The Song Nobody Wanted

In 1997, Celine Dion wanted nothing to do with "My Heart Will Go On."

Her husband and manager René Angélil brought her the demo written by James Horner and lyricist Will Jennings. Dion's reaction was immediate and negative. She later told interviewers she wanted to "choke" her husband for suggesting it. She thought it was cheesy, overwrought, and beneath her.

James Cameron was equally resistant. He had specifically told Horner he didn't want a pop song in Titanic. The film was supposed to be a serious historical drama, not a vehicle for a power ballad. Horner wrote the song secretly, behind Cameron's back, hoping to change his mind later.

Dion agreed to record a single demo take — one pass, not intended to be the final version. She wanted to get it over with and move on.

That one take became the master recording. It sold 18 million copies worldwide, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and became the best-selling single of the entire 1990s. It spent weeks at number one in virtually every country on Earth.

Years later, Rolling Stone readers voted it the 4th most annoying song ever made. Dion herself admitted she sometimes lip-syncs the song at concerts because she got so tired of performing it.

A song nobody wanted, recorded in one take nobody meant to keep, became one of the most successful recordings in music history — and then one of the most hated.