Naomi Ackie & Nafessa Williams Belt Out Whitney Houston Classics for Song Association

Naomi Ackie and Nafessa Williams stopped by Elle on Wednesday (Dec. 28) to play a round of Song Association filled with Whitney Houston tracks.

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Naturally, as the stars of the new biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody managed to fit plenty of Houston hits into their game using the words saving (“Saving All My Love For You”), broken (“Where Do Broken Hearts Go”), okay (“It’s Not Right But It’s Okay”), woman (“I’m Every Woman”), man (“All the Man That I Need”) and tonight (“I’m Your Baby Tonight”).

However, the two actors also ventured outside the late icon’s extensive discography to belt out tracks like “In the Heat of the Night” by Ray Charles, Adele’s “One and Only,” “Who Wants to Live Forever” by Queen and “So Good” by Destiny’s Child. Ultimately, they went 13 for 15, matching previous scores set by Chloe x Halle, Evan Rachel Wood and Daniel Radcliffe and Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Schnapp.

In the film, which is currently playing in theaters nationwide, Ackie portrays Houston throughout the nineties, including her performance of the national anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl and being forced to defend her music for not being “Black enough.” Williams, meanwhile, plays her longtime friend and assistant Robyn Crawford.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody also stars Stanley Tucci as Clive Davis, Ashton Sanders as Bobby Brown, Tamara Tunnie as Cissy Houston, Clarke Peters as Whitney’s father John Houston and Bria Danielle Singleton as Bobbi Kristina Brown.

Watch Ackie and Williams sing and dance their way through a Whitney-inspired Song Association below.

Glenn Rowley

Billboard