"Alone" is a song composed by

Billy Steinberg William Endfield Steinberg (born February 26, 1950) is an American songwriter. He achieved his greatest success in the 1980s with songwriting partner Tom Kelly (musician), Tom Kelly; together they wrote or co-wrote the No. 1 hits "Like a Virgin ...

and Tom Kelly, who recorded it under the name i-Ten on their 1983 album ''

Taking a Cold Look ''Taking a Cold Look'' is the only studio album by i-Ten, a short-lived project formed of the songwriting duo Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg, released in 1983. The album is typical of album-oriented rock and the duo worked with a number of famous ...

''. It was later recorded by actress Valerie Stevenson and actor

John Stamos John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the ...

on the original soundtrack of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...

'' in 1984. American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

covered it on their 1987 album ''

Bad Animals ''Bad Animals'' is the ninth studio album by American Rock music, rock band Heart (band), Heart, released on May 15, 1987, by Capitol Records. The album continues the mainstream hard rock style from the band's Heart (Heart album), 1985 self-tit ...

,'' and this version reached number one in the US and Canada. In 2007

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

recorded it for her album ''

Taking Chances ''Taking Chances'' is the twenty-third studio album and tenth English-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Columbia Records on 7 November 2007. Dion returned to the music scene after almost five years of performing '' A New ...

''. In 2010

Alyssa Reid Alyssa Ashley Reid (born March 15, 1993) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Her career began in 2008 on '' The Next Star''. She rose to fame in 2011, following the release of her single " Alone Again". From 2018-2020, she released music under the ...

used the music and lyrics for the chorus of her song " Alone Again".

Original Steinberg and Kelly version

"Alone" is a

rock ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Ball ...

composed by

and Tom Kelly, who recorded it under the name i-Ten on their 1983 album ''

''. It was included as the third track of the album. It debuted inauspiciously and I-Ten did not record any other albums prior to disbanding.

Personnel

* Tom Kelly – vocals *

– vocals, guitar *

Steve Lukather Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to ...

– guitar *

Alan Pasqua Alan Pasqua (born June 28, 1952) is an American rock and jazz pianist. He studied at Indiana University and the New England Conservatory of Music. His album ''Standards'' with drummer Peter Erskine was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2008. As a s ...

– piano *

Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Mini ...

– drums

''Dreams'' version

In late 1984, actress Valerie Stevenson and actor

covered the song for the

Sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' under their roles as Lisa Copley and Gino Minelli. It appeared on the episode of the same name where the band perform the song for Frank and Louise's anniversary party. It is the earliest cover of the song. In that episode, Frank and Gino write a poem and turn it into a song. The episode aired on November 7, 1984. The song was released as a single that same day, but did not chart.

Heart version

released the song as the first single from their ninth studio album, ''

,'' in May 1987. Their version is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

that begins with a piano line and a subdued vocal from

Ann Wilson Ann Dustin Wilson (born June 19, 1950) is an American singer best known as the lead singer of the rock band Heart. Wilson has been a member of Heart since the early 1970s; her younger sister, Nancy Wilson, is also a member of the band. One o ...

, leading to a synth-led hard-rock chorus. Tom Kelly, the song's coauthor and himself an experienced session singer, provided the high harmony parts on the record. "Alone" reached No. 1 on both the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the US ''Cashbox''Top 100. It peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Elsewhere, it hit No. 1 in Canada, the top five in Ireland, Norway, and Switzerland, the top ten in Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as the top twenty in West Germany. An "unplugged" version of the song later appeared on Heart's 1995 album ''The Road Home.'' An extended version of "Alone" (5:30 long) was included on the Japanese 3" mini-CD of Heart's third single from ''Bad Animals,'' " There's the Girl". ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 online ...

'' said that it's "a potent, emotion-drenched rock ballad that features Ann Wilson's signature billowing, riveting vocal performance." It earned the band a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group at the

30th Annual Grammy Awards The 30th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1988, at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Album of the Year went to U2 for ''The Joshua Tree'', and Song of the Year went ...

Music video

The video for the song was directed by

Marty Callner Martin Henry Callner (August 25, 1946 – March 17, 2025) was an American director who made music videos, comedy specials, concert specials and television shows. He was the creator of HBO's '' Hard Knocks'', and was nominated for numerous Prim ...

, and was released in June 1987. It starts with Ann at the top of a balcony singing to Nancy, who is at the bottom (similar to the ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' balcony scene). Ann is then seen in all black, including a funeral veil and gown. The two sisters are then seen performing the refrain to an audience on stage, when Nancy's piano collapses at the first bang of the chorus. During the second verse, a broken-down and dilapidated set is seen, with Nancy playing the piano within it. Nancy is then seen riding atop a black horse. It then shows Ann, in the all-black outfit within the broken set and thereby resembling a witch, before cutting directly back to the stage performance as the song reaches its climax. As the song fades out, a shot of Ann and Nancy together is shown, with each one looking directly into each other's eyes, before finally finishing with a quick shot of Ann's face as the screen goes black.

Personnel

– lead vocals * Nancy Wilson – rhythm guitar, acoustic piano, background vocals *

Howard Leese Howard M. Leese (June 13, 1951) is an American guitarist, record producer, and musical director who played with Heart as guitarist and keyboardist for 23 years (1975 through 1998). He continues to record and tour as a solo artist, and as guitar ...

