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Diane Warren

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This article is about the American songwriter. For the Canadian author, seeDianne Warren.For the American politician born Diane Lynn Warren, seeDiane Black.

Diane Warren
Diane Warren
Background information
Birth nameDiane Eve Warren[1]
Born(1956-09-07)September 7, 1956(age 67)[2]
Van Nuys, California,U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Songwriter
  • publisher
Years active1983–present

Diane Eve Warren(born September 7, 1956)[1][2]is an American songwriter. She has won anAcademy Honorary Award,Grammy Award,anEmmy Award,twoGolden Globe Awardsand three consecutiveBillboardMusic Awardsfor Songwriter of the Year from 1997 to 1999. She first gained recognition for her work onDeBarge's 1985 single "Rhythm of the Night".By the late 1980s, she joined the record labelEMI,where she became the first songwriter in the history ofBillboardmagazine to have written sevenhit songs,each recorded by different artists, prompting EMI's UK ChairmanPeter Reichardtto call her "the most important songwriter in the world".

Warren has written nine number-one songs and 33 top-10 songs on theBillboardHot 100including "If I Could Turn Back Time"(Cher,1989), "Because You Loved Me"(Celine Dion,1996), "How Do I Live"(LeAnn Rimes,1997) and "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"(Aerosmith,1998). Two of the top 13 hits in the Hot 100's 57-year history were composed by Warren. She has been inducted into theSongwriters Hall of Fameand received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.She has been rated the third most successful female artist in the UK, leading her to win theIvor Novello Awardand Special International Award in 2008. Warren has received 15 competitiveAcademy Awardnominations without a win; she received an honorary Oscar at theGovernors Awardsin November 2022.[3]

She founded the publishingcompanyRealsongs, through which she holds themastersof her work. Her debut studio album was released on August 27, 2021.[4]

Early life[edit]

Warren, the youngest of three daughters, was born to David, an insurance salesman, and Flora Warren,[5]in theLos Angelescommunity ofVan Nuys,[6]where she said she felt misunderstood and "alienated" as a child growing up.[7]Her family's surname "Warren" was originally "Wolfberg", but her father changed the name because he wanted it to sound less Jewish.[8]Warren says she was rebellious as a child[7]and told NPR'sScott Simonthat she got into trouble and ran away as a teen but returned because she missed her cat.

As a child, Warren loved listening to and dreamed of performing on the radio herself.[8]She was also influenced by music her parents and her sisters would play.[9]She began writing music when she was 11 but took a more serious approach at 14, commenting "music saved me."[8][10]Warren has said that her 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. In addition, he bought her a 12-string guitar and a metal shed for her to practice and took her to music auditions.[1]She wroteCeline Dion's 1996 song "Because You Loved Me"as a tribute to her father for his encouragement.[12]

She attendedLos Angeles Pierce Collegeand graduated fromCalifornia State University, Northridgein 1978, but largely considered her education a waste as she focused most of her time on improving her songwriting skills instead of on her education.[8][13][14]

On the February 12, 2016, edition ofAll Things Considered,Warren said that she had been molested at age 12 and had later experienced sexual harassment and assault by a sound engineer during her working career.[15]

Career[edit]

Warren's first hit was "Solitaire",[6]whichLaura Branigantook to No. 7 in the US pop charts in 1983.[7]

She's actually more like theEmily Dickinsonof 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.

— Alanna Nash,Good Housekeeping,1998

The original name for her publishing company, Realsongs, was "Warren Piece" because "War and Peace" was already taken.[16]In 1998, Realsongs and its international partner, EMI Music Publishing, distributedA Passion For Music,a six-CD box set showcasing her music. EMI Music's London office assisted in distributing 1,200 copies of the box set primarily to the film and television industry for consideration in soundtracks and other commercial endeavors. It was not marketed to consumers.[17]As of 2011,Warren's music has appeared in the soundtracks of over sixty films. She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame[18]in 2001.[19]

The Diane Warren Foundation, in conjunction with theASCAP Foundationand 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 theVH1 Save the Music Foundation.[20]

In 2004, Warren released a compilation album of love songs titledDiane Warren Presents Love Songs,which includes several of her hits.

