Celine Dion is one of the greatest singers of all time. She has a versatile voice, and shines in ballads. Her music has evolved over the years.
She started writing more personal songs, focusing on relationships and emotions. Dion’s early hits mainly were light pop songs, primarily written by her longtime collaborator and husband, Rene Angelil. Below are the 21 of our favorite songs by Celine Dion.
Top Songs by Celine Dion
“My Heart Will Go On”
My heart will go on has an upbeat tempo and lyrics with a strong message of hope and perseverance against the odds. It is a remembrance that there’s always strength to be found in difficult times.
So, no matter how bad things get, hang on and keep fighting. It was primarily thanks to this song that she won five awards at the 1998 Academy Awards in Los Angeles, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
“It’s All Coming Back To Me Now”
It’s all coming back to me now became one of her greatest hits. It was her first song of which she wrote. The lyrics are about a relationship that she remembers in detail and how she felt when it was over.
The words describe the process of rediscovering yourself after a relationship ends. It is one of her most famous songs, and it has been covered by many famous musicians, including Bryan Adams and Clay Aiken.
“Because You Loved Me”
Written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster, “because you loved me” ended up being the best-selling single in Canada and won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television.
It also won an Academy Award for Best Song and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. The lyrics are about how someone changed after meeting someone special because of their love and care.
“The Power of Love”
The idea for writing “The power of love” came to Diane Warren when she read an article about a woman who had been raped and set on fire, who was in the hospital recovering.
She wanted to write a song to help the woman reason being she felt sorry for her. With the success of this song, Dion became one of the world’s best-selling music artists.
“Beauty and the Beast”
Beauty and the beast became successful worldwide, being one of Dion’s most popular singles. In Australia, it peaked at number two for five non-consecutive weeks. In the United States, it became her third top-ten single, peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
It is about a young maiden who loves a prince. When he leaves to join the army, he is transformed into a beast by an evil sorceress. He must win back her love or remain a beast forever.
“Think Twice”
The song is about a person who is telling their lover that they should think twice before making any decision about breaking up with their partner.
It also suggests that we should not do anything when we are angry as we may regret later doing such things. The thing that makes it among the best songs is it has a beautiful soothing melody.
“Immortality”
Immortality is a unique and special one from her repertoire. It makes us think about the singer’s feelings, the feelings and thoughts that she had in those moments when she sang this song and about what life means for her.
It is written so that it can be a great help for some people to express their inner feelings, thoughts and emotions. The lyrics are just unique and ingenious!
“All by Myself”
Made in 1996, All by myself is still Celine’s biggest hit to this day, reaching number one in many countries back then.
It became popular because of its powerful message of hope and perseverance in the face of loss.
“That’s The Way It is”
This was one of her most popular songs. It was released in 1990 and won the Juno Award for Single of the Year. For four weeks, the song stayed at the number 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
It is a love ballad that became the theme song for Quest for Camelot. It is good, not only because of its lyrics but also because of its beat and how she sings it.
“I’m Alive”
I’m alive is listed among her best hits having a great beat and lyrics.
It was released in 1993 and was on the charts. Interestingly, she says, “I’m alive” and “I’m strong enough” are powerful words, and they show the strength that she has.
Evidently, it shows her talent and how great her voice sounds.
“Somebody Loves Somebody”
Dion tells her lover that he won’t find someone else who will put up with him in this passionate dance track. She advises him not to leave her, explaining that this isn’t how their love story is supposed to go.
“Somebody Loves Somebody” was penned for Dion by Audra Mae, a singer songwriter who also happens to be the great-great-niece of Judy Garland. Dion was keen to learn how to channel a more raw, broken quality in some of her music, and credits Mae with helping her to learn how to do it.
“A New Day Has Come”
After two years away from music dealing with personal issues, Dion made a triumphant return to music with this powerful ballad. After a struggle to conceive, her ‘miracle baby’ René-Charles Angélil had finally arrived, moving Dion to pen a track about her change in fortune. “Where there was dark, now there’s light/Where there was pain, now there’s joy,” she sings.
Dion also wanted the track, particularly the title, to offer comfort to a nation still reeling from the 9/11 attacks. The track ended up inspiring the title of her 2002 album, which followed shortly afterwards.
