Diane Warren and Tiwa Savage believe this is true: it takes one heart to change the world.
Warren and Savage joined forces to convey this message in the song “One Heart (Can Change the World),” which will be featured in the upcoming animated film OZi: Voice of the forest.
Speaking to PEOPLE about how the collaboration came about, Warren, 67, says she was first shown a rough cut of the film and fell in love with the “message.”
“I went into my usual writing room and a few days later came up with the chorus. ‘One heart (can change the world)’ and I thought that summed it up,” she recalls. “Because truly, one heart can change the world. It only takes one person and one person’s passion to make a meaningful difference.”
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After the song was finished, she heard about Savage, 44, and thought he would be the perfect person to perform it.
“I went into her DMS. She probably thought, ‘Who is this bitch?’ Warren recalls.
“I was so shocked. I couldn’t believe it,” adds Savage. “I definitely knew it was going to be a very, very powerful song. I was so honored that I didn’t even know you knew I existed. I listened to it over and over again. And then the more I listened, the more I fell in love with him.”
The film follows OZi, an orangutan who is separated from her parents and continues to grow up in an animal sanctuary. She then uses her influencing skills to save her parents and home from deforestation. The family film aims to raise awareness of deforestation and its effect on ecosystems and climate change, something Warren is passionate about.
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“We need it right now. We have that power to do something big and something positive. And the cool thing is that it’s not preachy. I don’t like preachy songs,” she says. “I just love the fact that it’s a celebration of who you are.”
The film — which features the voices of Laura Dern, Amandala Stenberg, Donald Sutherland, Djimon Hounsou, RuPaul, Dean Charles Chapman and Urzila Carlson — opens on August 16 in the UK and most of Europe, with a North American release to be announced soon.
“One Heart (Can Change the World)” is out now.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education