I Surrender (Celine Dion song)
"I Surrender" | |
---|---|
File:Isurrender.png Celine Dion performing 'I Surrender' in Las Vegas, 2007 | |
Song by Celine Dion | |
from the album A New Day Has Come | |
Released | 22 March 2002 |
Recorded | January 2002 |
Studio | Montreal's Piccolo Studios |
Genre | Pop |
Length | 4:47 |
Label | Columbia |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) | Simon Franglen |
"I Surrender" is a power ballad written by Louis Biancaniello and Sam Watters, and recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion from her seventh English-language studio album, A New Day Has Come (2002).[1] A lushly orchestrated love song that has been covered numerously, it is about an enamoured individual who would surrender everything just to be with their lover.[2]
Background
Having a tempo of 57 beats per minute with syncopation, the song is written in the key of G minor and it would feature piano, string ensemble, drums and a synthesizer.[2] The chorus uses the common chord progression of vi–IV–I–V, with Dion's vocal range spanning from note D♭3 to D♭5. It uses a Neapolitan chord of Ab major before a suspended chord at the end of the verses.[3] The song was described as a "bombastic, heart-pounding" ballad, which has become a popular song choice for contestants on reality television singing competitions like American Idol.[4] The song was produced and arranged by Grammy award winner and Golden Globe nominee Simon Franglen.[5][6]
Reception
According to Chuck Taylor from Billboard, "Dion does not disappoint with ballads like the rafter-shaking 'I Surrender' where she sings of forbidden love amid a firestorm of utterly volcanic instrumentation".[7] People wrote, "When Dion sings about letting down her defenses and giving in to love on "I Surrender", it's the song that gets belted into submission."[8] Slant Magazine critic Sal Cinqueman states that 'I Surrender' is a "power ballad only a singer with Dion's voice could pull off."[2] Christopher Smith from TalkAboutPopMusic said that it "has much drama and theatrics, so much so that you almost begin to think the producers are really looking to shape Celine into the next Barbra Streisand rather than herself."[9]
Live performance
Celine Dion performs this song in her video album Live in Las Vegas: A New Day..., where she is surrounded by artistic backup dancers, who visually and dramatically express the song's lyrics in a miming manner. The clip is on her VEVO account on YouTube, acting as the official music video of the song, and has over 37 million views of as January 2019. The music video starts when backup dancers are running to their positions and imitating statues, the Versailles-style crystal chandelier was used to make the song performance more romantic [10] "I Surrender" from the DVD was first released on the deluxe edition of Dion's album Taking Chances from November 2007.[11] The song was also performed in most her concerts from her second Las Vegas residency show, Celine (concert residency) from 2015 through 2018.[12]
Other covers
- American singer Billy Gilman covers this song on season 11 of The Voice with standing ovation from all four judges. For a second week in a row, Gilman's performance, this time for "I Surrender" featured at number one on iTunes allowing him to benefit from the five times multipliers vote totals again.[13]
- Taiwanese singer Terry Lin covers the song in 2008.
- Filipino singer Alisah Bonaobra performed "I Surrender" in the second season of The Voice of the Philippines.[14]
- Filipino-American singer Jessica Sanchez performs the song on the first season of America's Got Talent at the age of 11. Singer and judge Brandy Norwood predicts, "You’re gonna be huge, I promise," after seeing her perform it.[15] The cover has over 8 million views on YouTube.[16]
- American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson covered the song in 1990s week, as a top 4 finalist.
- American Idol finalist Anthony Fedorov performed the song on the show's fourth season.
- Spanish singer Abraham Mateo covers the song on his YouTube account in 2010 at the age of 12. The video has over 5 million views.[17]
- Cosima DeVito performed the song for her audition on the first season of Australian Idol.
- British singer Nicki French recorded and released a dance version of the song as a single in 2004.
- Polish singer Edyta Górniak recorded a polish version of the song. The cover is called "List" ("Letter").[18]
References
- ^ "Celine Dion: A New Day Has Come". celinedion.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
- ^ a b c Review: Celine Dion, A New Day Has Come by the Slant Magazine
- ^ I Surrender BY CELINE DION - DIGITAL SHEET MUSIC
- ^ A New Day Has Come Collector's Edition liner notes by Chuck Taylor: ""I Surrender," which would later become a favorite among America Idol finalists vying to validate vocal prowess"
- ^ "Browse Results – Golden Globe Awards Official Website". Goldenglobes.org. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
- ^ "Simon Franglen | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
- ^ "Reviews & Previews > Albums > Spotlights > Celine Dion: A New Day Has Come". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 30 March 2002. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
- ^ "Picks and Pans Review: A New Day Has Come". People. 1 April 2002. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ^ Smith, Christopher (7 December 2019). "REVIEW: 'A NEW DAY HAS COME' – CELINE DION". TalkAboutPopMusic. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ Céline Dion - I Surrender (VIDEO from the 2007 DVD "A New Day...Live In Las Vegas")
- ^ "'Taking Chances' - Celine's New English Album". celinedion.com. 24 August 2007. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ https://www.setlist.fm/search?query=celine+dion+vegas&venue=4bd4433e
- ^ Cillea Houghton (December 5, 2016). "Billy Gilman Wows With Celine Dion's 'I Surrender' on 'The Voice'". TasteofCountry.com. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
- ^ "Alisah Bonaobra WCOPA 2016 Journey". YouTube. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- ^ AP; Refraccion, Greg (March 10, 2012). "Fil-Thai girl Jessica Sanchez leaves 'American Idol' judge J-Lo speechless". Entertainment. Inquirer.net. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
- ^ Jessica Sanchez - I Surrender on YouTube
- ^ "Abraham Mateo (12 AÑOS) – l SURRENDER – (Celine Dion) Studio RC". YouTube. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ "Edyta Górniak to sing during the 9th Edition of the Film Music Festival". fmf.fm]. Retrieved July 4, 2020.