. The song also reached number one in Canada and Spain, and the top 10 in Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Sweden. Additionally, it peaked within the top 20 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. At the 39th Annual Grammy Awards, held on February 26, 1997, "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" received four nominations, including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year, and won in the category of Best R&B Song. The song also won four other awards, including a Soul Train Music Award.

The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Forest Whitaker, shows close-up scenes of Houston inter-cut with scenes from the film Waiting to Exhale. Houston performed the song at the 39th Grammy Awards ceremony, and on the HBO special Classic Whitney Live from Washington, D.C. in October 1997. It was included in the set-list of Houston's three tours and select dates of various concerts.

In 1994, Houston signed with 20th Century Fox to play the role of Savannah Jackson in the film Waiting to Exhale, which was adapted from the novel of the same name by Terry McMillan. Initially, she had no interest in recording songs for the film's soundtrack, as she wanted to concentrate on her acting. The film's director, Forest Whitaker, hired Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds to compose the film score and the accompanying soundtrack. Though Babyface visited the set of the film and tried to convince her, Houston was determined not to record songs for the soundtrack. She finally agreed after hearing Babyface play one of the songs she liked. In an interview with Fred Bronson, Babyface explained the development of the song:

"When Whitney first heard the song, she figured I'd lost it—I couldn't come up with words anymore. And, actually she's right. I couldn't think of anything for that particular part. It felt like it should groove there. But I knew it couldn't groove without any vocals, so I started humming along with it and that's what happened. The 'shoops' came. But they felt so good, I thought 'Why not?' It doesn't have to mean anything."

Babyface produced the song, and it was released as the lead single from the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack in the United Kingdom on November 6, 1995, through Arista Records. In the United States, it was serviced to contemporary hit radio on October 24, 1995, and was released commercially on November 7. In Australia, the single was released on November 27, while in Japan, it was issued two days later. The B-side of the single includes four songs: "Dancin' on the Smooth Edge", which was initially included as the B-side to "All the Man That I Need" (1991), "Moment of Truth", which was initially included as the B-side to "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" (1987), "Do You Hear What I Hear", which Houston recorded for the compilation A Very Special Christmas (1987), and her duet with Aretha Franklin, "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (1989). "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" is also featured on Houston's compilation albums Whitney: The Greatest Hits (2000), Love, Whitney (2001), The Ultimate Collection (2007), The Essential Whitney Houston (2011), and I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston (2012).

"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" is an R&B ballad written in the key of C-sharp major.^{[inconsistent]} The song is set in common time with a tempo of 69 beats per minute. It has the sequence of F_(add9)–C/E–Dm₇–C as its chord progression throughout the track, and Houston's vocals span an octave and a perfect fifth, from G₃ to D₅. The song's instrumentation includes quiet bells and strings, and the whole arrangement is mellow. According to Steve Knopper of Newsday, the bells resemble electronic Christmas bells, and Houston ad-libs "shoo-bay" over the chorus. The chorus repeats the phrase "shoo bay doop".

According to Bronson, the song summarizes the movie's philosophy. His opinion was somewhat echoed by Ted Cox, author of the book Whitney Houston, who noted that the soothing quality of the song fitted perfectly with the mood and texture of the movie. He described that the song has a "slow groove" that features the most relaxed singing of Houston's career. The Miami Herald described the song as a model of "refined, easy-going soul", and Kyle Anderson of MTV described it as a "smooth jam" with a "crazy-catchy groove". Describing the instrumentation as "silky", Larry Flick of Billboard wrote that Houston's performance was more soulful than before, with far more "vocal colors". Stephen Holden of The New York Times commented that the song is reminiscent of 1960s girl group records, and the verses speak about growing up and learning to let go.