Don’t Want to Miss a Thing

Background:

Diane Warren is the mastermind behind such touching songs as Toni Braxton’s “Un-break My Heart” (1996), “How Do I Live” (from Con Air, 1997), Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” (from Armageddon, 1998), as well as “There You’ll Be” (from Pearl Harbor, 2001). Warren also teamed up with rising artists like Carrie Underwood in “Some Hearts,” Mandy Moore in “From Loving You,” Kelly Clarkson in “Some Kind of Miracle” and Fantasia Barrino in “I Feel Beautiful.” Her first hit song was the 1983 “Solitaire,” sung by Laura Branigan.

The songwriter has written over thirty Number One hits and became the first songwriter in Billboard history to have 7 songs on the Hot 100 at once. Her catalog of more than 1,000 songs produces approximately $20 million in royalties each year. She has also harvested nine ASCAP Awards, one Grammy Award, seven Grammy nominations and six Academy Award nominations. In January 2001, Warren received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Surprisingly, although Warren is famous for her romantic songs, she has never been married. She has also stated a lack of interest in love and dating.


Sing to Answering Machine

Childhood and Family:

The daughter of insurance salesman David Warren, Diane Eve Warren was born on September 7, 1956, in Van Nuys, California. As a child, she became a prolific songwriter. Diane, who at age fourteen began singing in a California restaurant, gained an opportunity after signing for producer Jack White in the early 1980s. She also has a unique habit of singing a newly created song to her answering machine whenever she can’t record her new work.


Music of the Heart

Career:

At age 27, Diane Warren scored her first hit with “Solitaire” (1983), which Laura Branigan took to No. 7 on the US pop charts. Not long after, Warren caught the critics’ eye with her first soundtrack work, the song “Hot Night” for the movie Ghostbusters (1984). For her fine tune, the songwriter earned a first Grammy nomination.

Warren’s early accomplishment was followed by the Golden Globe-nominated song “Rhythm of the Night,” from the movie The Last Dragon (1985), and the acclaimed “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” written for Mannequin (1987). The latter eventually won her an ASCAP award and picked up a Grammy, an Oscar and a Golden Globe nomination. Warren, who in 1986 founded the publishing company Realsongs, penned the theme song for the James Bond film License to Kill (1989), titled “If You Asked Me To.”

Next, the tunesmith worked for the films Class Action (1991, “Can’t Fight Fate”), White Men Can’t Jump (1992, “Let Me Make It Up To You Tonight”), While You Were Sleeping (1995, “Wherever I Would Be,” sang by Dusty Springfield and Daryl Hall) and the miniseries “Der Schattenmann” (1996, “Whenever You Close Your Eyes”). In 1996, she made “Un-break My Heart” for Toni Braxton, which became a No.1 smash hit.

Warren received rave reviews after penning Céline Dion’s “Because You Loved Me,” from the romantic drama Up Close & Personal (1996). Before long, the ballad was given a Grammy and an ASCAP award, as well as earned an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song. Almost at the same time, Warren’s “For You I Will” (from the 1996 animation film Space Jam) gave her another ASCAP award.

Warren created the country-flavored “How Do I Live” for the soundtrack of Con Air (1997) and collected an ASCAP award, an Oscar nomination and a Grammy nomination. Surprisingly, the song recorded by both Lee Ann Rimes and Trisha Yearwood also received a Razzie nomination for Worst Original Song. Another surprising Razzie nomination came for Armageddon (1998) soundtrack “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing,” which was also handed an ASCAP and a Golden Satellite award for Best Song. Additionally, the Aerosmith-crooned song was nominated for a Grammy and an Oscar.

Warren then added another ASCAP, Oscar nomination and Grammy nomination for her song “Music Of My Heart” (for Music of the Heart, 1999). She also penned “From The Heart” for Notting Hill (1999), wrote four tracks for the soundtrack of Coyote Ugly (2000, won an ASCAP for “Can’t Fight the Moonlight”) and provided “Rhythm of the Night” for the ensemble movie Moulin Rouge (2001). The recipient of the 2001 Hollywood Discovery award also gave a theme song for the spin-off TV series “Enterprise” (2001, won an ASCAP award).

Warren was applauded even more for contributing the love theme “There You’ll Be” to the soundtrack of the WWII-set Pearl Harbor (2001). Recorded by Faith Hill, the ballad later won another ASCAP and was nominated for a Grammy, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Broadcast Film Critics Association award and a Golden Satellite. Before long, Warren teamed up with James Newton Howard and co-wrote “Where the Dream Takes You” for Disney’s animated picture Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), which earned them a World Soundtrack award nomination for Best Original Song.

Warren, who superstitiously believes her working room is a secret world and never cleans it up, has worked with various artists, such as Natalie Cole (in “A Smile Like Yours”), Meat Loaf (in “Cry Over Me”), Mandy Moore (in “From Loving You”), Jessica Simpson (in “I Belong to Me”), Reba McEntire (in “I’ll Be”), Kelly Clarkson (in “Some Kind of Miracle”), Carrie Underwood (in “Some Hearts”), Michael Bolton (in “Time, Love & Tenderness”), Britney Spears (in “When Your Eyes Say It”) and American Idol alumnus Fantasia Barrino (in “I Feel Beautiful”). Recently, screenwriters Craig Zadan and Neil Meron created a series inspired by her life. Revolving around the life of a struggling fictional female songwriter, the small screen project will feature some of Warren’s previous hits and original tunes. The series will be aired on the Lifetime Television.


Awards:

- ASCAP: Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture, “Can’t Fight the Moonlight,” Coyote Ugly, 2003
- ASCAP: Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture, “There You’ll Be,” Pearl Harbor, 2002
- ASCAP: Top TV Series, “Enterprise,” 2002
- Hollywood Film Festival: Hollywood Discovery Award for Outstanding Achievement in Songwriting, 2001
- ASCAP: Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture, “Music Of My Heart,” Music of the Heart, 2001
- ASCAP: Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing,” Armageddon, 1999
- Golden Satellite: Best Original Song in a Motion Picture, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing,” Armageddon, 1999
- ASCAP: Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture, “How Do I Live,” Con Air, 1998
- ASCAP: Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture, “For You I Will,” Space Jam, 1998
- Grammy: Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television, “Because You Loved Me,” Up Close & Personal, 1997
- ASCAP: Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture, “Because You Loved Me,” Up Close & Personal, 1997
- ASCAP: Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” Mannequin, 1988