Here are the facts about the song “My Heart Will Go On”
My Heart Will Go On was sung by legendary diva Celine Dion and was featured in the epic James Cameron movie Titanic.
Here are more facts about this ballad that gained worldwide popularity.
James Cameron’s initial reaction was that he didn’t like it
The movie director wanted to have a historical disaster epic ending with a standard score rather than a pop song, based on the article in Pop Sugar.
The song was intended as a marketing tool
The song at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on Feb. 28, 1998. It helped the Titanic soundtrack land a 16-week run on top of the Billboard 200. This boosted the ticket sales.
The composer already had Celine Dion in mind
James Horner wrote the song without input from the studio or the director. However, he was already thinking that this would be sung by Celine Dion.
Celine Dion was encouraged by her husband to sing this
When James Horner played this song to Celine Dion and her late husband René Angélil, she vocally expressed that she disliked the song. It was René who convinced her to make a demo. In an interview, the diva said, “I wanted to choke my husband. Because I didn’t want to do it! I just came out of ‘Because You Loved Me,’ and then ‘Beauty and the Beast’ was, like, huge. Why do we need to break our nose?”
Celine Dion was in a terrible mood during the recording
She was experiencing menstrual cramps at that time and she just recorded the song without thinking about the movie and radio. However, it was just one take and everyone was blown away. Horner waited for the right time to play it for Cameron as he wanted him to be in the best possible mood.
What convinced James Cameron?
The director decided to put the song in the movie when he saw Celine crying. The producers edited it into the end of the film and arranged a screening for Cameron, Celine, and Rene. Cameron saw the singer cry at the end of the movie.