Immortality (Celine Dion Song)
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"Immortality" is a pop song recorded by Canadian singer
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 ...
for her fifth English-language studio album, ''
Let's Talk About Love ''Let's Talk About Love'' is the fifteenth studio album and fifth English-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 14 November 1997 by Sony Music. The follow-up to the commercially successful '' Falling into You'' (1996), ''Le ...
'' (1997). It was written by the
Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...
, who also recorded backing vocals. Produced by Walter Afanasieff, "Immortality" was released as a single on 5 June 1998, outside the United States. It became a top ten single in Europe and a top forty single in Canada and Australia. Later, "Immortality" was included on the international editions of Dion's greatest hits albums, '' All the Way... A Decade of Song'' (1999), '' My Love: Essential Collection'' (2008) and '' The Best So Far... 2018 Tour Edition'' (2018).


Background and release

The
Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...
wrote "Immortality" in 1996 for the ''
Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian Americans, Italian-America ...
'' stage musical. Their 1996 demo, in which
Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Along with his younger fraternal twin brothers, Robin Gibb, Robin and Maurice Gibb, Maurice, he rose to global fame as a member ...
sings in falsetto, was released in November 2001 on the Bee Gees' album, '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record''. The musical opened in London's Palladium theatre in May 1998. Dion recorded the song in June 1997, and the Bee Gees added backing vocals on 18 August 1997. Dion attended their session, which was recorded for the music video. "Immortality" was produced by Walter Afanasieff and included on Dion's fifth English-language studio album, ''
Let's Talk About Love ''Let's Talk About Love'' is the fifteenth studio album and fifth English-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 14 November 1997 by Sony Music. The follow-up to the commercially successful '' Falling into You'' (1996), ''Le ...
'' in November 1997. She released it as a single in June 1998, outside the United States. Dion's "Immortality" single as released in Europe and Australia included primarily remixes of her previous hit, "
My Heart Will Go On "My Heart Will Go On" is a song performed by Canadian singer Celine Dion, used as the theme for the 1997 film '' Titanic''. It was composed by James Horner, with lyrics by Will Jennings, and produced by Horner, Walter Afanasieff and Simon F ...
". The ''Saturday Night Fever: Original Cast Recording'' album, released in June 1999, features the song performed by
Adam Garcia Adam Garcia is an Australian actor who is best known for lead roles in musicals such as '' Saturday Night Fever'' and '' Kiss Me, Kate''. He is also a trained tap dancer and singer. Garcia has been nominated twice at the Laurence Olivier Award ...
. In Brazil, "Immortality" served as a theme song to the primetime telenovela, '' Torre de Babel''. The promotional single released in Brazil included remixes of "Immortality" by DJ Cuca.


Critical reception

Pip Ellwood-Hughes from Entertainment Focus described the song as a "power ballad", adding that Dion and Bee Gee's voices together on the song "works well". ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' editor David Browne called it "banal" and said that it is "flimsy concoction that droops under the weight of its arrangement". ''
The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment ...
'' editor Jonathan Bernstein called this collaboration "dispiriting". Øyvin Søraa from '' Oppland Arbeiderblad'' called it "one of the most striking" songs of the ''
Let's Talk About Love ''Let's Talk About Love'' is the fifteenth studio album and fifth English-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 14 November 1997 by Sony Music. The follow-up to the commercially successful '' Falling into You'' (1996), ''Le ...
'' album. Bob Waliszewski of '' Plugged In'' noted that it celebrates love and "its ability to inspire eternal romantic devotion". Christopher Smith from TalkAboutPopMusic described the song as a "smoothie", adding that "it has all the epic flare and charm of a Celine ballad but with added Bee-Gee high notes in the background".


Commercial performance

"Immortality" was commercially successful in Europe, reaching number two in Germany and Austria, number five in the United Kingdom, number eight in Switzerland and Iceland, number eleven in Ireland, number twelve in Sweden, number fifteen in France and Belgium, and number twenty-eight in the Netherlands. On the
European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...
, "Immortality" peaked at number four. It was certified Platinum in Germany, and Gold in Canada, Sweden, France and the UK. In Australia, the song reached number thirty-eight. In Canada, "Immortality" was released as a promotional single and topped the Adult Contemporary chart for two weeks. It also reached number twenty-eight on the Canadian Top Singles chart, based on airplay.


