| Céline Dion est une chanteuse-interprète
canadienne née le 30 mars 1968 à Charlemagne, Lanaudière, Québec, Canada.
En plus de 25 ans de carrière, elle a produit
25 albums en français et en anglais et vendu entre 150 et 230 millions de
disques suivant les estimations. Elle est l'artiste canadienne ayant vendu
le plus grand nombre de disques. Ses albums Falling into You et Let's Talk
About Love sont les albums occidentaux les plus vendus au Japon et en
Afrique du Sud après Thriller de Michael Jackson. Elle possède le record de
l'album francophone le plus vendu avec D'eux, qui s'est vendu à près de 7
millions d'exemplaires
Enfance
Céline Dion est née le 30 mars 1968 à Charlemagne (près de Repentigny, dans
la banlieue montréalaise). Sa mère, Thérèse Tanguay, violoniste et son père
Adhemar Dion, accordéoniste ont eu 14 enfants, et Céline Dion en est la
dernière. Son enfance fut bercée par la musique (chacun des membres de sa
famille joue d'un instrument) et c'est à l'âge de cinq ans qu'elle chante
pour la première fois devant public pour le mariage de son frère (où elle
interprète Mamy Blue popularisé par Roger Whittaker). Elle chante à onze ans
des chansons de Ginette Reno au restaurant de ses parents.
Premiers succès
En 1980, sa mère envoie une cassette musicale à René Angélil, impresario de
Ginette Reno et figure du monde musical au Québec. Peu après, elle
interprète devant lui la chanson Ce n'était qu'un rêve, écrit par sa mère.
René Angélil croit en sa voix et hypothèque sa maison pour financer la
carrière de la jeune fille. En 1981 sort son premier album intitulé la Voix
du bon Dieu (du parolier français Eddy Marnay), qui connaît un succès au
Québec. L'année suivante, elle participe et gagne la médaille d'or au
Festival mondial de la chanson de Tokyo. Des titres comme la Religieuse,
D'amour ou d'amitié et Ce n'était qu'un rêve contribuent à accroître la
renommée de la chanteuse.
En 1983, elle fait ses premiers pas en France dans l'émission « Champs
Elysées » présenté par Michel Drucker. Elle y chante D'amour ou d'amitié,
son premier grand succès avec 500 000 copies vendues en France.
Elle est choisie pour représenter la jeunesse de son pays pour la venue du
pape Jean-Paul II au Stade olympique de Montréal le 11 septembre 1984 : elle
chante Une colombe devant 65 000 personnes.
La même année sort un deuxième album, Les Oiseaux du bonheur, précédé du
single Mon rêve de toujours. En novembre 1984, elle fait la première partie
à l'Olympia de l'humoriste français Patrick Sébastien.
En 1985, elle participe à divers projets discographiques collectifs comme le
disque pour l'aide à l'Éthiopie ou des bandes originales de film. Elle
reçoit à nouveaux cinq Félix. En 1986, alors qu'elle n'a que dix-huit ans et
qu'elle vient de sortir un nouveau single, Billy, elle décide de se retirer
de la scène pendant un certain temps afin de repenser son apparence et
d'apprendre la langue anglaise.
À la suite de cet intermède, le compositeur et auteur italien Romano
Musumarra lui écrit Je ne veux pas. Ce 45 tours est le dernier publié par la
maison de disque Pathé.
Reconnaissance européenne
En 1987, elle produit l'album Incognito, qui rencontre le succès. Remarquée
par des compositeurs suisses (Atilla Serefthug et Nella Martinetti) et belge
(Marc Lerchs), elle est choisie pour représenter la Suisse au Concours
Eurovision de la chanson en chantant Ne partez pas sans moi. Elle gagne le
concours à Dublin, le 30 avril 1988. Tout naturellement, ce passage à
l'Eurovision favorise sa carrière en Europe.
Carrière mondiale et ascension vers le succès
Après le succès d’Incognito, Céline Dion s'engage dans une carrière
internationale: c'est David Foster qui va l'y conduire avec son premier
album anglophone, Unison, sorti en 1990, vendu à plus de 3,5 millions
d'exemplaires dans le monde. Le titre Where Does My Heart Beat Now est la
première chanson à décoller aux États-Unis. D'autres titres seront extraits
de Unison: If there was any other way, Don't let me be the last, Unison.
À partir de cette période, Céline Dion s'oriente vers l'international avec
des reprises R&B et des nouveaux morceaux, écrits notamment par Diane
Warren, une compositeure connue pour ses ballades. Le deuxième album
anglophone de Céline Dion, simplement appelé Celine Dion sort le 30 Mars
1992, jour de son 24e anniversaire. Cet album sera porté par le succès de la
chanson thème du classique de Walt Disney The beauty and the beast, chantée
en duo avec Peabo Bryson. Alan Menken, son compositeur, remportera notamment
un oscar et un grammy award pour ce titre. Au total, Celine Dion s'est vendu
à 6 millions d'exemplaires à ce jour. Seront également extraits de cet album
: Nothing broken but my heart, Water from the moon, If you asked me to, Love
can move mountains. À noter que Prince lui composera la chanson With this
tear.