– lead guitar, keyboards, background vocals *

Mark Andes Mark Andes (born February 19, 1948) is an American musician, known for his work as a bassist with Canned Heat, Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne, Firefall, Heart, and Mirabal. Early life Andes was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in Los Angeles, one o ...

– bass guitar *

Denny Carmassi Dennis Joseph "Denny" Carmassi (born 1947) is an American drummer most notable for playing with many rock bands. Biography Carmassi was born into a family of drummers; his father, his uncle, and his brother each played the drums. Occasionall ...

– drums

Additional musicians

* Mike Moran – keyboards * Tom Kelly – background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Celine Dion version

covered "Alone" for her tenth English-language

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''

'' (2007). It was released as the second single in Europe and North America, and third in the United Kingdom in 2008. Produced by

Ben Moody Benjamin Moody (born January 22, 1981) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is known as co-founder of rock band Evanescence, which he departed in 2003 after the release of their debut album '' Fallen'' (2003). After leav ...

, ex-member of

Evanescence Evanescence is an American Rock music, rock band founded in 1994 by singer and keyboardist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody in Little Rock, Arkansas. After releasing independent extended play, EPs and a Origin (Evanescence demo album), demo ...

, the song divided music critics. While some picked it as one of the best tracks on ''Taking Chances'', others thought that the cover was too similar with the original.

Background and release

Dion covered "Alone" in 2007 for her tenth English studio album, ''

,'' released that year. The version was produced by

, former member of rock band

. Dion's version features tinkling pianos and enveloping strings. It was released as the second single in Europe and North America, and third in the United Kingdom. The digital single release in the UK on May 5, 2008, was coincided with the British leg of the

Taking Chances World Tour The Taking Chances World Tour was the tenth concert tour by French Canadian singer Celine Dion, in-support of her thirteenth French-language and 22nd studio album, '' D'elles'' (2007), as well as her tenth English-language and 23rd studio alb ...

. In October 2008, "Alone" was included on the European version of '' My Love: Essential Collection.'' A live version was included in the '' Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert'' CD/DVD.

Critical reception

Music critics were divided on "Alone".

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

from

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 Mus ...

picked the song as one of the best tracks on ''Taking Chances,'' and wrote that "Celine attempts to snatch Heart's 'Alone' from

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005, returning as a judge beginning with the twenty-third season. Underwood's f ...

and cribs from

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

's operatic rock, two blatant thieveries that, when combined with the quartet of explicit changeups, gives ''Taking Chances'' a vaguely desperate vibe, as if Celine needs to prove that she still reigns supreme among all divas".Erlewine, Stephen (November 17, 2007
Taking Chances - Review Allmusic

Rovi Corporation TiVo Corporation, formerly known as the Rovi Corporation and Macrovision Solutions Corporation, was an American technology company headquartered in San Jose, California. Now operating as Xperi, the company is primarily involved in licensing ...

'' Retrieved February 28, 2011. Sarah Rodman wrote for ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' that "Enlisting former Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody adds little; in fact, the carbon-copy arrangement doesn't pack as much windswept melodramatic punch as Dion's own '

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 Sunday ...

.' Great vocal, terrific melody, a fine rendition, but 'Alone' is already indelibly stamped by Heart's

". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' editor Ashante Infantry called this song "sentimental, cringe-worthy diva track". Chuck Taylor of ''

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 advertis ...

'' called it "a rowdy cover". Rob Sheffield of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' gave the song a negative review, writing: "That's nothing compared to Dion shrieking the ten millionth version of Heart's 'Alone' (mad pitchy, dog!), produced by ex-Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody –

Amy Lee Amy Lynn Lee (born December 13, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the co-founder, lead vocalist, lead songwriter, and keyboardist of the rock band Evanescence. A classically trained pianist, Lee began writing music at ...

, meet the fugliest bullet you ever dodged".

Commercial performance

The song debuted on November 24, 2007, at No. 85 on the UK Singles Chart. It spent two weeks on the chart. After selling 12,535 copies, it entered the US

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

at No. 24 and

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

at No. 57. It entered the

Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from IFPI Sverige. It was formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and has been known by its current name s ...

, due to strong digital sales, and peaked at No. 52.

Music video and live performances

The music video was taken from Dion's

TV special '' That's Just the Woman in Me'' and released on March 8, 2008.Celine's "Alone" Music Video - Now Inside TeamCeline!
. Retrieved March 7, 2008. Dion promoted "Alone" at that time in France, performing it on ''

Star Academy ''Star Academy'' is a Dutch-developed reality television talent show format that first aired in the Netherlands as '':nl:Starmaker (televisieprogramma), Star Maker''. Format There are many versions of the show, each country having its own sl ...

''. On November 23, 2007, she went to the American talkshow ''

The View ''The View'' is an American talk show created by broadcast journalist Barbara Walters. , in its 28th season, the show has aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC as part of the network's ABC Daytime, daytime programming block since August ...

'' to perform "Taking Chances" as well as "Alone". Dion performed the song during most dates of her ''

;'' the performance was included in the '' Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert'' CD/DVD.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

External links

*
Heart - Alone (Official Music Video)
* {{authority control 1983 songs 1987 singles 2001 singles 2008 singles 1980s ballads Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Capitol Records singles Celine Dion songs Columbia Records singles Epic Records singles Hard rock ballads Heart (band) songs Music videos directed by Marty Callner Rock ballads RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Ron Nevison Songs about loneliness Songs written by Billy Steinberg Songs written by Tom Kelly (musician) Songs containing the I–V-vi-IV progression Warmen songs pt:Alone (canção de Heart)