Celine Dion

Céline Marie Claudette Dion, OC, OQ (born March 30, 1968) is a Canadian Grammy, Juno, and Oscar award-winning pop singer and occasional songwriter ^[1] and actress. ^[2] Dion became an adolescent star in Francophone Canada after her manager and future husband, René Angélil, mortgaged his home in order to finance her career. She also gained recognition in parts of Europe and Asia by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, and established a foothold in the Anglophone music market with the release of her first English album, Unison (1990) published by Sony Records.

Dion's music has been influenced by various genres, ranging from pop and rock, to gospel and classical, and she is noted for her technically skilled and powerful vocals. She released a slew of chart-topping English and French records including "I'm Your Angel" and "My Heart Will Go On", before announcing a temporary break from entertainment in 1999. In 2002, Dion returned to the music scene with the release of A New Day Has Come, and in 2004, she received the Chopard Diamond from the World Music Awards show for becoming the best-selling female artist of all time.^[3] Dion currently performs nightly in her show, A New Day...Live in Las Vegas, at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, under a contract that extends to 2007. She has won five Grammys.

Childhood and early career

Céline Dion, the youngest of fourteen children born to Adhemar and Thérèse Dion (who named Dion after a song she sung while pregnant), grew up in a poverty-stricken but, by her own accord, happy home in a small town called Charlemagne. Dion gained an appreciation for music by singing with her siblings from the age of five in the small piano bar belonging to her parents. In a 1994 interview with People magazine, she said, "I missed my family and my home, but I don't regret having lost my adolescence. I had one dream: I wanted to be a singer."^[4]

At the age of twelve Dion collaborated with her mother and one of her brothers for the composition of her first song, "Ce N'était Qu'un Rêve" (English: It Was Only a Dream). Her brother, Michel, sent the song to music manager René Angélil, whose name he discovered on the back of an album by Ginette Reno. Angélil immediately knew that Dion would become an international success, and decided to mortgage his home in order to fund her first record. In 1981, they released "La Voix Du Bon Dieu" ("The Voice of God"), which became a number-one single in the local market and made Dion an instant star in Québec. Her recognition would soon spread to other parts of the world, as in 1982, she competed in the Yamaha World Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan with the song "Tellement J'ai D'amour Pour Toi" and won both the gold medal and the Musician's Award for "Top Performer". In 1987, Swiss songwriters Atilla Şereftuğ and Nella Martinetti approached Dion and asked her to represent Switzerland in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi". Dion won the contest in Dublin, Ireland, receiving a large boost to her career in Europe, Asia, and Australia.

By the late 1980s, Dion had already established herself as a local popular artist with albums like Incognito, winning many Felix Awards, appearing on local and french television shows, racking up platinum albums and becoming the first Canadian artist to receive a gold record in France for the single "D'amour ou D'amitié" (1982) that sold more than 700.000 copies. At the age of eighteen, after seeing Michael Jackson performing on television, she told Angélil that she wanted to be a star like him. Even though he had no doubt in her talents, Angélil realized that in order for her to be marketed worldwide, her image needed to be changed. She was also sent off to an English language school to polish her English and interviewing skills. Dion dove into her studies and was able to learn English in only three months.

Music and recording career

1990–1992: Career breakthrough

A year after she learnt English, Dion made a successful attempt at breaking into the Anglophone market with Unison. She made sure to work with many established musicians, including David Foster and Vito Luprano. The album was largely influenced by 1980s soft rock and was fit for the adult contemporary radio format; this style would remain throughout many of her future albums. Unison seemed to hit the right notes with critics: Jim Faber of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the album was a relief, her vocals were "tastefully unadorned", and that Dion never attempted to "bring off styles that are beyond her".^[5] Stephen Thomas Erlwine of All Music Guide declared it as "a fine, sophisticated American debut".^[6] Singles from the album included "Where Does My Heart Beat Now", a mid-tempo soft-rock ballad featuring an electric guitar, "(If There Was) Any Other Way" and the title track, "Unison". The album established Dion as a rising music artist in the United States and across Continental Europe and Asia.