Menant toujours de front une carrière en anglais et en français, Céline sort
un album où elle reprend les titres de la comédie musicale au succès
fulgurant "Starmania", avec la chanson Ziggy. Le succès est au rendez-vous
avec près d'un million de copies vendues (dont 600 000 en France).
En Novembre 1993 sort son troisième album anglophone, intitulé The colour of
my love. Porté par de nombreux succès (The power of love, Think twice, The
colour of my love), l'album connaîtra un succès, avec plus de 17 millions
d'exemplaires vendus à travers le monde. À l'occasion de la sortie de
l'album, Céline et René Angélil son manager, dévoilent publiquement leur
relation amoureuse. Ils se marieront en décembre 1994, année où elle sortira
son Live à l'Olympia.
En 1995 sort D'eux, son premier album francophone depuis 4 ans et écrit par
Jean-Jacques Goldman. L'album rencontre un succès phénoménal, puisqu'il se
vendra à près de 7 millions d'exemplaires dans le monde, se classant ainsi
comme l'album francophone le plus vendu. En France, c'est la consécration :
l'album reste 44 semaines numéro 1, un record indétrônable! Le single Pour
que tu m'aimes encore sera N°1 également, tout comme le single suivant, Je
sais pas.
Consécration
L'album Falling into you sort en mars 1996. Il comporte de nombreux succès :
Because you loved me (BO de Up and personal), It's all coming back to me
now, River deep mountain high, et la reprise de All by myself. Falling into
you s'est vendu à ce jour à plus de 32 millions d'exemplaires dans le monde,
faisant de Céline la plus grande vendeuse de disques de l'année 1996. Son
passage à l'ouverture des JO d'Atlanta la même année, chantant The power of
the dream, sera à l'origine de sa renommée internationale.
Toujours en 1996, et en réponse au succès de D'Eux, Céline sort son Live à
Paris, qui se vendra à près de 2 millions de copies dans le monde.
En 1997, ses disques et son interprétation de la chanson de James Horner et
Will Jenning My Heart Will Go On, écrit pour le film Titanic, constituent un
nouveau palier, numéro un partout dans le monde avec plus de 27 millions de
singles vendus. Cette chanson, titre phare dans sa carrière fait partie de
l'album Let's Talk About Love, sorti en Novembre 1997. Dans cet album, elle
chante avec le ténor Luciano Pavarotti, les Bee Gees et la chanteuse Barbra
Streisand. Après le succès de l'opus Falling into you, Let's talk about love
se vendra à plus de 31 millions d'exemplaires.
En 1998, la collaboration Céline Dion - Jean-Jacques Goldman donne naissance
à l'album S'il suffisait d'aimer, qui remportera aussi un succès
francophone, puisqu'il se vendra à plus de 3 millions d'exemplaires. Fin
1998, elle sort un album de Noël intitulé These are special times, véritable
succès dans le monde anglophone avec 12 millions d'exemplaires vendus. Aux
Etats-Unis, le duo avec R.Kelly I'm your angel restera six semaines numéro
un. En juin 1999 elle remplit le Stade de France deux soirs d'affilée dans
le cadre de sa méga-tournée mondiale Let's talk about love qui la fera
parcourir le monde. Il sortira de ces concerts en France l'album live Au
coeur du stade.
La même année sort l'album All the way... a decade of song qui mêle best-of
de ses meilleurs titres anglophones et nouvelles chansons dont le tube
That's the way it is. Le disque est un succès mondial, se vendant à plus de
21 millions de copies.
Le soir du 31 décembre 1999, après 18 ans de carrière ininterrompue, elle se
retire temporairement de la scène publique après un ultime concert à
Montréal, avec le titre de méga star internationale.
Céline Dion a également beaucoup participé à diverses œuvres, tels qu'une
collection en 1995 de chansons de Carole King appelée Tapestry Revisited, à
la comédie musicale de Plamondon Starmania, à un hommage à Sir George
Martin, producteur des Beatles (elle chante Here, There, and Everywhere) ou
encore à un hommage au parolier Eddy Marnay, où elle révèle sa personnalité
jazz.
Une pause pour un enfant
En 1999, Céline Dion, annonce son intention de faire une pause dans sa
carrière après l'an 2000. Cette décision, d'abord motivée par le désir
d'avoir un enfant, sera confirmée après la découverte du cancer (dont il
guérira) de son mari et manager René Angélil. Elle annonce de plus qu'elle
fera ses adieux à son public lors d'un grand concert le 31 Décembre 1999 au
centre Molson de Montréal.
Dans le courant de l'année 2000, elle fait savoir qu'elle est enceinte. Le
25 janvier 2001, elle donne naissance à René-Charles dans un hôpital de Palm
Beach en Floride. Son fils sera baptisé devant des milliers de spectateurs
en liesse à Montréal.
