Bonnie Tyler Says She Earned ‘Almost Nothing’ as Iconic Song Passes One Billion Streams

With her instantly recognisable raspy voice and big blonde hair, Bonnie Tyler became a global star in the 1980s thanks to her hit song Total Eclipse of the Heart.

Now, more than 40 years later, the power ballad has reached a huge milestone: it has passed one billion streams on Spotify, making it the most-streamed song by a Welsh artist on the platform.

But despite joining the exclusive “billion streams club” alongside stars like Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and Eminem, Tyler says the success has not brought much money her way.

“Oh, it’s nothing — just about nothing,” she said, speaking about how little artists earn from streaming.

From Neath to worldwide fame

Born Gaynor Hopkins in a council house in Neath, south Wales, Tyler grew up loving music. Her big break came when she was discovered by talent scout Roger Bell while singing in a Swansea club.

She released her first single, Lost in France, in 1977. But everything changed in 1983 with Total Eclipse of the Heart.

Tyler remembers hearing the song for the first time in New York, when songwriter Jim Steinman played it for her on the piano.

“He sang the whole song and I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing. I can’t believe he’s giving it to me,’” she said.

At first, she worried the song would never be played on the radio because the original version was eight minutes long. But a shorter, four-minute edit became a massive hit, reaching number one in the UK for two weeks and topping the US charts for four weeks.

An evergreen classic

More than four decades later, Total Eclipse of the Heart is still everywhere — from films and adverts to karaoke nights around the world. The music video has also passed 1.2 billion views on YouTube.

Tyler says she never gets bored of performing it.

“Never. I love singing it because everyone is so excited to join in,” she said.

She recently received a special plaque from Spotify to mark the one billion streams — something she didn’t even know about until the company contacted her website.

“I’m really happy,” she said. “There are only about 8.3 billion people in the world. It’s an evergreen song — people just love it.”

Still going strong at 74

In the same week, Tyler also received a gold disc for Together, a song by David Guetta that samples Total Eclipse of the Heart.

Despite the achievements, she says she won’t be doing anything special to celebrate, apart from putting the plaques up in her music room.

Tyler has enjoyed a long career, with other hits like Holding Out for a Hero. She represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 and was awarded an MBE in 2023 for her services to music.

Now 74, she is still touring and has several shows planned for the spring.

“I never imagined I’d still be singing at this age,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to the shows and hope everyone comes along and has a great time.”