Dion's real international breakthrough came when she teamed up with Peabo Bryson to record the title track to Disney's animated film Beauty and the Beast. The song captured a musical style that Dion would utilize in the future: sweeping, classically influenced ballads with soft instrumentation. Both a critical and commercial smash, the song not only topped the U.S. Billboard chart, but also won the Academy Award for Best Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. "Beauty and the Beast" was featured on Dion's 1992 eponymous album, which, like her debut, had a strong rock influence, along with soul and classical music. Due to the success of the lead-off single and her collaboration with Foster and Dianne Warren, the album was as well received as Unison. Other singles achieving moderate success included the Gospel-tinged "Love Can Move Mountains", "Water from the Moon", "If You Asked Me To" (actually a cover of Patti LaBelle's song from Licence to Kill), and "Did You Give Enough Love". As with Dion's earlier releases, the theme of this album had an overtone of love.

By 1992, Unison, Céline Dion and media appearances had propelled Dion to superstardom in the United States and the United Kingdom. She had achieved one of her main objectives: wedging her way into the Anglophone market and establishing fame. While Dion was enjoying her rising success in the United States, her French fans criticized her for neglecting them. After winning "Anglophone Artist of the Year", at the Felix Awards show, she attempted to reconnect with her french fans by openly refusing to accept the award. She stated she was, and will always be, a French, and not an English artist.^[7]

Apart from her rising success, there were also changes in Dion's personal life, as Angélil would make the transition from manager to lover. However, the relationship was kept a secret as both were fearful that the public would find the twenty-six-year difference between their ages perturbing.

1993–1996: Popularity established

In 1993, Dion indicated to the public that she was romantically involved with her manager by declaring him "the colour of her love" in the dedication section of her third Anglophone album, The Colour of My Love. But instead of criticizing their relationship as she had feared, fans happily accepted and embraced the couple. Eventually, they became engaged and had an extravagant wedding ceremony in December 1994. As it was dedicated to her manager, the album's motif centered on "love" and "romance", most exponent in the chart-topper , "The Power of Love" (a remake of Jennifer Rush's 1985 hit), (first Dion's US Nº 1), "When I Fall In Love", a duet with Clive Griffin and "Misled". The album established her success in Europe; "Think Twice" became the fourth single by a female artist to sell in excess of one million copies in the United Kingdom.^[8] For five consecutive weeks, the song and album stood on top of the respective British charts, an achievement not replicated since 1965 and the heyday of The Beatles. "Think Twice" remained at number one for two more weeks.

Dion kept to her French roots, releasing Francophone recordings between each English record. These included Dion chante Plamondon (1991), À l'Olympia (live album 1994), and D'eux (1995, known as The French Album in the United States), which would go on to become the best-selling French album of all time. As these albums were in French, the worldwide commercial success was limited, but Dion's Francophone fans embraced each release, and generally, they achieved more credibility than her Anglophone works.

The mid-1990s was a transitional period for Dion's musical style, as she slowly moved away from strong rock influences and transitioned into a more pop and soul style. Her songs began with more delicate melodies using soft instrumentations, and built up to strong climaxes, over which her vocals could be displayed. This new sound raised critics' eyebrows, who accused her of preferring vocal acrobatics over dynamics, and embarking on a trend of uninspiring, crowd-pleasing ballads. Resultantly, she earned frequent unfavorable comparisons to artists such as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. There were signs that her songs, lyrics and videos were becoming clichéd; critically, The Colour of My Love was not consistent with earlier works. However, while critical praise declined, this was not the case for popularity, as Dion's releases performed increasingly well on the international charts. By the mid-1990s, she had established herself as one of the best-selling artists in the world, among female performers such as Mariah Carey and Shania Twain.

