"Water and a Flame" is a song recorded by Australian singer
Daniel Merriweather
Daniel Paul Merriweather (born 17 February 1982) is an Australian R&B recording artist. Merriweather's debut solo album, '' Love & War'', was released in June 2009. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number two. It was preceded by two sing ...
for his debut solo album, ''
Love & War''.
It features vocals from English singer-songwriter
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...
.
"Water and a Flame" was released as the album's fourth and final single on 2 November 2009.
Produced by
Eg White and released under
Columbia Records, "Water and a Flame" peaked at number 180 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
In 2013, "Water and a Flame" was recorded by
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
for her album, ''
Loved Me Back to Life
''Loved Me Back to Life'' is the eleventh English-language and twenty-fifth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music Entertainment on 1 November 2013. It was preceded by the lead single and title track, " Loved Me Back ...
''.
Composition
"Water and a Flame" was described as "a smoky, heartfelt ballad". According to David Balls of ''
Digital Spy'', "it finds their rich and soulful vocals dovetailing sweetly - enough to draw attention away from the slightly clichéd chorus".
Music videos
The song's music video does not feature Adele.
Track listing
*Digital single
#"Water and a Flame" (featuring
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...
) – 3:39
#"Water and a Flame" (featuring Adele) (Buzz Junkies Club Mix) – 7:16
Charts
Celine Dion version
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
covered "Water and a Flame" for her 2013 album, ''
Loved Me Back to Life
''Loved Me Back to Life'' is the eleventh English-language and twenty-fifth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music Entertainment on 1 November 2013. It was preceded by the lead single and title track, " Loved Me Back ...
''. It was once again produced by
Eg White and released as the third single in the United Kingdom.
"Water and a Flame" was added to the A List on the
BBC Radio 2 Playlist on 6 February 2014 and the commercial single was scheduled for release in the UK on 24 March 2014.
On 11 April 2014, "Water and a Flame" was officially sent to
Contemporary hit radio in Italy.
Background and release
On 8 August 2012, ''
Le Journal de Montréal'' wrote that Dion's upcoming English-language studio album will contain songs written and produced by
Eg White, who worked with
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...
on ''
19'' and ''
21''. The fragment of the first song, "Water and a Flame" premiered on ''
The Katie Couric Show'' on 25 April 2013 and a behind-the-scenes look at Dion and White recording the song was posted on singer's official website the next day. On 29 August 2013, ''
Billboard'' wrote that Dion's upcoming album ''
Loved Me Back to Life
''Loved Me Back to Life'' is the eleventh English-language and twenty-fifth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music Entertainment on 1 November 2013. It was preceded by the lead single and title track, " Loved Me Back ...
'' is her edgiest record to date and it includes "Water and a Flame", which finds Dion utilizing the lower, grainier register of her voice. The video titled "Making of Water and a Flame" was released onto Dion's
Vevo
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...
channel on 30 October 2013 and the official audio of the song premiered there on 5 November 2013. Eg White also co-wrote and produced another song on ''Loved Me Back to Life'', "Didn't Know Love". On 6 February 2014, Dion's official website announced "Water and a Flame" as the third UK single.
The song was added to the A List on the
BBC Radio 2 Playlist and the commercial single was scheduled for release in the UK on 24 March 2014.
However, the commercial single was withdrawn at the last minute.
The song peaked at number thirty on the UK Radio Airplay Chart in early March 2014.
On 11 April 2014, "Water and a Flame" was sent to radio in Italy.
Controversy
''
Loved Me Back to Life
''Loved Me Back to Life'' is the eleventh English-language and twenty-fifth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music Entertainment on 1 November 2013. It was preceded by the lead single and title track, " Loved Me Back ...
'' was originally to be titled ''Water and a Flame''. In an April 2013 interview on ''
The Katie Couric Show'', Dion played a recording of her cover of "Water and a Flame".
Right before hearing the song,
Katie Couric
Katherine Anne Couric ( ; born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, ''Wake Up Call''. From 2013 to 2017, ...
asked Dion and her husband/manager,
René Angélil
René Angélil (; January 16, 1942 – January 14, 2016) was a Canadian musical producer, talent manager and singer. He was the manager and husband of singer Celine Dion.
Early life
Angélil was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to a father of ...
, in reference to the then title of the album: "where did 'Water and a Flame' come from?" Angélil responded, "It's, you know, the opposites," and Dion replied, "It's the name of the song".
Musician
Samantha Ronson
Samantha Ronson (born 7 August 1977) is an English DJ, singer, and songwriter who lives in Santa Monica, California, United States.
Early life
Ronson was born in Camden, London, to writer/socialite Ann Dexter-Jones and one-time music executive ...
, who is a friend of
Daniel Merriweather
Daniel Paul Merriweather (born 17 February 1982) is an Australian R&B recording artist. Merriweather's debut solo album, '' Love & War'', was released in June 2009. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number two. It was preceded by two sing ...
