Because You Loved Me

"Because You Loved Me" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion for her fourth English-language studio album, Falling into You (1996). It was released on 20 February 1996, as the first single in North America, South America and Asia. It was released as the second single from the album in Australia, on 29 April 1996, and in May 1996 in Europe. "Because You Loved Me" was written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster, and served as the theme song from the 1996 film Up Close and Personal, starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer.

"Because You Loved Me"
Single by Celine Dion
from the album Falling into You
Released	20 February 1996 (1996-02-20)
Recorded	1995
Studio	Chartmarker Studios (Los Angeles, California) Capitol Studios (Hollywood, California) Rumbo Recorders (Los Angeles, California)
Length	4:33
Label	Columbia Epic
Songwriter(s)	Diane Warren
Producer(s)	David Foster
Celine Dion singles chronology
"Falling into You" (1996) "Because You Loved Me" (1996) "J'irai où tu iras" (1996)
Music video
"Because You Loved Me" on YouTube

"Because You Loved Me" received critical acclaim and became a worldwide hit, reaching number one in the United States, Canada and Australia, and reaching top ten in many other countries. In the United States alone, it has sold over two million copies. "Because You Loved Me" won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

Composition and release

"Because You Loved Me" was written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster. Both Warren and Foster worked with Dion on her previous English-language albums. The song is a downtempo pop ballad, and its lyrics revolve around the protagonist thanking a loyal loved one for guiding, encouraging, and protecting her throughout her life, and making her who she is today. Warren said that the song was a tribute to her father. "Because You Loved Me" served as the theme song from the 1996 film Up Close & Personal, starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer. However, the song was not included on the film's soundtrack. "Because You Loved Me" was released as the first single from Falling into You in North America, South America and Asia in February 1996. It was issued as the second single in Australia (April 1996) and Europe (May 1996), after "Falling into You".

The song is written in the key of D♭ major with a slow tempo of 60 beats per minute. Dion's vocals span from A♭₃ to E♭₅ in the song. The final chorus is set in E♭ major.[1]

Critical reception

"Because You Loved Me" received positive reviews from most music critics. Senior editor of AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised ballads like "Because You Loved Me" on Falling into You.[2] The Advocate described it as a "big ballad" and an "emotional roller coaster".[3] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that "Because You Loved Me" is, "rife with grand romance, larger-than-life production, and a climax that is best described as the musical equivalent to 4th of July fireworks".[4] Another Billboard editor, Paul Verna also highlighted the chart-topping "Because You Loved Me".[5] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report wrote, "How about this daring prediction: It'll be one of the first major hits of 1996! An expected Celine Dion media blitz this spring is certain to take her and this project far into the next galaxy".[6] The Hartford Courant noted it as a "luxurious love song".[7] Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised the song, calling it this year's "Wind Beneath My Wings".[8] Richmond Times-Dispatch picked "Because You Loved Me" as one of the best songs on the Falling into You album.[9] Christopher Smith from TalkAboutPopMusic described it as a "beautiful, soulful ballad in her own inimitable way" and noted that Dion "turns on the power over the final choruses."[10]

Commercial performance

In the United States, "Because You Loved Me" became Dion's second number one single, after "The Power of Love" in 1994. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six consecutive weeks and ended the reign at the top of "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men. "Because You Loved Me" also topped the Adult Contemporary Singles for nineteen weeks and set a record for most weeks at number one on this chart. In the following years, only five songs spent more time at the top, including Dion's own "A New Day Has Come" in 2002 (twenty-one weeks). "Because You Loved Me" also reached number one on other US charts, including Hot 100 Airplay for fourteen weeks, Adult Top 40 for twelve weeks, Hot Singles Sales for six weeks and Mainstream Top 40 for five weeks. In April 1996, it was certified Platinum by the RIAA for selling one million copies in the US. As of April 2012, "Because You Loved Me" has sold 1,343,000 physical copies and 704,000 digital units, for a total of 2,047,000 copies. According to Billboard, "Because You Loved Me" is Dion's biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit, followed by "It's All Coming Back to Me Now," also from Falling into You.

