Diane Warren

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This article is about the American songwriter (composer). For the Canadian author, see Dianne Warren.
Diane Warren

Born September 7, 1956 (1956-09-07) (age 53)
Van Nuys, California
Occupation Songwriter
Genres Pop, Country, Rock, R&B
Notable work(s) Best selling songs
Official website

Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956 in Van Nuys, California) is an American country and pop music singer-songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations[2], four Golden Globe nominations[3], and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win[4]. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001.[5] Her success in the US has been paralleled in the UK, where she has been rated the thirty-fifth most successful songwriter in singles chart history as well as the third most successful female.[6]

She was the first songwriter in the history of Billboard to have seven hits, all by different artists, on the singles chart at the same time. Warren owns her own publishing company, Realsongs, which gives her control over her compositions. Meanwhile, her songs have been featured in more than 70 films or TV-shows listed on the Internet Movie Database[7].

Contents

[edit] Early life

She said she felt misunderstood and "alien" as a Jewish kid growing up in Van Nuys, California.[8] She says she was rebellious as a child[8] and she was diagnosed with tone deafness at the age of five[9] Warren told NPR's Scott Simon that she got into trouble and ran away as a teen but returned because she missed her cat. She began writing music when she was 14.[10] "Music saved me," she said. Warren also has said that her own mother asked her to give up her dream of a songwriting career[11] and take a secretarial job. However, her father continued to believe in her and encouraged her. She wrote the song "Because You Loved Me" as a tribute to her father for his encouragement.

[edit] Career

Her first hit was "Solitaire", which Laura Branigan took to No. 7 in the US pop charts in 1983.[8]

She's actually more like the Emily Dickinson of Pop. As in the case of the great nineteenth-century reclusive New England poet known for her simple yet eloquent verses, Warren leads a life focused almost entirely on her art.[8]
—Alanna Nash, Good Housekeeping, 1998

Most of Warren's songs deal with romantic themes. In spite of that, she has never been married and says she has never been in love and does not enjoy dating.[12]

In 1998, her company Realsongs and its international partner, EMI Music Publishing, distributed "A Passion For Music," a six-CD boxed that showcased the songwriter. EMI Music's London office assisted in distributing 1,200 copies of the box set. The compilation was not commercially available, and was primarily targeted to the film and television industry for potential use in soundtracks and other commercial endeavors.[13] Later that same year, she presented "An Evening With Diane Warren", will present the songwriter in the intimate (110 seats) confines of the Bluebird, famed home to songwriters.

The Diane Warren Foundation, in conjunction with the ASCAP Foundation and the VH1 Save the Music Foundation created a joint initiative, beginning in 2000, called Music in the Schools. The initiative provides sheet music, band arrangements, folios, and method books to each of the schools that are already recipients of musical instruments from the VH1 Save the Music Foundation.[14]

In 2004 (2005 or even 2006 in some countries), she released a compilation album of love songs, titled Diane Warren Presents Love Songs, which includes her most notable love songs, such as "Because You Loved Me" and "Un-Break My Heart". The track listing slightly varies in different countries. In the CD, Trisha Yearwood's version of "How Do I Live" is included, not the pop version by LeAnn Rimes, possibly because Rimes already had a song in the collection, "Can't Fight the Moonlight". Monica's "For You I Will", however, is notably missing from the collection. Recently, Diane has been dubbed "Queen of the Ballad". She was recently in the studio with singer/songwriter Ashanti to help the Grammy Award winning artist with the production of her new album The Declaration, which was released on June 3, 2008. She is also hoping to write songs for Leona Lewis's sophomore album in the next few months.

On May 18, 2009, on the "The Oprah Winfrey Show", her song "Note to God", produced by David Foster, is performed by Charice to whom she declares "you proved way beyond what I could have hope for, that was an amazing performance".

Also in 2009 she co-wrote the song for the United Kingdom's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest with Andrew Lloyd Webber. The song is called "It's My Time".[15][16] It achieved 5th place, the best for the UK since 2002.[17]

[edit] Awards

[edit] ASCAP

[edit] Grammy Awards

[21]

[edit] Selective list of nominations and awards for songs from films

[edit] Academy Awards

[22]

[edit] Golden Globe Awards

[23]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Taylor, Chuck (November 3, 2001), "SPOTLIGHTS". Billboard. 113 (44):43
  2. ^ http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp;jsessionid=893547D2EC56123658029684C2B63941?curTime=1252230091858
  3. ^ http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/member/28728
  4. ^ http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx
  5. ^ http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C183
  6. ^ http://britishhitsongwriters.com/
  7. ^ Diane Warren at the Internet Movie Database Retrieved 4 October 2007.
  8. ^ a b c d Nash, Alanna (March 1998), "She writes the songs that make the whole world sing". Good Housekeeping. 226 (3):26
  9. ^ Borzillo, Carrie; "Warren Drives a Hit-Writing Machine: LA Songwriter Wants to Develop Artists Too" in Billboard; April 22, 1995; p. 58
  10. ^ STARK, PHYLLIS (June 03, 2000), "Thanks To 'How Do I Live,' Diane Warren Finds A Home For Her Songs In Nashville". Billboard. 112 (23):55
  11. ^ http://www.bmusic.com.au/links/lessons/songwrit/archives/diwarren.html
  12. ^ http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/music/dianewarren/
  13. ^ Sexton, Paul (March 14, 1998), "Warren showcases her `passion'". Billboard. 110 (11):26
  14. ^ No byline (August 2000), "ASCAP, Diane Warren Foundation, and Warner Bros. Help `Save the Music'". Teaching Music. 8 (1):12
  15. ^ Sanderson, Elizabeth (2009-01-24). "We wrote the Eurovision song in two hours, says Lloyd Webber". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1127216/We-wrote-Eurovision-song-hours-says-Lloyd-Webber.html. Retrieved 2009-01-24. 
  16. ^ Klier, Marcus (2009-01-25). "United Kingdom: Song title announced". ESCToday. http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/13034. Retrieved 2009-01-25. 
  17. ^ "Norway voted Eurovision winners". 16 May. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8052636.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-17. 
  18. ^ "Diane Warren Top ASCAP Songwriter". Tracy Chapman News at Yahoo! Music. Yahoo! Inc.. May 20, 1998. http://new.music.yahoo.com/tracy-chapman/news/diane-warren-top-ascap-songwriter--12051240. Retrieved October 25, 2009. 
  19. ^ "Repeat The Chorus: Warren Ascap's Songwriter Of Year". The Hollywood Reporter, archived at AllBusiness.com. May 18, 1999. http://www.allbusiness.com/services/motion-pictures/4843503-1.html. Retrieved October 25, 2009. 
  20. ^ Orr, Jay; Turneblah r, Shannon Wayne (October 3, 2000). "Los Angeles Comes to Nashville Pop Songwriter Diane Warren Named ASCAP's Country Songwriter of the Year". CMT News. MTV Networks. http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1472514/los-angeles-comes-to-nashville-pop-songwriter-diane-warren-named-ascaps-country-songwriter-of-the-year.jhtml. Retrieved October 25, 2009. 
  21. ^ http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx
  22. ^ http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp;jsessionid=893547D2EC56123658029684C2B63941?curTime=1252230091858
  23. ^ http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/member/28728

[edit] External links

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