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the Whitney Houston single

"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" is a song by American recording artist and actress 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 Billboards 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 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.

"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" is an R&B ballad The song is set in common time with a tempo of 69 beats per minute. According to Steve Knopper of Newsday, the bells resemble electronic Christmas bells, and Houston ad libs "shoo pay" over the chorus. The chorus repeats the phrase "shoop de shoop". He described that the song has a "slow groove" that features the most relaxed singing of Houston's career. 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".

"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" received mostly positive reviews from music critics; most of which were positive about Houston's 'soulful' performance and vocal maturity. Larry Flick of Billboard called it "a surprisingly understated shuffle ballad with soul and far more interesting vocal colors than all the shrieking can provide." However, Patricia Smith of The Boston Globe wrote that the "Shoop Shoop"s were "annoying". Anthony Violenti of The Buffalo News gave the song a positive review, commenting that Houston's vocals were intoxicating. Steve Baltin from Cash Box said it "has SMASH written all over it." He added that the song "has a soothing, gentle feel refreshingly free of Houston’s normal vocal melodramatics." James Masterton for Dotmusic deemed it as "a gorgeous piece of very, very hardcore soul with Whitney adopting a breathy, understated vocal style." Mike Wood from Idolator described it as a "slow jamming gem", noting "the soothing lyrics about learning how to let go and move on: “Sometimes you laugh, sometimes you cry / Life never tells us the whens or whys.” If only we all could keep that calm in light of life's calamities." Jean Rosenbluth of Los Angeles Times praised the song, saying "Houston's elegant 'Exhale (Shoop Shoop)' [ ] exude[s] maturity without resorting to the relentlessly big vocals that characterize so many R&B records aiming for adult audiences." Robert Hilburn, pop music critic of Los Angeles Times, noted Babyface's achievement in the song, saying "he [Babyface] brings Houston down to earth, trading her normal vocal exuberance for convincing warmth." Pan European magazine Music & Media stated that it is "fitting Houston like a glove". Alan Jones from Music Week commented that it "is one of her more insidious, gradually getting under your skin. It's a very low key affair, with Babyface keeping Whitney's "why sing one note when you can sing 10?" and delivering a charming, sweet and effective ballad destined for a long and high chart career." Steve Knopper of Newsday said that the song was "irresistibly catchy" and irritating at the same time. Rome News Tribune noted that "Exhale' has an easygoing, infectious charm", and that Houston "delivers a soulfully relaxed vocal." Geoffrey Himes of The Washington Post wrote, "Sounding like someone who has just emptied her lungs after holding her breath a long time, Houston brings a surprisingly mature, world weary tone to the song." "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" was voted number twenty three on The Village Voices 1996 Pazz & Jop critics' poll, tied with five other songs, Eels' "Novocaine for the Soul", Everything but the Girl's "Missing", Garbage's "Only Happy When It Rains", Rage Against the Machine's "Bulls on Parade", and Underworld's "Born Slippy".

"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" won Best R&B/Soul Single, Female award and was nominated for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year at the 10th Annual Soul Train Music Awards on March 29, 1996. Houston won two National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Awards for Outstanding Song and Outstanding Female Artist at the 27th annual ceremony, broadcast live on April 23, 1996. The song was nominated for Best Song from a Movie at the 5th MTV Movie Awards on June 8, and for Best R&B/Soul Single – Solo at the Second Annual Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards on September 9, 1996. The song received four Grammy nominations―Song of the Year (Babyface), Best R&B Song (Babyface), Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (Babyface), and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (Houston), and won in the category of Best R&B Song, at the 39th Grammy Awards, held on February 26, 1997. Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds won a Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) Pop Music Award for the song at the 45th annual ceremony, held on May 13, 1997.

Houston performed "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" live a number of times, between 1996 and 2009. In February 1997, Houston performed it as the third song of her 'Waiting to Exhale Medley'―"Sittin' Up in My Room" by Brandy, "Not Gon' Cry" by Mary J. Blige, "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" by Houston, and "Count On Me" by Houston, CeCe Winans, Brandy, Blige, Chaka Khan, and Aretha Franklin―at the 39th Grammy Awards. Houston sang the song live on the HBO special "Classic Whitney Live from Washington, D. C." on both October 3 and 5, 1997. Houston's solo performance was followed by ad libs of its chorus. She was joined by BeBe Winans, Monica, and Shirley Caesar, who was seated in the audience and invited onstage by Houston. Houston used the song throughout the entire run of her The Pacific Rim Tour (1997). She performed it again during the entire run of her My Love Is Your Love World Tour (1999), as a part of the promotion for her fourth studio album, My Love Is Your Love (1998). In April 2000, Houston performed the song on the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Arista Records. Houston started by saying "We all need to exhale sometimes", and proceeded to sing the song. The song was included in the set list of her Nothing but Love World Tour (2010) promoting her seventh studio album, I Look to You (2009). Babyface performed the song with Beverly Crowder on MTV Unplugged on October 18, 1997. The performance was released on CD in November 1997, and on DVD and VHS in August 2001, titled Babyface MTV Unplugged NYC 1997. In April 2012, possibly as a tribute to Houston following her death, R&B singer Robin Thicke covered the song and released his rendition as a single.