All the Way... A Decade of Song is the first English-language greatest hits album by Canadian singerCeline Dion. Released bySony Music on 12 November 1999, it features nine previously released songs on most editions and seven new recordings on all editions. Dion worked on new tracks mainly withDavid Foster. Other producers includeMax Martin,Kristian Lundin,Robert John "Mutt" Lange,James Horner, andMatt Serletic. It is the best-selling greatest hits album by a female solo artist in the US during theNielsen SoundScan era.[1]All the Way... A Decade of Song has sold over 22 million copies worldwide, including over nine million in the United States, five million in Europe, two million in Japan and one million units in Canada.
All the Way... A Decade of Song garnered generally mixed reviews from music critics, who praised the included hits but questioned the inclusion of seven new songs. Out of all of the new recordings, the first single "That's the Way It Is" was generally praised. The album became a commercial success throughout the world and peaked at number one in most major music markets. It placed at No. 7 on theUSBillboard 200 Year-End Chart in the year 2000[2] and placed at No. 26 on the USBillboard 200 Decade-End chart.
After ten years of standing in the spotlight, Celine Dion decided to go on vacation. "I'm looking forward to having no schedule, no pressure, to not caring about whether it's raining or not, just visiting with family and friends, cooking at home, trying to seriously have a child. I want no pressure for a while," she said.[3] Before Dion embarked on her two-year respite from the music industry beginning 1 January 2000, she preparedAll the Way... A Decade of Song to cap a ten-year period in which she had sold over 100 million records worldwide.[4] In the 1990s, Dion transformed herself from a regional Canadian success into one of the world's most successful pop artists. In that time, she released six English-language albums, from 1990'sUnison toAll the Way... A Decade of Song, and six newly recorded French albums, picking up numerous awards, including fiveGrammys.[3][4]
The process of putting togetherAll the Way... A Decade of Song was laborious for all involved, from balancing the number of hits and new songs to ensuring that each of the latest tracks showed a new side of Dion. "We had hourly conversations, back and forth, about what the combination should be," said John Doelp, the album's co-executive producer. He added, "We wanted to make sure we had some new sounds and that we were able to go to new places". Co-executive producer Vito Luprano added: "The first idea was to record three new songs, then Dion said, 'Let's go for five,' her lucky number. But we had so many great songs coming in that we ended up recording nine. Out of that, we decided to go with seven".[3]
Sony Music Entertainment released eight different versions of her greatest hits, tailored to Dion's individual successes in North America, Europe, France, Australia/New Zealand, Asia, Japan, Latin America and Brazil.[3]
All the Way... A Decade of Song garnered generally mixed reviews from music critics. AlthoughStephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic gave the album four out of five stars, he criticized it for including seven new songs and just nine hits. He felt that the album had "glaring omissions", such as Dion's first American hit, "Where Does My Heart Beat Now", and her duet withBarbra Streisand, "Tell Him".[13][18] Phil Sutcliffe fromQ called the album a "strange hybrid" that was "neither comprehensively greatest nor best".[15] Dave Veitch from theCalgary Sun felt that "fans may be disappointed" that some hits were not included.[14] Erlewine considered "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" and "My Heart Will Go On" to be "among the bestadult contemporary songs of the decade," but felt that aside from "That's the Way It Is" and "If Walls Could Talk", the new material was not memorable.[13]
Michael Paoletta fromBillboard gave it a positive review. Regarding the seven new songs, he wrote: "All the Way... A Decade of Song is Dion's most focused album yet, drawing on a team of collaborators that understands this artists's strengths".[19]Chuck Taylor fromBillboard praised "That's the Way It Is". He wrote that Dion "at last ups the tempo with the irresistible first single." Taylor applauded the pairing of Dion with collaboratorsMax Martin,Kristian Lundin andAndreas Carlsson. "Replete with a festive mandolin and a midtempo beat to bring new heights to her as-ever splendid vocal," he concluded that "'That's the Way It Is' is one of the most compelling radio releases yet from "one of the core voices of the decade".[20] Chuck Taylor also reviewed "I Want You to Need Me" and wrote that "linking Dion andDiane Warren has always been about as fine a fit as a trusty pair ofThom McAn's. Between Warren's heart-drenched words and dramatic melody writing and Dion's potent vocals straight from soulside, divadom has never sounded so mighty".[21]
All the Way... A Decade of Song topped the charts around the world and was certified multi-platinum in various countries. During the first two years of its release, the album had sold over seventeen million copies globally.[22] To date, the album has sold over 22 million copies worldwide, becoming the fifteenthbest-selling album by a woman in history.[23]
All the Way... A Decade of Song debuted at number three on the USBillboard 200 with sales of 303,000 copies, the second-largest opener in Dion's career behindLet's Talk About Love (1997) which sold 334,000 units in its first week.[24] The album had a second-week gain of 30% (394,000 copies) and became the third number-one album of her career. In its fifth week, it topped the chart again, selling 537,000 units, becoming the first number one album of the 2000s.[25]All the Way... A Decade of Song drew its biggest weekly sales in its sixth week when it sold 640,000 copies, falling to number two.[26] On theBillboard's list of best-selling records of 1999 in the US,All the Way... A Decade of Song was placed at number thirteen with sales of 2,900,000 units.[27] As of November 2019,All the Way... A Decade of Song has sold 8,200,000 copies in the United States according toNielsen SoundScan,[28][29] with an additional 1,100,000 units sold at BMG Music Club.[30] It was certifiedseven-times platinum by theRIAA.[31]All the Way... A Decade of Song is the fourth best-selling greatest hits album in the US in theNielsen SoundScan era and the best-selling greatest hits album by a female artist.[1] According toBillboard, it was the 26th best-selling album of the decade (2000–09) in the US.[32]
In Canada and in Quebec,All the Way... A Decade of Song debuted at number one.[33][34] The album shipped one million copies and was certifieddiamond by theCRIA.[35] In the United Kingdom,All the Way... A Decade of Song debuted at number one, selling 74,681 copies.[36] It became one of five Dion albums to sell more than one million copies in the UK. As of October 2008, the album has sold 1,318,223 units in the UK[36] and was certifiedfour-times platinum by theBPI.[37] In Germany, the album entered the chart at number one, spending six non-consecutive weeks at the top.[38] It was certifiedseven-times gold by theBVMI after it shipped 1,050,000 copies.[39][40] Overall, it sold over five million copies in Europe and was certifiedfive-times platinum by theIFPI.[41]
All the Way... A Decade of Song was also successful in Japan, where it peaked at number one[42] and was certifiedtwo-times million by theRIAJ, denoting shipment of two million copies.[43] In Australia, the album topped the chart for two weeks and was certifiedfive-times platinum by theARIA.[44]
All editions include seven new songs and the previous hits: "The Power of Love", "Beauty and the Beast", "Because You Loved Me", "It's All Coming Back to Me Now", "To Love You More", and "My Heart Will Go On". Other tracks vary by country:
All editions except for the Australasian edition include "I'm Your Angel". The Australasian edition includes "Falling into You".
All editions except for the Canadian and US editions include "Immortality". The Canadian and US editions include "If You Asked Me To" and "Love Can Move Mountains".
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^As of November 2019,All the Way... A Decade of Song has sold 8,200,000 copies in the United States according toNielsen SoundScan,[28] with an additional 1,100,000 units sold at BMG Music Club.[30] SoundScan does not count albums sold through clubs like the BMG Music Service, which were significantly popular in the 1990s.[140]
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