By WENDY COLE/Reported by Georgia Harbison

Hardly a peep has been heard from WHITNEY HOUSTON, 27, since her last album hit the charts at No. 1 three years ago. But the full-throated Jersey girl will reclaim her standing as pre-eminent soul diva with next month's I'm Your Baby Tonight. In the upcoming Fame magazine, she insists that she won't be disappointed if the release doesn't start out at the top. "I was glad the other one did," she says. I'm the only female who's ever done that." Gospel truth.