Pendant cette absence, elle participe néanmoins à l'album du chanteur
québécois Garou, devenu le protégé de son mari René Angélil, en enregistrant
le duo Sous le vent. En outre, elle chantera God bless America lors d'un
téléthon en hommage aux victimes des attentats du 11 septembre 2001, aux
côtés de stars telles que Mariah Carey ou Sylvester Stallone.
Retour à la chanson
En 2002, après une absence de plus de deux ans, elle revient sur le devant
de la scène avec un nouvel album en anglais, A New Day Has Come. Classé en
tête des ventes dans 18 pays dont la France, les États-Unis, l'Allemagne,
l'Italie, la Pologne et l'Angleterre, l'album rencontre néanmoins un succès
moins important que les précédents, se vendant tout de même à 10 millions
d'exemplaires, porté entre autre par le single I'm Alive, BO du film
d'animation "Stuart Little 2". L'album suivant, One Heart, se vendra quant à
lui à seulement 5 millions d'exemplaires et sortira le jour du
lancement du méga-show "A New Day" à Las Vegas, en Mars 2003. "I drove all
night", une reprise de Roy Orbinson, sera le premier extrait.
Elle signe un contrat de trois ans pour chanter à Las Vegas, au Coloseum du
Caesar's Palace. Ce spectacle dirigé par le créateur belge Franco Dragone
débute le 25 Mars 2003. Le spectacle mêle chant, théâtre et danse, le tout
sur un fond virtuel reproduit sur le plus grand écran du monde. Le succès du
spectacle est tel qu'elle signe pour une année de plus en 2004. Le contrat
l'engage jusqu'au 15 décembre 2007. La salle (d'environ 4 100 places) est
pleine tous les soirs. A la fin de sa série, ce sera plus de 700
représentations qui auront été donnée devant 3 millions de spectacteurs.
En 2003, elle interprète une chanson de la bande originale du film Le
Sourire de Mona Lisa avec une reprise de Frank Sinatra, Bewitched, Bothered
and Bewildered. A la fin de cette même année elle sort un album francophone,
le premier depuis 5 ans et s'intitule 1 Fille et 4 types. C'est un album
concept réalisé avec Jean-Jacques Goldman, Gildas Arzel, Eric Benzi et
Jacques Vénéruso, tous auteurs francophones. Céline y apparaît très
décontractée, plus rock et aux cheveux blonds très courts. Tout l'or des
hommes sera le premier single, puis "Je t'aime encore". Cet album se vendra
à 1,3 million dans le monde.
En 2004, elle sort un nouvel album, un concept avec la célèbre photographe
d'enfants Anne Geddes, liant photos et chants de berceuses. Là aussi la
faible promotion ne lance pas véritablement le projet, vendu à 2 millions
d'exemplaires (albums et livres compris).
En 2005, Céline sort sa première compilation française On ne change pas,
porté par le single Je ne vous oublie pas. C'est un succès francophone avec
plus de 600 000 ventes en France, 1 million dans le monde.
En 25 ans de carrière, Céline Dion a vendu 175 millions d'albums (230
millions avec les singles - selon SonyMusic). En 2004, Elle a reçu un
Diamand Award soulignant cet exploit.
La chanteuse a fait son grand retour sur la scène francophone pour le 22 mai
2007, date à laquelle est sorti un nouvel album francophone intitulé D'Elles
en collaboration avec 7 écrivains françaises et 4 écrivains québécoises,
précédé par un premier single, Et s'il n'en restait qu'une, suivi par
Immensité. L'album est de nouveau supervisé par Jean-Jacques Goldman, bien
qu'il ne participe ni à la composition, ni à l'écriture. Cet album a été
bien accueilli au Québec, puisqu'il s'y est vendu à plus de 160 000
exemplaires. En revanche, D'elles sera beaucoup moins bien accueilli en
France avec seulement 200 000 ventes, malgré deux semaines passées en
première position.
Un nouveau tournant dans sa carrière et une nouvelle tournée mondiale
Un nouvel album anglophone nommé Taking chances est annoncé pour le 12
novembre 2007 dans le monde. Le DVD de son spectacle à Las Vegas, enregistré
fin janvier 2007, est quant à lui prévu pour décembre 2007.
Pour souligner son retour, Céline entamera en février 2008 une grande
tournée mondiale, la première depuis 9 ans. Elle se produira tout d'abord en
Afrique du Sud (où elle n'a encore jamais fait de concerts), mais aussi à
Paris Bercy pour 6 dates, à Nice, à Zurich, à Genève, à Anvers, en Chine,
aux États-Unis, au Canada, en Allemagne, au Royaume-Uni…
Céline Dion participe également à de nombreux événements caritatifs, tel la
lutte contre la mucoviscidose (maladie dont sa nièce Karine, décédée en 1993
à l'âge de 16 ans, était atteinte) ou, plus récemment, pour aider les
sinistrés d'Asie du Sud.
