The Power of Love (Jennifer Rush song)

1984 single by Jennifer Rush

"The Power of Love" is a song co written and originally recorded by American singer songwriter Jennifer Rush in 1984. It was released in December 1984 by CBS Records as the fifth single from her debut album, Jennifer Rush (1984), and has since been covered by Air Supply, Laura Branigan, and Celine Dion. Recorded in Frankfurt, Germany (where Rush is based) and released in West Germany without much success in late 1984, Rush's original version reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in October 1985 and subsequently became the biggest selling single of the year in the UK, and the ninth best selling single of the decade. It also topped the charts in several other European countries, as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Dion's version peaked at number one in the United States, Canada, and Australia, and hit the top ten in several more countries in 1994. The song has been translated into several languages, becoming a pop standard.

"The Power of Love" was first recorded in Frankfurt, West Germany by Jennifer Rush for her 1984 eponymous album. It was released as a single in West Germany in December 1984. In June 1985, "The Power of Love" was issued as a single in the United Kingdom, where it topped the chart for five weeks in October 1985 and became the best selling single of the year. As of March 2017, it had sold 1.45 million copies in the UK. The success of the song saw Rush perform it ‘‘live’’ on the BBC’s Top of the Pops in late 1985. The massive success of "The Power of Love" in the UK followed with widespread international success for the single in the last months of 1985 and the first of 1986, including a German re release with a resultant number nine charting. Eventually "The Power of Love" reached number one in Australia, Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa and Spain (where Rush topped the chart with a version in Spanish called "Si tú eres mi hombre y yo tu mujer", translated as "If you are my man and I'm your woman"), number three in Switzerland, Sweden and Belgium, and number seven in the Netherlands. CBS held off on releasing "The Power of Love" in North America feeling the disc was too European. It finally saw release in the United States and Canada in January 1986 but despite rising to number one in Canada, "The Power of Love" failed to become a significant US hit, stalling at number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending of April 5, 1986, and spending 13 weeks within the Hot 100. The song was performed by Rush on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in March 1986 and American Bandstand in April 1986.

Michele Greppi from The Atlanta Journal Constitution named "The Power of Love" the "best cut" of the album, complimenting Rush's voice, noting that her "operatic training shows in her incredible range (with no apparent loss of power or flexibility at either top or bottom)". Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger stated that it's "a song about how love removes your own sense of scale, makes existence itself unfamiliar, so the disorientating disconnect between it and anything resembling my emotional reality makes a sort of warped sense." He added that the chorus is "so memorable". Alan Jones from Music Week complimented it as "frankly superior". Stephen Holden from The New York Times remarked that Rush "has a distinctive alto that combines an almost folkish intonation with a declamatory, quasi operatic delivery. It is a voice that doesn't fit comfortably into any category." Richard Defendorf from The Orlando Sentinel declared it as a "goopy ballad". People magazine wrote that "what's most impressive is Rush's voice. Throaty, intense and wide ranging". The reviewer also noted that there is "intelligent passion" in the "broody" "The Power of Love". In an retrospective review, Pop Rescue praised it as a "fantastically classic power ballad" and "flawless", noting that the singer's vocals are "rich, strong, and wonderfully spine tingling". Greg Kennedy from Red Deer Advocate viewed the song as "plaintive" and "poignant". A writer for The Stage declared it a "superballad". Australian music channel Max included "The Power of Love" in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2011.

The accompanying music video of "The Power of Love" was directed by German director Michael Leckebusch. It was filmed in New York City. As the video begins, we see the city in the early morning hours. Some villainous types are walking around an empty office, looking for something. They are being discovered by Rush's man, who obviously works at nights. Then the focus switches to Rush who is seen leaving Madison Square Garden. She starts singing and at home, she opens the door to her bedroom and finds her man lying asleep. When the chorus starts, Rush is standing in a freight elevator that is moving upwards. There are glimpses of the villainous men pushing her man to do things for them. Some scenes show Rush wearing black sunglasses, standing on the dock by the sea, while she watches the guys meeting on a pier to plot something. They are also hitting her man on the street by car. Apparently Rush is trying to help him out of the hands of these villains. Towards the end, she walks alone through the city in the evening hours, singing. At home, she once again opens the bedroom door, checking that her man is lying there asleep and then she shuts the door. As of May 2023, the video had generated more than 126 million views on YouTube.