1997–1999: Worldwide success

Dion's 1996 album Falling into You presented her at the height of her popularity. Working with Foster, Warren and Aldo Nova, this album showed a further progression of Dion's music. In an attempt to reach the widest possible audiences, Dion's album combined many elements; ornate orchestral frills and African chanting, and instruments like the Spanish guitar, trombone, the cavaquinho, and saxophone created a new sound. The singles encompassed a variety of musical styles from dance-pop and fast-tempo, gospel-tinged rhythms to soft-rock songs and sentimental ballads. The title track and "River Deep, Mountain High" (a Tina Turner cover) made prominent use of percussion instruments. "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (a remake of Jim Steinman's hit) and a remake of Eric Carmen's "All by Myself" kept their soft-rock atmosphere, combined with classical sounds of piano. "Because You Loved Me", written by Diane Warren, served as the theme to the film Up Close & Personal. The song spent two weeks at number one in Canada and six weeks at number one in the United States.

Reviews were generally favourable. On the one hand, Dan Leroy wrote that Falling into You was not very different from her previous work, and Stephen Holden (The Los Angeles Times) and Natalie Nichols (The New York Times) wrote that the album was formulaic and the songs suffered from a lack of emotional connection.^[9][10] However, other critics such as Chuck Eddy, Erlewine and Daniel Durchholz lavished the album as "compelling", "passionate", "stylish", "elegant", and "remarkably well-crafted".^[11][12] Falling into You became Dion's most commercially successful album: it topped the charts in eleven countries and became one of the best-selling albums of all time.^[13] It also won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Album. Dion's status on the world stage was further solidified when she was asked to perform at the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

Dion followed Falling into You with Let's Talk About Love (1997), publicized as its sequel. The recording process took place in London, New York City, and Los Angeles, and featured a host of special guests: Barbra Streisand ("Tell Him"), the Bee Gees ("Immortality"), and world-renowned tenor, Luciano Pavarotti ("I Hate You Then I Love You"). Other musicians include Carole King, Sir George Martin, and Jamaican singer Diana King, who added a reggae tinge to "Treat Her Like a Lady". As the name suggests, the album had the same theme, love, as Dion's preceding albums. However, emphasis was also placed on "brotherly love", with tracks such as "Where is the Love" and the title track. The most successful single from this album was "My Heart Will Go On", a ballad composed by James Horner and produced by Horner and Walter Afanasieff as the love theme for the film Titanic. "My Heart Will Go On" became one of the decade's biggest hits, and one of few songs to debut at number one on the Billboard charts. Dion embarked on a world tour between 1998 and 1999 in support of Let's Talk About Love. Comments were favorable, and focused on her on-stage movements, which often consisted of chest-pounding, backward bending, and other flashy movements. While some people found these bombastic and even silly, others simply saw it as another extension of Dion's commanding stage prescence.

Dion ended the 1990s with two more successful albums on Columbia Records: the Christmas album, These Are Special Times and All the Way... a Decade of Song . On These Are Special Times, Dion had a hand in writing some of the material. The album was her most classically influenced yet, with orchestral arrangements found on all tracks. "I'm Your Angel", a duet with R. Kelly, became Dion's second and final number-one Billboard debut, and another hit single across the world. All the Way... a Decade of Song was a compilation of her most successful hits coupled with seven new songs, including the leadoff single "That's the Way It Is", a cover of Roberta Flack's "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face", and "All the Way", a duet with Frank Sinatra.

By the end of the 1990s, Céline Dion had sold nearly 100 million albums worldwide, and had won a slew of industry awards. Solidifying her status as one of the biggest divas of contemporary music, she was asked to perform on VH1's Divas Live special in 1998 with such superstars as Aretha Franklin, Gloria Estefan, Mariah Carey, and Shania Twain. She had also received two of the highest honors from her home country — "Officer of the Order of Canada for outstanding contribution to the world of contemporary music" and "Officer of the National Order of Quebec". In 1999, she was inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame and won two Grammy awards for "My Heart Will Go On"—"Best Pop Vocals, Female", and the most coveted "Record of the Year".

