Falling into You (song)

"Falling into You" is a song by Argentine singer Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo from her 1994 album, Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo. The Spanish-language version, "Y Caigo Un Poco Mas", was also released in 1994, on her album Alma de Barro. In 1996, the song was covered by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and released as the first single from her 1996 album, Falling into You.

Celine Dion version

"Falling into You"
Single by Celine Dion
from the album Falling into You
B-side	"I Don't Know" "Le ballet" "If That's What It Takes" "The Colour of My Love"
Released	19 February 1996 (1996-02-19)
Recorded	1995
Studio	Mandeville Studios, Track Recording Studios, Westlake Audio & Ocean Way Recording
Genre	Pop
Length	4:18
Label	Columbia Epic
Songwriter(s)	Billy Steinberg Rick Nowels Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo
Producer(s)	Rick Nowels Billy Steinberg
Celine Dion singles chronology
"To Love You More" (1995) "Falling into You" (1996) "Because You Loved Me" (1996)
Music video
"Falling into You" on YouTube

Canadian singer Celine Dion recorded "Falling into You" for her fourth English-language album, Falling into You (1996). It was released as the first single in Europe, Australia and New Zealand on 19 February 1996. In other parts of the world "Because You Loved Me" was released as the lead single instead.

"Falling into You" reached number-one in Spain and in Greece, and became a top ten hit in Norway (number eight) and in the UK (number ten). The single has sold 200,000 copies in the UK.^[1] The song has been included on several of Dion's compilations, including the Australian edition of All the Way... A Decade of Song (1999); The Collector's Series, Volume One (2000); and European editions of My Love: Essential Collection (2008). Dion performed the song during her Falling into You: Around the World tour in 1996–97 and during her Celine Dion Live 2018 tour.

Background

Rick Nowels offered the song to Belinda Carlisle for her album A Woman & a Man. Carlisle recorded a demo, which Nowels later played for Dion, but the song was rejected by her then-manager, Miles Copeland III.^[2]

Dion revealed the recording process of this song in her authorized biography Celine Dion: For Keeps:

I was not satisfied with the first recording we made with "Falling into You". This is a song with many nuances, with half-tones. I found the arrangements were too violent, my voice didn't flow enough. Everybody, however, the technicians, the authors, even David and René, seemed satisfied. I said nothing. But René felt that I wasn't happy... He asked me what was wrong. I explained it to him. He seemed surprised. Then I hummed him "Falling into You" describing after every time the arrangements which I was imagining. He quickly agreed with me. He seemed amazed, as if he just discovered something... I called the director and the engineer to explain how I was feeling my song, what kind of changes. They all agreed and were happy, they said it to me... This song marked a step of my emancipation as an artist... I was becoming a mature, grown-up, autonomous artist... So we came back in studio and we recorded "Falling into You" again. It never became a big song for the stage; it is too sweet, too subtle to move a crowd. But it is, in my opinion, one of the thrillest songs on the album Falling into You. And I love the lyrics.^[3]

Critical reception

AllMusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine marked "Falling into You" as one of the standouts on the album.^[4] Pip Ellwood-Hughes from Entertainment Focus called it "gorgeous".^[5] Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian said in her review of the album, "Only the autumnal Falling Into You and the hint-of-reggae (really) Make You Happy diverge from the mainstream".^[6] Pan-European magazine Music & Media described it as "a slow lullaby of a ballad, punctuated in the intro and outtro by Spanish guitars, martial sounding drum rolls and a Careless Whisper type sax riff."^[7] A reviewer from Music Week rated it five out of five, adding, "Less is more on this restrained, angelically sung ballad, quite possibly Dion's most beautiful yet."^[8] Christopher Smith from TalkAboutPopMusic noted that it is "sultry and schmoozy with only a hint of saxophone in the latter stages that add to the mood and sexiness of this down-tempo pop-ballad."^[9]

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by British director Nigel Dick between 18–19 January 1996 in Gorbio, France and released in February 1996. It begins in a small village. Dion plays a woman who belongs to a group of circus artists. She gets flowers on the door of her carriage, from a little boy. He obviously delivers them for a man. The card says "Bonne chance (Good luck)". Dion, now holding the flowers, begins to sing. Then she sits at the dressing table in front of a mirror. A clown helps her put on a long-haired wig. In evening, the circus is performing in front of a crowd of people. Various artists perform, while the singer stands leaning against a stone wall. Obviously sad, while she sings. Then a fire artist comes on stage and Dion assists him with handing him torchs, while he performs. In one scene, she reaches him one of them, but instead, he takes another. Dion runs off in the dark, driving away in a car. The video ends with her driving in a winding mountainside in daylight. There she meets a motorcyclist who is obviously waiting for her. Then they embrace each other. The video was uploaded to YouTube in 2011. In August 2020, it has got more than 11,700,000 views.^[10]

In March 2021, the video has been remastered in HD quality to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the album's release.