Le 19 novembre 2007, Céline a annoncé sa participation au 400e anniversaire
de la ville de Québec, où elle offrira un spectacle gratuit, le 22 août
2008, en compagnie d'autres artistes, non encore dévoilés. Le spectacle sera
entièrement développé par la compagnie de René Angelil et se produira sur la
plus grande place des Plaines d'Abraham, avec une capacité de 100 000
personnes, en plein air. |
|
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, OC, OQ, (born
March 30, 1968) is a Canadian singer and occasional songwriter and actress.
Born to a large, impoverished family in Charlemagne, Québec, Dion emerged as
a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future
husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. In 1990
she released the anglophone album Unison, establishing herself as a viable
pop artist in North America and other English speaking areas of the world.
Dion first gained international recognition in the 1980s after she won both
the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song
Contest. After a series of French albums in the early 1980s, she signed on
to Sony Records in 1986. Under the guidance of her husband, she achieved
worldwide success with several English and French albums, ending the decade
as one of the most-successful artists in pop music. After releasing more
than twenty-five albums over two decades, Dion announced a temporary
retraction from entertainment in 1999 in order to start a family and spend
time with her husband. She returned to the music scene in 2002, and a year
later, she signed a four-year contract to perform nightly in a five-star
theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.
Dion's music has been influenced by various genres, which range from pop,
soul and rock to gospel to classicaland while her releases have often
received mixed critical reception, she is renowned for her technically
skilled and powerful vocals. In 2004, after accumulating record sales in
excess of 175 million, she was presented with the Chopard Diamond Award from
the World Music Awards show for becoming the "Best-selling Female Artist in
the World." In April 2007 Sony BMG announced that Celine Dion had sold more
than 200 million albums worldwide.
Childhood and early beginnings
The youngest of fourteen children born to Adhémar Dion and Thérèse
Tanguay, Céline Dion was raised a Roman Catholic in a poverty-stricken, but,
by her own account, happy, home in Charlemagne. Music had always been a part
of the family, as she grew up singing with her siblings in her parents'
small piano bar called 'Le Vieux Baril.' From an early age Dion had dreamed
of being a performer; In a 1994 interview with People magazine, she
recalled, "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."
At age twelve, Dion collaborated with her mother and her brother Jacques to
compose her first song, "Ce n'était qu'un rêve" ("It Was Only a Dream"). Her
brother Michel sent the recording to music manager René Angélil, whose name
he discovered on the back of a Ginette Reno album. Angélil was moved to
tears by Dion's voice, and decided to make her a star. He mortgaged his home
to fund her first record, La voix du bon Dieu (a play on words "The Voice of
God/The Road to God," 1981), which became a local number-one record and made
Dion an instant star in Quebec. Her popularity spread to other parts of the
world when she competed in the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival in
Tokyo, Japan, and won the musician's award for "Top Performer" as well as
the gold medal for "Best Song," with "Tellement j'ai d'amour pour toi" ("I
Have So Much Love for You"). By 1983, in addition to becoming the first
Canadian artist to receive a gold record in France for the single "D'amour
ou d'amitié" ("Of Love or of Friendship"), Dion had also won several Félix
Awards, including "Best Female performer" and "Discovery of the Year."
Further success in Europe, Asia, and Australia came when Dion represented
Switzerland in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Ne partez pas
sans moi" ("Don't Go Without Me") and won the contest in Dublin, Ireland.
However, American success was yet to come, partly because she was
exclusively a Francophone artist.
At eighteen, after seeing a Michael Jackson performance, Dion told Angélil
that she wanted to be a star like Jackson. Though confident in her talent,
Angelil realized that her image needed to be changed in order for her to be
marketed worldwide. Dion receded from the spotlight for a number of months,
during which she underwent a physical makeover, and was sent to the École
Berlitz School in 1989 to polish her English. This marked the start of her
English-language music career. According to an episode of VH-1's Behind The
Music, she learned to speak English in just three months.
1990–1992: Career breakthrough
A year after she had learned English, Dion made her debut into the
Anglophone market with Unison (1990). She incorporated the help of many
established musicians, including Vito Luprano and Canadian producer David
Foster. The album was largely influenced by 1980s soft rock music that
quickly found a niche within the adult contemporary radio format. Unison hit
the right notes with critics: Jim Faber of Entertainment Weekly wrote that
Dion's vocals were "tastefully unadorned," and that she never attempted to
"bring off styles that are beyond her." Stephen Erlewine of All Music Guide
declared it as, "a fine, sophisticated American debut." Singles from the
album included "(If There Was) Any Other Way," "The Last to Know," "Unison,"
and "Where Does My Heart Beat Now," a mid-tempo soft-rock ballad which made
prominent use of the electric guitar. The latter became her first single to
chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number four. The album
established Dion as a rising singer in the United States, and across
Continental Europe and Asia. In 1991, Dion was also a soloist in "Voices
That Care," a tribute to American troops fighting in Operation Desert Storm.
