Immortality (Celine Dion song)

"Immortality"
Single by Celine Dion featuring Bee Gees
from the album Let's Talk About Love
Released	8 June 1998
Format	CD single, cassette single
Recorded	1997 Record Plant Studios, The Hit Factory, Middle Ears Studio, Masterphonics
Genre	Pop
Length	4:11
Label	Columbia, Epic
Writer(s)	Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb
Producer(s)	Walter Afanasieff
Celine Dion singles chronology
"My Heart Will Go On" (1997) "Immortality" (1998) "When I Need You" (1998)
The Bee Gees singles chronology "Still Waters (Run Deep)" (1997) "Immortality" (1998) "This Is Where I Came In" (2001)

"Immortality" is a single from Celine Dion's album Let's Talk About Love. It was released on 8 June 1998 outside the United States. The Bee Gees can be heard on the background vocals, and are credited as special guests on/for the recording.^[1] It was used as a theme song for the Brazilian telenovela "Torre de Babel". For that occasion was release a promo CD Single only in Brazil with various remixes.

"Immortality" was composed especially for Dion by brothers Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and Maurice Gibb, the members of the Bee Gees, and was produced by Walter Afanasieff. A demo version of the song featuring just the brothers can be found on subsequent greatest hits albums of the Bee Gees.

There are two music videos. The first one, directed by Scott Floyd Lochmus, shows Dion and the Bee Gees in the recording studio in 1997. It was included as a bonus on the Au cœur du stade DVD. The second one was directed by Randee St. Nicholas and released at the end of July 1998. This more elaborate video deals with themes of love, loss and reincarnation, with a cameo from the Bee Gees themselves.

The song was a commercial success reaching number 2 in Austria and Germany, number 4 in Europe, number 5 in the United Kingdom, and number 8 in Switzerland. In Brazil, the Cuca mixes became very popular. However, the track was never released as a single in the United States, where Sony Music Entertainment instead decided to release "To Love You More."

"Immortality" was certified platinum in Germany (for over 500,000 copies sold),^[2] gold in Sweden (15,000),^[3] and silver in France (145,000)^[4] and the UK (200,000).

The live version of this song was included on the One Night Only CD and DVD by the Bee Gees, released on 3 November 1998. Dion also performed this song during her Let's Talk About Love Tour. The song was performed also on British TV programme Top of the Pops on July 1998. For the first time in 16 years, Dion performs the song in her current residency show Celine at the The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"Immortality" became a part of non-American versions of Dion's later greatest hits: All the Way… A Decade of Song and My Love: Essential Collection.

In 2001, Donny Osmond covered "Immortality" for his 2001 album This Is the Moment. For the 2001 Greatest Hits album "The Record", The Bee Gees re-recorded the song without Dion's vocals, instead having Barry Gibb as the lead singer and Maurice and Robin on back-up vocals.

Music video

The video opens with Celine walking through a graveyard. She and the Bee Gees then appear as ghosts in a manor house where Dion meets a man (presumably her lover). Celine and the Bee Gees later appear at a club where she is a singer. The video then ends in the graveyard where Dion walks away.

Critical reception

Entertainment Weekly editor David Browne called this song 'banal' and said that it is "flimsy concoction that droops under the weight of its arrangement." ^[5] The New York Observer editor Jonathan Bernstein called this collaboration "dispiriting".^[6]

Formats and track listings

European CD single "Immortality" – 4:11 "My Heart Will Go On" – 4:40 Japanese CD single "Immortality" – 4:11 "Where Is the Love" – 4:55 UK cassette single "Immortality" – 4:11 "My Heart Will Go On" (Soul Solution mix) – 4:18 Australian CD maxi single "Immortality" – 4:11 "To Love You More" – 5:28 "My Heart Will Go On" (Richie Jones mix) – 4:15 "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) – 9:11 "My Heart Will Go On" (Soul Solution parcappella) – 4:16 UK CD maxi single "Immortality" – 4:11 "To Love You More" – 5:28 "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" – 3:40 UK CD maxi single #2 "Immortality" – 4:11 "My Heart Will Go On" (Tony Moran mix) – 4:21 "My Heart Will Go On" (Richie Jones mix) – 4:15

Official versions

1. "Immortality" (Cuca cool DJ mix) – 4:27
2. "Immortality" (Cuca cool remix) – 4:26
3. "Immortality" (Cuca pop remix) – 4:27
4. "Immortality" (Cuca club remix) – 7:06
5. "Immortality" (Cuca cool mix) – 6:13
6. "Immortality" (album version) – 4:11
7. "Immortality" (demo version) – 4:15

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1998) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[7] 38 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 48 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[10] 15 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 28 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[12] 1 Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[13] 4 France (SNEP)[14] 15 Germany (Official German Charts)[15] 2 Ireland (IRMA)[16] 11 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 28 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 41 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[19] 6 Spain (Top 40 Radio)[20] 23 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 12 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 8 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[23] 5

Year-end charts Chart (1998) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[24] 18 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[25] 82 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[26] 13 France (SNEP)[27] 67 Germany (Official German Charts)[28] 10 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[29] 231 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[30] 28 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 22 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[32] 108

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
France (SNEP)[33]	Silver	145,000[34]
Germany (BVMI)[2]	Platinum	500,000^^
Sweden (GLF)[35]	Gold	15,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36]	Silver	200,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

• List of UK top 10 singles in 1998

References

1. Glatzer, Jenna (2005). Céline Dion: For Keeps. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 0-7407-5559-5.
2. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Celine Dion; 'Immortality')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
3. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
4. "French single certifications – Celine Dion – Immortality" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
5. Browne, David (21 November 1997). "White Noise". EW.com. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
6. Jonathan Bernstein (25 October 2013). "Celine Dion: Is She Cool? Someday, Maybe, but Not Now | New York Observer". Observer.com. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
7. "Céline Dion with the Bee Gees - Immortality (Song)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
8. "Céline Dion with the Bee Gees - Immortality (Song)" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
9. "Céline Dion with the Bee Gees - Immortality" (in Dutch). Ultratop & Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
10. "Céline Dion with the Bee Gees - Immortality" (in French). Ultratop & Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
11. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7907." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
12. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3657." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
13. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. 25 July 1998. p. 63. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
14. "Céline Dion with the Bee Gees - Immortality (chanson)" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
15. "Offiziellecharts.de – Céline Dion with the Bee Gees – Immortality". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
16. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Immortality". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
17. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 26, 1998" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 4 September 2014.
18. "Single Top 100". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
19. "Archive Chart: 1998-07-12". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
20. Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
21. "Céline Dion with the Bee Gees - Immortality (Song)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
22. "Céline Dion with the Bee Gees - Immortality". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
23. "Celine Dion: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
24. "Jahreshitparade 1998" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
25. "Rapports annuels 1998" (in French). Ultratop. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
26. "RMP's Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of '98". RPM. 14 December 1998. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
27. "Classement Singles - année 1998" (in French). SNEP. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
28. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
29. "Jaarlijsten 1998" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
30. "Årslista Singlar - År 1998" (in Swedish). GLF. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
31. "Swiss Year-end Charts 1998". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
32. "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40-1998 wg sprzedaży" (in Polish). Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
33. "Certifications Singles Argent - année 1998" (in French). SNEP. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
34. "Les 45 T. / Singles" (in French). InfoDisc. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
35. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
36. "British single certifications – Celine Dion – Immortality". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Immortality in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics