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Dion, Céline

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Wikipedia-Article "Céline Dion"

Céline Dion

Origin Charlemagne, Canada
Country {{{country}}}
Years active 1981–present
Genre(s) Pop, soul, classical, rock
Label(s) Columbia, Epic Records
Members {{{current_members}}}
Past members {{{past_members}}}

Céline Marie Claudette Dion, OC, OQ (born March 30, 1968 in Charlemagne, Québec, Canada) is a Grammy, Juno and Oscar award-winning pop singer and songwriter. 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. Her first English album, Unison (1990), released on Sony Records, catapulted her breakthrough to the Anglophone music market.

Dion's music has been influenced by various genres, ranging from pop and rock and roll, to gospel and classical, and she is noted for her technically skilled vocals. During the late 1980s and 1990s, she released many chart-topping English and French records, her most successful being "My Heart Will Go On", the love theme to the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. After announcing a temporary break from entertainment in 1999, she returned to the music scene with the 2002 album, A New Day Has Come, and in 2004, received the Chopard Diamond award from the World Music Awards show for becoming the best-selling female artist of all time.[1] 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.

Contents

Biography

Childhood and career beginnings

Dion won the gold medal at the Yamaha World Song Festival in Tokyo in 1982.
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Dion won the gold medal at the Yamaha World Song Festival in Tokyo in 1982.

Céline Dion was the youngest of fourteen children born to Adhemar and Therese Dion in a poverty-stricken home in Charlemagne, a small town thirty miles east of Montréal, Québec, Canada. Named after a song her mother was singing while she was pregnant, she honed her talents by singing with her siblings from the age of five in the small piano bar belonging to her parents. From this age, she gained an appreciation for music of all genres, especially classical, and she decided that she wanted to become a singer. 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."[2]

At the age of twelve, together with her mother and one of her brothers, Dion composed her first song, "Ce n'etait qu'un rêve" ("It Was Only a Dream"). Her brother sent the song to music manager René Angélil, whose name he had found on the back of an album. Angélil, who was brought to tears by Dion's voice, immediately decided to make her an international success and mortgaged 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 local number-one single, making 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 and won both the gold medal and the Musician's Award for "Top Performer". In 1987, she was approached by Swiss songwriters Atilla Şereftuğ and Nella Martinetti, who asked her to represent Switzerland in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. 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 Incognito (1987), winning many Felix Awards, appearing on local television shows and becoming the first Canadian artist to receive a gold record in France. At the age of eighteen, she saw Michael Jackson performing on television and 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, so he had her long, curly hair cut, parted and shaved her eyebrows, and had her teeth capped to cover up the incisors that had prompted a Québec humor magazine to dub her "Canine Dion". She was also sent off to an English language school to polish her English and interviewing skills.

1990–1992: Career breakthrough

Dion's earlier singles and videos had a strong rock music influence.
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Dion's earlier singles and videos had a strong rock music influence.

Dion's attempt to break into the Anglophone market with Unison (see 1990 in music)—released one year after she had learned English—proved successful. For her English debut, Dion made sure to work with many established musicians, including David Foster, Vito Luprano, and others. The album was largely influenced by 1980s soft rock, fit for the adult contemporary radio format; a style that would permeate 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 and that Dion never attempted to "bring off styles that are beyond her". Additionally, he called her vocals "tastefully unadorned".[3] Stephen Thomas Erlwine of All Music Guide declared it as "a fine, sophisticated American debut".[4] Singles from the album included "Where Does My Heart Beat Now", a mid-tempo soft-rock ballad featuring an electric guitar, and "(If There Was) Any Other Way". Other songs on the album include the title track "Unison" and "I Feel Too Much". The album established Dion as a rising music artist in the United States and across Europe.

The video for "Beauty and the Beast" was shot while Dion and Bryson were recording the song.
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The video for "Beauty and the Beast" was shot while Dion and Bryson were recording the song.

