I Don't Know How to Love Him has been universally acclaimed as the high point of the "Jesus Christ Superstar" soundtrack since the album's September 1970 release; in 2003 "The Rough Guide to Cult Pop" would assess Elliman's performance: "It's rare to hear a singer combine such power and purity of tone in one song, and none of the famous singers who have covered this ballad since have come close." The choice for the first single release went, however, to the track "Superstar" by Murray Head. When a cover of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" by Helen Reddy began moving up the charts in the
How Will I Know the entire run of her Greatest Love Tour (1986), Moment of Truth World Tour (1987–1988), Feels So Right Japan Tour (1990), I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour (1991), The Bodyguard World Tour (1993–1994), and My Love Is Your Love World Tour (1999). She also recently performed the song on her Nothing but Love World Tour (2009–2010). Apart from the concert tour performances, Houston has performed the song on various other occasions like the Third MTV Video Music Awards (1986), where she sang "How Will I Know" and "Greatest Love of All", Thirteenth Annual American Music Awards (1986), and 1987 BRIT