When Whitney Houston released “How Will I Know” in 1985, she was still in the early stages of what would become one of the most extraordinary careers in pop music. Her debut album had already produced “You Give Good Love,” but “How Will I Know” was the song that showed the world just how perfectly her enormous voice could fit into bright, energetic 1980s pop.

Written by George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam, and Narada Michael Walden, the song was originally intended for another artist. Houston’s version transformed it into something much bigger. Produced by Michael Walden, the recording combined synthesizers, electronic drums, handclaps, keyboards, and a relentlessly upbeat rhythm that was almost impossible to sit still through.

That was a major departure from the more serious image often associated with powerhouse vocalists.

Houston could obviously sing a huge ballad, but “How Will I Know” demonstrated that she could also have fun.

The song is essentially about romantic uncertainty. Houston is interested in someone but doesn’t know whether the feelings are mutual. Instead of treating that uncertainty as something dramatic and depressing, the song turns it into a burst of nervous energy.

The production is a huge part of that feeling.

Everything moves.

The drums bounce along, the keyboards sparkle, the backing vocals reinforce the chorus, and Houston’s voice cuts through the arrangement with astonishing clarity. She doesn’t have to overpower the production. She simply sits perfectly on top of it.

Then came the video.

Directed by Brian Grant, the “How Will I Know” video was filled with bright colors, geometric sets, dancers, energetic choreography, and unmistakable mid-1980s fashion. It was tailor-made for MTV, which was rapidly becoming one of the most important promotional forces in popular music.

Houston’s image in the video was youthful, stylish, and playful.

That mattered.

She wasn’t being presented solely as a serious vocalist standing behind a microphone. She was a pop star.

The song became Houston’s second number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped turn her debut album into a massive success. It also established a formula that would define much of her early career: combine an extraordinary voice with sophisticated pop production and make the result accessible to virtually anyone.

“How Will I Know” is particularly impressive because Houston never sounds like she’s struggling to fit into the upbeat production.

She sounds completely natural.

Her vocal runs add personality without overwhelming the melody, while the chorus gives her plenty of room to show off the power that would eventually become her trademark.

The song also captures something essential about 1980s pop. This was the decade when electronic production, MTV, fashion, dance music, and traditional vocal performances increasingly came together.

“How Will I Know” sits right in the middle of that cultural shift.

It sounds unmistakably like 1985, but its melody is strong enough that the song never feels trapped in its era.

Most importantly, it helped establish Whitney Houston as something more than a promising new singer.

She was becoming a superstar.

Over the next several years, Houston would deliver enormous ballads, blockbuster movie songs, and some of the most recognizable recordings in popular music.

But “How Will I Know” remains special because it captures her at the beginning of that journey.

Young, energetic, impossibly talented, and surrounded by one of the decade’s most infectious productions, Whitney Houston turned a song about wondering whether someone liked her into a celebration of the excitement of not knowing.

And the answer, judging by the success of the song, was pretty obvious.

Everybody was going to know Whitney Houston.