Oprah Winfrey has admitted that an attempt to perform her own theme song for her eponymous Nineties talk show was “one of the mistakes” of her career.
In 1998, Winfrey recorded “Run On” – a new take on an old Black spiritual – as both a single and the (ultimately temporary) new theme song to The Oprah Winfrey Show. In the video for the track, Winfrey can be seen attempting to dance alongside a parade of back-up singers, while laughing children and butterflies appear in black-and-white beauty shots.
The video has drawn recent online attention due to archive footage of the late pop icon Whitney Houston repeatedly making fun of the song across multiple appearances on Winfrey’s show.
During one episode from 1999, Winfrey joked that she had asked her producers not to play the theme song due to Houston’s appearance on the show as she was embarrassed.
Now, Winfrey has described the genesis of the theme song in a new podcast interview with actor Keke Palmer.
While filming a promotional clip for her appearance on Baby It’s Keke Palmer, Palmer could be seen lightly mocking Winfrey by singing a brief line from the track.
“Girl, please,” Winfrey replied. “That is one of the mistakes of my career.”
She continued: “I was trying to decide, am I gonna end the show or not end the show? And then I had a little talk with Jesus, and Jesus said, ‘You gotta keep going.’ And so I said, you know, there’s this song. It’s an old spiritual.”
“You gotta give them a little slave hymn sometimes,” Palmer interjected with a laugh.
Winfrey continued: “And then we realised that I can’t sing, even though I took singing lessons.”
Palmer attempted to quell Winfrey’s embarrassment by saying the song “wasn’t that bad”, but Winfrey wasn’t having it.
“You know it was bad,” she replied. “You’re just saying that because you’re looking at me. It was pretty bad.”
Winfrey added that attempts were made to beef up the song – and hide her own vocals – by including a loud church choir in the mix. “But that didn’t work,” Winfrey joked.
The “Run On” theme song lasted a single season between 1998 and 1999 on The Oprah Winfrey Show before being retired. The show overall ran from 1986 to 2011, cementing Winfrey as an American industry unto herself.
Topical themes and regular segments included on the show, from the exploration of hard-hitting social issues and self-help to spiritual enlightenment and a wildly successful book club, would shape much of American culture over the course of its run.
In January, Winfrey – who has discussed using weight loss drugs in recent years – apologised for what she considered her important role in shaping the diet culture of the last 30 years, and how she felt ashamed about her own appearance as a result. Winfrey’s yo-yo dieting and struggles with her weight were covered extensively on her talk show, and across her own magazine O. She was also the face of WeightWatchers from 2015 to 2024.
“I want to acknowledge that I have been a steadfast participant in the diet culture that contributed to some of [my personal] shame,” she wrote in her latest book, titled Enough: Your Health, Your Weight, and What It’s Like To Be Free. “Through the magazine, through the talk show for 25 years, through online channels – I’ve been a major contributor to it.”
