Celine Dion drops bombshell about 'Titanic' ballad on 27th anniversary

Celine Dion is sharing the surprising story behind the song that not only defined a generation but also her career.

On Wednesday, February 25, the powerhouse singer marked the 27th anniversary of My Heart Will Go On with a candid Instagram video reflecting on how close she came to never recording the Titanic anthem.

“I’ve been very, very lucky in my career, because I’ve had some classic songs offered to me that won Oscars and will be remembered for way after I’m gone,” Dion, 57, shared. But when it came to the sweeping ballad, she admitted, “I didn’t want to sing My Heart Will Go On, not just because the director didn’t want to have a song in his movie, because he said his movie was great enough, which is true.”

Behind the scenes, she recalled tension between director James Cameron and composer James Horner. “So James Cameron and James Horner were fighting as a director and a composer. One really wanted that song and he really wanted me to sing that song.” When Horner first played it for her, Dion immediately declined.

After some encouragement from her late husband René, she agreed to record a demo — just once. “If you pay attention to the way I sing - because I only sang it once, just to give it a try - I was a little tired, so I had a black coffee,” she explained. The caffeine altered her vibrato, but the raw take moved everyone in the studio to tears. “I’m saying to myself I’m stuck. How am I gonna get out of this thing?”

The song went on to top charts in more than 25 countries, become the best-selling single of 1998, win an Oscar, a Golden Globe and four Grammys — and ultimately become Dion’s signature hit.