Warren continues to write hit songs for and with artists of all mainstream genres, includingBette Midler,Stevie B.,Celine Dion,Cheap Trick,En Vogue,Whitney Houston,Belinda Carlisle,Taylor Dayne,Britney Spears,Marcia Hines,Alice Cooper,Christina Aguilera,Beyoncé,TLC,Aaliyah,Heart,Agnetha Fältskog,Elton John,Cher,Tina Turner,Bryan Adams,Selena,Jessica Simpson,Air Supply,Olivia Newton-John,Barbra Streisand,Aretha Franklin,Roberta Flack,Roy Orbison,Trisha Yearwood,Patti LaBelle,Michael Bolton,NSYNC,Rene Froger,Gloria Estefan,Reba McEntire,Enrique Iglesias,Paloma Faith,Russell Watson,Rod Stewart,RBD,Aerosmith,The Cult,Kiss,Ricky Martin,Faith Hill,Michael W. Smith,Meat Loaf,Sugababes,Mariah Carey,Toni Braxton,Exposé,Leigh NashofSixpence None the Richer,LeAnn Rimes,Gavin DeGraw,Kierra Sheard,Mandy Moore,Hilary Duff,Haylie Duff,Lindsay Lohan,Lady Gaga,Chrissy Metz,Claire Richards,Starship,andWestlife,producing some of the songs as well. Her songs have been covered by artists includingJoe Cocker,Weezer,Edwin McCain,Milli Vanilli,Mark Chesnutt,andSara Evans.

Warren wrote three songs forCarrie Underwood's debut album,Some Hearts(2005) that were "Lessons Learned", "Whenever You Remember" andthe title track,originally written forMarshall Crenshaw.

In 2009, Warren co-wrote theUnited Kingdom's entry in theEurovision Song ContestwithAndrew Lloyd Webber.The song "It's My Time" [21]was sung byJade Ewenand achieved 5th place, the best for the UK since 2002.[22]

In 2010, Warren partnered withAvon Productsas a celebrity judge forAvon Voices,[23]Avon's global online singing talent search for women and songwriting competition for men and women. For the contest, Warren wrote a special anthem which was recorded by the finalists and produced byHumberto Gatica.[24] Warren has been recognized six times as ASCAP Songwriter of the Year and four times as Billboard's Songwriter of the Year.[25]

In 2012, Warren wrote the song "Counterfeit" forTulisa's debut solo albumThe Female Boss.

Warren wrotePaloma Faith's 2014 song "Only Love Can Hurt Like This".[26]

Warren's success in the US has been paralleled in the UK, where she has been rated the third most successful female artist.[27]Peter Reichardt, former Chairman ofEMI Music PublishingUK, credited her as "the most important songwriter in the world."[28]

Warren is the first songwriter in the history ofBillboardmagazine to have seven hits, all by different artists, on the singles chart at the same time. Warren has had nine of her compositions hit No. 1 in the USBillboardHot 100,all by different artists, and overall 33 of her songs have hit the US top ten.[29]Additionally, two of the top 13 hits in the Hot 100's 57-year history were written by her - "How Do I Live"(number four) and"Un-Break My Heart"(number 13).[30]She has had even more success on the USAdult Contemporarycharts, where sixteen of her songs have gone to No. 1, and overall more than 40 songs have hit the top ten on that chart. Warren has had three No. 1 hits in the UK and more than 20 top ten hits. She has been inducted into theSongwriters Hall of Fameand received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.[31]

Warren's debut studio album,Diane Warren: The Cave Sessions Vol. 1,was released on August 27, 2021, via Di-Namic Records and BMG.[32]Its first single, "Times like This" withDarius Rucker,was released on November 10, 2020.[33]The second single, "She's Fire" withG-EazyandCarlos Santana,was released on July 13, 2021.[34][35]The single "Seaside" withRita Ora,Sofía Reyes,andReikwas released on the same day as the album.[36]

In October 2023, "Say Don't Go", a song Warren wrote with singer-songwriterTaylor Swiftin 2013, was released as part of Swift's album1989 (Taylor's Version).[37][38]Debuting at #5, the song marked the first time a song written by Warren hit the top ten of the US Hot 100 in 22 years.[29]