Compared to her debut, both the quality and sound of Dion's music had also changed significantly. The soft-rock influence on her earlier releases were no longer prominent; they were replaced by more soul/adult contemporary styles. However, the theme of "love" remained in all her releases. The musical progression was accompanied by a decline in critical appreciation, and she was seen as "the height of cookie-cutter banality."^[14] Though commercially successful, her album received mixed reviews at best, with most suggesting that her work was predictable and banal. In a scathing review of Let's Talk about Love, Rob O'Connor wrote:

Dion was also criticized for some of her remakes and duets: "The First Time Ever I saw Your Face" (her Roberta Flack remake) and the "All the Way" duet with Frank Sinatra were described as disastrous and "creepy" by Allison Stewart of The Chicago Tribune and Erlwine of All Music Guide.^[16] Even though she was still praised for her vocal abilities (critics called it a technical marvel), the much favored vocal restraint heard on her early releases had waned, and Steve Dollar, in reviewing These Are Special Times wrote that Dion was a "vocal Olympian for whom there ain't no mountain—or scale—high enough [to hit]".^[17]

2000–2002: Career break

After releasing and promoting thirteen albums during the 1990s, Dion felt that she needed to settle down, and announced on her final album, All the Way... a Decade of Song, that she had experienced many things and needed to take a step back and enjoy the finer things in life. Angélil's diagnosis with throat cancer also prompted her to retire. After undergoing fertility treatments, she gave birth to a son, René-Charles Angélil, in January 2001.

In late 2002, the National Enquirer published a false story about the singer. Brandishing a picture of Dion and her husband, the magazine misquoted Dion, printing the headline: "Celine—'I'm Pregnant with Twins!'" Dion later sued the magazine for over twenty million dollars. The editors of the Enquirer printed an apology and a full retraction to Dion in the next issue, and donated money to the American Cancer Society in honor of Dion and René Angélil, who battled cancer.

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Dion returned to the forefront of music, and in a televised performance, sang "God Bless America". Chuck Taylor of Billboard wrote that "the performance... brings to mind what has made her one of the celebrated vocalists of our time: the ability to render emotion that shakes the soul. Affecting, meaningful, and filled with grace, this is a musical reflection to share with all of us still searching for ways to cope."^[18] Dion would sing "God Bless America" again in 2003 during the pre-game for Super Bowl XXXVII.

2002–2003: Return to music

Dion's aptly titled A New Day Has Come, released in March 2002, ended her two-year break from the music world. The theme of the album was "new beginnings", and, even though it did not incorporate many genres, a few dance-pop tunes ("I'm Alive" and "Sorry for Love") could be found among a throng of adult contemporary tracks. Shania Twain also appeared on the album, singing backing vocals. The album established a more mature side of Dion with the songs "A New Day Has Come", "Nature Boy" and "Goodbye's (The Saddest Word)". This change was as a result of her new-found maternal responsibilities, because, in her own words, "becoming a mother makes you a grown-up."^[19] A New Day has Come restarted her commercial success topping the charts in seventeen countries. However, critical comments suggested that the album was forgettable and the lyrics were lifeless. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone magazine wrote that Dion's music had not changed. Calling her music "schlock pop", he opined that "Dion's voice is still just furniture polish".^[20] The album featured the title track, "A New Day Has Come", and a cover of Etta James' "At Last", for which Sheffield believes Dion lacks the voice. A concert helped to promote the album, during which Dion performed with Destiny's Child and Brian McKnight. The weak reviews however didnt stop the fans buying, in an age where albums struggle to sell over 10 million, A new day has come sold 13 Million copies.

In drawing inspiration from personal experiences, Dion released One Heart (2003), an album that encapsulated her appreciation for the joys of life.^[21] The album was largely comprised of dance music —a deviation from the soaring, melodramatic ballads, for which she had once been given mixed reception. Although achieving moderate success, One Heart gave indication that Dion was unable to surpass the creative wall that she had hit, and words such as "predictable" or "banal" appeared even in the most lenient reviews. A cover of Roy Orbison's "I Drove All Night", released to launch her new advertising campaign with Chrysler, incorporated dance-pop and rock and roll and was called reminiscent of Cher's 1980s work, but it was dismissed as Dion trying to please her sponsors.^[22] The album went on to be a big hit selling nearly 10 million copies, making it one of the biggest sellers worldwide of the year just behind Eminem and Shakira.

