Celine Dion’s No.1 Hits, Ranked
A lot of 1990s top 40 music doesn’t get enough respect. Celine Dion’s hits were more varied and exciting than her critics acknowledge. One of her No. 1 hits was a collaboration with one of the most infamous musicians ever. Another inspired its writer to eat a lot of French fries.
4. ‘I’m Your Angel’
It’s hard for anyone to sympathize with R. Kelly these days. Of course, there will always be people who want to separate the art from the artist. Those people will tell me that I should judge “I’m Your Angel” on its merits as a song.
And I will! “I’m Your Angel” is a bad easy-listening song. It doesn’t have the glorious melodrama of Dion’s best songs or the sleek R&B of Kelly’s classics. Kelly’s music is probably going to be placed in the dustbin of history. Who cares? This song is beyond boring. There were so many better songs about angels that came out in the 1990s.
3. ‘Because You Loved Me’
The sentiment of this song is excellent. “You were my strength when I was weak” is a stunning line. During a 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly, songwriter Diane Warren discussed a funny story about “Because You Loved Me.”
“Celine did it and it became her biggest hit at that time,” she said. “I got nominated [for an Oscar] for that song and I remember that was one of the ones I thought I was going to win. Usually, I just go and don’t expect anything. But that year, I really did think I was going to win. I took Clive Davis as my date, and then I remember being really bummed out after. And we went to Jerry’s Deli, and I ate two orders of French fries.”
2. ‘My Heart Will Go On’
It’s hard to divorce one’s feelings about “My Heart Will Go On” from one’s feelings about Titanic. If you can manage to do that, it’s easy to see “My Heart Will Go On” for what it is: a beautiful, Enya-esque ballad that draws influence from traditional Irish music. The flue is so pretty it knocks almost all the other easy-listening songs from the 1990s out of the park.
Key changes in pop music are usually seen as cliche. Here, Dion gives us the key change to end all key changes. Titanic needed a song that would feel operatic, and “My Heart Will Go On” did the trick.
1. ‘The Power of Love’
Love or hate her music, nobody can deny the power of Dion’s voice. Here, she gives us her vocal prowess at full force. “The Power of Love” finds just the right subject matter for her — a statement of unconditional commitment. So many love songs are enjoyably frivolous, but “The Power of Love” feels shockingly mature. The way Dion sings it, it feels like the greatest love story ever told.
Before Dion took a crack at it, “The Power of Love” inspired versions by Jennifer Rush, Air Supply, and Laura Branigan. They all work, but only Dion’s topped the Billboard Hot 100.
