Listen to Julia Jacklin cover Céline Dion’s song ‘My Heart Will Go On’
There’s no need to mince words: ‘My Heart Will Go On’ is one of the biggest songs of all time. Whether you love or loathe the Céline Dion theme from Titanic, you almost certainly can sing along to its big, belting chorus. That’s part of the undeniable fun of listening to the song, but as anyone who has been to a karaoke night knows, those high notes can sneak up on you. Don’t tell that to Julia Jacklin, though.
Jacklin has had one hell of a year so far, dropping her brilliant third studio album Pre Pleasure back in August. There were a few notable pop-adjacent turns on that LP, plus a couple of songs that showed off Jacklin’s vocal range. But there was nothing on that record that would signal that Jacklin was ready to jump into Dion’s shoes.
At a concert in Madrid last week, however, she did just that. I don’t know if anyone has sung a completely straight-faced version of ‘My Heart Will Go On’ since 1997, but Jacklin was clearly completely bought into the ooey-gooey sentimentality at the centre of Dion’s unkillable ballad. In fact, Jacklin had previously pledged allegiance to Dion while discussing Pre Pleasure with Consequence earlier this year.
“I feel like it’s a bit of a personality test for me now,” Jacklin said. “If someone is shit-talking Céline Dion, I’m like, “What do you find joy in?” I’m not saying everyone has to like Céline Dion, but it’s so easy to not take that kind of artist seriously. But they are so beloved, and they obviously are doing something that really connects with people, and that is so valuable.”
Once again, just refer back to the numbers. The single version of ‘My Heart Will Go On’ from 1998 has sold an estimated 18 million copies. 18 million! That’s good enough to make it one of the best-selling singles of all time, and it would probably be the biggest-selling single by a woman in history if it wasn’t for Whitney Houston’s own movie love theme, ‘I Will Always Love You’. It’s impossible for 18 million people to enjoy something ironically, and Jacklin is obviously a major Celine stan. Good on you, Julia.
Check out Jacklin’s rendition of ‘My Heart Will Go On’ down below.
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