Music video

Filmed on 18 August 1997 and directed by Scott Lochmus, the first music video shows Dion and Bee Gees in the recording studio. In 1999, it was included on the ''
Au cœur du stade ''Au cœur du stade'' (English: "in the heart of the stadium") is the fourth live album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music on 27 August 1999. It was recorded during two sold-out concerts at the Stade de France in Paris in Jun ...
'' DVD, as part of the bonus features, showing the recording process of ''
Let's Talk About Love ''Let's Talk About Love'' is the fifteenth studio album and fifth English-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 14 November 1997 by Sony Music. The follow-up to the commercially successful '' Falling into You'' (1996), ''Le ...
''. The second music video was directed by Randee St. Nicholas, and was filmed in July 1998 before being released on 6 August of the same year. This more elaborate video, which deals with themes of love, loss and reincarnation, opens with Dion walking through a graveyard, sitting in front of one of the graves as she sings the first lines. It then switches to a mansion where she and the Bee Gees appear as ghosts. In one scene during the mansion sequence, Dion meets a man, presumably her lover. During the final pre-chorus until the coda, Dion and the Bee Gees appear at a club, where the former performs as a singer and the latter act as patrons. The video then ends in the graveyard where Dion walks away.


Live performances

On 14 November 1997, Dion performed "Immortality" with the Bee Gees at the
MGM Grand Las Vegas The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The resort was developed by Kirk Kerkorian through his company, MGM Grand ...
. It was included on their live album and DVD, '' One Night Only'', released in September 1998. In the first week of June 1998, Dion and the Bee Gees taped the performances of "Immortality" on three television shows: ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
'' in the United Kingdom, ''Hit Machine'' in France and ''Geld oder Liebe'' in Germany, for a later broadcast. Dion also performed the song during the
Let's Talk About Love World Tour The Let's Talk About Love World Tour was the ninth 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 ...
in 1998 and 1999, and in her residency show, '' Celine'', between 2015 and 2017. On 16 April 2017,
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 ...
aired ''Stayin’ Alive: A Grammy Salute to the Music of the Bee Gees'', taped two months earlier, which included Dion performing "Immortality" as a tribute to the Bee Gees.


Track listing and formats

* Australian cassette and CD single # "Immortality" – 4:11 # "
To Love You More "To Love You More" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, written by David Foster and Edgar Bronfman Jr., writing under the pen-name Junior Miles. It was released as a single in Japan on 21 October 1995 and became a hit, reaching number one o ...
" – 5:20 # "
My Heart Will Go On "My Heart Will Go On" is a song performed by Canadian singer Celine Dion, used as the theme for the 1997 film '' Titanic''. It was composed by James Horner, with lyrics by Will Jennings, and produced by Horner, Walter Afanasieff and Simon F ...
" (Richie Jones mix) – 4:15 # "My Heart Will Go On" ( Tony Moran mix) – 4:21 * European CD single # "Immortality" – 4:11 # "My Heart Will Go On" (Tony Moran mix) – 4:21 * European CD maxi-single # "Immortality" – 4:11 # "My Heart Will Go On" – 4:40 # "My Heart Will Go On" (Tony Moran's anthem vocal) – 9:41 # "My Heart Will Go On" ( Soul Solution percappella) – 4:16 * European 12-inch single # "Immortality" – 4:11 # "My Heart Will Go On" (Tony Moran mix) – 4:15 # "My Heart Will Go On" (Tony Moran's anthem vocal) – 9:41 # "My Heart Will Go On" (Matt & Vito's unsinkable epic mix) – 9:51 * Japanese CD single # "Immortality" – 4:12 # "Where Is the Love" – 4:56 * UK cassette single # "Immortality" – 4:11 # "My Heart Will Go On" (Soul Solution mix) – 4:18 * UK CD single # "Immortality" – 4:11 # "To Love You More" – 5:28 # " (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" – 3:41 * UK remixes CD single # "Immortality" – 4:11 # "My Heart Will Go On" (Tony Moran mix) – 4:20 # "My Heart Will Go On" (Richie Jones mix) – 4:16


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


Release history


See also

* List of UK top 10 singles in 1998


References

{{Authority control 1997 songs 1998 singles 1990s ballads Bee Gees songs Celine Dion songs Columbia Records singles Epic Records singles Music videos directed by Randee St. Nicholas Pop ballads Song recordings produced by Walter Afanasieff Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Robin Gibb