Dion's real international breakthrough came when she teamed up with Peabo Bryson to record the title track for the soundtrack to Disney's successful 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 Written for a Motion Picture or Television, 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, Céline Dion (see 1992 in music). This album, like her debut, had a strong rock influence, but soul and classical music were also prominent. She again collaborated with Foster, as well as Diane Warren and Rick Wake, and the album was well received as her first, due to the success of the lead-off single. Other singles included the Gospel-tinged "Love Can Move Mountains", "Water from the Moon", "If You Asked Me To", 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 like The Tonight Show had propelled Dion to superstardom in America and the UK. 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 America, her French fans at home often felt neglected, and many criticized her for turning her back on them. At the Felix Awards show, she won an award for the "Anglophone Artist of the Year", and, in an attempt to reconnect with her French fans, Dion openly refused to accept the award on the grounds that she was, and will always be, a French, and not an English artist.[5]

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, fearful that the public would find the twenty-six-year difference between their ages perturbing, the relationship was kept a secret.

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. 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 1982 hit) and "When I Fall In Love", a duet with Clive Griffin. "Think Twice", though not a major hit in North America, became a chart-topper in the United Kingdom. It became the fourth single by a female artist to sell in excess of one million copies in the United Kingdom.[6]

The video for "Next Plane Out" shows Dion and her lover on the beach in the sunset. It started a trend of typical and clichéd love ballads, lyrics and videos.
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The video for "Next Plane Out" shows Dion and her lover on the beach in the sunset. It started a trend of typical and clichéd love ballads, lyrics and videos.

Dion kept to her French roots, releasing French recordings between each English record. These included Dion chante Plamondon, Céline Dion à l'Olympia (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 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.

There was a transitional period for Dion's musical offerings in the mid-1990s: she was slowly moving away from the strong rock influence and transitioning into a more pop and soul territory. 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 1997 album Falling into You presented her at the height of her popularity and success. 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 sounds; ornate orchestral frills and African chanting), and instruments like the Spanish guitars, trombones, the Cavaquinho, and saxophones created a legion of moods. Singles crossed over from fast-tempo, Gospel-tinged styles to soft-rock, dance-pop 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. The chart-topper "Because You Loved Me", written by Diane Warren, was a mid-tempo ballad that served as the theme to the film Up Close & Personal.

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 no real connections to the lyrics were shown.[7][8] However, other critics such as Chuck Eddy, Erlewine and Daniel Durchholz lavished the album as "compelling", "passionate", "stylish", "elegant", and "remarkably well-crafted".[9][10] Falling Into You became Dion's most successful album: it topped the charts in eleven countries and sold approximately thirty-two million copies, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time.[11] It also won Album of the Year and Best Pop Album at the thirty-ninth annual Grammy Awards ceremony. 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 and the Bee Gees recording the single "Immortality".
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Dion and the Bee Gees recording the single "Immortality".

Dion followed Falling into You with Let's Talk About Love (1997), publicized as its sequel. Recorded in London, New York City, and Los Angeles, it featured a host of special guests, including vocalists 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 a theme that had been found on all of Dion's preceding albums — "love". 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 the only 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, but much focus was placed on her on-stage movements, which often consisted of chest-pounding, backward bending, and other flashy movements.

Dion ended the 1990s with two more successful albums on Columbia Records: the Christmas album, These Are Special Times (1998) and All the Way... a Decade of Song, (1999). 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 remake 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, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan, and Shania Twain. She had also received many awards and accolades for her life achievements: she 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 she began with was no longer prominent in her releases. The progression was accompanied by a decline in critical appreciation, and she was seen as "the height of cookie-cutter banality."[12] Though commercially successful, her album received mixed reviews at best, with most suggesting that her work was predictable and banal. Rob O'Connor wondered how her work was so unsatisfying despite her incorporation of diverse music styles and collaborations with celebrated musicians. In a scathing review of Let's Talk about Love, he 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?"[13]

Dion was also criticized for some of her remakes and duets: the 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.[14] 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]". [15]

2000–2002: Career break

Dion singing "God Bless America" at a May 2, 2002 concert aboard the USS Harry S. Truman.
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Dion singing "God Bless America" at a May 2, 2002 concert aboard the USS Harry S. Truman.

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.