By the mid 2000s, Dion's music had changed to the point where her releases possessed maternal overtones: Miracle (2004), a multimedia project conceived by Dion and photographer Anne Geddes had a theme centering on babies and motherhood. The album was saturated with lullabies and other songs of maternal love and inspiration, the most popular being a cover of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" and "Beautiful Boy". The reviews for Miracle were generally weak: while Chuck Taylor of Billboard magazine wrote that the single "Beautiful Boy" was "an unexpected gem" and called Dion "a timeless, enormously versatile artist", Nancy Miller of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "the whole earth-mama act is just opportunism".^[23]

The Francophone album, 1 Fille & 4 Types (English: One Girl and Four Guys, 2003), fared better than her first two comebacks, and presented Dion as attempting to distance herself from the "diva" image. She recruited the help of Jean-Jacques Goldman, Gildas Arzel, Eric Benzi, and Jacques Veneruso, whom she had previously worked with on S'il suffisait d'aimer and D'eux. The album's musical theme was one of fun and relaxation, and Dion herself has referred to it as "the album of pleasure". The cover showed Dion in a simple and relaxed manner, a contrast to the choreographed poses usually found on her album covers. The album achieved critical success; reviewer Stephen Erlwine of "All Music Guide" wrote that Dion was "getting back to pop basics and performing at a level unheard in a while".^[24]. An English version of the album was highly anticipated, but it has yet to surface.

Though her albums were relatively successful, signs of slowing down had began to appear in the poorer critical reception of The Collector's Series —Volume 1 (2000), A New Day Has Come (2002), and One Heart (2003). The mass appeal of Dion's later works had lessened due to the nature of the themes, and her songs, now fit for the adult contemporary charts, received less airplay, as radio became less embracing of balladeers like Dion, Carey and Houston, and now focused on up-tempo and rhythm and blues songs.^[25] The albums became her lowest-sellers up to this point, with the exception of her Francophone releases. However, by 2005, Dion had accumulated sales of over 185 million records (75 million in the last 5 years alone), and received the Diamond Award from the World Music Awards for becoming the best-selling female artist of all time.

In 2005 Celine released her first comprehensive greatest hits album in french 'on ne change pas', the album features 3 new songs including a duet with Il Divo called "I believe in you", in francophone areas the album as with all her french albums has sold well, even being the highest selling compilation album of 2005 in france.

2003–present: A New Day...Live in Las Vegas

In early 2002, Dion announced a three-year, 600-show contract to appear five nights a week in an entertainment extravaganza, A New Day, at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. This move was seen as "one of the smartest business decisions in years by any major recording artist" given the poor performance of her current releases.^[26] She conceived the idea for the show after seeing O by Dragone early in her break from recording, and began on March 25, 2003, in a 4000-seat arena designed for her show. The show, put together by Franco Dragone, is a combination of dance, music, and visual effects. It includes Dion performing her biggest hits against an array of dancers and special effects.

Reviewer Mike Weatherford felt that, at first, Dion was not as relaxed as she should be, at times, it was hard to find the singer among the excessive stage ornamentations and dancers. However, he believes that her stage presence improved and simpler costumes and appearance provided for an enjoyable show.^[27] The show has also been well-received by the audiences, despite the expensive tickets; it has sold out almost every night since its 2003 opening. According to Pollstar, Dion had sold 322,000 tickets and grossed $43.9 million in the first half of 2005, and by July 2005, she had sold out 315 out of 384 shows. Because of the show's success, Dion's contract was extended into 2007 for an undisclosed sum.^[28] By the end of 2005, Dion grossed over $76 million, placing sixth on Billboard's Money Makers list for 2005.^[29]

