Iconic movies in the ’90s were made even more so thanks to some incredible music. Whether a thriller, an animated classic, or a romance for the ages, many a movie was elevated thanks to pop stars of the day.

Whitney Houston, Elton John, and Celine Dion all contributed songs to ’90s movie soundtracks that have stood the test of time.

Keep reading for four of the best movie songs of the ’90s.

Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” from The Bodyguard (1992)

As the lead single for Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner’s smash hit, The Bodyguard, “I Will Always Love You” topped the charts for 14 weeks.

The track, which was written and first performed by Dolly Parton, wasn’t originally slated to be in the film; “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” was meant to be the lead single. When that song appeared in Fried Green Tomatoes, however, The Bodyguard had to adjust.

In Entertainment Weekly‘s oral history of the song, producer David Foster recalled Costner suggesting “I Will Always Love You” as an alternate choice. He was only able to procure the Linda Ronstadt version of the track, but that didn’t sit well with Parton.

“Right before we started, I called Dolly Parton. I told her, ‘We’re doing your song—I got the Linda Ronstadt version.’ And she goes, ‘Oh, no! You have to go get my version, because there’s another verse,’” Foster told the outlet. “She gave me the lyrics to the final verse over the phone—’And I wish you joy and happiness’— right before I went downstairs. We had to call an audible at the last minute and make the song, like, 40 seconds longer after the director had already worked it out. But that last verse is so important. Can you imagine that song without that lyric?”

With the important addition made, Houston came in to record the song and nailed it on her first take.

“It was a perfect storm,” Foster said. “I don’t want to overdramatize, but it is the love song of the century.”

GRAMMY voters agreed. The track won Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female and Record of the Year, while The Bodyguard soundtrack won Album of the Year.

Elton John’s “Circle of Life” from The Lion King (1994)

Composed by Elton John and with lyrics by Tim Rice, “Circle of Life” became an instantly iconic song when it served as the opening song in The Lion King in 1994. Carmen Twillie and Lebo M sang the track in the film, but John recorded it for the soundtrack.

In Forbes‘ 2019 oral history of the film, production designer Christopher Sanders recalled hearing the finished version of the Oscar- and GRAMMY-nominated song for the first time.

“This is the proper use of the word ‘awesome,’” he said. “All the sudden, everybody looked up, looked at each other and thought, ‘Wait a minute, what do we have here? Something magic just happened.’”

Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic (1997)

Though “My Heart Will Go On” is iconic today, Celine Dion initially didn’t want to perform the track. Likewise, according to Billboard‘s 2017 oral history of the track, Titanic director James Cameron did not want to end his film with a pop song.

Eventually, Dion agreed to record a demo for the song, which was written by composer James Horner.

“Céline went in the booth and turned the lights down, and we could just faintly see her face. And she laid down this vocal—nonstop, OK? One take,” then-Sony Music Entertainment Head Tommy Mottola said. “We were all getting chills.”

When Cameron and others sat down for a screening of the film that included the song, both he and Dion were sold.

“The movie had a punch ­[without the song]. What it did not have was something you could take home with you,” executive producer Jon Landau said. “They found an organic way to weave ‘My Heart Will Go On’ in. It’s just a continuation of the epilogue of the film.”

Looking back, Dion is thankful her late husband, René Angélil, convinced her to record the GRAMMY- and Oscar-winning track.

“Every night when I start to sing that song, I think, ‘Gee, what a song. What a moment,’” she said. “I’m so thankful that they did not listen to me… I’m so glad that my husband said, ‘I really think that you should do that song.’”

Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images