Babyface Shares Backstory of Whitney Houston’s “Exhale”

Babyface Shares Backstory of Whitney Houston’s “Exhale”

Babyface’s recent appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts is one of the best in the show’s history. The legend — who shared the desk with Chante Moore, Tank and Avery Wilson — sung a range of classics he’s written for himself and others, and shared backstories about how they came to be.

According to Face, Whitney Houston’s “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” almost never happened because Nippy wasn’t sure about it at first, and the “shoop”-ing on the hook is only there because he hadn’t finished writing the lyrics. The song would go on to become Whitney’s final No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot100.