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"On My Own" is a duet by American singers Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald. It was written and produced by Burt Bacharach and his then-wife Carole Bayer Sager and originally recorded by singer Dionne Warwick for inclusion on her album Friends (1985). The song was eventually recorded by LaBelle and McDonald for her eighth studio album, Winner in You (1986). It was released as the album's lead single on March 22, 1986, by MCA Records. Lyrically, "On My Own" was based on a relationship that had reached its end with both parties going their separate ways in a melancholy state with the occasional option of coming back together again one day.
The two performers were in separate cities when they recorded their individual parts, which were then "married" during mixing. This was reflected in the music video produced to promote the song, which depicted LaBelle and McDonald performing the song simultaneously on different coasts. The singers were shown on separate sides of a split screen, each singing the song while walking through apartments that had identical layouts but different decor and furniture. The views from their respective porches, where they finished the song, made clear their separation by the continent.
Commercial performance
"On My Own" became the most successful single ever for both singers as it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. The song also reached the number-one spot on the Hot Black Singles chart (for four weeks) and number two on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and has been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), becoming the 22nd best-selling single of 1986 in the country. The song was initially not intended to be a duet at all, but LaBelle decided to invite McDonald to help her turn the song into a duet, as she stated: "The song was sent to me and I did a version of it but somehow it just didn't quite work. We were going over things I'd done and we talked about turning it into a duet. Someone asked, 'If you could do it with anyone, who would you sing it with?', and Michael was my first choice."
In September 1995, country entertainer Reba McEntire released a cover version of the song as the first single from her album Starting Over. Her version, featuring guest vocals from Martina McBride, Linda Davis and fellow MCA labelmate Trisha Yearwood, peaked at number 20 on Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, although only McEntire received chart credit for it. Its music video was directed by Dominic Orlando and was filmed on the Chaplin Stage.
Breihan, Tom (November 15, 2022). "Bon Jovi - "You Give Love a Bad Name". The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music. New York: Hachette Book Group. p. 183.
LaBelle, Patti (October 7, 2009). "On My Own". Retrieved April 18, 2013 – via YouTube.
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