When You Believe

"When You Believe" is an Academy Award winning song from the 1997 DreamWorks Animation movie The Prince of Egypt.  Within the movie the song is sung by Miriam and Tzipporah after the Israelites are freed from slavery. It was sung by Sally Dworsky, who was the singing voice of Miriam, and Michelle Pfeiffer, who voiced both the singing and speaking parts of Tzipporah. A pop version of the song was performed by American singers Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. It was released as a single on October 28, 1998, as the lead single from the soundtrack and for both Houston's fourth studio album, My Love Is Your Love, and the second single for Carey's first compilation album, #1's.

Reception
The song was generally positively reviewed. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. After DreamWorks Animation made Joseph: King of Dreams there were critics who said that the second movie had more spirituality than the first because the song Joseph sings in prison  was seen as more religious than the song “When you believe” from The Prince of Egypt.

Track listings
 European CD single
 "When You Believe" (album version) – 4:35
 "When You Believe" (TV track) – 4:35

 U.S. CD single
 "When You Believe" (album version) – 4:38
 "When You Believe" (instrumental) – 4:30

 European CD maxi-single
 "When You Believe (album version)" – 4:35
 "I Am Free" – 3:08
 "You Were Loved" – 4:09

 Japanese CD maxi-single
 When You Believe" (album version) – 4:35
 "When You Believe" (TV track) – 4:32
 "I Am Free" – 3:08
 "You Were Loved" – 4:11

 U.K. CD maxi-single
 "When You Believe" (album version) – 4:35
 "Sweetheart" (The M!'s Pounding Vocal) – 9:43
 "You Were Loved" – 4:09

Leon Jackson version

The song was recorded by the winner of  of The X Factor, Scottish singer Leon Jackson in December 2007. Jackson's version has slightly altered lyrics in the second verse, removing some religious overtones within the song. It was released as a digital download on December 16, 2007 after Jackson won The X Factor, and a CD was rush-released on December 19. The song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, making it the Christmas number one with sales of over 275,000. It has gone on to sell over 500,000 copies.

Music video
The music video was similar to previous X Factor winners singles, it was a simple video, it shows Jackson singing the song in a room standing in front of a large projection screen, which shows swooping shots of various landscapes behind him. The video also shows clips from his time on The X Factor, from his first audition, the moment he won the competition and performing the song to close the series.

Charts
 Chart (2007–2008) Peakposition

Year-end charts
 Chart (2007) Position UK Singles (OCC) 4

Certifications

References

Category:Mariah Carey songs
Category:Whitney Houston songs
Category:Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songs
Category:1997 songs
Category:The Prince of Egypt
Category:Leon Jackson songs