Dion's real international breakthrough came when she duetted with Peabo
Bryson on the title track to Disney's animated film Beauty and the Beast
(1991). 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 hit, the song became her second U.S. top ten
single, and 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 self-titled album, which, like her debut, had a
strong rock influence combined with elements of soul and classical music.
Owing to the success of the lead-off single and her collaboration with
Foster and Diane Warren, the album was as well received as Unison. Other
singles that achieved moderate success included "If You Asked Me To" (a
cover of Patti LaBelle's song from the 1989 movie Licence to Kill) which
peaked at number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the gospel-tinged "Love
Can Move Mountains," and "Nothing Broken But My Heart." As with Dion's
earlier releases, the album had an overtone of love.
By 1992 Unison, Céline Dion, and media appearances had propelled Dion to
superstardom in North America. She had achieved one of her main objectives:
wedging her way into the Anglophone market and achieving fame. However,
while she was experiencing rising success in the U.S., her French fans in
Canada criticized her for neglecting them. She would later regain her fan
base at the Felix Awards show, where, after winning "English Artist of the
Year," she openly refused to accept the award. She asserted that she was —
and would always be— a French, not an English, artist. Apart from her
commercial success, there were also changes in Dion's personal life, as
Angélil, who was twenty-six years her senior, transitioned from manager to
lover. However, the relationship was kept a secret as they both feared that
the public would find their relations inappropriate.
1993–1995: Popularity established
In 1993 Dion announced her feelings for her manager by declaring him "the
colour of love" in the dedication section of her third Anglophone album The
Colour of My Love. However, instead of criticizing their relationship as
Dion had feared, fans embraced the couple. Eventually, Angélil and Dion
married in an extravagant wedding ceremony in December 1994, which was
broadcast live on Canadian television.
As it was dedicated to her manager, the album's motif focused on love and
romance. It became her most successful record up to that point, selling more
than six million copies in the U.S., two million in Canada, and peaking at
number-one in many countries. The album also spawned Dion's first U.S.,
Canadian, and Australian number-one single "The Power of Love" (a remake of
Jennifer Rush's 1985 hit), which would become her signature hit until she
reached new career heights in the late 1990s. Subsequent singles, such as
"When I Fall in Love," a duet with Clive Griffin, and "Misled" failed to
reach the upper tier of the pop charts in the U.S., but were moderately
successful in Canada. The Colour of My Love also became Dion's first bona
fide hit in Europe, and in particular the United Kingdom. Both the album and
the single "Think Twice" simultaneously occupied the top of the British
charts for five consecutive weeks. "Think Twice," which remained at number
one for seven weeks, eventually became the fourth single by a female artist
to sell in excess of one million copies in the U.K., while the album was
eventually certified five-times platinum for two-million copies sold.
Dion kept to her French roots and continued to release many Francophone
recordings between each English record. These included Dion chante Plamondon
(1991); À l'Olympia (1994), a live album that was recorded during one of
Dion's concerts at the Olympia Theatre in Paris; and D'eux (1995 — also
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. However, 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 diverged from strong rock influences and transitioned into a more pop
and soul style (though the electric guitar remained a central part of her
music). Her songs began with more delicate melodies that used softer
instrumentations, and built up to strong climaxes, over which her vocals
could be displayed. This new sound received mixed reviews from critics, with
Arion Berger of Entertainment Weekly accusing her of preferring vocal
acrobatics over dynamics and embarking on a trend of uninspiring,
"crowd-pleasing ballads." Resultantly, she earned frequent comparisons to
artists such as Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. There were also signs that
her work was becoming more clichéd: critically, The Colour of My Love was
not consistent with earlier works. However, while critical praise declined,
Dion's releases performed increasingly well on the international charts, and
in 1996 she won the World Music Award for "World’s Best-selling Canadian
Female Recording Artist of the Year" for the third time. By the mid-1990s,
she had established herself as one of the best-selling artists in the world,
among female performers such as Carey and Houston.
1996–1999: Worldwide commercial success
Falling into You (1996), Dion's fourth Anglophone album, presented the
singer at the height of her popularity, and showed a further progression of
her music. In an attempt to reach a wider audience, the album combined many
elements, such as ornate orchestral frills, African chanting, and outlandish
musical effects. Additionally, instruments like the violin, Spanish guitar,
trombone, the cavaquinho, and saxophone created a new sound. The singles
encompassed a variety of musical styles. The title track "Falling into You"
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 song) and a remake of Eric Carmen's "All by Myself" kept their
soft-rock atmosphere, but were combined with the classical sound of the
piano; and the number-one single "Because You Loved Me," which was written
by Diane Warren, was a maudlin ballad that served as the theme to the 1996
film Up Close & Personal. Falling into You garnered career-best reviews for
Dion. While Dan Leroy wrote that it was not very different from her previous
work, and Stephen Holden of The New York Times and Natalie Nichols of Los
Angeles Times wrote that the album was formulaic, other critics such as
Chuck Eddy of Entertainment Weekly, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AMG, and
Daniel Durchholz lavished the album as "compelling," "passionate,"
"stylish," "elegant," and "remarkably well-crafted." Falling Into You became
Dion's most critically and commercially successful album: it topped the
charts in many countries and became one of the best-selling albums of all
time. It also won Grammy Awards for Best Pop Album, and the academy's
highest honor Album of the Year. Dion's status on the world stage was
further solidified when she was asked to perform "The Power of the Dream" at
the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. In March 1996,
Dion launched the Falling into You Tour in support of her new album, giving
concerts around the world for over a year.
