DianeWarren
Announcement of 2020's Polar Music Prize Laureates.
The Laureates of 2020 were announced on February 11, 2020. A press conference was held as usual in the Stockholm City Hall where Mayor of Stockholm Anna König Jerlmyr welcomed the guests. Diane Warren and Anna Netrebko were announced as Laureates of 2020 by Alfons Karabuda, chairman of the Polar Music Prize Award Committee, and Marie Ledin, MD of the Polar Music Prize.
Alfons Karabuda at the announcement.
Anna König Jerlmyr
2020 – a very special year
2020 turned out to be a very special year as the pandemic of covid-19 started to spread all over the world a month later. Due to the restrictions regarding the coronavirus, the ceremony was first postponed to 2021 and finally cancelled as the pandemic was still raging in the first part of 2021.
Marie Ledin, MD of the Polar Music Prize interviewed about the Laureates.
Agneta Christiernin, Polar Music Prize's production manager, and Stefan Forsberg, member of the Award committee.
In Stockholm, at last!
In 2022, Diane Warren could finally come to Stockholm to receive the Polar Music Prize in person, together with 2022’s Laureates Iggy Pop and Ensemble intercontemporain.
Diane Warren, Laureate of 2020 holding the Polar Music Prize in her hands - finally!.
Polar Talks
Diane Warren was also a guest speaker at Polar Talks on May 23 where she was interviewed by Jan Gradvall about her long career as a successful songwriter.
Polar Talks took place at Musikaliska Kvarteret the day before the ceremony. Other speakers were Laureates of 2022 Ensemble intercontemporain, Laureate of 2018 Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, the founder of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, and Lyle Cohen, Music Director at YouTube and Google.
Dianne Warren and Jan Gradvall on stage.
The Ceremony
The ceremony and banquet took place at The Grand Hôtel in Stockholm. Diane Warren was honored with performances of a selection of her many hit songs by Swedish artists Darin, Molly Sandén, and the GET UP Soul Choir.
Diane Warren right after Molly Sandéns amazing performance.
In her acceptance speech, Diane Warren said, ” I've always looked at my songs as a passport. They have taken me, a kid from Van Nuys, California with the crazy dream of becoming a songwriter, to many places I could only imagine going to - to the voices of some of the greatest singers on the planet, to the hearts of people I will never know all over the world that my songs have touched in some way and somehow have become a part of the soundtracks of their lives, to the Academy Awards, to so many places I only fantasized of going to. To this night, to this country, to this prestigious award. I can't believe my name is now among those great artists who have also received this honor…
Diane Warren receiving the Polar Music Prize from the hands of HM The King of Sweden.
Diane Warren on the yellow carpet.
You have to have talent and work your ass off
Diane Warren on becoming a successful songwriter
An early conviction
Diane Eve Warren was born in 1956 in Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley, California. As a child, "Billboard was her education” and she realised at an early age that she wanted to be the one within the brackets next to the songs - the songwriter. She got at 12-string Martin guitar from her father at 15 and started to work hard on the dream of writing music, rehearsing in a shed in the backyard at home. As a teenager, she hitchhiked with her friends over the hills to LA and Hollywood, and wanted to meet people in the music business.
Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
California State University Northridge (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
When I was 19, I used to go to California State Northridge and break into the practice rooms
Diane Warren
Inspiration
Diane herself mentions classic 60s and 70s artists as part of her inspiration: The Beatles (with another Polar Music Prize Laureate Paul McCartney), Dusty Springfield, Motown, Polar Music Prize Laureate Stevie Wonder, Carole King among others.
The Beatles - Revolver
Stevie Wonder
Motown sounds
Aiming the charts
During a decade Diane Warren worked hard on trying to get into the music business, supported by her father. She finally managed to start working with producer Jack White in the early 80s. He gave her a French song by Martine Clemenceau, and asked her to write English lyrics. It resulted in ”Solitaire” in 1983, released by Laura Branigan. This would be Diane Warrens first official hit song that reached the charts that same year, nbr 7 on Billboards US Top 100. Two years later in 1985, Debarge’s ”Rhythm of the night” written by Diane became a major hit. The trend of climbing charts had just started and has to this date never stopped.
The number ones!
What do these hit songs have in common? They were all written by Diane Warren and made it to the nr 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 list between 1987 and 1998.
Starship - Nothing’s gonna stop us now (1987) co-written with Albert Hammond
Milli Vanilli - Blame it on the rain (1989)
Toni Braxton's - Un-Break My Heart (1996)
Process and publishing
Diane Warren owns the publishing company Realsongs, with one employee – herself. She usually writes in a small room around the corner from her studio, where very few people are allowed to visit. Her voice, and answering machine, are her writing tools. By managing Diane's entire catalogue, Realsongs has today become one of the most successful publishing companies in the American music industry
"I don’t have confidence in myself as a human being, but I have unshakeable confidence in my music. When I know something is right, when I know a song is right for somebody...I believe, and it’s unshakeable."
Cher on working with Diane Warren.
"Turn back time" written by Diane Warren
Think back to any time a piece of music has really embedded a scene into your brain and chances are Diane Warren was behind the music and lyrics.
Ashley Falls, director of Clio Entertainment
Music in films
Diane Warren has written hundreds of scores and soundtracks to motion pictures which has given her 11 Oscar nominations throughout the years. She has written for blockbusters in the 80s and 90s such as Ghostbusters, Space Jam, Prince of Egypt, Up Close and Personal, The Preacher's Wife, and White Men Can't Jump.
Aerosmith - I don’t want to miss a thing (1998)
The most important songwriter in the world...
Peter Reichardt, UK's former Chairman of EMI Music Publishing
Awards & recognition
The impressive list of awards and award nominations speak for themselves. Diane Warren has up to today won a great amount of awards; Emmys, Grammys and a Golden Globe. She has until 2020 had 11 Oscar nominations. In addition to that she has also been inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame. In 2019 she was awarded the Honorary Clio Entertainment Award.
She writes songs for tremendously wide range of artists, and continues to work with many of today’s most popular acts, including Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Adele, Justin Bieber, Christina Aguilera, Snoop Dogg, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Paloma Faith, Andra Day, Demi Lovato, LeAnn Rimes, Common, Janelle Monae, Missy Elliott, Zendaya and Jason Derulo. She has written for iconic artists such as Whitney Houston, Cher, Aerosmith, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, Mariah Carey, Swedish Agnetha Fältskog, and many many more.
"I was here" on Beyoncé's fourth album 4, written as a reaction to the 9/11, 2001 attacks in New York
The Swedish Connection
The Polar Music Prize Diane Warren playlist
Content of biography is presented here as it was published in 2020.
Header photo and portrait by Emily Shur.
Photos from the announcement by Annika Berglund, © Polar Music Prize.
Marie Ledin
Managing Director
marie.ledin@polarmusicprize.org
Alfons Karabuda
Chairman of the Polar Music
Prize Award Committee
alfons@polarmusicprize.org
Polar Music Prize
Po Box 55777
SE-114 83 Stockholm
Sweden
Visiting address:
Banérgatan 16