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Could I Have This Kiss Forever

"Could I Have This Kiss Forever" is a mid-tempo duet performed by American singer Whitney Houston and Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. It was song written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager and Diane Warren and produced by Foster, Bayer Sager, Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling. The song first appeared on Iglesias's debut English-language album Enrique (1999) as a slow Latin-styled ballad. It was also included on Houston's first compilation album, Whitney: The Greatest Hits (2000). It achieved chart success in many countries, including Switzerland and the Netherlands, where it reached number one.

"Could I Have This Kiss Forever"

"If I Told You That"

May 15, 2000 (2000-05-15)

1999

  • Chartmaker (Los Angeles)
  • Sound Studio N (Cologne)
  • Sony (Los Angeles)

3:55

Arista

wrote that "While the pairing of evergreen pop/R&B superstar Houston with blossoming Latin sensation Iglesias may seem a curious combination at first, go once through this midtempo Spanish guitar-laced crowd-pleaser and the magic is crystal clear. Iglesias is, of course, right at home, sounding as sensual and breezy as ever, while Houston delivers a restrained performance that perfectly captures a romantic moment made just for champagne and dancing."[4]

Billboard

of The Baltimore Sun felt that "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" is a song on which Houston is "desperately trying to out-emote Enrique Iglesias".[5]

J. D. Considine

The Daily Vault's Michael R. Smith stated that Houston "brings out the vocalist in Enrique with the sterling duet".

[6]

in its review for Whitney: The Greatest Hits commented that "Iglesias pants and sighs his way through his lines, trying to smolder but whimpering instead".[7]

LA Weekly

Jim Farber of the wrote that the song "makes cynical use of the Latin crossover craze."[8]

New York Daily News

Elysa Gardner of said that the song is "sinuous" and "latin-flavored" and that "Houston easily outclasses" her duet partner.[9]

Vibe

Christine Galera of was of the opinion that Houston's "bad" duet with Enrique Iglesias "sounds like every other Iglesias single I've heard".[10]

The Orlando Sentinel

wrote in reference to the song title that there might be "hygiene issues" but "if it puts a stop to their singing, then it should be encouraged – although, as someone appears to be strangling Enrique here, yet still he ploughs on, an eternal kiss with Whitney would probably be no barrier to song".[11] The review continued negatively stating that "it's rather disappointing to hear that this Latin-tinged, sickly-stringed sob of a ballad is where she's at musically", "we get an insipid drip of romantic gormlessness and a catalogue of cliche as deep as a river, as high as a mountain, that you'd have to be really serotonin-deficient to find affecting".[11]

NME

in its review for Iglesias' Greatest Hits collection wrote that Iglesias has recorded "truly horrendeous" duets, "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" being "the worst offender".[12]

Digital Spy

In 2012, it was placed at number 1 on Idolator's list of "Whitney Houston's 10 Best Songs That Radio Forgot" because "this slow-burning mid-tempo number brims over with a sexy vibe, thanks to the singer's duet partner Enrique Iglesias and an understated-but-effective remix by then-hot production team Metro".[13]

Music video[edit]

The video for "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" was directed by Francis Lawrence.[14] Entertainment Tonight aired the world premiere of the video on June 22, 2000. A young Dania Ramirez (LL Cool J’s Hush Music video) (Netflix Series Sweet Tooth) and Krysten Ritter appears as extras in the video.

Chart performance[edit]

The song was successful internationally, hitting number one in several countries worldwide, including the Netherlands and Switzerland. It also hit the top ten in many other countries, and attained Gold status in Australia, Germany, and Switzerland. It reached the top ten European chart. It reached number 52 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[15] In Finland, it peaked at number 17.[16] In Iceland, it peaked at number two and also in Sweden, where the song spent 19 weeks on the chart.[17] It was certified platinum by the Swedish Recording Industry Association. In Ireland, it peaked at number eight and spent seven weeks on the chart. In Austria, it peaked at number eight and spent 20 weeks on the chart. In Ireland, it debuted and peaked at number 8. As of 2012, the song had sold 140 000 copies in the United Kingdom.[18]

List of European number-one hits of 2000

Dutch Top 40 number-one hits of 2000

List of number-one hits of 2000 (Switzerland)

List of UK top 10 singles in 2000

"" at Discogs (list of releases)

Could I Have This Kiss Forever