Formats and track listings

European CD and UK cassette single "Falling into You" – 4:18 "I Don't Know" – 4:38 French CD single "Falling into You" – 4:18 "Le ballet" – 4:23

Australian/European/UK CD maxi-single "Falling into You" – 4:18 "I Don't Know" – 4:38 "Le ballet" – 4:23 UK CD maxi-single #2 "Falling into You" – 4:17 "If That's What It Takes" – 4:09 "The Colour of My Love" – 3:23

Personnel

• Celine Dion – vocals
• David Boruff – saxophone
• Rick Nowels – gut string guitar, keyboards, producer
• Sheila E. – percussion
• Steve MacMillan – mixing
• Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards
• Steve Farris – cavaquinho
• Pete Lorimer, Chris Garcia, Charlie Clouser – drum programming
• Curt Bisquera – drums
• Paul Bushnell – bass
• Marie Claire D’Ubaldo – composer, backing vocals
• Maria Vidal – backing vocals
• Paul Buckmaster – conductor, arrangements
• Billy Steinberg – composer, producer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1996) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[11] 12 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 28 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 20 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[14] 11 European Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media)[15] 11 European Hit Radio (Music & Media)[16] 5 European Adult Contemporary (Music & Media)[17] 3 France (SNEP)[18] 11 Germany (GfK)[19] 71 Hungary (Single Top 40)[20] 10 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[21] 6 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[22] 20 Ireland (IRMA)[23] 15 Italy (Musica e dischi)[24] 19 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[25] 21 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[26] 18 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[27] 21 Norway (VG-lista)[28] 8 Poland (ZPAV Airplay)[29] 6 Scotland (OCC)[30] 15 Spain (AFYVE)[24] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[31] 44 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 19 UK Singles (OCC)[33] 10

Year-end charts Chart (1996) Position Australia (ARIA)[34] 98 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[35] 67 European Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media)[36] 78 European Hit Radio (Music & Media)[37] 27 France (SNEP)[38] 92 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[39] 165 UK Singles (OCC)[1] 81

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[40]	Silver	200,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label	Ref.
United Kingdom	19 February 1996	CD1 cassette	Epic	[41]
	26 February 1996	CD2		[42]

See also

• List of number-one singles of 1996 (Spain)
• List of UK top-ten singles in 1996

References

1. "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40–1996 wg sprzedaży" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
2. Carlisle, Belinda (2010). Lips Unsealed: A Memoir. Crown. pp. 190–191. ISBN 9780307463494.
3. Glatzer, Jenna (2005). Céline Dion: For Keeps. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 0-7407-5559-5.
4. Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
5. Ellwood-Hughes, Pip (11 October 2018). "Celine Dion – Falling Into You vinyl review". Entertainment Focus. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
6. Sullivan, Caroline (15 March 1996). "Music: This Week's Pop CD Releases". The Guardian.
7. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 17 February 1996. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
8. "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 10 February 1996. p. 10. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
9. Smith, Christopher (2 November 2019). "REVIEW: 'FALLING INTO YOU' – CELINE DION". TalkAboutPopMusic. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
10. "Céline Dion - Falling Into You (Official Video)". YouTube. 27 March 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
11. "Céline Dion – Falling into You". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
12. "Céline Dion – Falling into You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
13. "Céline Dion – Falling into You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
14. "Céline Dion – Falling into You" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
15. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 30 March 1996. p. 21. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
16. "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media. 23 March 1996. p. 25. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
17. "Adult Contemporary Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. 6 April 1996. p. 23. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
18. "Céline Dion – Falling into You" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
19. "Céline Dion – Falling into You" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
20. "Top National Sellers: Hungary" (PDF). Music & Media. 27 April 1996. p. 15. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
21. "Major Market Airplay: Hungary" (PDF). Music & Media. 27 April 1996. p. 23. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
22. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (30.03.1996 - 05.04.1996)" (PDF). Dagblaðið Vísir - Tónlist. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
23. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Falling into You". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
24. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. 6 April 1996. p. 78. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
25. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 12, 1996" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
26. "Céline Dion – Falling into You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
27. "Céline Dion – Falling into You". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
28. "Céline Dion – Falling into You". VG-lista. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
29. "Major Market Airplay: Poland" (PDF). Music & Media. 9 March 1996. p. 39. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
30. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
31. "Céline Dion – Falling into You". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
32. "Céline Dion – Falling into You". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
33. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
34. Gavin Ryan (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
35. "Rapports annuels 1996" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
36. "Music & Media 1996 in Review: Year End Sales Charts" (PDF). Music & Media. 21 December 1996. p. 12. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
37. "EHR Year-End Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media. 21 December 1996. p. 17. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
38. "Tops de l'année - Top Singles 1996" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
39. "Jaarlijsten 1996" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
40. "British single certifications – Celine Dion – Falling into You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
41. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 17 February 1996. p. 31. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
42. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 24 February 1996. p. 31. Retrieved 27 June 2023.

External links

• "Falling into You" on YouTube