1997’s “My Heart Will Go On,” recorded for the “Titanic” soundtrack, may be Celine Dion’s most famous song, but it’s not her longest charting hit. It’s understandable that you’d assume the opposite, given the impressive stats attached to the ruckus. It sold ten million copies in the US and also won a few prestigious awards. Specifically, it won four Grammy Awards and an Oscar for Best Original Song. However, the number claimed that one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for just two weeks. Dion’s longest charting song(s) lasted six.
Yes, Dion actually has two songs that topped the charts longer than the rest of her catalog — including “My Heart Will Go On.” The first is “Because You Loved Me” from 1996, written by legendary songwriter Diane Warren. Released as the lead song on the “Up Close & Personal” soundtrack, the heartfelt ballad spent 33 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart — six weeks at number one, according to Billboard.
Dion’s second-longest chart-topping track is “I’m Your Angel,” her only duet with R. Kelly. In addition to spending six of its 18 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on the track oneit also achieved platinum status after only eight weeks. Released in November 1998, about a year after “My Heart Will Go On” took the world by storm, it likely benefited from the wind under Dion’s sails at the time. Ultimately, though, it’s a reminder that metrics can’t always predict staying power, which is something “I’m Your Angel” didn’t have.
How Celine Dion feels about My Heart Will Go On
Although Celine Dion had been a force in music since the ’80s, “My Heart Will Go On” helped cement her as an international icon. It also helped to cushion the millions of dollars Dion already had in the bank. Of course, the song’s enduring popularity means she’s also had to sing it countless times on television and in concerts. And while fans are delighted when she belts out the track’s emotional lyrics, we can’t help but wonder if Dion is one of the pop stars who hate their own songs? Fortunately, the answer is a resounding no! That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have complicated feelings about it, though.
One thing you might not know about Dion is that she wasn’t that excited about recording “My Heart Will Go On” at first. “It didn’t appeal to me. I must have been very tired that day – very tired,” she continued “Watch What Happens Live” about the first time she had heard the song. “My husband (the late René Angélil) said, ‘Let’s stick with it.’ He talked to the writer and he said, ‘Let’s try to do it, like a little demo.'” Although the singer eventually took her husband’s advice, she rushed through the process. “I sang the song once and they built the orchestra around it,” she continued, adding, “I never sang it again for the recording. So the demo is the recording itself. But after that I’ve sung it about three gazillion times.”
Can someone say iconic?
