To call Diane Warren prolific hardly does justice to the songwriter’s catalogue of nearly 2,000 songs, including chart-busters performed by superstars from Cher and Aerosmith to Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. She has won every major songwriting award, including an honorary Oscar, multiple Grammys, and most recently the coveted Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Along the way, she’s provided title songs to a host of major movies.
But Warren isn’t one to rest on her laurels; she continues to craft hits. Her life and work ethic are now on display in the aptly named documentary Diane Warren: Relentless (Apple TV+), and you’ll hear her movie music in the upcoming film Maserati: The Brothers. Success is sweet, but there’s always room to grow. “I just show up every day and get the work done,” Diane told me. “That’s the only way to get better at what you do.”
Jeanne Wolf: In the film about your career, they call you relentless. Does that fit?
Diane Warren: I think I was born like that. I remember hearing a Beatles song on the radio when I was a kid and deciding I wanted to write songs. I didn’t dream that one day I’d be in the studio while Paul and Ringo were recording my song “Here’s to the Night.” There was nothing that gave me a sign I was going to be successful. I was 29 before I had my first hit. But I never gave up. When I was with Beyoncé recording “I’m Still Here,” she worked for three hours straight and said, “I’m taking a break and coming back.” I was like, “But it sounded great!” And she said, “I can make it better.” I realized that Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, and all the greats who’ve done my songs have that in common — tremendous determination and a fierce work ethic that always pushes you harder.
JW: With your unbelievable success, how do you have the discipline to work so hard?
DW: I’m in the studio almost every morning. I have so many songs that I can’t wait for people to hear. I don’t think about the ones I’ve written as much as the ones after that. Sometimes, I’ll hear one on the radio and think, “That was good and I’m glad I wrote it.” But I’m always moving ahead. I just finished one for Maserati: The Brothers, which will be out later this year. I got an artist I can’t name yet that I’ve always wanted to work with to record it. I think it’s going to be great. It’s funny that in a way I still feel like I’m just getting started and I have so much more to do.
JW: You told me your letter to your younger self would be, “You did all right, kid.”
DW: Having a dream that I believed in so completely come true probably saved me. As a kid, I was something of a delinquent. I just didn’t feel understood at all. I think a lot of kids, and adults too, feel that way. Then I found my dream of being a songwriter. Fortunately, my dad supported me. He bought me my first guitar and arranged for me to meet music managers. I’ve written my first song about myself to tell that story. “Dear Me” [sung by Kesha] reassures listeners that everything will be okay if they don’t give up. It has moved people to tears. That’s what you want from a song isn’t it? To move people and maybe even make them think.
—Jeanne Wolf is the Post’s West Coast editor
This article is featured in the July/August 2025 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.
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