Why a Record Label Didn’t Want Barbra Streisand to Record Her Final Hit
Barbra Streisand reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the last time decades after her career began. She did so by collaborating with an artist who was very popular at the time. During the creation of the song, Streisand felt this artist’s label didn’t want him to release a song with her. Here’s why.
One of Barbra Streisand’s most famous movie ballads
Some superstars keep their musical careers and their movie careers separate. It’s impossible to separate Streisand’s filmography from her discography. After all, many of her biggest and best songs were from her movies. Her final top 10 hit is no exception.
In the late 1990s, Streisand released the last of the three movies she had directed: The Mirror Has Two Faces. The film featured a pop power ballad titled “I Finally Found Someone.” After all, what would a Streisand melodrama be without a Streisand ballad? In an interview with Sean Mitchell of the Los Angeles Times, Streisand discussed the song’s origin.
The time Barbra Streisand collaborated with a major artist from the 1980s and 1990s
“I wrote the love theme, the main love theme, then Marvin [Hamlisch] wrote a bridge to it, and that was going to be our song,” Streisand recalled. “Then [record producer] David Foster had the idea that I should sing the duet with Bryan Adams.” Streisand and Adams make a good pair, as they are both known for their sensitive ballads. Streisand said more about Adams’ involvement with “I Finally Found Someone.”
“Bryan played our track and heard me humming and fell in love with this little theme that I wrote and then he and his producer Mutt Lange wrote a counter melody based on the track that I sent him,” Streisand said. “And they wrote the lyrics. So that’s how that happened. I don’t think his record company wanted him to sing with me.” Mitchell asked why she thought Adams’ label felt that way.
“Because I’m more traditional, and I haven’t had a hit since I don’t know when,” Streisand replied. In fact, it had been quite a long time since Streisand had a hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Streisand’s last top 40 hit was “Till I Loved You,” a duet with Don Johnson that Streisand released a full eight years before the premiere of The Mirror Has Two Faces. Adams’ label had reason to be concerned Streisand wasn’t commercially viable — so how did “I Finally Found Someone” perform?
How the public reacted to ‘I Finally Found Someone’
“I Finally Found Someone” reached the eight position on the Billboard Hot 100. Streisand would never reach the top 10 again. Interestingly, Adams wouldn’t reach the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 again either. It’s not clear if “I Finally Found Someone” was a hit because of Streisand’s star power, Adams’ star power, or a combination of their star power. Regardless, “I Finally Found Someone” proved Adams’ label wrong in the best way possible.
