Defending the indefensible: DIANE WARREN

"Unbreak My Heart"..."I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"..."Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"..."How Do I Live" are all decent pop songs. Sometimes they're a little under-written but that actually sorta makes sense given current production and vocal vogues.

At the end of the day I'll take Diane Warren over Lisa Perry.

"There You'll Be" = Worst. Song. Ever.

2019 is off to a winning start!!!😁 pic.twitter.com/LNxUO1M8C4

— Diane Warren (@Diane_Warren) January 1, 2019

Listening to her interview on Rupaul's podcast, it's kind of interesting to learn that the person who's written so many hyper-emotional love songs that speak to so many people does not bother with romantic relationships in her own life. Apparently hasn't been in a relationship since 1992. I imagine there are other songwriters like this, but can't think of who.

Some years back she was a keynote speaker at the Pop Conference and frankly she was amazing -- funny as hell, a real sense of distance from what happens to her own work, a true craftsperson who otherwise just seemed to want to enjoy life on her terms.

Hoping someday I can write a song as great as Wet ass pussy(WAP) #goals #WAP

— Diane Warren (@Diane_Warren) August 7, 2020

she should aim higher, imo

Adam Schlesinger (RIP) had a hilarious anecdote about Diane Warren:

Adam Schlesinger: “I was up against Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren. You know, all my peers, basically,” Schlesinger said in that 2001 interview of losing the 1997 Oscar to Lloyd Webber for Evita’s “You Must Love Me.” “It was funny, because Diane Warren was sitting right in front of me, and she writes these really sappy love ballads, but her personality does not fit her music. When he won, she was like, ‘That piece of shit won?’”

The Onion AV Club: I've heard she's really salty, yeah.

AS: She's funny.

Chris Collingwood: On her web site, if you go to dianewarren.com, there's a listing of all the songs, and about 75 percent of them have "love" or "heart" in the title. So we were gonna do this Diane Warren tribute called "Suck My Heart." What was the other?

AS: "Blow it Out Your Heart." Chris and another guy actually wrote this song once, which thankfully they didn't submit, for the Wilsons' comeback album.

CC: Wilson Phillips.

AS: It was actually after (Chynna) Phillips left, so it was just the Wilson sisters. They wrote this song called "For All Time," and the first line was, "For all time, there was always tenderness," which is an anagram for "fat twat." We were hoping that they would love the song and put it on the album, and you'd sort of leak this rumor about it later.

CC: I have no idea what you're talking about. I had nothing to do with that.

The only data that matters with songs is DOES IT MAKE U FUCKING FEEL SOMETHING.

— Diane Warren (@Diane_Warren) June 10, 2023

like repulsion

Indifference?

While the soft rock track was specifically written for Cher, the singer initially disliked the song upon hearing a demo and turned it down. Warren claimed in 1991: "I got on my knees and pleaded. I told her I wasn't going to leave the room until she said yes, and finally, just to get rid of me, she did." In 2014, she further added: "She really hated it, but I held her leg down during a session and said, 'You have to record it!'" According to Warren, Cher reportedly responded: "'Fuck you, bitch! You're hurting my leg! OK, I'll try it.' Once Cher sang it, she gave me this look like, 'You were right'."

Life goals have Cher tell you “Fuck you, bitch!”

One of modern music’s most timeless catalogs steps into a new territory with Songs in the Key of Diane: A Reggae Compilation of Diane Warren Songs, a 13-track collection pairing the illustrious songwriting of Diane Warren with some of the world’s leading reggae and Pacific Island artists. Available on July 31, 2026, the landmark project is a tribute to the versatility of one of music’s most impressive, hit-laden catalogs with its indelible melodies and lyrics set to the distinct riddims of beat, opening its door to resonate across genres, generations, and cultures. The compilation will also open the vault and reveal six songs from her catalog spanning previously unreleased material and lesser known gems—some written over a decade ago that are given fresh life and just now finding their voices, making this a groundbreaking and historic project.

“I’ve always loved reggae,” enthused Warren. “It’s music that just makes you feel good. My music has always had that rhythmic Caribbean feel, starting with ‘Rhythm of the Night.’ It’s cool to have fresh covers of the old hits – it’s like putting a new set of clothes on them – but I’m even more excited about the songs that haven’t been heard before. There’s such a wide variety of artists on this record, which made it so much fun to do.”

...

“What makes a song great is its ability to stand on its own two feet, and be able to work in different genres, like reggae,” explains Warren. “If the melody, lyrics and rhythm are there – the bones – it should work in any style of music. I could write something as a ballad and have it turned into a killer dance track. I love taking a song and flipping it on its head.”

https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NY0UfqGG_Bf3edLFijqXUAfxnvTydigyxezdlILFbte9Gw6p1wGprW6WnF020EfygTiyk3kk3L4wgsIHRpk9tT_HI2K_TmWXm_swO3djaQ63zJGgGAqDVOOF9dxUiV_IBHTyav51x0Pm5DNQ-NpLl97dlo6Q5DiDV2HGe5iWcOf2H3V_WkYI9mJJ3KaYQloP-marThq7IxPmw=s0-d-e1-ft#https://images.disco.ac/uploaded_image/?pk=uploaded-image-411237%3AvyiekN4y2aNmdWVD8zsUoZvMFZg&mode=contain&width=1100&height=1100

Too funny. Is that album cover modeled on some other album? I can't put my finger on it.

I don't think it's a specific album, but it's a common '60s design for pop records done by (usually) female recording artists. Maybe with a regular headshot instead of something made to look like newsprint, but it's very '60s.

I'm curious to see an example of that

https://i.ibb.co/wNtx7Nkg/cover.jpg

Interesting. Never seen those covers. Maybe this is more of a European style. I was kind of wondering if Diane Warren's cover was based on some old reggae compilation but I can't find anything along those lines.

FWIW, Scotty's actually a reggae singer (bottom right).

Just as an aside, Diane Warren really found a hairstyle she liked and stuck with it. Wish I could do that.

typeface looks like ITC Pioneer

Cool, so it looks like '71-'74 was when that typeface was all the rage in the record design world. Which would make it well-chosen to evoke early reggae years.

how on earth have we gone 22 years without mentioning that she wrote the universally scorned '[star trek:] enterprise' theme song 'faith of the heart'

The opening credits are admitidely the best thing about any episode of Enterprise, by default

universally scorned by whomst aka not me

I had a boyfriend whose favorite song of all time was Taylor Dayne's "I'll Be Your Shelter."

new album has an Exposé song, looking forward to hearing that