In Canada, "Because You Loved Me" topped The Record Singles Chart for one week in May 1996 and also spent ten weeks at number one on the RPM Adult Contemporary Chart. It became the number-one song on the RPM Adult Contemporary 1996 Year-end Chart. "Because You Loved Me" also topped the chart in Australia for three weeks and reached number two in Ireland, number three in New Zealand and Switzerland, number four in the Netherlands, number five in the United Kingdom and Belgium Flanders, and number eight in Denmark. It was certified 2× Platinum in Australia, Platinum the United Kingdom and New Zealand, Gold in Germany and is eligible for Silver in France. As one of Dion's biggest hits, "Because You Loved Me" was included on her both greatest hits compilations: All the Way... A Decade of Song (1999) and My Love: Essential Collection (2008). According to Billboard in November 2019, Because You Loved Me has over 154.7 million on-demand streams in the United States, becoming her 2nd most streamed song in the country. [11]

Awards and accolades

At the 39th Annual Grammy Awards, "Because You Loved Me" was nominated for Record of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Song of the Year and won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. At the Juno Awards of 1997, "Because You Loved Me" was nominated for the Juno Award for Single of the Year. It was also nominated for four Billboard Music Awards in 1996 in categories: Hot 100 Singles, Hot 100 Singles Airplay, Hot Adult Contemporary Singles & Tracks and Hot Adult Top 40 Singles & Tracks. Additionally, "Because You Loved Me" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favourite Song from a Movie. It also won the ASCAP Film and Television Music Award for Most Performed Song from Motion Picture and the ASCAP Pop Awards for Most Performed Song in 1997, 1998 and 1999.

In 2017, About.com placed the song at number 10 in their ranking of "Top 10 Celine Dion Songs".[12]

Music video

A music video was created for the song and showed Dion singing in a newsroom surrounded by several TV monitors (which is where the majority of the film takes place) interspersed with clips from the film Up Close & Personal. It was directed by Kevin Bray in January 1996 and released in March 1996.

At the height of the song's popularity, it was played during the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team's spring game on 20 April 1996 for a football montage video tribute to quarterback Brook Berringer, who had died two days earlier in a plane crash.[13]

Live performances

During the promotion of Falling into You, Dion performed "Because You Loved Me" on various television shows in the United States, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. She also performed it at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards and World Music Awards in 1996, and most notably at the 69th Academy Awards in March 1997. "Because You Loved Me" became a part of the Falling Into You Around the World Tour, Let's Talk About Love World Tour and Taking Chances World Tour. It was also performed during Dion's two Las Vegas shows, A New Day... and Celine. The live performances of "Because You Loved Me" were included on Live in Memphis (1998), All the Way... A Decade of Song & Video (2001), A New Day... Live in Las Vegas (2004), Live in Las Vegas: A New Day... (2007) and Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert (2010). Dion performed "Because You Loved Me" during her Summer Tour 2016, her 2017 European tour, and 2018 tour.[14] On 5 July 2019, Dion performed "Because You Loved Me" during her BST Hyde Park concert in London, and continued performing the song on her Courage World Tour.

Track listing

European CD single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Because You Loved Me"	4:33
2.	"If You Asked Me To"	3:55

Japanese/US CD single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Because You Loved Me"	4:33
2.	"I Don't Know"	4:38

UK cassette single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Because You Loved Me"	4:33
2.	"To Love You More"	5:29

Australian CD maxi-single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Because You Loved Me"	4:33
2.	"I Don't Know"	4:38
3.	"Pour que tu m'aimes encore"	4:14
4.	"Le ballet"	4:25
5.	"The Power of the Dream" (second pressing only)	4:30

European/UK CD maxi-single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Because You Loved Me"	4:32
2.	"Nothing Broken but My Heart" (Radio Edit)	4:11
3.	"Next Plane Out"	4:54
4.	"If You Asked Me To"	3:52

European CD maxi-single #2

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Because You Loved Me"	4:33
2.	"The Power of the Dream"	4:30
3.	"Think Twice"	4:47
4.	"Le fils de Superman"	4:32

UK CD maxi-single #2

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Because You Loved Me"	4:32
2.	"To Love You More"	5:29
3.	"All by Myself" (Spanish Version)	5:12
4.	"Think Twice"	4:43

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1996) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[15] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[16] 18 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[17] 5 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[18] 12 Canada (The Record's Hit Parade Chart)[19] 1 Canada (The Record's Contemporary Hit Radio)[19] 4 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[20] 2 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[21] 1 Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[22] 6 Europe (Adult Contemporary)[23] 3 France (SNEP)[24] 19 Germany (Official German Charts)[25] 13 Hungary (Single Top 40)[26] 6 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[27] 2 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[28] 4 Ireland (IRMA)[29] 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[30] 4 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[31] 4 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[32] 3 Poland (ZPAV Airplay)[33] 10 Quebec (ADISQ)[34] 1 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[35] 4 Spain (Top 40 Radio)[36] 22 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[37] 24 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[38] 3 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[39] 5 US Billboard Hot 100[40] 1 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[41] 1 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[42] 1 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[43] 41 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[44] 1 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[45] 4

