"Because You Loved Me" is a song by Canadian singer

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 ...

from her fourth English-language studio album, ''

Falling into You ''Falling into You'' is the fourth English-language and fourteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 11 March 1996 by Columbia/Epic Records. The follow-up to her commercially successful album '' The Colour of My Love'' (1 ...

'' (1996). It was released on 19 February 1996 as the first single in North America and as the second single in the United Kingdom on 20 May 1996. "Because You Loved Me" was written by

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. Wa ...

and produced by

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

, and served as the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

from the 1996 film '' Up Close & Personal'', starring

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Cec ...

and

Michelle Pfeiffer Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress and producer. A prolific performer whose screen work spans over four decades, she became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars and popular sex symbols during the 1980s ...

. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' ranked it as the 14th Top Love Song Of All Time. "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 for Visual Media The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media. Recipients * Each year is linked t ...

, and was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...

, Song of the Year and

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

. It was also nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...

and

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The award is presented to the songwriters of a ...

. The single sold more than five million copies in its first six months of availability worldwide.

Composition and release

"Because You Loved Me" was written by

and produced by

. Both Warren and Foster worked with Dion on her previous English-language albums. The song is a

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may b ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

in which the singer thanks 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

from the 1996 film ''Up Close & Personal'', starring

and

. However, the song was not included on the film's soundtrack. "Because You Loved Me" was released as the first single from ''

'' in North America. It was issued as the second single in the United Kingdom (May 1996), after "

". The song is written in the key of D major with a slow

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 60 beats per minute. Dion's vocals span from A₃ to A₅ in the song. The final chorus is set in

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equiva ...

Critical reception

"Because You Loved Me" received positive reviews from most music critics. '' The Advocate'' described it as a "big

" and an "emotional roller coaster". Senior editor of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

praised ballads like "Because You Loved Me" on the ''

'' album.

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

'' wrote that it 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". Another ''Billboard'' editor, Paul Verna also highlighted the song. Daina Darzin from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' declared it as "a classic

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

ballad, ithsparkling, lush instrumentals showcasing Dion's effortless, accomplished voice. This tune's in line to follow the success of material from '' Waiting To Exhale'' and other romantic blockbusters." Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The p ...

'' 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". ''

The Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Ha ...

'' noted it as a "luxurious love song". A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated it five out of five, adding that it "tugs the heartstrings like a surefire winner."

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

of ''

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 ...

'' praised the song, calling it this year's "

Wind Beneath My Wings "Wind Beneath My Wings" (sometimes titled "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "Hero") is a song written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley. The song was first recorded by Kamahl in 1982 for a country and western album he was recording. Kamahl tal ...

". ''

Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatch'' has the second-h ...

'' picked "Because You Loved Me" as one of the best songs on ''Falling into You''. 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."

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 "One Sweet Day" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey and vocal group Boyz II Men. The song was released on as the second single from Carey's fifth studio album, ''Daydream'' (1995) by Columbia Records. The artists co ...

" by

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the w ...

and

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan ...

. "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 The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acro ...

for fourteen weeks,

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

for twelve weeks,

Hot Singles Sales This is a compendium of the best-selling music singles. The criterion for inclusion is to sell at least ten million copies worldwide. The singles listed here were cited by reliable sources from various media, such as digital journalism, news ...

for six weeks and

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the U ...

for five weeks. In April 1996, it was certified Platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

for selling one million copies in the US. , "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 ''

'', "Because You Loved Me" is Dion's biggest ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit, followed by "

It's All Coming Back to Me Now "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" is a power ballad written by Jim Steinman. According to Steinman, the song was inspired by ''Wuthering Heights'', and was an attempt to write "the most passionate, romantic song" he could ever create. ''The Sunda ...

," also from ''

''. By the end of the 1996, "Because You Loved Me" was the most played music video on VH1 Music Fest, 21st most played on MTV Music Television, 16th most played on

Much Music Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31, ...

and 11th most played on MOR Music. In Canada, "Because You Loved Me" topped ''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * ''The Record'' (album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Records, an English power pop band * '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record'', a 2001 greatest-hits album by the pop-music group Bee G ...

