Former President Donald Trump has a long history of using popular songs at his campaign rallies without authorization — by the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Tom Petty, Linkin Park and even Celine Dion — many of which have titles or meanings that hardly seem to imply victory, like “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” and, in the current case in point, “My Heart Will Go On,” Celine Dion’s theme song from the 1997 film “Titanic,” in which thousands of people die on a sinking luxury liner.
Trump campaign plays the theme from the Titanic at his rally pic.twitter.com/lspVW1hA5I
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 10, 2024
While Trump has used the song at rallies in the past, in Montana on Friday night he used a video of Dion singing the song as well — which brings in a raft of legal issues beyond the standard use of a song at a rally. On Saturday, Dion disavowed any endorsement of his campaign and questioned the choice of the song, which for millions evokes the tragedy of the Titanic and, in the film, Leonardo DiCaprio’s dying character sinking to the bottom of the sea.
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“Today, Celine Dion’s management team and her record label, Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc., became aware of the unauthorized usage of 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,” the statement reads.
“In no way is this use authorized and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use.
…and really, that song?”
“My Heart Will Go On,” written by the late James Horner with lyrics by Will Jennings, was released by Dion along with the film in 1997. Among many other awards, it won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and four Grammys, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
Trump has used many weirdly counterintuitive songs at his rallies, from Neil Young’s cynical “Rockin’ in the Free World” to R.E.M.’s despondent “Losing My Religion” and Linkin Park’s “To the End.” While every once in a while a campaign song actually seems on-the-nose, like Queen’s “We Will Rock You” or Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” nearly every such use has met with disavowing statements like Dion’s or, in the case of the Rolling Stones, an actual lawsuit, although it is difficult to prevent such uses on legal grounds (Trump’s campaign usually backs down when faced with a lawsuit).
