"If You Asked Me To" is the title of a song originally written and released as the lead off single for Patti LaBelle's seventh solo studio album, entitled Be Yourself, and for the Licence to Kill soundtrack. The song is a ballad written by critically-acclaimed songwriter Diane Warren. The lyrics are from the point of view of a woman who pleads to her significant other: :I just might change my mind "If You Asked Me To" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1989 James Bond movie, Licence to Kill. The song was later re-recorded by Céline Dion for her eponymous album. LaBelle's version peaked at # 79 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and at #10 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop chart.
The music video was filmed shortly after LaBelle's sister's death, and the context of the song changed dramatically, as a mourning LaBelle, dressed in black, sings the song in a church (with candles and mourning lilies), intercut with shots of her in tears.
Despite of its original R&B Top 10 success, the song did not become a proper "pop" hit until Céline Dion covered it three years later (Dion's single is listed below). Regarding the subject, LaBelle once explained during an interview used for the liner notes of her 1999 Greatest Hits album what she believed to be the reason for this fact: "I knew the song was a hit when I recorded it, and I was happy that Celine did it and did so well with it. But the arrangements are so close and we both have pretty powerful voices...so who knows why my version didn't take off. Maybe it was timing..."
The song was included on Patti LaBelle's aforementioned 1995 Greatest Hits album and a live version was recorded for her 1998 Grammy-winning album Live! One Night Only.
