How Does a Moment Last Forever marks the first collaboration between Menken and Rice in over two decades; the last time they worked together had been in the "Beauty and the Beast" musical. Menken believes that the songs he and Rice had written for the musical would not have translated well to the screen due to the structural differences between the two formats. One of at least nine significant changes made to the film specifically for the remake, "How Does a Moment Last Forever" was conceived to explain Belle's backstory. Her quest to find out her mother's fate serves, in the plot, as a foundation for
How Does a Moment Last Forever star in the Anglosphere. Menken asked her to be a part of the live action project as well by recording her own rendition of "How Does a Moment Last Forever", which would play over the end credits. Her version features a "swelling mix of piano, accordion and orchestral strings" and was recorded to an already existing music track that Menken had cut when the rest of the score was recorded. Dion initially had doubts about whether or not to record the song due to the recent death of her husband and manager René Angélil, who had previously helped her secure