Dion followed Falling into You with Let's Talk About Love (1997), which was
publicized as its sequel. The recording process took place in London, New
York City, and Los Angeles, and featured a host of special guests, such as
Barbra Streisand on "Tell Him"; the Bee Gees on "Immortality"; and
world-renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti on "I Hate You Then I Love You."
Other musicians included 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 as Dion's preceding albums—"love."
However, emphasis was also placed on "brotherly love" with "Where Is the
Love" and "Let's Talk About Love." The most successful single from the album
became the classically influenced ballad "My Heart Will Go On," which was
composed by James Horner, and produced by Horner and Walter Afanasieff.
Serving as the love theme for the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic, the song
topped the charts in many countries across the world, and became Dion's
signature song. In support of her album, Dion embarked on the Let's Talk
About Love Tour between 1998 and 1999, which received mixed reviews.
Dion ended the 1990s with two more successful albums— the Christmas album
These Are Special Times (1998), and the compilation album All the Way... A
Decade of Song (1999). On These Are Special Times, Dion became more involved
in the writing process. The album was her most classically influenced yet,
with orchestral arrangements found on virtually every track. "I'm Your
Angel," a duet with R. Kelly, became Dion's fourth and final U.S. number one
single, and another hit single across the world. All the Way... A Decade of
Song drew together her most successful hits coupled with seven new songs,
including the lead off single "That's the Way It Is," a cover of Roberta
Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," and "All the Way," a duet
with Frank Sinatra.
By the end of the 1990s, Celine Dion had sold more than 100 million albums
worldwide, and had won a slew of industry awards. Her status as one of the
biggest divas of contemporary music was further solidified when she was
asked to perform on VH1's Divas Live special in 1998, with superstars Aretha
Franklin, Gloria Estefan, Shania Twain, and Mariah Carey. That year she 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." A year later she was
inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame, and was honoured with a
star on Canada's Walk of Fame. She also won the Grammy Awards for "Best
Female Pop Vocal Performance" and the most coveted "Record of the Year" for
"My Heart Will Go On" (the song won four awards, but two were presented to
the songwriters).
Compared to her debut, both the quality and sound of Dion's music had also
changed significantly. The soft-rock influences 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, and this
led to many critics dismissing her work as banal. In a scathing review of
Let's Talk About Love, Rob O'Connor wrote:
“ What never ceases to amaze me is how the trite-est, most cliché-ridden
music often takes an assembly-line of lauded music industry professionals to
perfect... Sinking ships are what I imagine as this tune "My Heart Will Go
On" plows onward of four-plus minutes, and this album feels as if were never
to end. Is it no wonder why I have such fears of going to the dentist? ”
Dion was also criticized for some of her remakes and duets. "The First Time
Ever I Saw Your Face" and "All the Way" were described as disastrous and
"creepy" by both Allison Stewart of The Chicago Tribune and Erlwine of All
Music Guide. Even though she was still praised for her vocal abilities
(Elysa Gardner of L.A Times called her voice a "technical marvel,") the
much-favored vocal restraint heard on her early releases had also 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."
2000–2002: Career break
After releasing and promoting thirteen albums during the 1990s, Dion stated
that she needed to settle down, and announced on her latest album All the
Way... A Decade of Song, that she needed to take a step back from the
spotlight and enjoy life. Angélil's diagnosis with throat cancer also
prompted her to hiatus. While on break, Dion was unable to escape the
spotlight. In 2000, 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 more than 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 her husband. A year after the incident, after undergoing fertility
treatments, Dion gave birth to a son, René-Charles Dion Angélil, on January
25, 2001 in Florida.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Dion returned to the music scene,
and in a televised performance sang "God Bless America" at the benefit
concert America: A Tribute to Heroes. Chuck Taylor of Billboard wrote, "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."
2002–2003: Return to music
Dion's aptly titled A New Day Has Come, released in March 2002, ended her
three-year break from the music industry. The album was Dion's most personal
yet, and established a more mature side of Dion with the songs "A New Day
Has Come," "I'm Alive," and "Goodbye's (The Saddest Word)," a change that
resulted from her new-found maternal responsibilities, because, in her own
words, "becoming a mother makes you a grown-up." She stated, "A New Day Has
Come, for Rene, for me, is the baby. It has everything to do with the
baby...That song "A New Day Has Come" represents very well the mood I'm
feeling right now. It represents the whole album." While the album achieved
commercial success, critical comments suggested that it was "forgettable"
and the lyrics were "lifeless." Both Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone
magazine, and Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly, stated that Dion's music
had not matured during her break, and classed her music as trite and
mediocre. Sal Cinquemani of Slant magazine called the album "a lengthy
collection of drippy, gooey pop fluffer-nutter."
