Diane Warren: I love working with new, upcoming artistes

Singers like Celine Dion, Cher, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato and Justin Bieber have breathed life into her words. Veteran American songwriter Diane Warren says she is working with some of the best artistes in the world, and that she loves collaborating

Dec 26, 2020, 5:02 pm ISTNewsIANS

Diane Warren on roping in singers for her album: It was like casting in a film

In her nearly four-decade career, she has penned songs for some of the greatest singers. Asked how different it is to team with young artistes, Warren told IANS: "I just think that I am working with another singer. It's no different. A great artiste is a great artiste whether they are 20 or 40 years old. I love working with new and upcoming artistes -- keeps it fun and fresh."

Without revealing names, she said some of them are difficult to work with, but most artistes are "cool".

"I am working with some of the best artistes in the world right now," she said with a smile.

A while ago, she had played a guessing game with her fans on Instagram where she had posted a photo of her with an artiste whose face was covered with a mask.

Asked if that was AJ McLean of the popular band Backstreet Boys, Warren said: "Yes, that's AJ. I am not supposed to talk about it till the song comes out, but there might be more than one (Backstreet Boys member singing the song)."

She didn't share details about the song, but said it won't be part of her upcoming album "Diane Warren: The Cave Sessions Vol. 1", which is scheduled for release in 2021.

"It's not on my album yet. I'd do a song with them (Backstreet Boys). I think they are great," said the iconic songwriter.

Her upcoming album includes vocals of stars likes John Legend, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, Jason Derulo and Darius Rucker.

Warren's hits like "I don't want to miss a thing" (Aerosmith), "Can't fight the moonlight" (LeAnn Rimes) and "There you'll be" (Faith Hill) have been featured in Hollywood films.

Asked about the process of writing songs for films, she shared: "It's all about writing a great song. Whether it's for a movie or writing a song on my own, it comes down to writing the perfect song."

"You want that song to be right for that movie like I wrote 'Free' that Charlie Puth sings (for the film 'The One and Only Ivan'). That's one of my favourite songs I have written in my life. It is probably my favourite movie song and I am really proud of it. I wrote it like a theme song for animals. I love animals, and I am a big animal activist," she added.

In addition to the new Disney movie, she also had a song in the 2020 film "The Life Ahead".

"I did a song ('lo Si') for Sophia Loren movie 'The Life Ahead'. It's another fantastic movie. I got lucky. I got to write for some of the great movies," said Warren, whose songs have made it to over 100 movies.

Warren flaunts Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe trophies on her shelf, but when it comes to Oscars she calls herself "an 11-time loser", having lost out on the big prize 11 times so far.

"Maybe, I'll get lucky this year," she said with her fingers crossed.

Getting nominated itself is an honour for her and she considers all the nominees to be winners too.

"But I would love to win it for real," she wrapped up.