Dion had not lost touch with the public: after the September 11, 2001 attacks, she ended her break, 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".[16] She sang "God Bless America" again during pregame festivities for Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003.

2002–2003: Return and commercial decline

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 one of "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 showed a more mature side of Dion, evident in the title-track, "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, as she says "becoming a mother makes you a grown-up."[17] A New Day has Come resumed her commercial success — accompanied by media appearances, promotions, and interviews, it topped 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".[18] 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. To help promote the album, Dion performed with Destiny's Child and Brian McKnight in a special concert.

The upbeat tempo of "One Heart" and the bright colours and "party" style of the music video were a new direction to Céline Dion's work.
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The upbeat tempo of "One Heart" and the bright colours and "party" style of the music video were a new direction to Céline Dion's work.

Drawing inspiration from personal experiences, Dion released One Heart (2003), an album that encapsulated her appreciation for the joys of life and having fun.[19] Largely comprised of dance music, this album deviated from the soaring, melodramatic ballads that she was known and sometimes criticized for. Although achieving moderate success, the album 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 remake 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 work of the 1980s, but it was dismissed as Dion trying to please her corporate sponsors.[20]

The cover and music of 1 Fille & 4 Types (One Girl and Four Guys) showed Dion in a more relaxed state.
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The cover and music of 1 Fille & 4 Types (One Girl and Four Guys) showed Dion in a more relaxed state.

1 Fille & 4 Types (One Girl and Four Guys), (2003), fared better than her first two comebacks, and showed Dion trying 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, and Dion was described as "getting back to pop basics and performing at a level unheard in a while".[21]

By the mid 2000s Dion's music had changed even further. While in the 1990s, her albums contained many genres, sounds and moods, her later albums, drawing more influence from her life, had maternal overtones. Such was the case for Miracle (2004), a multimedia project conceived by Dion and photographer Anne Geddes. The theme centered on babies, and the work was a combination of images and music celebrating 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 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, echoing many fans and critics, wrote: "the whole earth-mama act is just opportunism".[22]

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.[23] Her albums became her lowest sellers up to this point—except, of course, for her Francophone releases. However, by 2005, Dion had accumulated sales of over 175 million records, and received the Diamond Award from the World Music Awards for becoming the best-selling female artist of all time, surpassing the sales of Mariah Carey.

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

Dion performing "I'm Alive" in her show A New Day...Live in Las Vegas.
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Dion performing "I'm Alive" in her show 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.[24] 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 and promoted by Josh Somerhalder, 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, the stage was not as creative and colorful, and sometimes it was hard to find the singer as the stage was overwrought with ornamentations and dancers. However, her stage presence improved and simpler costumes and appearance provided for an enjoyable show.[25] 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. Dion also sold 322,000 tickets and grossed $43.9 million in the first half of 2005, the trade paper, Pollstar, reported, and Billboard placed her show second in the Mid-Year Concert Chart. By July 2005, Dion had sold out 315 out of 384 shows, and because of its success, her contract was extended into 2007 for an undisclosed sum.[26] Her performances were compiled into an album of the same name.

Image

Unlike many pop stars of the contemporary music industry, Dion's image has not played a large role in garnering media attention or selling records: she dresses modestly in her videos, performances and public appearances, and has vowed never to wear revealing outfits. Her demeanor, 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." [27] Being perceived as a "diva", she is also somewhat of a 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 the MuchMoreMusic's 20 Top Divine Divas TV program, she was at number 3, behind only Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, but ahead of legends like Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin and Madonna. They also described her voice as "one of the most powerful vocal workouts ever to be recorded."

Dion has seldom been 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 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".[28]

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.

Dion has been an active supporter of many charity organizations worldwide. Since 1982, she has been promoting the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF) by participating in media interviews, public service campaigns, and in 1996, she helped the foundation to secure an important new sponsorship with Royal Airlines. In 1993 she became the foundation's National Celebrity Patron. 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 breast cancer research, education and awareness, and she also supports 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 new 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 just 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.

On [December 7, 2005]], Celine and Rene unveiled the results of the Growing Up Healthy campaign at Saint-Justine Hospital (Canada), which was started in December, 2002 with an aim to help the sick children . As godparents and spokepersons to this campaign, Celine and Rene were overjoyed to announce that the total amount raised was $125.4 million dollars, exceeding the initial goal of $100 million.

Selected discography

Further information: Céline Dion discography

Anglophone albums

Francophone albums

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^  “To be honoured at World Music Awards: Céline Dion best selling female artist of all time”, Ecstoday, September 13, 2004.
  2. ^  Rock on the Net. Celine Dion. URL accessed on November 30th, 2005.
  3. ^  Entertainment Weekly. Review--Celine Dion Unison. URL accessed on November 18, 2005.
  4. ^  All Music Guide. Review--Celine Dion Unison. URL accessed on November 18, 2005.
  5. ^  Celine Dion. Celine Dion Biography. URL accessed on November 10, 2005.
  6. ^  Celinedion.com. The Journey so Far. URL accessed on August 16, 2005.
  7. ^  Gardner, Elysa. Review: Falling Into You. Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, Calif.: November 16, 1997. pg. 68)
  8. ^  Stephen, Holden. Review: Falling into you. New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: April 14, 1996. pg. 2.30, 2 pgs)
  9. ^  All Music Guide. Review --Falling into You. URL accessed on November 1, 2005.
  10. ^  Entertainment Weekly. Music Review:Falling Into You-Celine Dion. URL accessed on November 30, 2005.
  11. ^  Angelfire.com. Celine Dion Discography. URL accessed on November 1, 2005.
  12. ^  findarticles.com. The unsinkable Celine Dion - French-Canadian singer - Interview. URL accessed on December 05, 2005.
  13. ^  Yahoo Music. Let's Talk About Love:Review. URL accessed on November 30, 2005.
  14. ^  Stewart, Allison. Review:All the Way...A decade of Song. Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Ill.: December 12, 1999. pg. 10)
  15. ^  Dollar, Steve. Review: These Are Special Times. The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Ga.: November 3, 1998. pg. C.01)
  16. ^  Taylor, Chuck. Celine Dion: God Bless America. Billboard magazine. New York: October 6, 2001. Vol.113, Iss. 40; pg. 22, 1 pgs.
  17. ^  VH1. Celine Dion: Let's Talk About Success: The Singer Explains Her Career High-Points. URL accessed on December 19, 2005.
  18. ^  Rolling Stone. Review--A ney Day has come. URL accessed on November 1, 2005.
  19. ^  Flick, Larry. One Heart. Billboard magazine. New York: March 29, 2003. Vol.115, Iss. 13; pg. 30, 1 pgs
  20. ^  Murray, Sonia. Celine Dion's latest takes easy, well-worn route. The Atlanta Journal–Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia: March 25, 2003. pg. C.1.
  21. ^  All Music Guide. Review--1 Fille & 4 Types. URL accessed on November 20, 2005.
  22. ^  Entertainment Weekly. Review:Miracle by Celine Dion. URL accessed on November 30, 2005.
  23. ^  Gardner, Elysa. Mariah Carey, 'standing again'. USA Today. November 28, 2002. Retrieved August 19, 2005.
  24. ^  Di Nunzio, Miriam. 'A New Day': Vegas gamble pays off for Celine Dion". Chicago Sun-Times, Mar 20, 2005.
  25. ^  Weatherford, Mike (2004). Show review: As Dion feels more comfortable, her show improves. Reviewjournal.com.
  26. ^  “Dion extends long Las Vegas stint”, BBC, Sunday, 19 September, 2004.
  27. ^  Op cit. Celine Dion: Let's Talk About Success: The Singer Explains Her Career High-Points.
  28. ^  Glatzer, Jenna (2005). Celine Dion: For Keeps, Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 100740755595.

Further reading

  • Dion, Céline (2001). Céline Dion: My Story, My Dream, Avon. ISBN 0380819058.

External links

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Preceded by:
Johnny Logan
Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest
1988
Succeeded by:
Riva
Preceded by:
Carol Rich
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
1988
Succeeded by:
Furbaz
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