Vanessa Williams disclosed that she was the third artist offered “Save the Best for Last,” the romantic ballad that became her highest-charting Billboard Hot 100 hit. The song had first been sent to Bette Midler, who declined, before being offered to Barbra Streisand, who also passed.
“They gave it to Bette Midler, who passed,” Williams said during an appearance on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinner’s on Me podcast. “They gave it to Streisand, and she passed. And I was, like, third one up.”
Williams selected the song for her second studio album, The Comfort Zone, released in 1991. “Save the Best for Last” became the album’s third single and earned two Grammy nominations, including record of the year. The track spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, giving Williams her first and only chart-topper to date. It finished at No. 4 on the year-end Hot 100 for 1992.
Williams also told Ferguson she wished she had recorded Amy Grant’s “Baby Baby,” which topped the Hot 100 for two weeks in 1991, but said the song was never brought to her due to an apparent oversight.
Beyond “Save the Best for Last,” Williams scored additional Hot 100 hits including “The Comfort Zone,” “Colors of the Wind” from Disney’s Pocahontas, “The Sweetest Days” and “Love Is.” She has also built a major acting career with roles in Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and films including Shaft.
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Source: Billboard
