Key Takeaways
- Vanessa Williams says her signature ballad “Save the Best for Last” was offered first to Bette Midler and then Barbra Streisand, both of whom passed before she recorded it.
- The song became a career-defining hit from her album The Comfort Zone, spending five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1992 and earning her two Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year.
- Williams notes she never got the chance to record another early-’90s smash, Amy Grant’s “Baby Baby,” but still built a lasting music and acting career with songs like “Colors of the Wind” and roles on Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives.
Vanessa Williams’ biggest hit almost belonged to Barbra Streisand. During an appearance on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinner’s on Me podcast, Williams revealed that she was the third singer offered “Save the Best for Last,” the ballad that ultimately became her signature record and only No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100.
According to Williams, Midler had the first opportunity to record the song but turned it down. Streisand was approached next and made the same decision, clearing the way for Williams. “They gave it to Bette Midler, who passed,” she told Ferguson. “They gave it to Streisand, and she passed. And I was, like, third one up.”
The rejection chain became a career-making break for Williams. Written by Phil Galdston, Wendy Waldman, and Jon Lind, “Save the Best for Last” appeared on Williams’ second studio album, The Comfort Zone. Released as the project’s third single, the slow-building love song reached the top of the Hot 100 in March 1992 and stayed there for five weeks.
It finished at No. 4 on Billboard’s year-end chart, sharing the year with massive records including Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”
The record also earned Williams two Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year, and helped establish her as more than a crossover celebrity with a recording contract. Williams had already made history in 1983 as the first Black woman crowned Miss America, but her music career developed its own identity through a run of pop and R&B singles. “Save the Best for Last” remains the commercial peak of that run.
Williams also named another early-’90s smash that she wanted but never had the chance to record: Amy Grant’s “Baby Baby.” The song spent two weeks at No. 1 in 1991, but Williams said it was never submitted to her because of an apparent oversight.
While that missed opportunity still stands out to her, she built an extensive catalog that included “The Comfort Zone,” “The Sweetest Days,” “Love Is,” and the Pocahontas ballad “Colors of the Wind.”
Her career eventually expanded just as successfully on screen, with major television roles in Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives, along with film appearances in projects including Shaft.
