Diane Warren Writing Songs For New Beyoncé Album

Diane Warren has found her latest muse, and it’s Beyoncé.

Warren, who wrote the ballad “I Was Here” for Beyoncé’s latest album, 4, said she’s writing material for the megastar’s upcoming album.

Photo: AP Photo
Arriving at the 54th annual GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeles.

Warren said she played a few songs for Beyoncé in New York last week. “They’re great songs,” Warren said of the new tracks she wrote for the 30-year-old singer. “I think they’re on the level of (‘I Was Here’) and I’m really excited about that.”

Beyoncé performed “I Was Here” at the United Nations headquarters last week in honor of World Humanitarian Day, which is Sunday. The performance was filmed and its music video will debut the same day to help launch the campaign.

Warren’s writing credits include Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me,” Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart” and LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live.” She’s scored multiple Academy Award nominations and has won a Grammy and a Golden Globe award.

She compared writing for Beyoncé to a screenwriter having Meryl Streep or Robert De Niro act in his or her movie.

“Some people come in my studio and I’m like, ‘Oh god,’ and you’ve got to fix them up and it’s just hard,” Warren said. “Some of the people that get deals, you just can’t understand. But then when you work with a Beyoncé or so sadly Whitney (Houston) … it’s so beautiful.”

She says she’s also writing songs for Dion, John Legend, Kylie Minogue and R&B newcomers Emeli Sande and Luke James. She’s also writing “country stuff” and penned “a song that’s probably going to be Aerosmith’s single.”

Beyoncé isn’t the only Destiny’s Child member getting the Diane Warren treatment: “I’m working with Kelly Rowland because Beyoncé was telling her to get together with me.”