The former US President Donald Trump has come under fire from Celine Dion’s team for using a sample of one of her songs “unauthorizedly” during a campaign rally.
Trump’s fans heard the song “My Heart Will Go On” before he took the stage at a rally in Bozeman, Montana, on Friday. The song was featured in a 1997 film about the sinking of the Titanic.
Dion’s team stated in a statement posted on X that she did not “endorse” the song’s use, adding, “And really, that song?”
Artists and bands who have previously objected to Mr. Trump playing their songs at campaign rallies include Queen, Neil Young, and the Rolling Stones.
As per the statement, Celine Dion’s management team and record label, Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc., learned today that the video, recording, musical performance, and likeness of Celine Dion singing My Heart Will Go On at a Donald Trump / JD Vance campaign rally in Montana have been used without permission.
“This use is not authorized in any manner, and Celine Dion does not support this or any usage that is comparable.
“…And really, that song?”
To the statement, the Trump campaign has not given a response.
One of the most well-known songs by five-time Grammy winner Dion is “My Heart Will Go On.”
‘Titanic’, a 1997 blockbuster starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as two lovers who meet on the tragic ship’s first voyage in 1912, had the Oscar-winning ballad on its soundtrack.
At the Paris Olympics opening ceremony last month, Dion triumphantly returned to live singing.
It was her first show since she disclosed in 2022 that she had been given a Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) diagnosis.
SPS is an uncommon neurological condition that can be severely crippling and cause muscles to spasm.
In a documentary titled I Am: Celine Dion, which Amazon Prime Video said last month has become its most successful documentary ever, the singer talked about her struggles with SPS.
Additionally, in 2020 the Rolling Stones threatened to sue Trump when their song You Can’t Always Get What You Want was played at a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Neil Young, a Canadian musician, has also previously protested to Trump utilizing his songs.
Trump received a notification from Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne prohibiting him from utilizing Black Sabbath music in any 2019 campaign videos.
There are other politicians than the Republican Party’s presidential nominee who have been criticized by musicians for using songs at campaign events.
Rapper Eminem requested that Vivek Ramaswamy, a prospective Republican presidential candidate, stop utilizing his songs last year.
President Reagan was chastised by Bruce Springsteen for his intention to exploit Born in the USA in his 1984 campaign.
Using his famous song “Right Here, Right Now” at the UK Labour Party’s 2004 conference—the year following the Iraq War—Fatboy Slim angrily criticized the party.
Politicians in the US do not always require artists’ consent directly.
Through the purchase of licensing packages from music rights organizations, their campaigns can gain authorized access to over 20 million songs.
Artists are able to get their songs taken from that list, though.