“(If There Was) Any Other Way”
Dion’s first major hit in the US sees her singing from the perspective of a woman having to confront a complicated romantic situation. After having an affair, the woman thinks she has covered her tracks pretty well. However, when her husband reveals that he knew about her betrayal all along, she rushes to her lover to see him one more time and break off the relationship. “Don’t you think I want to stay?” she asks mournfully.
“Loved Me Back To Life”
The title track from Dion’s eleventh English-language studio album, “Loved Me Back To Life”, tells a tender love story. She describes how her partner continued to stand by her even as she crumbles. She uses the metaphor of being in a coma, with her partner sitting at her bedside and willing her to wake up.
“Loved Me Back To Life” is written by Australian singer-songwriter Sia and marked Dion’s big return to music after six years away from the recording studio. Dion was apparently so excited about the recording that after laying down her vocals and listening back to the track, she fell off the couch in the recording studio. “When I hear something that comes from me that makes me fall down off my chair, it’s not often,” she said.
“Taking Chances”
This beautiful ballad describes a scenario in which two relative strangers decide to jump in headfirst. Not knowing much about each other and not having discussed the past or future, they decide that life is short and it might just be worth giving their relationship a shot.
“Taking Chances” is written by songwriting duo Kara DioGuardi and Dave Stewart. They wrote the track in about ten minutes, amid the chaos of furniture being moved into DioGuardi’s new home.
“Goodbye’s (The Saddest Word)”
In the wake of new motherhood, Dion reflects on her own relationship with her mother and her fear of losing her. “It’ll break my heart to hear you say goodbye,” she sings. Now that she is a mother herself, Dion tells her own mother that she understands more fully the huge influence that her mother had over her life and thanks her for all that she did.
“Goodbye’s (The Saddest Word)” features vocals from pop/country legend Shania Twain. The devastating ballad was written by Twain’s husband, Robert John “Mutt” Lange.
“Did You Give Enough Love”
After a lover questions her about why their relationship went soar, Dion gives him a scathing answer. “Maybe you should ask yourself, did you give enough love?” she sings. She explains that although she knows he had good intentions, she thinks he already knows why the relationship ended – he simply didn’t put in enough effort to be a good partner.
“Incredible” (with Ne-Yo)
This epic romantic duet describes a relationship that takes place under a great deal of scrutiny. Aware that eyes are on them, Dion and Ne-Yo assume the roles of two lovers who decide to awe the world with their love affair and give them “something amazing”. As they lay their plans, they keep coming back to the word ‘incredible’.
Ne-Yo had written for Dion before but was surprised when the singer made clear her wishes to perform “Incredible” as a duet. He expressed to media that the experience of trying to keep up with Dion in a recording studio definitely made him insecure about his vocal ability.
“Unfinished Songs”
This inspiring power ballad encourages the listener to take their knocks and scrapes bravely and keep pushing on. “We’re all pictures half drawn/We can be anything we want,” she sings. She compares the people around her to unfinished songs and expresses hope and comfort in the fact that you can never predict what turn life will take.
“Unfinished Songs” was written by Diane Warren for the British-German film Song For Marion. Warren had been a frequent collaborator of Dion’s up until this point, writing over a dozen singles for the singer.
“Water And A Flame”
“Water And A Flame” sees Dion reeling after a break up, unable to comprehend where everything went so wrong. Twinkling synths and dramatic strings accompany her as she concludes that perhaps the two of them are just two different – like “water and a flame”. “Water And A Flame” is a cover of an original duet by Daniel Merriweather and Adele.
“Recovering”
After Dion lost her husband and brother to cancer in quick succession in 2016, her friend and fellow artist Pink wrote “Recovering” for the French-Canadian singer. Celine was moved by the track and praised Pink’s generosity and genuine spirit. When the two met again at the 2016 Billboard Awards, Dion thanked Pink for giving her “a tool… to help me to move forward, to walk, to keep going”. Dion pours all her emotion into the track, making it one of her most moving recordings of all time.
Caitlin Devlin is a music, entertainment and lifestyle writer based in London. When she’s not creating playlists for Repeat Replay, she’s reviewing gigs and interviewing artists for Ticketmaster UK and thinking about what her Spotify Wrapped will look like this year.