Drawing inspiration from personal experiences, Dion released One Heart
(2003), an album that represented her appreciation for life. The album
largely consisted of dance music — a deviation from the soaring,
melodramatic ballads, for which she had once been given mixed reception.
Although it achieved moderate success, One Heart hinted at Dions' inability
to overcome the creative wall that she had hit, and words such as
"predictable" and "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. However, it was dismissed as Dion
trying to please her sponsors.
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 two most popular being covers of Louis
Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" and John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy." The
reviews for Miracle were generally weak: while Charles Taylor of Billboard
magazine wrote that the single "Beautiful Boy" was "an unexpected gem" and
called Dion "a timeless, enormously versatile artist," Chuck Arnold of
People Magazine labeled the album as excessively sentimental, while Nancy
Miller of Entertainment Weekly opined that "the whole earth-mama act is just
opportunism."
The Francophone album 1 fille & 4 types (1 Girl & 4 Guys, 2003), fared
better than her first two comebacks, and showed Dion trying to distance
herself from the "diva" image. She recruited Jean-Jacques Goldman, Gildas
Arzel, Eric Benzi, and Jacques Veneruso, with whom she had previously worked
on two of her best selling French albums S'il suffisait d'aimer and D'eux.
Labeled "the album of pleasure" by Dion herself, the cover showed Dion in a
simple and relaxed manner, contrary to the choreographed poses usually found
on her album covers. The album achieved relative 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."
Though her albums were relatively successful, signs of a decline began to
appear in the poorer critical reception of The Collector's Series, Volume
One (2000), A New Day Has Come (2002), and One Heart (2003). The mass appeal
of Dion's later works had declined due to the nature of the themes. Her
songs received less airplay as radio became less embracing of balladeers
like Dion, Carey and Houston, and was focused on more up-tempo,
Urban/Hip-hop songs. However, by 2005 Dion had accumulated sales of more
than 175 million records, and received the Chopard Diamond World Music award
for becoming the best-selling female artist in the world.
2003–2007: A New Day... Live in Las Vegas
In early 2002 Dion had 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
relatively poor performance of her current releases. She conceived the idea
for the show after seeing O by Franco 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 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, and at times, it was hard to find the singer among the
excessive stage ornamentations and dancers. However, he noted that the show
has become more enjoyable, due to Dion's improved stage-presence and simpler
costumes. The show has also been well-received by audiences, despite the
complaints of expensive tickets; the show has sold out almost every night
since its 2003 opening. According to Pollstar, Dion had sold 322,000 tickets
and grossed US$43.9 million in the first half of 2005, and by July 2005, she
had sold out 315 out of 384 shows. By the end of 2005, Dion grossed more
than US$76 million, placing sixth on Billboard's Money Makers list for 2005.
A New Day... was the 6th biggest selling tour in America in 2006. Because of
the show's success, Dion's contract was extended into 2007 for an
undisclosed sum. On January 5, 2007 it was announced that the show would be
ending on December 15, 2007, with tickets for the period after October 2007
having gone on sale from March 1. The Live in Las Vegas - A New Day... DVD
will be released on December 10, 2007 in Europe and the following day in
North America.
2007-present: Return to studio
In 2005, Dion released her first comprehensive greatest hits album in
French, On ne change pas, which features three new songs, including a duet
with Il Divo called "I Believe in You". Her latest French language album
D'elles, released on May 21, 2007, debuted at the top of the Canadian album
charts, selling 72,200 copies in its first week. It marked her tenth
number-one album in the SoundScan era, and her eighth to debut at the top
position. In Canada, the album has been certified 2x platinum, and within
first week has already shipped half a million units worldwide. D'Elles
reached also No. 1 in France and Belgium. The first single "Et s'il n'en
restait qu'une (je serais celle-là)" debuted at the top of the French
singles chart a month earlier.
Dion released her latest English album Taking Chances on November 12 in
Europe, and on the 13th in North America. Her first studio album since
2003's One Heart, the album features pop, R&B, and rock inspired music. Dion
has collaborated with John Shanks, ex-Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody, as
well as Kristian Lundin, Peer Astrom, Linda Perry, and R&B singer-songwriter
Ne-Yo. Dion stated, "I think this album represents a positive evolution in
my career [...] I'm feeling strong, maybe a little gutsier than in the past,
and just as passionate about music and life as I ever was." On October 27,
2007 Dion appeared on the fourth series of the British talent contest, The X
Factor, as a mentor to the show's contestants. She also performed "Taking
Chances" on the live show which was the world exclusive debut and her first
UK performance for five years. She also performed the song at the American
Music Awards on November 18, 2007. Dion will launch her year-long worldwide
Taking Chances Tour on February 14, 2008 in South Africa.
