my heart will go on

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 lyric.^[1] Dion was Horner's first choice to sing it, but when she heard the song, she did not want to record it.^{citation needed]} It was her manager and husband, René Angélil, who convinced her to do record a demo, which is something she hadn't done in 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."^[1]

The song heard on the radio and in Dion's albums 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."^{citation needed]} One oddity in this song occurs when Celine sings "my heart will go onD and on."

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 two of Dion's later albums, All The Way...A Decade Of Song, Au Coeur Du Stade and A New Day...Live In Las Vegas .

At the height of the song's popularity, some U.S. radio stations 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.

Accolades

"My Heart Will Go On" won the 1997 Academy Award for Best 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.

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.

Due to the song's large popularity when it was released, it is considered to be Celine Dion's signature song. Today, along with Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", it is considered to be the biggest love ballad of the 1990s.

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. 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 also recorded a cover version.

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".

References

External links

• song lyrics
• music video
• Listen this song online