's, wrote a blog post that included the video of the interview and the text "Dear Celine Dion, when you COVER someone else's song - you might want to give them credit".
In June 2013, Merriweather linked to Ronson's post from his
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
page and harshly criticized Dion, writing, "This song has every ounce of my heartache and pain in it and she pretends as if she wrote it herself". Two days later, Dion's management responded on her website, saying that, while Dion often does not mention the writers of her songs, she has been very vocal about the fact that she does not write her own songs, that she did not intend any harm by the omission, and that all of the writers and producers were always credited on the liner notes.
On 25 July 2013, Dion's website confirmed that the album was re-titled to ''Loved Me Back to Life''.
Critical reception
"Water and a Flame" garnered favorable reviews from music critics. The song was a track-pick in
Stephen Thomas Erlewine's review of Dion's ''
Loved Me Back to Life
''Loved Me Back to Life'' is the eleventh English-language and twenty-fifth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music Entertainment on 1 November 2013. It was preceded by the lead single and title track, " Loved Me Back ...
'' on
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' review by Jon Caramanica and Nate Chinen said: "''
Celine'', her show at
Caesars Palace in Las Vegas... has perhaps pushed Ms. Dion to new levels of pizazz. Several of the album's new songs would fit seamlessly into that revue — "Water and a Flame" has genuine
R&B swagger". Jim Farber of the ''
Daily News'' stated, "The
Winehouse-y number finds Dion fully convincing in her woozy, boozy phrasing". Mike Wass, of
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
wrote, "It's an inspired choice, taking Celine down an entirely different path. It's very
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...
– all smoky vocals and retro
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
production complete with gorgeous strings. This is a great sound for the diva and she should consider revisiting it on future endeavors".
Live performances
On 28 October 2013, Dion performed "Water and a Flame" live for the very first time on ''
Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...
'' in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. The next day, she sang it again at the
Edison Ballroom
The Edison Theatre was a Broadway theatre located in the Hotel Edison at 240 West 47th Street in Midtown Manhattan.
Originally opening in 1931 as the hotel's ballroom, it became the Arena Theatre on May 31, 1950, with a revival of George Kelly ...
in New York City during her intimate concert. Andrew Hampp from ''
Billboard'' was impressed by her rendition of "Water and a Flame", and wrote that Dion impressively turned it into her own "gin-soaked" breakup ballad. Later, "Water and a Flame" was included on the setlist of Dion's
Sans attendre Tour which started in Belgium on 21 November 2013 and ended in France on 5 December 2013. The performance from one of the 2013 sold-out
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
shows was included on the ''
Céline une seule fois / Live 2013
''Céline une seule fois / Live 2013'' is a live album/home video by Canadian singer, Celine Dion. It was released by Columbia Records on 16 May 2014 as a three-disc set (2 CD/DVD and 2CD/Blu-ray). The album/video was recorded on 27 July 2013 on ...
'' (2014) as a CD bonus. She also performed the song during her appearance on the ''
Today Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It w ...
'' on 22 July 2016.
Charts
Credits and personnel
;Recording
*Recorded at
Abbey Road Studios,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
(strings) and Eg White Studio, London (other instruments)
*Vocals recorded at Echo Beach Studios,
Jupiter, Florida
Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the town had a population of 61,047 as of April 1, 2020. It is 84 miles north of Miami, and the northernmost community in the Miami met ...
*Mixed at Larrabee Studios,
North Hollywood, Los Angeles
;Personnel
*Songwriting –
Eg White,
Daniel Merriweather
Daniel Paul Merriweather (born 17 February 1982) is an Australian R&B recording artist. Merriweather's debut solo album, '' Love & War'', was released in June 2009. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number two. It was preceded by two sing ...
*Production – White
*Recording engineer – White
*Vocals recording – François Lalonde
*Vocals recording assistant – Raymond Holzknecht
*Mixing – Manny Marroquin
*Mixing assistants – Chris Galland, Delbert Bowers
*Bass, drums, percussion, guitar, piano – White
*String arrangement –White
*Violins – Janice Graham, Magnus Johnston, Marije Ploemacher, Jonathan Evans Jones, Annabelle Meare, Harvey de Souza, Hannah Dawson, Helen Cox, Beatrix Lovejoy, Kotno Sato
*Violas – Timothy Grant, Becky Low, Simone van der Giessen
*Cellos – Richard Harwood, Rowena Calvert, Jassie Anne Richardson
Release history
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Water and a Flame
2000s ballads
2009 singles
2009 songs
2014 singles
Adele songs
Celine Dion songs
Daniel Merriweather songs
Columbia Records singles
Contemporary R&B ballads
Music videos directed by Philip Andelman
Rock ballads
Songs written by Daniel Merriweather
Songs written by Eg White
Soul ballads