"On My Own" is a

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...

from the 1980 musical ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

''for the part of

Éponine Éponine Thénardier (; ), also referred to as "Ponine", the "Jondrette girl" and the "young working-man", is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo. The character is introduced as a spoiled and pampered child, ...

. 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 ...

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 American competitive figure skating, figure skater and diplomat who served as List of ambassadors of the United States to Belize, United States Ambassador to Belize from 2022 to 2025. In ...

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 musician, composer, author and vlogger. He is one of the lead vocalists and rhythm guitarist of British pop rock band McFly, in addition to being the group's founder. In his 20-year ca ...

danced with Amy Dowden in Strictly Come Dancing (series 19) 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. It aired from January 20, 19 ...

'', played by

Katie Holmes Kate Noelle Holmes (born December 18, 1978) is an American actress. She first achieved fame as Joey Potter on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003). Holmes made her film debut with a supporting role in Ang Lee's '' The Ice Sto ...

, sang this song at a talent show phase of a beauty show, (Season 1, Episode 12) in which she participated. In the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

of ''

Glee Glee may 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 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

'', the character of

Rachel Berry Rachel Barbra Berry is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists, alongside Mr. Schue in the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee''. The character is portrayed by actress Lea Michele, and appears in ''Glee'' from its pilot ep ...

, played by

Lea Michele Lea Michele Sarfati ( ; born August 29, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She began her career as a child actress on Broadway, appearing in productions of ''Les Misérables'' (1995–1996), ''Ragtime'' (1997–1999), ''Fid ...

, sang this song as her audition piece for the ''New Directions''

glee club A glee club 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 was very popular in ...

, 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 sung-through musical theatre, 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 ''Madama Butterfly'', and similarly tells th ...

'', the then 17-year-old

Lea Salonga Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga, ( ; born February 22, 1971) is a Filipino singer and actress. Known primarily for her work in theatre, she has starred in musicals on Broadway and in the West End. Her accolades include a Tony Award and a L ...

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 ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

'', 30 March 2012, accessed 10 July 2016 Actor and singer

Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and singer. Crawford is best known for playing the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'', Cornel ...

recorded a version of "On My Own" for his album '' With Love / The Phantom Unmasked'' (1989).

References

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