I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Sony’s Whitney Houston biopic starring English actress Naomi Ackie that comes out Dec. 23, takes its title from “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” the lead single off Houston’s second album, 1987’s Whitney.

The track was written by then-married songwriting duo George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, aka Boy Meets Girl, who’d penned Houston’s first hit single, 1985’s “How Will I Know.” Some critics dismissed “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” as too similar in sound to “How Will I Know” — but fans knew an earworm when they heard one. The song took six weeks to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, stayed there two weeks, and remained in the top 10 for nine weeks — more than any other song that year.

The video for “Somebody” reunited Houston with director Brian Grant and choreographer Arlene Phillips, who’d previously worked with her on the “How Will I Know” video. In a 2014 interview, Grant recalled first meeting Houston, then 19, when she came to London to film the video.

“She had great manners,” he said. “She had no entourage, just one friend with her.” Grant always began with a close-up shot of the artist performing the song the entire way through. “I still remember the time I was looking through the lens and Whitney looked into the camera and just smiled,” said Grant. “My knees wobbled and I thought, ‘My — that is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Her voice was absolutely amazing. It was the most incredible sound.”

Houston was less agile on her feet, however. “She had good rhythm, but couldn’t put one foot in front of the other,” he recalled. “Arlene recognized that, so she surrounded her with other great dancers from England. We could hide her dancing in the edit, but what was important is that she looked great and had a good time. Which you can tell that she did and it was a hit.”

When they reunited for the “Somebody” video, there was already an ease among the three. Whereas “How Will I Know” had a concept — putting Houston inside a maze — “Somebody” just focused on “giving her lots of looks,” Grant said. The single has sold 4.2 million copies worldwide; after Houston’s death in 2012, it reappeared on the Hot 100 along with “I Will Always Love You,” giving Houston two posthumous Top 40 hits.

This story first appeared in the Dec. 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.