Warren's career was jump-started with the success in 1985 of "Rhythm of the Night" by DeBarge. In the late 1980s she joined forces with the UK music company EMI, where she became the first songwriter in the history of "Billboard" magazine to have seven hits, all by different artists, on the singles chart at the same time, prompting Peter Reichardt, the UK's Chairman of EMI Music Publishing, to call her "the most important songwriter in the world". She has been rated the third most successful female artist in the UK.