Imperfections (song)

This article is about the 2019 Celine Dion song. For other songs, see Imperfect (disambiguation).

"Imperfections"
Single by Celine Dion
from the album Courage
Released18 September 2019 (2019-09-18)
Genre
Length3:59
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)DallasK
Celine Dion singles chronology
"Ashes"
(2018) 		"Imperfections"
(2019) 		"Lying Down"
(2019)
Music video
"Imperfections" on YouTube

"Imperfections" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion from her twelfth English-language studio album, Courage (2019). It was written by Lauv, Michael Pollack, Nicholas Perloff-Giles and DallasK, and produced by DallasK. "Imperfections" was released as a digital download on 18 September 2019. The music video premiered on 26 September 2019 and the song impacted adult contemporary radio in the United States on 30 September 2019. "Imperfections" topped the sales and radio charts in Quebec, and received positive reviews from music critics. Dion performed it during her Courage World Tour.

Background and release

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"Imperfections" was written by American singer-songwriter Lauv, American DJ-producer DallasK, Michael Pollack and Nicholas Perloff-Giles, and produced by DallasK.[2] Together with the songs "Lying Down" and "Courage", it was released as a digital download on 18 September 2019, the day Dion started her Courage World Tour, promoting her album Courage.[1] "Imperfections" is a mid-tempo dance track with an electronic beat, which focuses on self-criticism.[3][1] It impacted adult contemporary radio in the United States on 30 September 2019.[4] On 7 December 2019, "Imperfections" was added under the B-list on BBC Radio 2 airplay playlist in the United Kingdom.[5] On 26 February 2020, a new stripped-down version of "Imperfections" was released on Spotify, along with Dion's cover of "Wicked Game" with Chris Isaak.[6]

Critical reception

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The song received positive critical reviews. According to A Bit of Pop Music, "Imperfections" is a good song with contemporary radio pop production.[7] It is very 2019 and very Celine Dion at the same time.[7] Lyrics are simple, same as Dion's vocals.[7] Mike Wass from Idolator described "Imperfections" as Dion's most contemporary-sounding song in years, with catchy chorus about self-reflection: "I've got my own imperfections, I got my own set of scars to hide".[8]

Commercial performance

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In Quebec, "Imperfections" topped the radio chart for 15 weeks[9] and the sales chart for five weeks.[10] In Canada, it reached number five on the Adult Contemporary chart,[11] number 40 on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart,[12] and number 69 on the Canadian Hot 100.[13] In the United States, "Imperfections" peaked at number 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart[14] and number 23 on Pop Digital Song Sales.[15] It also peaked at number 17 in Belgium Wallonia,[16] number 32 in Croatia,[17] number 43 on the sales chart in France[18] and number 97 in Scotland.[19]

Music video

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The music video for "Imperfections" was directed by Gabriel Coutu-Dumont and produced by Sailor Productions/Silent Partners Studio.[20] It was shot entirely in black and white, with Dion taking over the screen in various gowns and high-end ensembles.[20] The music video was released on 26 September 2019.[21] Emily Zemler from Rolling Stone called it evocative, with glamorous, behind-the-scenes Hollywood aesthetic, which is juxtaposed with the lyrics as Dion reflects on self-criticism, noting, "I got my own imperfections".[20] At the end of the music video, Dion appears completely without makeup, which is in sync with the message of the song: "I got my own imperfections/I got my own set of scars to hide/I got my own imperfections/I can't hold your heart when I'm fixing mine".[22]

Nicholas Hautman from Us Weekly called it stunning in everything from a puffy black dress to a strapless white gown. "As the song continues to play, Dion heads back to her dressing room and takes a makeup wipe to her face, baring her natural beauty", he continued.[23] Rebecca Alter from Vulture.com said it was "perfect" continuing, "queen Celine does a frankly abysmal job convincing us that she's anything but perfect, singing in a perfect voice about her inadequacies while stunting in couture perfectly. The drama of her body language in billowing sleeves? Heaven. Her stripes and oversize polka dots and large hat wide-stanced Cirque du Soleil fashion narrative? Art. Her running, Bird Box blindfolded, toward the camera in black-and-white like a high-glamour human embodiment of that old-timey movie of the train driving toward the audience? The Lumière brothers wish! We know she's perfect." she said.[24]

Credits and personnel

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  • Ari Leff – composer, lyricist, associated performer
  • Dallas Koehlke – composer, lyricist, producer, associated performer, background vocal, recording engineer
  • Michael Pollack – composer, lyricist, associated performer, background vocal
  • Nicholas Perloff-Giles – composer, lyricist
  • Alyssa Lourdiz Cantu – background vocal
  • François Lalonde – recording engineer
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing engineer
  • Vlado Meller – mastering engineer
  • John McL. Doelp – executive producer

Source:[25]

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[28] Gold 40,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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"Imperfections" release history
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various 18 September 2019
Columbia [1]
United States 30 September 2019 Adult contemporary radio [4]
Italy 4 October 2019 Contemporary hit radio [29]
United Kingdom 7 December 2019 Adult contemporary radio [5]
Various 26 February 2020 Streaming (stripped-down version) [6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Rania Aniftos (18 September 2019). "Celine Dion Triples Down With 'Courage' Title Track, Plus New Singles 'Lying Down' & 'Imperfections': Listen". Billboard. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Courage". celinedion.com. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  3. ^ Andrea Dresdale (18 September 2019). "Celine Dion releases 3 emotional new songs: 'Imperfections,' 'Lying Down' and 'Courage'". Good Morning America. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Hot/Modern/AC Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Radio 2 New Music Playlist". BBC Radio 2. 7 December 2019. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Spotify singles by Céline Dion". Spotify. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  7. ^ a b c "Single Review: Céline Dion – Imperfections / Lying Down / Courage". abitofpopmusic.com. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  8. ^ Mike Wass (18 September 2019). "New Music! Céline Dion Drops "Imperfections", "Lying Down" & "Courage"". Idolator. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  9. ^ a b "This week's most popular songs across all radio from Quebec". ADISQ. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  10. ^ a b "This week's top selling digital tracks based on the digital album sales in Quebec". ADISQ. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  11. ^ a b "Celine Dion Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Celine Dion Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Celine Dion Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Celine Dion Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  15. ^ a b "Pop Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Céline Dion – Imperfections" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Croatia ARC TOP 100". HRT. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  18. ^ a b "Céline Dion - Imperfections" (in French). PureMédias. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  19. ^ a b "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  20. ^ a b c Emily Zemler (26 September 2019). "Watch Celine Dion's Cinematic Video for 'Imperfections'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  21. ^ "Céline Dion - Imperfections (Official Video)". 26 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019 – via YouTube.
  22. ^ Drew Weisholtz (26 September 2019). "Celine Dion goes makeup-free in new 'Imperfections' video". Today. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  23. ^ "Celine Dion Embraces Her 'Imperfections' in Stunning New Music Video". Us Weekly. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  24. ^ Rebecca Alter (26 September 2019). "Celine Dion Is Unfortunately Very Perfect in Her New Music Video 'Imperfections'". Vulture.com. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  25. ^ "Imperfections". YouTube. 18 September 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  26. ^ "Céline Dion – Imperfections" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  27. ^ "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 2020". billboard. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  28. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Celine Dion – Imperfections". Music Canada. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  29. ^ "Celine Dion – "Imperfections" (Radio Date: 04/10/2019)". radiodate.it. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
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