My Heart Will Go On
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"My Heart Will Go On" is the theme song of the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. With music by James Horner and lyrics by Will Jennings, it was recorded by Céline Dion. Originally released in 1997 on Dion's album Let's Talk About Love, it went to number one all over the world, including the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. My Heart Will Go On was released in Australia and Germany on December 8, 1997, and in the rest of the world in January and February of 1998.
In March 2007, the United World Chart ranked "My Heart Will Go On" as the fourteenth most successful song in music history. Referring to that same list, "My Heart Will Go On" is also the second most successful song released by a solo female musician behind Whitney Houston's cover of "I Will Always Love You." [1]
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[edit] History
Horner had originally composed the song as an instrumental motif that is used in several scenes during Titanic. He then wanted to make a full vocal song out of it, for use in the end credits of the film. Director James Cameron did not want such a song, but Horner went ahead anyway and got Jennings to write the lyrics. Dion was Horner's first choice to sing it, but when she heard the song, she did not want to record it. It was her manager and husband, René Angélil, who convinced her to record a demo version, which was something she hadn't done for many years. Horner waited until Cameron was in an appropriate mood before presenting him with the song.
After playing it several times, Cameron declared his approval, although worried that he might be criticised for "going commercial at the end of the movie."
The song heard on the radio and included on Dion's album was recorded in one take, without instrumental accompaniment. Horner, Dion, and later Sony Music decided to use this first recording because "Dion's voice was perfect." One oddity in this song occurs when Dion sings "my heart will go ond and on."
The music video was directed by Bille Woodruff and released at the end of 1997. It was included later on the All the Way... A Decade of Song and Video DVD.
In addition to Dion's Let's Talk About Love and the Titanic soundtrack, "My Heart Will Go On" appears on several other albums, including three of Dion's later albums, Au Coeur Du Stade, All the Way... A Decade of Song, and A New Day... Live in Las Vegas.
At the height of the song's popularity, some radio stations in the U.S. and the UK played an edited version of the song, that had dramatic moments of dialog from the Jack and Rose lead characters in the film inserted in between Dion's vocal lines. It was included later on Back to Titanic.
In France, "My Heart Will Go On" was released as a double A-side single with "The Reason."
[edit] Chart success
"My Heart Will Go On" is considered to be one of Céline Dion's biggest hits and is one of the most successful singles in history. The song reached number 1 all over the world and stayed there for many weeks. Although in the U.S. it stayed at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for only 2 weeks, it spent 10 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay. It was also number 1 for two weeks on the Hot 100 Singles Sales. Had Sony Music promoted the song more, it could have been even bigger in the U.S. but they wanted to promote the album and the soundtrack rather than the single. Therefore only a limited number of copies were released - 687,000, which were sold out in a few weeks. The single eventually was certified gold. In Germany, "My Heart Will Go On" sold over 2 million copies and was certified 4x platinum. It also sold over a million copies in the United Kingdom (1,312,551) and France (1,197,000) and became 2x platinum and diamond single respectively. Other certifications include: 3x platinum in Belgium (150,000), 2x platinum in Australia (140,000), Netherlands (150,000), Norway (40,000), Switzerland (100,000), and gold in Austria (25,000). "My Heart Will Go On" was released twice in Japan. Regular edition from January 1998 sold 205,300 and was certified 2x platinum (200,000). Remixes edition from June 1998 sold 111,920 and was certified separately gold (100,000) due the fact that maxi-singles are treated as an album.
In Canada, the single was released as an import only and peaked at number 14; nevertheless, it still became one of the highest charting import singles. In New Zealand, "My Heart Will Go On" was released as a radio single, and without a commercial release it did not chart higher than number 34. The song also peaked at 34th position on the Japanese Oricon chart (where only few foreign artists charted).
[edit] Accolades
"My Heart Will Go On" won the 1997 Academy Award for Best Original Song. It dominated the Grammy Awards of 1999, winning Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. "My Heart Will Go On" won also the Golden Globe Award in 1998. Other awards include: Billboard Music Award for the Soundtrack Single of the Year, Blockbuster Entertainment Award for the Favourite Song from a Movie, Billboard Latin Award for the First English-language Song to Top Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks Chart, Japan Record Award for the Special Achievement, and Japanese Gold Disc Award for the Song of the Year.
Appeared on 'the hits' 50 Greatest Love Songs at #3 in 2006. In a 2006 poll for a Channel 5 program Britain's Favourite Break-up Songs, "My Heart Will Go On" was voted tenth. It has been named one of the Songs of the Century. It is one of the best-selling singles ever in the UK. It was, worldwide, the best selling single of 1998. It was ranked at #14 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs, celebrating the 100 greatest songs in American film history.
Due to the song's large popularity when it was released, it is considered to be Céline Dion's signature song. Today, along with two other songs from film soundtracks Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" from The Bodyguard and Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, it is considered one of the biggest love ballads of the 1990s.
