“Same Script, Different Cast” by Whitney Houston (ft. Deborah Cox)
“Same Script, Different Cast” is somewhat reminiscent of tracks like Toni Braxton’s “He Wasn’t Man Enough” or even more so Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine”. For here we have two female vocalists arguing over a guy who is a common romantic interest.
However, this is not a case of the two of them fighting for his affections or over who he loves the most per se. Instead, Whitney is his ex and Deborah, the lady he’s currently dating. And as far as the title goes, it is one of those self-explanatory adages pointing to the idea of the same thing recurring but with different people involved.
So according to Whitney, what she’s saying is that dude did her dirty in the past and moreover, that playing women is his style. Thus it is inevitable that he ends up dumping Deborah also. So she would be the “different cast” in the “same script”. But Deborah resists this advice, rather asserting that the reason Whitney lost him is because she wasn’t up to the task.
But by the time all is said and done, since both vocalists sing the final chorus in unison, then the implication is that dude got around to playing Deborah also, which brings us back to the titular allegory. Or put differently, in a theatrical way this piece is actually meant to serve as a warning against playas.
Release Date of “Same Script, Different Cast”
“Same Script, Different Cast” is a duet by singers Whitney and Deborah. The song was released as a single on October 10 of 2000 in the US and October 25 of 2000 in the UK.
The song has been listed on the following albums:
- “Whitney: The Greatest Hits”
- “Ultimate Deborah Cox”
It peaked at No.70 in the US and won the hearts of some music critics as it received positive reviews. “Special highlight”, those were the words used by Billboard to describe it. In 2012, a New York based monthly magazine, Entertainment Weekly, included the song on a list of top 25 of Whitney Houston’s songs.
The “Ultimate Deborah Cox” and “Whitney: The Greatest Hits” Albums
“Ultimate Deborah Cox” is a compilation album released in 2004 by Canadian singer, Deborah Cox. The album was released through the record label, BMG Strategic Marketing Group.
“Whitney: The Greatest Hits” was released on May 16 of 2000. It happens to be Whitney’s first compilation album.
The album came out through the record labels, Arista and BMG Entertainment. Whitney and Clive Davis hold production credits for the said album. Davis is an inductee of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame who also has multiple Grammy Awards to his name.
Aside from “Same Script Different Cast” the following songs were released as singles from the “Whitney: The Greatest Hits” album:
- “If I Told You That” released on 8th August of 2000.
- “Could I Have This Kiss Forever” released on 10th September of 2000.
- “Fine” released on 14th November of 2000.
The album’s financial performance can be described as phenomenal. It received a 2x platinum certification from the RIAA on 20th of June, 2000 only a few months after its official release.
On February 11 of 2012, news of Whitney’s demise broke. As was expected, this had an impact on the album’s performance on the market. In a matter of days, the album was back on major charts globally. It sold close to a million copies within 2012 alone and ranked top-10 in many countries including:
- Australia – 3
- Spain – 4
- Scotland – 1
- Japan – 3
- Italy – 4
- Ireland – 1
- Germany – 2
- France – 2
- Belgium – 2
- Sweden – 4
- US – 2
- UK – 1
Credits
The song was produced by the Grammy Award winning American singer, songwriter and record producer, Anthony “Shep” Crawford.
Anthony and the following songwriters were behind the composition of the song:
- Montell Jordan
- Shae Jones
- Stacy Dove Daniels