Artistry and image
Dion grew up listening to the music of Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson,
Carole King, Anne Murray, Barbra Streisand, and the Bee Gees, all of whom
she would eventually collaborate with. During her younger years, which she
spent performing in her parents' piano bar along with her other siblings,
she also performed many songs by Ginette Reno and other popular Quebecois
artists. She has also expressed appreciation for Édith Piaf, Sir Elton John,
and opera singer Luciano Pavarotti, as well as many soul singers of the
1960s, 70's and 80's, including Roberta Flack, Etta James and Patti Labelle,
whose songs she would later rerecord. Her English-language material has been
influenced by numerous genres, including pop, rock, gospel, R&B and soul,
and her lyrics focus on themes of poverty, world hunger, and spirituality,
with an overemphasis on love and romance. After the birth of her child, her
work also began to emphasize maternal bond and brotherly love.
Dion has faced considerable criticism from many critics, who state that her
music often retreats behind pop and soul conventions, and marked by
excessive sentimentality. According to Keith Harris of Rolling Stone
magazine, "[Dion's] sentimentality is bombastic and defiant rather than
demure and retiring....[she] stands at the end of the chain of drastic
devolution that goes Aretha-Whitney-Mariah. Far from being an aberration,
Dion actually stands as a symbol of a certain kind of pop sensibility —
bigger is better, too much is never enough, and the riper the emotion the
more true." Dion's francophone releases, by contrast, tend to be deeper and
more varied than her English releases, and consequently have achieved more
credibility.
Dion is often regarded as one of pop music's greatest and most influential
voices. In MTV's "22 Greatest Voices in Music" countdown, she placed ninth
(sixth for a female), and she was also placed fourth in Cove magazine's list
of "The 100 Outstanding Pop Vocalists." Upon her debut, many critics had
welcomed her restrained vocal inflections, and she was praised for her
technical virtuosity and intensity. As Charles Alexander of Time writes,
"Her voice glides effortlessly from deep whispers to dead-on high notes, a
sweet siren that combines force with grace." As her music progressed,
however, Dion's vocal performances came to resemble more closely those of
her contemporaries, especially Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, and she was
heavily criticized for oversinging and for lacking the emotional intensity
that once was a part of her earlier work. One critic noted that the emotion,
"seems to have been trained right out of her lovely voice," leaving her with
"more voice than heart."
Many critics have stated that Dion's involvement in the production
aspect of her music is fundamentally lacking, which results in her work
being overproduced and impersonal. Additionally, while she came from a
family in which all of her siblings were musicians, she never learned to
play any musical instruments. However, she did help to compose many of her
earlier French songs, and had always tried to involve herself with the
production and recording of her albums. On her first English album, which
she recorded before she had a firm command of the English language, she
expressed disapproval of the record, which, according to her, could have
been avoided if she had assumed more creative input. By the time she
released her second English album Celine Dion, she had assumed more control
of the production and recording process, hoping to dispel earlier
criticisms. She stated, "On the second album I said, 'Well, I have the
choice to be afraid one more time and not be 100 percent happy, or not be
afraid and be part of this album.' This is my album." She would continue to
involve herself in the production of subsequent releases, helping to write a
few of her songs on Let's Talk About Love (1997) and These Are Special Times
(1998).
Despite her success, Dion is often the subject of media ridicule and parody.
She is frequently impersonated on shows like MADtv, Saturday Night Live and
South Park for her strong accent, as well as her conservative nature and
on-stage movements. She is also heavily mocked in her home country of Canada
on popular shows Royal Canadian Air Farce and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
However, Dion has stated that she is unaffected by the comments, and has
even stated that she is flattered that people take the time to impersonate
her. She even invited Ana Gasteyer, who parodied her on SNL, to appear on
stage during one of her performances.
Dion is rarely the center of media controversies. However, in 2005,
following the Hurricane Katrina disaster, she 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 victims of Hurricane Katrina: "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 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.
Other activities
Dion became an entrepreneur with the establishment of her franchise
restaurant "Nickels" in 1990. She has since divested her interests in the
chain and is no longer affiliated with Nickels as of 1997. She also has a
range of eyewear and a line of perfume, manufactured by Coty, Inc.. 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 advertising executives working for Air Canada.
Dion has actively supported many charity organizations worldwide. She has
promoted the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF) since 1982 and
became the foundation's National Celebrity Patron in 1993. She has an
emotional attachment to the foundation; her niece Karine succumbed to the
disease at the age of sixteen. In 2003, Dion joined a number of other
celebrities, athletes and politicians including Josh Groban and Yolanda
Adams to support "World Children's Day", a global fundraising effort
sponsored by McDonald's. The effort raised money from more than 100
countries and benefited many orphanages and children's health organizations.
Dion has also been a major supporter of the T.J. Martell Foundation, the
Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, and many health and education
campaigns. She also donated $ 1 million to the victims of Hurricane Katrina,
and held a fund-raising event for the victims of the 2004 Asian Tsunami,
raising more than a million dollars. |
