Celine Dion
“I decided that the only thing that could culminate this film was something that [brings together] all the emotions,” Titanic composer James Horner told then-Billboard radio editor Chuck Taylor in 1998.
“I wanted to write a song that would allow a contemporary legitimacy, so that it wouldn’t be just a period piece,” Horner mused.
On the Billboard Hot 100 dated Feb. 28, 1998, Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” which Horner completed writing with Will Jennings to close the 1912 (and 1997)-set Titanic, crowned the Hot 100. It debuted at No. 1 as it spent its fifth week atop the Radio Songs chart and arrived as the week’s best-selling song, newly released as a limited-edition stand-alone single.
On the Billboard 200, the Titanic soundtrack, featuring the ballad, scored its sixth week at No. 1, of 16 total weeks on top.
Notably, James Cameron, who solely wrote and directed Titanic, had originally forbidden that the film’s end-credits song include vocals. Horner, however, ultimately decided that he wanted a song to contrast the movie’s orchestral arrangements. As for the vocalist, “I needed an opera singer more than pop singer to bring all the emotional qualities I wanted,” Horner told Billboard. “For me, the only person that could do that was Celine. It was casting more than it was trying to find a superstar to sing it.”
Taylor’s story (which ran the week that “Heart” hit No. 1 on the Hot 100) continued tracing the steps that the song took to its lasting legacy: Horner surreptitiously met with Dion and her husband René Angélil, as he had long known the couple, and played a demo. Impressed, Dion likewise fell for Titanic following a private screening, taken by the film’s love story.
Five weeks later, she recorded it. “It was just electrifying,” Horner recalled. “She was singing like her life depended on it.”
Horner finally took the song to Cameron. “I was waiting for an especially good mood,” Horner said. “On one occasion, he was really excited about a special effect that had just been completed. I was sweating, but I played it.” Cameron’s reaction? “He couldn’t believe it. He said, ‘Aren’t those your themes?’ This is Celine Dion. How did you do this?’ He did love it.”
How did the rest of the Hot 100’s top 10 stack up the week that Dion hit No. 1 on the Feb. 28, 1998, chart? Count down the tally’s top tier that week below, along with a look at more honors that “Heart” has since achieved.
“Been Around the World,” Puff Daddy & The Family (feat. The Notorious B.I.G. & Mase)
Image Credit: Marvin Joseph/The The Washington Post via GI
The all-star song spent its 12th and last week in the Hot 100’s top 10 on the Feb. 28, 1998-dated chart, down 5-10 after peaking at No. 2 for three weeks. From Puff Daddy & The Family’s introductory album No Way Out, it also brought two prior hits back to the chart’s upper reaches, as it samples David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” and interpolates Lisa Stansfield’s “All Around the World.” The former led for a week in 1983 and the latter hit No. 3 in 1990.
“No, No, No,” Destiny’s Child
Image Credit: Vinnie Zuffante/Michael Ochs Archives/GI
The first Hot 100 hit for Destiny’s Child – then comprising Beyoncé, LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson and Kelly Rowland – retreated 8-9 on the Feb. 28-dated list but rebounded to reach No. 3 a month later. The song marked the act’s first of 10 top 10s and helped set Beyoncé on the path to solo superstardom: She has since scored 21 solo top 10s, becoming the first woman with at least 20 solo top 10s and 10 as a member of a group. Overall, only Paul McCartney/The Beatles and Michael Jackson/the Jacksons are also in the exclusive club.
“A Song for Mama,” Boyz II Men
Image Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage
Boyz II Men boasted the most Hot 100 top 10s among groups, or any male act, during the ’90s, with 10. This song marked their 10th, and most recent, descending to No. 8 from its No. 7 best on the Feb. 28 chart. Half of their top 10s hit No. 1, from “End of the Road” in 1992 through “4 Seasons of Loneliness” in 1997, and their 50 total weeks on top are fifth-best all-time, after only Mariah Carey (91), Rihanna (60), The Beatles (59) and Drake (54).
“I Don’t Ever Want To See You Again,” Uncle Sam
Priyanka Chopra is in a steady and loving marriage with husband Nick Jonas, but in the first trailer for her upcoming movie Love Again, she stars as Mira Ray, who mourns the loss of her fiancé and uses text messages to feel connected to him in his absence.
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A trailer for the movie, released Tuesday (Feb. 14), sees Chopra cuddling with the fiancé’s old clothing and reflecting on the time she’s spent with him, until one night, she uses her cell phone to send her former lover a message: “I miss you so much. There’s an aching inside of me,” she sends, unknowingly to journalist Rob Burns (Sam Heughan), who receives her texts after getting a new cell phone for work purposes.
In an attempt to move on, Chopra goes on a date for the first time since her fiancé died and gets sets up with none other than a character played by her real-life husband, who she is unable to settle into a comfortable groove with. “Maybe we should just take it slow,” she suggests as they’re in the back of a cab. “Yeah,” he says, awkwardly leaning in for a kiss.
