Pour que tu m'aimes encore is the best-selling French-language song in history. Yet its author, Jean-Jacques Goldman, considered it a secondary track on the album D'eux.
Goldman didn't believe in this song
In 1994, Goldman spent seven months working on the lyrics for D'eux. He studied Celine's life, her interviews, her relationship with audiences. When he presented his demos to Celine and Rene Angelil, he highlighted other tracks: J'attendais, La memoire d'Abraham. Pour que tu m'aimes encore was almost a last-minute addition.
But Celine's reaction was immediate. She identified something in the melody and lyrics that Goldman himself hadn't perceived. France's most popular songwriter had overlooked what would become his greatest international success.
Records that still stand
The single was released in March 1995. It spent 12 consecutive weeks at number 1 in France, a record at the time. In total, it sold 2.1 million copies in France and as many in Canada. These figures are certified in the Guinness Book of Records as the best sales for a French-language single.
The song also reached the top 5 in Belgium and Switzerland, becoming the first truly successful French-language single outside the traditional Francophone market.
Lyrics that speak to everyone
Goldman's text is a romantic plea, but its strength lies in its universality. The lyrics work equally well as a love declaration or a prayer. This ambiguity allowed the song to reach very different audiences, far beyond the French-speaking market.
During concerts, Pour que tu m'aimes encore is one of the moments when the audience sings the loudest. For the Paris 2027 concerts, this track will certainly be an emotional highlight, thirty years after its release.