of the past years, writing "listeners may feel shut out of the fight. Whatever hardship she's endured, the battles within remain a mystery." AllMusic gave I Look to You three stars (out of five) commenting about Houston's problems in the past, her voice and her talent: "I Look to You attempts to wash this all away with something of a return to roots—a celebration of Houston's deep disco beginnings, tempered with a few skyscraping ballads designed to showcase her soaring voice. Houston's rocky decade isn't ignored, but it isn't explored, either: songs allude to Whitney's strength, her willpower as a survivor struggling through some unnamed struggle — enough for listeners to fill in the blanks, either with their own experience or their imaginings of Houston's life. [...] at the very least, Whitney can still sing, knowing when to wring emotion out of a phrase, knowing when not to push for the glory notes that she can no longer hit. [...] What she undoubtedly is, is a pro – she sells these subdued glitzy productions, she makes boring songs interesting, she remains a forceful, tangible presence." Nick Levine of Digital Spy gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and said, "Thanks to contributions from a clutch of au courant R&B producers, it does sound contemporary...her voice may not be as technically impressive as it was, but its new, more weathered tones have character, making an optimistic song like Million Dollar Bill really quite touching and a defiant one like 'For The Lovers' more dramatic. If a little too steady to be called a classic, I Look To You is certainly an accomplished, enjoyable return—don't call it a comeback—from an artist who sounds keen again, a lioness who's rediscovered her pride." Commercial performance I Look to You debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with sales of 305,000 copies, easily beating pre-release expectations of 250,000 to 270,000 and representing Houston's best opening week sales during the Nielsen SoundScan era. The album is Houston's fourth number one album overall – her first number one album since The Bodyguard (1992) and her first number one debut since Whitney (1987). The album also debuted at number one on the US R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and the US Digital Albums chart. Sales spiked with Houston's high-profile appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on September 14-15, 2009, returning the album to the number two position