"On My Own" is a

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

from the 1980 musical ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

''for the part of

Éponine Éponine Thénardier (; ), also referred to as the "Jondrette girl", is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo. The character is introduced as a spoiled and pampered child, but appears later in the novel as a r ...

. Beginning in the key of D major, modulating to Bb major, then ending in F major, this is the most important song for the role of Éponine. In the song, she expresses her unrequited love for her best friend, Marius, and how she dreams of being at his side but knows his love is for

Cosette Cosette () is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo and in the many adaptations of the story for stage, film, and television. Her birth name, Euphrasie, is only mentioned briefly. As the orphaned child of an u ...

and not for her. The solo did not exist in the original French show that opened in 1980. When the English version was written, the music for "On My Own" was adapted from the original French solo "L'Air de la Misère" which was sung by Fantine about her misery and suffering. In turn, Éponine's original French solo, "L'un Vers L'autre", was dropped in the English version. In the later 1991 Parisian version, the title was "Mon Histoire" (My story). However, "On My Own" has become one of the most famous songs in the musical, and Éponine one of its most popular characters. The first actress to play Éponine (English version) on stage was

Frances Ruffelle Frances Ruffelle (born 29 August 1965) is an English musical theatre actress and singer. She won a Tony Award in 1987, and represented the United Kingdom in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest with the song " Lonely Symphony (We Will Be Free)", ...

; her version of "On My Own" is preserved on both the Original London and Broadway cast albums. It has appeared in many famous events outside of ''Les Misérables''.

Michelle Kwan Michelle Wingshan Kwan (born July 7, 1980) is a retired competitive figure skater and diplomat serving as United States Ambassador to Belize. In figure skating Kwan is a two-time Olympic medalist (silver in 1998, bronze in 2002), a five-time ...

skated to "On My Own" during the 1997 Skate America competition as well as the 1998 Tokyo Golden Gala.

Tom Fletcher Thomas Michael Fletcher (born 17 July 1985) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, composer, author and vlogger. He is one of the lead vocalists and rhythm guitarist of English pop rock band McFly, in addition to being the group's founder ...

danced with Amy Dowden in

Strictly Come Dancing (series 19) '' Strictly Come Dancing'' returned for its nineteenth series with a launch show on 18 September 2021 on BBC One, with the live shows beginning on 25 September. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman returned as hosts, while Rylan Clark-Neal returned t ...

to "On My Own" sung by Shan Ako. The character of Joey Potter in ''

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...

'', played by Katie Holmes, sang this song at a talent show phase of a beauty show, (Season 1, Episode 12) in which she participated. In the pilot episode of ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'', the character of Rachel Berry, played by Lea Michele, sang this song as her audition piece for the ''New Directions''

glee club A glee club in the United States is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs by trios or quartets. In the late 19th century it w ...

, this version charted at number 42 in Ireland and 73 in the UK. Singer Joey Sontz recorded "On My Own" for his debut album "Chasing The Dream" in 2012. For her audition for ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed roma ...

'', the then 17-year-old Lea Salonga chose to sing the song and was later asked to sing "Sun and Moon" from Miss Saigon, impressing the audition panel. Salonga has sometimes credited "On My Own" as the starting point of her international career.Pierce, Scott
"Stars reveal song that changed their lives in new TV series"
'' The Salt Lake Tribune'', 30 March 2012, accessed 10 July 2016

References

1980 songs Songs from musicals Songs with lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer Torch songs Works based on Les Misérables {{show-tune-stub