Canadian singer Celine Dion covered "The Power of Love" for her third English language studio album, The Colour of My Love (1993). It was produced by David Foster and released as the first single in November 1993 by Columbia and Epic in North America, in December 1993 in Japan, and in early 1994 in the rest of the world. It hit number one in the US, Canada, and Australia and was a top ten hit in several other countries. Billboard later ranked it as the 46th Top Love Song of All Time.

Dion's version of The Power of Love became the best selling single by a female artist of 1994 in the United States, and 8th best selling overall, selling 900,000 copies. It became Dion's first US number one song, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in February 1994. It also topped the Cash Box Top 100 and became her first Australian chart topper and her second number one single in Canada. The song also topped the adult contemporary charts in the United States and Canada. In the rest of the world, "The Power of Love" reached the top ten in France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Sweden and New Zealand. It was certified Platinum in the United States (selling 1.5 million copies) and Australia, Gold in the UK and New Zealand, and Silver in France.

"The Power of Love" won the ASCAP Pop Award for Most Performed Song in the United States. Dion was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Single, two Billboard Music Awards for Hot 100 Single of the Year and Hot Adult Contemporary Single of the Year, and for the Juno Award for Single of the Year. David Foster was also nominated for the Juno Award for Producer of the Year for Dion's version.

A music video for the Celine Dion version was released which saw heavy rotation on many music video networks and programs. Dion included the song in many of her tour performances. "The Power of Love" is included on many of her live albums. It is also featured on several of her greatest hits collections such as All the Way A Decade of Song (1999), Complete Best (2008), My Love: Essential Collection (2008) and The Best of Celine Dion & David Foster (2012). Live performances are included on À l'Olympia (album), Live à Paris (album), Live à Paris (video), Au cœur du stade (video), Live in Las Vegas: A New Day (video), Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert (album/video), and Céline une seule fois / Live 2013 (album/video). She also performed the song at the American Music Awards of 1995 and her CBS television special That's Just the Woman in Me on February 15, 2008.

Dion's cover of "The Power of Love" received acclaim from music critics. About. com placed the song at number seven in their ranking of "Top 10 Celine Dion Songs", calling it a "big ballad". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic "highlighted" it in his review of The Colour of My Love. A reviewer from The Baltimore Sun wrote that the singer "sounds great" when she's working with "tunefully romantic stuff". Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report commented, "A song this powerful places extraordinary demands on those who sing it. Only a rare few are up to the task Add Celine's interpretation to producer David Foster's arrangement and the result is nothing short of superb". Another Gavin Report editor, Ron Fell, said "it's made better than ever", adding it as "awesome!" Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian described it as a "bodice bursting" version. Mike Wass from Idolator complimented Dion's "flawless vocal" on a "classy" Foster arrangement. Dennis Hunt from LA Times compared Dion's vocals favorably to those of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. He noted "that grandiose, note stretching finish". Pan European magazine Music & Media described the song as a "tender rendition". Alan Jones from Music Week said it "is so powerful it's sure to score". The Plain Dealer deemed it a "soaring rendition". Christopher Smith from Talk About Pop Music viewed the song as "powerful and faithful to the original version".

Siren kings, members of a New Zealand street subculture devoted to the volume and clarity of music via public address system loudspeakers, value the Celine Dion version of "The Power of Love" as a perfect song for the medium. Siren king Purp Ci'i stated that it "will smash anyone in a battle—that song is dangerous It's an old favourite from when sirens first started."