The soundtrack single "Gonna Be You" from the movie80 for Bradywas released January 20, 2023. The song was written by her and performed byDolly Parton,Belinda Carlisle,Cyndi Lauper,Debbie HarryandGloria Estefan.The official music video shows Parton, Carlisle, Lauper, and Estefan performing while wearing football jerseys similar to the ones worn by the women in the film, interspersed with clips from the film.[39]

Personal life[edit]

Warren has never married,[40]and does not think of herself as a person of commitment. In interviews, she has said that she believes that her lack of a romantic life makes her more peculiar as a songwriter.[8]She was in a relationship with songwriter and record producerGuy Roche[41]that ended in 1992[8]and claims she has not had another relationship since, commenting "I've never been in love like in my songs. I'm not like normal people. I'm no good at relationships. I draw drama to me—it's the Jew in me".[42]Warren considers herself to be cynical regarding romance, but she does not let this affect her songwriting[8]and prefers to write alone rather than co-writing, commenting "When I write with other people, the experience is different. You have to compromise, which I have problems with. I'd rather listen to my own mind".[14]

In a 2000 interview, Warren explained that she never let go of music despite experiencing rejections, depression and poverty.[8]In 1994, Warren's house was damaged by theNorthridge earthquake,causing her to be miserable and homeless, drifting from hotels to rental houses. She has said that therapy helped her with songwriting.[8]She has also revealed that she works 12–16 hours a day, always takes her keyboard whenever she travels[16]and is "...more crazy and intense than I was at 20..."[5]

Warren does not usually allow anyone into her Hollywood Hills office,[8]which she describes as a "cluttered, airless room". In 2012, Warren said that nothing in her office had been cleaned or moved for 17 years because she is superstitious; she prefers to think of that room as her "secret world".[5]In that room, Warren records melodies with a tape recorder on which she plays them again and chooses the songs she likes the most.[5]Warren did allow part of a 2016 interview withCBS News Sunday MorningcorrespondentBen Tracyto be taped in the office.[43]

Warren isautisticand believes being neurodiverse has made her a better songwriter.[44]

Legacy[edit]

A jukebox musical is planned to be written byJoe DiPietroand directed byKathleen Marshall,titledObsessed, The Story of Diane Warren...so far.Warren has composed nine No. 1 and 33 top-10 hits on theBillboardHot 100chart in a career spanning 40 years.[45][29]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Main article:List of awards and nominations received by Diane Warren

Discography (as artist)[edit]

Studio albums[edit]

Title Details
Diane Warren: The Cave Sessions Vol. 1
  • Released: August 27, 2021
  • Label:BMG
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming

Compilation albums[edit]

Title Details
Diane Warren Presents Love Songs
  • Released: 2004
  • Label: Warner Strategic Marketing
  • Format: CD

Singles[edit]

List of singles, showing year released
Title Year Album
"(We All Are) Looking for Home"
(withLeona Lewis) 		2016 Non-album single
"Times like This"
(withDarius Rucker) 		2020 Diane Warren: The Cave Sessions Vol. 1
"She's Fire"
(withG-EazyandCarlos Santana) 		2021
"Seaside"[46]
(withRita Ora,Sofía Reyes,andReik)
"Sweet"[47]
(withJon BatisteandPentatonix) 		2022
"Live on Love"[48]
(withArmin van BuurenfeaturingMy Marianne) 		Feel Again, Pt. 2

US top-ten hits written by Diane Warren[edit]

See also:List of songs written by Diane Warren
(Top-ten entry date – Song – Artist)

Note:Bolddenotes chart-topper.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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  4. ^Lynsky, Dorian (August 26, 2021)."'I'm a one in a billion' – how Diane Warren penned windswept power ballads for Cher, Gaga and Dion ".The Guardian.
  5. ^abcd"The Songwriter With a Golden Touch".Abcnews.go.com.RetrievedJanuary 5,2012.
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  29. ^abcdTrust, Gary (November 6, 2023)."Taylor Swift's 'Is It Over Now? (Taylor's Version)' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100".Billboard.RetrievedNovember 6,2023.
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External links[edit]

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