[edit] Covers
- A cover version of this song was later recorded by Neil Diamond for an album of film tracks.
- Sarah Brightman recorded an Italian version of the song on her album Eden under the name of "Il Mio Cuore Va."
- In 1998, Sandy from Sandy & Junior made a cover and a Portuguese version of the song.
- New Found Glory also recorded a cover, on their From the Screen to Your Stereo EP.
- Kenny G recorded an instrumental cover version.
- There is also a send-up (or parody) of this song through the popular radio rugby league program Continuous Call Team as a dedication to one of the inept "presenters" Darryl Brohman tentatively titled "The Big Maaan Is Gone."
- German Pop star Sarah Connor sampled the song in her single "Living to Love You."
- Eric D. Snider once directed a spoof of Titanic complete with a spoof of "My Heart Will Go On."
- "Weird Al" Yankovic has a concert-only parody of "My Heart Will Go On" entitled "Free Delivery."
- Sally Yeh also covered this song in Cantonese.
- Neal Schon guitarist of Journey also recorded a cover of this song on his album Voice.
- James Galway recorded an instrumental cover version on his album Love Song.
- Michael Ball recorded a cover version of this song on his album The Movies.
[edit] Influence
After the song had become a huge worldwide hit, many movie studios and record labels tried to duplicate its impact. Although many soundtrack singles had become hits before "My Heart Will Go On," a string of similar songs followed afterwards, such as Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" from Armageddon and Faith Hill's "There You'll Be" from Pearl Harbor. Each followed in the footsteps of the "Titanic" theme, a love ballad for a tragedy. Although those two songs became hits, they did not achieve the success of "My Heart Will Go On." However a version of the song done by The Libertines has also surfaced online, with Scarbrough Steve as the vocalist.
Horner himself repeated the formula of making a song from his film themes with movies such as A Beautiful Mind, Bicentennial Man and The Perfect Storm.
[edit] Formats and track listings
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2-Track CD-Single - (U.S.)
4-Track CD-Single - (UK)
2-Track CD-Single - (EU)
4-Track CD-Single - (UK, EU, AU)
2-Track CD-Single - (EU)
2-Track CD-Single - (EU)
2-Track CD-Single - (FR)
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2-Track CD-Single - (FR)
5-Track CD-Single - (AU)
2-Track CD-Single - (JP)
5-Track CD-Single - (JP)
4-Track CD-Single - (BR)
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[edit] Official versions
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Richie Jones Mix) 4:15
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Richie Jones Love Go On Mix) 4:58
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Richie Jones Go On Beats) 5:10
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Riche Jones Unsinkable Club Mix) 10:04
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Tony Moran Mix) 4:21
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Tony Moran's Anthem Vocal) 9:41
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Soul Solution Bonus Beats) 3:31
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Soul Solution) 4:18
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Soul Solution Percapella) 4:16
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Soul Solution Drama at Sea) 8:54
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Matt & Vito's Penny Whistle Dub) 3:23
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Matt & Vito's Unsinkable Epic Mix) 9:53
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Cuca's Radio Edit) 4:22
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Movie Dialogue) 4:41
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Soundtrack Version) 5:11
- "My Heart Will Go On" (Album Version) 4:40
[edit] Charts
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[edit] See also
- Best-selling singles worldwide
- List of best-selling singles (UK)
- List of best-selling singles (F)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Celine Dion |
|---|
| Albums | Singles | Videography | Tours | Awards |
| Preceded by "Doctor Jones" by Aqua |
ARIA (Australia) Number 1 single February 15, 1998 - March 8, 1998 |
Succeeded by "It's Like That" by Run DMC vs Jason Nevins |
| Preceded by "Nice and Slow" by Usher |
Billboard Hot 100 Number 1 single February 28, 1998- March 7, 1998 |
Succeeded by "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" by Will Smith |
| Preceded by "Doctor Jones" by Aqua |
UK Singles Chart Number 1 single February 15, 1998 for 1 week |
Succeeded by "Brimful of Asha" by Cornershop |
| Preceded by "Frozen" by Madonna |
UK Singles Chart Number 1 single March 8, 1998 for 1 week |
Succeeded by "It's Like That" by Run-DMC vs Jason Nevins |
| Preceded by "You Must Love Me" from Evita |
Academy Award for Best Original Song 1997 |
Succeeded by "When You Believe" from The Prince of Egypt |
Categories: 1997 singles | Celine Dion songs | Best Original Song Golden Globe winners | Best Song Academy Award winning songs | Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles | Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks number-one singles | Billboard Hot Latin Tracks number-one singles | ARC Weekly Top 40 number-one singles | Number-one singles in Australia | Number-one singles in Brazil | Number-one singles in Finland | Number-one singles in France | Number-one singles in Germany | Number-one singles in Ireland | Number-one singles in Italy | Number-one singles in the Netherlands | Number-one singles in the United Kingdom | Love themes | Ballads
