Eyes on Me ( song ) " Eyes on Me " is the theme song of " Final Fantasy VIII " . Composed by Nobuo Uematsu , English lyrics by Kako Someya , and performed by Hong Kong pop diva Faye Wong , the song went on to sell a record breaking 400 , 000 copies . It also won " Song of the Year ( Western Music ) " at the 14th Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1999 . This was the first time a song from a video game ever won the honor . Development . The game developers had originally planned to use a famous vocalist in the ending of " Final Fantasy VII " , but the plan didn ' t go through due to being too abrupt , and there was no suitable theme in the story for a vocal song to suddenly come up in the ending . In " Final Fantasy VIII " the song has a meaning in the plot , and it relates to the game ' s main characters . Uematsu wrote a ballad he thought would suit the theme and asked everyone to bring in CDs with vocalists who would match it . The team listened to countless CDs in staff meetings , but none seemed to match their expectations , until they listened to Faye Wong . Uematsu didn ' t know Faye Wong prior to listening to her CD in a Squaresoft staff meeting , but her voice and mood seemed to match his image of the song . He thought her being Chinese fit the international image of " Final Fantasy " . Uematsu didn ' t participate in the negotiation to ask her to perform the song for " Final Fantasy VIII " . Faye Wong accepted the offer , but the recording had to take place in Hong Kong due to her schedule . Uematsu organized an orchestra and gave her a copy of the tape before the recording . Her style was to concentrate alone before recording , and sing in a one - shot deal in complete darkness . Uematsu describes Wong ' s skill as a singer superior and her voice as " truly heavenly " . Game appearances . " Final Fantasy VIII " . The central melody of " Eyes on Me " plays each time Squall and Rinoa share a romantic scene . Different in - game versions of the theme include " Julia " , a piano arrangement that plays in Deling City hotel during a flashback , as well as in the Shumi Village inn , and " Waltz for the Moon " , a waltz arrangement that plays during the SeeD inauguration ball . " Eyes on Me " plays in the " Ragnarok " during Squall and Rinoa ' s journey back to earth . An orchestrated version of the song is incorporated on the game ' s ending theme . Event planner Hiroki Chiba made the event where Squall and Rinoa are inside the " Ragnarok " when the song plays . Chiba had to adjust it frame by frame so that everything would be in sync with the song . " Eyes on Me " was included in the " " album as the twentieth track of the third disc . " Waltz for the Moon " and " Julia " are , respectively , the sixteenth and twentieth tracks of the soundtrack ' s first disc . Story . " Eyes on Me " was written by Julia Heartilly about her love for Laguna Loire . Laguna , a Galbadia n soldier , fell in love with Julia , a hotel lounge pianist . Laguna would frequent the lounge to watch her play but , being notoriously shy and clumsy , could never convey his feelings to her . She felt the same way , but his nervousness made it difficult for her to let him know . One night Laguna tried to approach her and although his nerves got the better of him , Julia invited him to her room where the two told each other how they felt . Julia admitted she wanted to sing and that she could write a song about Laguna , despite her previous difficulty in composing lyrics . " Eyes on Me " is that song , and the feelings conveyed in it are her feelings for him . Laguna was called away to a mission and the two would never see each other again . Laguna and Julia ' s love is echoed in Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly ' s romance , significant as Julia is Rinoa ' s mother and Laguna is Squall ' s father . Thus their failed romance is fulfilled through their children . The song may have become a classic within the world of " Final Fantasy VIII " , as a waltz version plays at the SeeD inauguration ball , a different arrangement plays at an impromptu concert at Fishermans Horizon , and the theme plays on the radio as far away as the isolated Shumi Village , all many years after the song was composed . " Dissidia Final Fantasy " . An orchestrated " Eyes On Me " is included in " DISSIDIA - ending - from DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY " , a medley of the ending themes from " Final Fantasy " to " Final Fantasy X " , including the theme of " Dissidia Final Fantasy " . " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . An arrangement of " Julia " by Tsuyoshi Sekito , titled " Julia - arrange - from FINAL FANTASY VIII " , is present as Laguna ' s world map theme in his storyline , during the third chapter of Treachery of the Gods . " Julia - arrange - from FINAL FANTASY VIII " was released as the thirty - third track of the game ' s soundtrack first disc . The " Eyes on Me " segment of the " Final Fantasy VIII " ending theme returns for the new " DISSIDIA 012 [ duodecim ] - ending - from DISSIDIA 012 [ duodecim ] FINAL FANTASY " , a medley of the ending themes from " Final Fantasy " to " Final Fantasy XIII " and including the ending themes of " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " and " Dissidia Final Fantasy " . " Theatrhythm Final Fantasy " . " Waltz for the Moon " appears as the Event Music Sequence for " Final Fantasy VIII " . Additionally , the " Ending Theme " is the end song for the series play . The iOS version features the " Ending Theme " as a Field Music Sequence that can be bought on the app store for $ 0 . 99 / £0 . 69 . " Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call " . " Waltz for the Moon " and " Ending Theme " both reappear as Field Music Sequences for " Final Fantasy VIII " . Arrangement album appearances . A piano arrangement of " Eyes On Me " by Shirō Hamaguchi and performed by Shinko Ogata appears on the album as its second track . Many consider it the easiest of the Piano Collections ' vocal song arrangements . " Eyes On Me ( Acoustic Guitar Version ) " is an unreleased arrangement of the theme , released as bonus track for this compilation . It is the fourteenth and final track of the album . " Guitar Solo Final Fantasy Official Best Collection " . A solo classical guitar arrangement of " Eyes On Me " is included on the album , performed by Yuji Sekiguchi . It is the seventeenth track of the album . " Final Fantasy Song Book " Mahoroba " " . " Eyes on Me " is featured in this 2004 album , titled . Arranged for vocals by Yuji Hasegawa , it was sung in Japanese by Manami Kiyota . " SQ Chips " . The song appears in the 8 - bit arrangement album featuring tracks from several Square Enix games . It is the thirteenth track in the album . " Final Fantasy Orchestra Album " . " Eyes on Me " appears on this Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary arrangement album sung by Crystal Kay . This version was initially performed at the Royal Albert Hall , London as part of the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Distant Worlds concert . Compilation album appearances . The " Piano Collections : Final Fantasy VIII " release of " Eyes on Me " is included in this album as its second track . The " Piano Collections : Final Fantasy VIII " version of " Eyes on Me " is included in this album as its second track . Non - " Final Fantasy " guest appearances . The song is included in the Japanese release of Faye Wong ' s 2000 album as dance remix track called " Eyes On Me - Almighty Radio Mix " . " Kokoro no Senshi " . In 2006 , the song was included in Angela Aki ' s second single . " Eyes On Me - featured in FINAL FANTASY VIII - " is the fourth track that ties the single with the series . " Eyes On Me " ( Korean version ) . MayBee did a cover of the song in Korean and was released in August 11 , 2008 . Ancient Bards . An Italian metal band named the Ancient Bards has covered " Eyes on Me " opening with the " Final Fantasy " theme . Sara Squadrani sings the song in English . An English cover by Japanese singer .