Clive Talkin'
Enrique Iglesias and Whitney Houston collaborate on a new track. The duet will appear on Iglesias' English-language debut

by Tom Sinclair

When it comes to musical matchmaking, it's tough to top Arista Records chief Clive Davis. It was his idea to load Santana's current smash album with superstar collaborators (a strategy he's also employing on upcoming CDs from Run-D.M.C. and The Artist). Now the canny exec has brokered a team-up between Arista diva Whitney Houston and Latin crossover hopeful Enrique Iglesias for Diane Warren's ''Could I Have This Kiss Forever.''

''Me and Clive were talking about this song that I'd heard a demo of and loved,'' says Iglesias. ''And he says, 'Why don't you do it with Whitney?' So we did, and it turned out fantastic. Clive was very nice about letting Whitney sing with me -- I'm not even an Arista artist.''

Davis' motives weren't entirely philanthropic: The track will appear on bothIglesias' first English-language album, ''Enrique'' (due Nov. 23), and on Houston's forthcoming greatest-hits collection,scheduled to drop next year.

Will it be a single? ''Probably. You know if Clive is involved, it's got to be a single,''cracks Iglesias.