Year-end charts Chart (1996) Position Australia (ARIA)[46] 3 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[47] 21 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[48] 64 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[49] 5 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[50] 1 Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[51] 39 France (SNEP)[52] 64 Germany (Official German Charts)[53] 31 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[54] 51 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[55] 16 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[56] 35 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[57] 10 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[58] 75 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[59] 20 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[60] 27 US Billboard Hot 100[61] 3 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[61] 2 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[61] 4 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[62] 6 US Rhytmic (Billboard)[62] 16 US Top Soundtrack Single (Billboard)[61] 1 Decade-end charts Chart (1990–1999) Position US Billboard Hot 100[63] 18 All-time charts Chart (1958–2018) Position US Billboard Hot 100[64] 152

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[65]	2× Platinum	140,000^^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[66]	Gold	45,000[67]
Germany (BVMI)[68]	Gold	250,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[69]	Platinum	10,000^*
United Kingdom (BPI)[70]	Platinum	600,000
United States (RIAA)[71]	Platinum	2,047,000[72]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Credits and personnel

Recording

• Recorded at Chartmaker Studios, Capitol Studios and Rumbo Recorders
• Mixed at The Record Plant

Personnel

• Songwriter – Diane Warren
• Producer – David Foster
• Lead vocal – Celine Dion
• Executive producer for Up Close & Personal – Jon Avnet
• Background vocals arrangers – Sue Ann Carwell, Carl Carwell, David Foster
• Engineer – Felipe Elgueta
• Lead vocal recording – Humberto Gatica
• Assistant engineers – Peter Doell, Mark Agostino
• Mix – Humberto Gatica
• Assistants – Chris Brooke, Paul Boutin, Kyle Bess
• Keyboards – David Foster
• Synclavier programming – Simon Franglen
• Guitars – Michael Thompson
• Background vocals – Sue Ann Carwell, Carl Carwell, Kofi, Terry Bradford, Alex Brown, Philip Ingram, Maxann Lewis, Will Heaton, Bridgette Bryant-Fiddmont, Alanna Capps

Release history

Country	Date	Format
United States[73]	20 February 1996	CD cassette 7"
United Kingdom[73]	20 May 1996	CD cassette

See also

1996 in British music Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1996 Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media List of Adult Top 40 number-one songs of the 1990s List of Australian chart achievements and milestones List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1996 List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of the 1990s

List of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles in 1996 List of Billboard Mainstream Top 40 number-one songs of the 1990s List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1996 (U.S.) List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1990s List of Top 25 singles for 1996 in Australia List of UK top 10 singles in 1996

References

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3. "Dion's spectacular voice bares emotion without excess". The Advocate. 22 March 1996. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
4. Larry Flick (24 February 1996). "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
5. Paul Verna (30 March 1996). "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
6. Sholin, Dave (9 February 1996). "Gavin Picks > Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. No. 2091. p. 102. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
7. "MORE RADIO PAP FROM STONE TEMPLE; DION HOLDS BACK". The Hartford Courant. 28 March 1996. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
8. Stephen Holden (14 April 1996). "New Releases". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
9. "CELINE DION". Richmond Times-Dispatch. 3 May 1996. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
10. Smith, Christopher (2 November 2019). "REVIEW: 'FALLING INTO YOU' – CELINE DION". TalkAboutPopMusic. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
11. "Celine Dion's Best-Selling Albums & Most-Streamed Songs: Ask Billboard Mailbag | Billboard". www.billboard.com. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
12. Lamb, Bill (24 November 2017). "Top 10 Celine Dion Songs". About.com. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
13. Moran, Malcolm (21 April 1996). "Pro Football; On a Day of Celebration, The Cornhuskers Grieve". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
14. Céline Dion, bouleversée, lance sa tournée hommage à René
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67. http://www.ifpi.dk/certificeringer-0
68. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Celine Dion; 'Because You Loved Me')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
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70. "British single certifications – Celine Dion – Because You Loved Me". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Because You Loved Me in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
71. "American single certifications – Celine Dion – Because You Loved Me". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 11 October 2014. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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External links

• "Because You Loved Me" (Music Video) on YouTube
• "Because You Loved Me" (Live in Las Vegas) on YouTube
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics