The singer will return to the stage at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, on the occasion of which we will look back at the milestones of her career and life.
Since her shocking documentary, the world has been pushing as one person for the 56-year-old Céline Dion, so that her rare chronic illness – which deprived her of singing, which meant the most to her – subsides, and the popular Canadian singer can take the stage again.
And the latest news gives cause for confidence. After a series of cancellations and declarations as extreme as it may happen, she will never be able to sing again,
Céline Dion will be the star guest at the opening of the 2024 Olympics.
The music icon has already arrived in the French capital in order to prepare for his performance in time, which turns out to be a huge step forward, as his neurological disease can cause serious pain and even limited mobility.
The Canadian singer first spoke about her incurable illness in December 2022, which forced her to cancel the upcoming concerts of her tour.
Tragically, the spasmodic muscle stiffness caused by stiff-person syndrome did not spare the artist’s vocal cords either,
but increased sensitivity to stimuli and emotional stress – which are also symptoms of the rare disease – both make Céline Dion’s everyday life miserable.
Muscle spasms originating from the middle part of the body, mainly from the trunk and abdomen, can cause serious injury in addition to pain, as they can dislocate the joints and even cause bone fractures. Itself Celine also previously spoke about how a severe spasm led to a broken rib, but he also experienced other experiences related to the disease as terrifying and painful challenges.
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee to stop the disease process, only special antibodies, physical therapy and physical therapy relieve the symptoms and slow down the progress of the disease. Despite this, the singer has repeatedly stated in recent years that, no matter what the cost, she will not give up the fight and will do everything in order to regain the strength she needs to be on stage. As in his documentary also mentions, he is not talking about wanting to be good, he is talking about wanting to sing.
His performance at the Olympic opening shows amazing fortitude, performance and endurance, and we take a look back at the most important milestones of the Canadian superstar’s extraordinary career and life.
Céline Dion: 10 facts you didn’t know about her
1. He grew up in a family with 14 children in the countryside
Céline Dion’s life was sealed at birth, her butcher father, Adhémar Dion, and her housewife mother, Thérèse, the French singer, Hugues Aufray Celine he named the little girl born in 1968 after his song. He was the youngest of 14 siblings raised in a small rural town in Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada.
Just like in the fairy tale, as the youngest brother sets off to try his luck, it soon became clear to the purposeful Céline that she must sing. In addition, his story really developed in accordance with a fairy tale. René Angélil, the famous producer, discovered the later Canadian icon, and he did everything – he even took out a mortgage on his house – to make a world star out of the little girl blessed with dazzling vocal talents.
2. A song changed his life
The world-famous diva was only 12 years old when she sent the amateur demo recording to René, but already at the age of 5, at her brother’s wedding, she knew she wanted to be a singer one day. It was then that his first public appearance took place, which gave him enough impetus to compose his first own song, Ce n’etait qu’un rêve, with the help of his parents. It was nothing but a dream, that’s what the song title says in French, and indeed, Céline’s only cherished dream was to be able to perform as a famous singer all over the world.
René Angélil saw the girl’s potential and invited her to his office to prove her talent live: Céline, according to the story, grabbed a pencil as a microphone, and the producer made the impromptu performance easier and declared that he would finance the release of Céline’s first solo album.
“And this dream of mine has come true,” the singer said in 1991 Montreal Gazette for a daily newspaper.
3. At the age of 16, he sang for the Pope
The purposeful teenager knew no limits when it came to realizing his dream, in fact, he took it even further than anyone could have imagined. On September 11, 1984, he was just 16 years old when he sang in front of 60,000 people A dove-t in the Montreal Olympic Stadium II. In honor of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Canada. The song is a Melanie came from his album and became a huge hit in France: it won the Félix award in the best-selling single and pop song of the year categories.
Two years later, she retired for 18 months to leave behind her image as a teen star and return to the stage as a world star. The strategic and professional decision he made together with his producer benefited his career: he took voice and dance lessons, had corrective cosmetic procedures performed, honed his dressing style, and learned languages so that he could promote his songs on American shows.
4. He won the Eurovision Song Contest
Before becoming a superstar, like ABBA, Céline Dion also won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1988, representing Switzerland – the original song she performed was composed by Swiss composer Atilla Şereftuğ. The competition broadcast worldwide also opened the last gates to an international career, and in 1990 Céline released her first English-language album, which was already her ninth album at the age of 22.
The most famous songwriters and musicians of the music industry worked on the disc, not for nothing, the Where Does My Heart Beat Now hit number four on the Billboard Hot 100, and the album has sold more than three million copies worldwide. Dion performed on The Tonight Show, Good Morning America and a number of other major US live shows, and the album won the 1991 Juno Award for Record of the Year.
5. He didn’t like the Titanic song at first
Céline Dion’s name has now merged with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet’s iceberg drama, but the legendary film was not the only one that bagged all the awards there are. The iconic My Heart Will Go On catapulted the singer into the elite of the music industry, winning an Oscar, a Grammy and a Golden Globe for the emotional title track, which became one of the best-selling singles of all time.
Given this award haul, it seems surprising that the Canadian diva wasn’t initially a fan of the soundtrack to James Cameron’s blockbuster. According to him, when he first heard the song, he didn’t like it and was worried that the Beauty and the Beast after his theme song, the industry will box him in. In the end, the singer was only willing to make a single recording of Will Jennings’ song, which was so successful that the director was immediately taken off his feet.
6. She married her manager
In December 1997, after a year of engagement, Céline said the happy yes to René Angélil, 26 years her senior, with whom they kept their romantic relationship a secret for months because of the age difference. In the end, the singer is not even in a public interview, but The Color of My Love In the liner notes of his 1994 bestseller album, he shared the news that they had tied the knot in an intimate ceremony held in Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica.
But starting a family didn’t turn out so well in a fairy tale. After years of trying, Céline and Angélil finally decided on artificial insemination: their son, René-Charles Angélil, was born in 2001. In 2010, Angélil announced that Dion was pregnant with twins. Eddy and Nelson are named after a French songwriter, Eddy Marnay, and activist, Nelson Mandela.
7. Famous for his overwhelming sense of humor
Céline Dion became a regular guest on late-night talk shows not only because of her professional merits, but also because of her sparkling sense of humor, with which she regularly steals the show from the TV presenters. Among other things, in 2002, Tonight Show host Jay Leno had to take back control of his own broadcast, but James Corden, who conducts car karaoke interviews, also invited singer. Their joint episode became one of the most watched recordings in the show’s history.
Caitlin Dickerson, a The Atlantic his journalist was even able to attend Dion’s performance in Las Vegas, which he claimed was the best live performance he had ever seen. “His singing was of course impressive. He took pleasure in showcasing his vocal range, his voice was warm and flexible, and he was very funny. He did a stand-up show in between songs and didn’t try at all to appear aloof. He swung his hips while strumming air guitar and told stories that took our breath away.”
8. She put her career on hold due to her husband’s illness
The singer was still at the top of the music industry in 2014, after more than three decades, when doctors found a cancerous tumor in her husband. Upon hearing the tragic news, Céline suspended her career indefinitely and devoted all her energy to her husband’s recovery, but in vain. René Angélil finally died of throat cancer on January 14, 2016 in Herderson, Nevada. His large-scale funeral was held in Montreal’s Notre-Dame Cathedral, where he and the singer said their happy yes to each other.
Céline also lost her brother just two days later, the successive upheavals caused a big break both in her private life and in her career. “I had to face the death of my husband, my manager, my best friend and my partner,” Dion said in an interview about the loss of Angélil. Since then, he shakes a bronze copy of Angélil’s hand before every performance, a ritual he never fails to perform before any of his performances.
9. Even after the tragedies, he came out with a new album
After continuing her Las Vegas show as promised to her husband, she announced in 2019 that she would delight her much-loved audience with a new album. Appropriately Courage with the self-titled album, he embarked on a multi-stop tour to let the world know that, after three years, he found the courage to take back control of his life, to speak, to sing again.
He started his tour in his home country, Canada, where he returned with the same people with whom he started his musical career. Unfortunately, fate did not allow him to finish the planned 100-stop concert series. Not long after, the singer was diagnosed with a rare, serious neurological disease, stiff-person syndrome.
10. Maybe it will be the last time he goes on stage
The official opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics will take place on Friday, July 26, on the banks of the Seine, on several kilometers of trails, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. More than 10,000 athletes and countless celebrities take part in the spectacular ceremony, who pass by the iconic sights of Paris, Notre-Dame and Pont Neuf.
It seems that Céline Dion, who has been living in seclusion for years due to her illness, will also give a concert at the large-scale event, Édith Piaf The Hymn to Love will sing his song titled Although her heartbreaking documentary was meant to be a precursor to a big comeback, the harrowing footage suggested the worst-case scenario: Céline Dion might never be able to take the stage again.
It is clear from his confessions that he is also not sure that he will be able to complete one more performance, but seeing his trials, we hope with him that he will not only live, but also sing for us. And we also understand that for him there is actually no essential difference between the two.
