Diane Warren

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

Diane Warren
Diane Warren at 2009 Pop Conference, Experience Music Project, Seattle.
Born	September 7, 1956 (1956-09-07) (age 55) Van Nuys, California, U.S.
Occupation	Songwriter
Genres	Pop, Country, Rock, R&B, Soul
realsongs.com

Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956), is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations,^[1] five Golden Globe nominations, including one win^[2] and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win.^[3] She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001.^[4] Her success in the US has been paralleled in the UK, where she has been rated the third most successful female artist.^{[citation needed]}

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 television shows.

Early life

Warren was born in Van Nuys, California, where she said she felt misunderstood and "alien" as a Jewish kid growing up.^[5] She says she was rebellious as a child^[5] and 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.^[6] "Music saved me", she said. Warren also has said that her mother asked her to give up her dream of a songwriting career ^[7] 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.

Career

Her first hit was "Solitaire", which Laura Branigan took to No. 7 in the US pop charts in 1983.^[5]

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.

—Alanna Nash, Good Housekeeping, 1998, ^[5]

Though most of Warren's songs deal with romantic themes, Warren has never married.^[8]

In 1998, her company Realsongs and its international partner, EMI Music Publishing, distributed "A Passion For Music," a six-CD box set that showcased 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.^[9] As of 2011, her music has appeared in the soundtracks over 60 films. She was awarded a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001.

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.^[10]

In 2004 she released a compilation album of love songs, titled Diane Warren Presents Love Songs, which includes several of her award-winning hits. She continues to write and produce hit songs for artists of all mainstream genres, including Elton John, Tina Turner, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Roy Orbison, Patti LaBelle, 'N Sync, Gloria Estefan, Reba McEntire, Whitney Houston, Enrique Iglesias, RBD, Aerosmith, The Cult, Ricky Martin, Faith Hill, Meat Loaf, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, Expose', Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer, and LeAnn Rimes. Her songs have been covered by artists including Weezer, Edwin McCain, Milli Vanilli, and Mark Chestnut, and many others.

Also in 2009, she cowrote the United Kingdom's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest with Andrew Lloyd Webber the song "It's My Time".^[11][12] It was sung by Jade Ewen and achieved 5th place, the best for the UK since 2002.^[13]

In 2010 Warren joined forces with Avon as a celebrity judge for Avon Voices,^[14] Avon's first ever global online singing talent search for women and songwriting competition for men and women.

Diane Warren has been recognized six times ASCAP Songwriter of the Year and four times Billboard’s Songwriter of the Year.^[15]

Awards

Academy Awards

^[1]

• "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"- 60th Academy Awards (nominated)
• "Because You Loved Me"- 69th Academy Awards (nominated)
• "How Do I Live"- 70th Academy Awards (nominated)
• "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"- 71st Academy Awards (nominated)
• "Music of My Heart"- 72nd Academy Awards (nominated)
• "There You'll Be"- 74th Academy Awards (nominated)

ASCAP

• Pop Songwriter of the Year (1990) -
• Pop Songwriter of the Year (1991) -
• Pop Songwriter of the Year (1993) -
• Pop Songwriter of the Year (1998) - for "Because You Loved Me" (Céline Dion), "For You I Will" (Monica), "How Do I Live" (LeAnn Rimes, Trisha Yearwood), and "Un-Break My Heart" (Toni Braxton)^[16]
• Pop Songwriter of the Year (1999) - for "Because You Loved Me" (Céline Dion), "How Do I Live" (LeAnn Rimes, Trisha Yearwood), "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Aerosmith), and "Un-Break My Heart" (Toni Braxton)^[17]
• Country Songwriter of the Year (2000) - for "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Mark Chesnutt) and "I'll Still Love You More" (Trisha Yearwood)^[18]

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards

• "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" (WIN)
• "Do You Feel Me" (nominated)
• "There You'll Be" (nominated)
• "Music of My Heart" (WIN)

Golden Globe Awards

• "Rhythm of the Night"- 44th Golden Globe Awards (nominated)
• "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"- 46th Golden Globe Awards (nominated)
• "Because You Loved Me"- 54th Golden Globe Awards (nominated)
• "There You'll Be"- 59th Golden Globe Awards (nominated)
• "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me"- 68th Golden Globe Awards (WIN)

Grammy Awards

^[3]

• "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (nominated)
• "Because You Loved Me"- 39th Grammy Awards (WIN)
• "How Do I Live" (nominated)
• "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (nominated)
• "Music of My Heart" (nominated)
• "There You'll Be" (nominated)

Satellite Awards

• "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" (WIN)
• "Do You Feel Me" (nominated)
• "There You'll Be" (nominated)
• "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (WIN)

Other Awards and Honors

• Palm Springs International Film Festival’s (PSIFF) Frederick Loewe Music Award (2011)
• Women in Film Crystal Award along with Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennifer Lopez (1996) ^[19]
• Hollywood Film Festival Outstanding Achievement in Songwriting (2001)
• Billboard Music Award Songwriter of Year (1997, 1998, 1999)
• The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard’s Inaugural Film & TV Music Career Achievement Award (2008)
• Hollywood Walk of Fame Star (2001)
• Songwriters Hall of Fame (2001)

See Also

• List of songs by Diane Warren

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp;jsessionid=893547D2EC56123658029684C2B63941?curTime=1252230091858
2. ^ Golden Globes website
3. ^ ^{a b} Grammy Awards website
4. ^ Songwriters Hall of Fame website
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Nash, Alanna (March 1998), "She writes the songs that make the whole world sing". Good Housekeeping. 226 (3):26
6. ^ Stark, Phyllis (June 3, 2000), "Thanks To 'How Do I Live', Diane Warren Finds A Home For Her Songs In Nashville". Billboard. 112 (23):55
7. ^ web|url=http://www.bmusic.com.au/links/lessons/songwrit/archives/diwarren.html%7Ctitle=Diane Warren - Interviewed by Michael Laskow|author=Laskow, Michael|publisher=bmusic.com|accessdate=2
8. ^ www.nerve.com
9. ^ Sexton, Paul (March 14, 1998), "Warren showcases her `passion'". Billboard. 110 (11):26
10. ^ No byline (August 2000), "ASCAP, Diane Warren Foundation, and Warner Bros. Help `Save the Music'". Teaching Music. 8 (1):12
11. ^ 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. 
12. ^ Klier, Marcus (2009-01-25). "United Kingdom: Song title announced". ESCToday. http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/13034. Retrieved 2009-01-25. 
13. ^ "Norway voted Eurovision winners". BBC News. 16 May. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8052636.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-17. 
14. ^ www.avonvoices.com
15. ^ [1]
16. ^ "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. 
17. ^ "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. 
18. ^ 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. 
19. ^ http://www.wif.org/press/press-releases/579-women-in-film-los-angeles-announces-the-2010-crystal-lucy-awardsr-honorees

20. http://www.theodoraandcallum.com/blog/cat/creative-factory/post/my-faves-diane-warren/

External links

• Interview for the BBC
• Interview, HitQuarters May 2005
• Interview with Diane Warren by Paul Tingen in Sound on Sound magazine

Persondata
Name	Warren, Diane
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 7, 1956
Place of birth	Van Nuys, California, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death