Falling into You by Céline Dion

Celine Dion had plenty of career momentum going into the release of 1996’s *Falling Into You*. The Quebec native had been a superstar in Canada since the ’80s thanks to a string of French-language albums, and she was gaining ground in the U.S. thanks to her multiplatinum 1993 English-language effort *The Colour of My Love*. But *Falling Into You* ended up becoming a bona fide global phenomenon, selling more than 30 million records worldwide and winning a GRAMMY® Award for Album of the Year. The album’s appeal largely stems from its heart-on-sleeve romanticism and Dion’s talent as a vocal interpreter. Although she’s without question a singular belter—witness the anguished wails ending a majestic, orchestrated take on Eric Carmen’s \"All By Myself,\" or her brassy spin on the Tina Turner-popularized “River Deep, Mountain High”—her sense of dynamics is even more impeccable. For example, the Jim Steinman-penned power ballad “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” amasses melodrama at a leisurely pace, aided by moments of tranquility—plaintive piano melodies and heavenly harmonies featuring (among others) Todd Rundgren—alternating with periodic surges of crashing chords and intense vocal emoting. Although *Falling Into You*’s success was accelerated by this kind of blockbuster single, the album’s range gives it endurance. Dion moves easily from upbeat pop songs—the splashy, horn-peppered soul-rocker “Declaration of Love” and the guitar- and sax-heavy “I Don’t Know”—to more delicate numbers such as the sparkling R&B ballad “Dreamin’ of You\" or the Spanish guitar-driven \"Call the Man.” *Falling Into You* rightfully catapulted Dion permanently into the soft-rock stratosphere.

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Celine Dion's Falling into You returned the Canadian vocalist to the top of the American charts, and for good reason.