Image

Unlike most modern pop stars of the contemporary music industry, Dion dresses modestly in her videos, performances and public appearances, and has vowed never to wear revealing outfits. This has led some to believe that her image does not play a large role in garnering media attention or selling records. In fact, her conservative nature, stage movements and music is often the subject of media ridicule, where she is repeatedly impersonated on shows like Mad TV and Saturday Night Live. However, Dion seems unabashed by media ridicule: "I’m flattered when they take the time to impersonate you" she says, "I think it’s a good sign." ^[30] Dion is often perceived as a "diva" and gay icon, where mimicking her songs is popular among female impersonators.

Being a successful artist, Dion has influenced the singing styles and musical offerings of many younger singers, including Jessica Simpson and Kelly Clarkson. In "MTV's 22 Greatest Voices in Music" countdown she placed ninth (sixth for a female), and was also placed fourth in Cove Magazine's list of the "100 Outstanding Pop Vocalist", showing she is recognised as one of the best vocalists in modern music. In MuchMoreMusic's "Top 20 Divine Divas" program, Dion ranked at number three, behind Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. They also described her voice as "one of the most powerful vocal workouts ever to be recorded".

Dion rarely gets caught up in media spotlight due to controversies. She says, "My career, my work, is not to judge people, not to hurt people... [but only to] enter people's lives with my music". However, in 2005, following the Hurricane Katrina disaster, Dion appeared on Larry King Live and tearfully criticized U.S. President George W. Bush regarding the Iraq War and his slow response in aiding the hurricane victims, saying, "How come it's so easy to send planes in another country, to kill everyone in a second, to destroy lives? We need to be there right now to rescue the rest of the people." She believed that the response to the hurricane was "unacceptable". She also suggested that kayaks be used to save the victims still stuck in their homes. She later claimed, "When I do interviews with Larry King or the big TV shows like that, they put you on the spot, which is very difficult. I do have an opinion, but I'm a singer. I'm not a politician".^[31]

Other activities

Apart from her success as a musician, Dion has also become an entrepreneur with the establishment of her franchise restaurant, "Nickels", in 1990 (though she is no longer affiliated with Nickels as of 2006), her own magazine — The Céline Dion Magazine, which is printed in both English and French — and her own line of perfume, manufactured by Coty, Inc..

Dion has been an active supporter of many charity organizations worldwide. Since 1982, she has been promoting the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF), becoming the foundation's National Celebrity Patron in 1993. She has an emotional attachment to the foundation, as her niece succumbed to the disease at the age of sixteen. In 2003, Dion joined a number of other celebrities, athletes and politicians in support of World Childrens' Day, a global fundraising effort for children, which was sponsored by McDonald's. The effort, which raised money from over 100 countries, benefited many orphanages and children's health organizations. Dion has also been a major supporter of many health and education campaigns, the T.J. Martell Foundation and the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.

In October 2004, Canada's national air carrier Air Canada hired Dion as part of the new promotional campaign as the airline unveiled new in-flight service products and new aircraft livery. "You and I", the theme song sung by Dion, was written by an advertising executive working for Air Canada. The endorsement is not without controversy, however. Union workers criticized that the airline could have spent money elsewhere to improve service and on employees. At the time of the new branding, the airline had come out of bankruptcy protection just 18 months prior and thousands of workers were laid off in the restructuring. Management defended the celebrity endorsement as money well spent to boost corporate morale.

Selected discography

Anglophone albums

• 1990: Unison
• 1992: Céline Dion
• 1993: The Colour of My Love
• 1996: Falling into You
• 1997: Let's Talk About Love
• 1998: These Are Special Times
• 2002: A New Day Has Come
• 2003: One Heart
• 2004: Miracle

Francophone albums

• 1987: Incognito
• 1991: Des mots qui sonnent/Dion chante Plamondon
• 1995: D'eux (sold in the U.S. as The French Album)
• 1998: S'il suffisait d'aimer
• 2003: 1 fille & 4 types
• 2005: On Ne Change Pas