'' 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. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number five and became the album's most popular track with 27 million streams, 366,000 physical CD sales and 163,000 downloads as of March 2021. 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'', as of November 2019 "Because You Loved Me" had over 154.7 million on-demand streams in the United States, becoming her second most streamed song in the country.

Awards and accolades

At the

39th Annual Grammy Awards The 39th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997, at Madison Square Garden, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Babyface was the night's biggest winner, with 3 awards. Celine Dion, Toni ...

, "Because You Loved Me" was nominated for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, 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 The Juno Awards of 1997, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 9 March 1997 in Hamilton, Ontario at a ceremony in the Copps Coliseum. Jann Arden was host for the major ceremonies which were broadc ...

, "Because You Loved Me" was nominated for the

Juno Award for Single of the Year The Juno Award for Single of the Year has been awarded since 1974 for the best single in Canada. It has also been known as Best Single and Best Selling Single. The award goes to the artist. Best Single (1974) Best Selling Single (1975 - 1979 ...

. It was also nominated for four

Billboard Music Award The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by ''Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of t ...

s 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

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".

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

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 The Nebraska Cornhuskers football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the West Division of the Big Ten. Nebraska plays its home games at Memorial Stadium, ...

team's spring game on 20 April 1996 for a football montage video tribute to quarterback

Brook Berringer Brook Warren Berringer (July 9, 1973 – April 18, 1996) was an American quarterback for the University of Nebraska football team in the mid-1990s. Berringer came to Nebraska from Goodland, Kansas, and played a backup role to Tommie Frazier. He w ...

, who had died two days earlier in a plane crash.

Live performances

During the promotion of ''

'', 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 The Blockbuster Entertainment Awards was a film awards ceremony, founded by Blockbuster Entertainment, Inc., that ran from 1995 until 2001. They were produced each year by Ken Ehrlich. Formation and first awards The awards were first held on J ...

and

World Music Awards The World Music Awards is an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event is based in Monte Carlo. Awards are presented to the world' ...

in 1996, and most notably at the

69th Academy Awards The 69th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) took place on March 24, 1997, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the cerem ...

in March 1997. "Because You Loved Me" became a part of the

Falling Into You Around the World Tour Falling Into You: Around the World is the seventh world concert tour by Canadian pop singer Céline Dion. It was organized to support one of the best-selling albums of all time, her fourth English-language and fourteenth studio album, '' Falling ...

Let's Talk About Love World Tour The Let's Talk About Love World Tour is the eighth concert tour by Canadian recording artist Celine Dion. Visiting North America, Asia and Europe; the trek supported Dion's fifth English and fifteenth studio album '' Let's Talk About Love'' (1997 ...

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 The 2017 European Tour was the ninth edition of the Race to Dubai and the 46th season of golf tournaments since the European Tour officially began in 1972. England's Tommy Fleetwood won the Race to Dubai. Spanish golfers collected the annual awar ...

, and 2018 tour.Céline Dion, bouleversée, lance sa tournée hommage à René
/ref> 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 The Courage World Tour is the fourteenth concert tour by Canadian singer Celine Dion, in support of her English-language studio album ''Courage'' (2019). It was her first world tour in over a decade, since her Taking Chances World Tour. The tou ...

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Recording *Recorded at Chartmaker Studios,

Capitol Studios Capitol Studios are recording studios located at the landmark Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, California. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capitol Records. While ...

and Rumbo Recorders *Mixed at

The Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

Personnel *Songwriter –

*Producer –

*Lead vocal –

*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 Humberto Gatica is a Chilean-born American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer, best known for his work with Celine Dion, Chicago, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and Michael Bublé. Gatica's ...

*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

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1996 singles 1996 songs 1990s ballads Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Celine Dion songs Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media Love themes Milly Quezada songs Music videos directed by Kevin Bray (director) Number-one singles in Australia Pop ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Song recordings produced by David Foster Songs written by Diane Warren Columbia Records singles Epic Records singles