The song was written by Frank Wildhorn and Chuck Jackson and produced by Narada Michael Walden.

By September 1986, Whitney Houston had quickly risen to superstardom following the release of her self-titled debut album, Whitney Houston, which had spawned four consecutive top ten singles, the latter three having gone to number one in a row on the Billboard Hot 100, having sold more copies than any album released by an African-American female artist at the time.

Composer and lyricist Frank Wildhorn, who later conceived the Broadway musical, Jekyll & Hyde, had wanted to write a song for Houston after hearing her duet with Teddy Pendergrass, "Hold Me", a couple of years earlier.

"[4]Along with "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and "Didn't We Almost Have It All", it was one of the earliest songs presented for Houston's sophomore effort.

[5] When Houston eventually listened to a demo record of the ballad, the singer flatly turned it down, thinking the song "had no depth to it".

[6] Houston said she eventually found "some meaning in [the song] that I could relate to" when she entered the studio with Walden producing the session.

[6] Once Houston started recording, Wildhorn recalls being struck by her performance: “I cried the first time I heard Whitney sing ‘Where Do Broken Hearts Go.’ I've had Julie Andrews, Liza Minnelli, Johnny Mathis, Trisha Yearwood and Patti LaBelle (sing songs I've written), but if someone put a gun to my head, the answer is Whitney's version of ‘Where do Broken Hearts go,’ going No.

[8] Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times described it as a ballad "that raises questions without making you care about the answers.

[10] Pop Rescue noted it as a "classic big 80s power ballad", adding it as "the perfect ending to a school disco.

Following the song's chart peak, Houston wrote a congratulatory letter to Wildhorn that simply said, "Where do broken hearts go?

[14][15] Houston is only one of five female artists to date to have four or more number one singles off a single album, with succeeding releases by Paula Abdul (Forever Your Girl, 1989-90), Janet Jackson (Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814, 1989-91), Mariah Carey (Mariah Carey, 1990-91) and Katy Perry (Teenage Dream, 2010-11).

[18][19] On the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart, the single peaked at number one, the issue dated April 2, 1988, and remained there for three weeks, making it her sixth No.

[33] The song was very popular in the Philippines, and it became one of the main focus of the 2014 indie romantic film That Thing Called Tadhana.

The music video (directed by Peter Israelson) features Houston breaking up with a boyfriend and reflecting on happy memories; asking herself the title question, "where do broken hearts go?"

[34] In 2002, Israelson told Liquid Assets, a British TV documentary series focused on the net worth of celebrities, that Houston's performance in the video's 1940s-themed train station scene (filmed at Newark Penn Station) convinced Kevin Costner of her acting abilities for The Bodyguard.

"Where Do Broken Hearts Go" was one of the songs performed on Houston's set list during Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Celebration concert, televised live worldwide via BBC, at Wembley Stadium in London on June 11, 1988.

During I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour, Houston performed the love song medley with the song at Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston concert, dedicated to the US troops, their families in honor of those returning from the Gulf War, which was broadcast live via HBO on March 31, 1991.