Can't Fight The Moonlight by LeAnn Rimes

Album: Coyote Ugly soundtrack (2000)

Charted: 1 11

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There's no escaping love once the sun goes down. In this song, LeAnn Rimes sings about that magical feeling under the moonlight when romance is in the air.

The song was written by Diane Warren, who also wrote Rimes' biggest hit, "How Do I Live." It was produced by Trevor Horn.
"Can't Fight The Moonlight" is the theme song to the 2000 movie Coyote Ugly, where Piper Perabo's character plays a singer-songwriter from New Jersey who moves to New York City to pursue her music career. She ends up getting a job at a bar called the Coyote Ugly, where she makes enough money to buy a Mac that she uses to write and record this song. It earns her a showcase audition where she performs the song, wowing the crowd and earning a label deal.

Months later, the song is a hit and LeAnn Rimes shows up to sing it at the Coyote Ugly, where Perabo joins her. Very meta.

Rimes is Perabo's singing voice throughout the film, which includes three other original songs she performs, all of them also written by Diane Warren and produced by Trevor Horn.
"Can't Fight The Moonlight" was a huge international hit, topping the charts in Australia, the UK, The Netherlands, New Zealand, and several other territories. In Australia, it was the best-selling single of 2001.

Oddly, the song didn't do so well in America, where it stalled at #71 in September 2001 after it was released as the first single from the Coyote Ugly soundtrack. Seeing the international success, Rimes' label, Curb, gave it another shot, re-releasing the song with a renewed promotional push. The re-release went to #11 in March 2002, long after the film had left theaters.
Along with "Can't Fight The Moonlight" and the three other LeAnn Rimes songs in the movie, the soundtrack includes an eclectic mix of hits from the '80s and '90s, including "The Power" by Snap! and "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" by Don Henley. It sold over 4 million copies in America, roughly the same as High School Musical and 8 Mile.
The video is essentially an extended version of Rimes' appearance in the film, showing her singing the song on the Coyote Ugly bar, intercut with other scenes from the movie.
Along with "But I Do Love You," this is one of two songs from the Coyote Ugly soundtrack also included on Rimes' 2001 album I Need You.

Comments: 3

The Lame Duck from UsaMy interpretation is that this this pop music masterpiece is about the struggles of fighting drug/alcohol addiction. Consider the possibility that moonlight can cause otherwise rational people to temporarily lose self-control and succumb to the temptations of drug/alcohol use. These lyrics describe the thought process and the melody captured the emotions of an addict relapsing.
Kat from Adelaide, AustraliaHas to be up there in the Best Song/Worst Movie double. Can't Fight the Moonlight/Coyote Ugly

Bit like Kiss From a Rose/Batman Forever.

Great songs from terrible movies!
Jessica from Bloomfield , NjI love this song and I usually hate anything country.

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