Rob, on the other hand, can’t help but fall for the random woman whose messages he continues to receive, and one day, he makes a plan to meet her face to face, jumpstarting the unfolding of his and Mira’s relationship. Céline Dion also stars in the movie, playing herself and acting as a guiding force for Rob, at one point in the trailer telling him, “These texts you’re receiving are saying something. It might be crazy, but love doesn’t always follow the rules.”
“A journalist, Rob is captivated by the honesty in the beautifully confessional texts,” the film’s synopsis adds. “When he’s assigned to write a profile of megastar Céline Dion, he enlists her help in figuring out how to meet Mira in person and win her heart.”
“I had a lot of fun doing this movie,” the “It’s All Coming Back to Me” singer told People. “And to have the privilege of appearing with the beautiful and talented actors Priyanka Chopra and Sam Heughan in my very first feature film is a privilege that I will cherish forever.” Several new tracks from the singer will also appear in the film. “I think it’s a wonderful feel-good story, and I hope that people will like it and like the new songs too,” she adds.
Love Again will arrive on May 12. Watch the first trailer in the video above.
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Nothing riles up the internet like a “best of all time” list. Rolling Stone kicked off 2023 with a list that they are calling “The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time” and boy, did it get people talking.
The list was compiled by staff of and key contributors to Rolling Stone, according to the website. This was a major change from when they did a similar list in 2018 which used an elaborate voting process that included input from well-known musicians. They noted that because of that input, the list skewed toward classic rock and singers from the ’60s and ’70s.
The 2023 version seems to swing in the opposite direction featuring singers from a number of generations. With one major exception.
Pop superstar, Celine Dion, a five-time Grammy Award-winning singer gifted the world with “My Heart Will Go On,” the theme song from Titanic which won the Academy Award in 1998 for Best Original Song.
Social media users call her exclusion from the list, “a Titanic mistake.”
Grammy-winning songwriter, Diane Warren, wrote, “One more reason these stupid ass lists don’t mean shit. Really??? A list of greatest singers @RollingStone and #CelineDion isn’t on it??”
And celebrities aren’t the only ones who were flabbergasted and frustrated by not only who did make the list, but the order and ranking.
Others noted that the list, which came out just weeks after Celine Dion announced a debilitating disease that may silence her voice, should be a prompt for a tribute at the Grammy Awards next month.
Others noted, that while it is not a relevant fact, Dion is also known in industry circles for her kindness and generosity.
Fans were also quick to remind social media how Celine is also an honorary Jamaican.
For their part, Rolling Stone seemed to anticipate some backlash writing in their introduction, “Before you start scrolling (and commenting), keep in mind that this is the Greatest Singers list, not the Greatest Voices List. Talent is impressive; genius is transcendent. Sure, many of the people here were born with massive pipes, perfect pitch, and boundless range. Others have rougher, stranger, or more delicate instruments.”
Ok, Rolling Stone…we will let producer and promoter, Jamie Lambert have the last word.
Celine Dion revealed in an emotional video posted to Instagram on Thursday (Dec. 8) that she is battling a rare neurological disorder called “Stiff-Person Syndrome.”
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“As you know, I’ve always been an open book. And I wasn’t ready to say anything before,” said Dion in the solemn, brief clip. “But I’m ready now… ’I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through.”
Due to the severe muscle spasms that Dion says “affect every aspect of my daily life,” she will not be able to re-start her tour in Europe in February as planned. All of her spring 2023 dates will move to 2024 and 8 of her summer 2023 shows have been cancelled.
Following Dion’s announcement, we’ve compiled everything you need to know about the lesser-known disorder.
What Is Stiff-Person Syndrome?
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Stiff-Person Syndrome, or SPS, is a very rare neurological disorder that has features of an autoimmune disease. “SPS is characterized by fluctuating muscle rigidity in the trunk and limbs and a heightened sensitivity to stimuli such as noise, touch, and emotional distress, which can set off muscle spasms,” per NINDS, which also notes that the disorder affects twice as many women as men and science does not yet understand what causes it. The disorder is also often misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia or anxiety.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, SPS only affects one or two in a million people.
What Are the Symptoms of Stiff-Person Syndrome?
“Abnormal postures, often hunched over and stiffened, are characteristic of the disorder,” according to NINDS. Those with SPS can also be unable to walk or move or might be triggered into a spasm or fall due to loud noises.
Are There Treatments for Stiff-Person Syndrome?
The current treatment is a regimen of anti-convulsants and valium and intravenous treatments aimed at reducing stiffness and lowering sensitivity to touch, noise and stress. The preferred treatments can improve symptoms, but a cure is not yet known and sufferers are often subject to frequent falls because of a lack of the usual defensive reflexes.
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