Twenty-four years after the release of the film, My Heart Will Go On is still one of the most iconic songs of pop culture as it is covered, mocked, and celebrated by many. It was also added to the tracklist of the album Let's Talk About Love, which sold 31 million copies worldwide. The song won the Oscar and the Golden Globe for ‘Best Original Song’ and four Grammy Awards in 1999. Céline Dion was already an internationally famous artist, especially after performing The Power of the Dream at the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, but My Heart Will Go On gave her the ultimate accolade. Since Titanic grossed $2 201 647 264, the song equally soared into the stratosphere. Rather than a complicated million-dollar video, the singer relies on a simple but effective recipe: interspersing her glamorous performance with footage from the film. Surprisingly, the song which she has performed countless times live and on TV, is the product of a single recording session in James Horner's studio, on the day he showed the song to the director. Since 1998 the singer has tirelessly incorporated the Titanic song into her concert set-lists, often using it to close the shows on a high. With almost thirty studio albums, innumerable hits, over fifteen tours and still, My Heart Will Go On is the most in-demand and acclaimed title in Céline Dion's career. In total synergy with Titanic, My Heart Will Go On transcends the cinematographic experience offered by James Cameron.Ĭéline Dion aux Oscars TIMOTHY A. Upon hearing the track with Dion's voice, he agreed to the song straight away. James Horner said that he carried the tape in his pocket for four weeks, waiting for the moment when he caught Cameron in an unusually good mood. But James Cameron still had to be convinced to include the title at the end of his film. From her very first attempt, the Quebec artist charmed the audience. But James Horner persisted and went back to the studio to create a demo which could be properly compiled with the singer's voice. When Horner was writing the music for the end of the film, " I wanted it to feel a little more timeless, and again you get to the end credits and what you hear is a reprise, a suite of old themes, and I felt: “ The last thing I want is a reprise" So instead he decided to use a song, “ I wanted to do something different, something elegant, tasteful, and contemporary.” When he played the melody on the piano to Céline Dion, the singer wasn't totally convinced and refused to record the song. Despite the filmmaker's refusal, Horner was convinced by the potential of his melody to be transformed into a song and entrusted Will Jennings with the lyrics.
James Horner composed the entire soundtrack for the film, including the title The Portrait, which was intended to accompany the drawing Jack made for Rose on the night of the shipwreck. The producers felt that a vocal artist would be too expensive for the film's already enormous budget. When James Cameron called on James Horner to compose the music for Titanic, he decided to only commission an instrumental score. The song might have never seen the light of day
The melody is instantly recognizable from the very first notes, the lyrics already memorized by every listener, and the entire song is catapulted by the voice of one of the greatest divas in the world. And for good reason, as well as being linked to the most epic and tragic love story in cinema over the last thirty years, the song itself is exceptionally powerful. Despite a career chock-a-block with hits, it is this song in particular that the public wants to hear at every concert. The song, performed by Céline Dion, became a classic in the singer's repertoire, after the film's tsunami of success when it was released in 1997. My Heart Will Go On ends Titanic with a firework display of emotions and lyricism.
In the history of cinema, it is rare that a soundtrack gains just as much of a cult following as the film it was composed.