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Celine Dion:
the story of a Star.
Céline Dion was born the youngest of 14
children in Quebec, the French province of Canada. It may
have started out that Céline's mother had not been
overly excited to find out that she was pregnant with
another, fourteenth child. However, that feeling quickly
faded when Céline arrived. Céline came 6 years after
her 13 siblings. However... little did her family know
that that child would turn into a superstar known around
the world for her magnificent talent, voice, and heart.
Her father, Adhemar, had worked odd jobs including a
logger, butcher, and even once a prison guard. Her
mother, Thérčse, stayed at home to raise her children
for the majority of her life. Céline's siblings all had
a passion for music, with beautiful voices and each
played musical instruments. (Céline plays the piano, you
know!)
Céline always found it so hard to go to school when all
she could think about was her family and singing. She
would rush home everyday after school to practice
singing. When her parents told her she had to do her
homework, she would complain for hours. Her helpful
brothers and sisters would usually end up doing it for
her.
Her parents owned a nightclub called Le
vieux baril. (The Old Barrel.) When Céline was young,
she begged her father to let her sing at it. Naturally,
he didn't want his daughter to sing at a nightclub, but
she was persistent and he eventually gave in. When
Céline sang, the audience was shocked and soon the news
spread about the little girl with the beautiful voice.
Within only a few weeks, when the public knew if Céline
was going to sing at the bar, the place would be filled.
Céline's sisters used to dress her up in a dress, a bit
of makeup, and a pretend microphone. She would stand up
on the table and sing, pretending she was a famous
singer...
Céline loved to be the star of the show. A big highlight
in her life was when she was 5 and sang at her brother's
wedding. All audiences- from her family to the public-
loved her.
Céline loved to sing, loved to be around her musical
family, and often dreamed of traveling and singing in
front of huge audiences. Céline did not really enjoy
school, and had a hard time concentrating in school
because she was distracted by her dreams. Besides, it
seemed as though school was taking her away from her
family. She wanted more than anything to stay home with
them.
Her mother knew about her dream, but told Céline that if
she wanted to be a singer she must be a real singer- not
one that just sang in bars and such. Céline, her mother
and her brother Jacques wrote a song, Ce n'était qu'un
ręve. (It Was Only a Dream.) They recorded it on a
little tape recorder they had borrowed. Then, they chose
to send it to René Angelil, the name of the manager they
had found on an album. The album was by one of Céline's
favorite singers, Jeanette Reno.
The tape sat in René Angelil's office for a long while.
He was going through hard times, and didn't pay attention
to the little package. That was, until Jacques called
René and told him to listen to the tape. He knew René
hadn't heard it... Jacques was positive that if he had,
René would have replied immediately. Céline's brother
was right. René listened to it and immediately afterward
asked Céline to come in and sing for him.
René wasn't sure about the shy little girl who walked
into sing for him. But when Céline sang- holding a pen
as if it were her microphone and imagining she was
performing in front of thousands of people, René knew
she could become a big star. He had so much confidence in
her; he mortgaged his house to put out Céline's first
album- La Voix du bon Dieu.
"She had a talent, obviously. ... She
was twelve years old." Rene said. He was sure she
would be a big star in Quebec and France within a few
years.
And René was right. She was an instant hit... the album
sold over a million copies. Between 1982- 1989, she
recorded dozens of albums, appeared on television shows,
and won many awards. Including several Felix Awards- the
Canadian equivalent of the Grammy. She was an
international superstar that won many international
awards. ...Without knowing a word of English!
It seems like every star has a struggle that arises with
the pressure of show business. In that aspect, Céline is
no different. It happened one night that she was about to
step out and do a concert. She was onstage and began to
sing- but no sound came out of her throat. It was a
nightmare.
At first, doctors said she would have to go through
surgery on her voice. Her voice may never be the same...
or worse, she may never be able to sing again. Still
trying to hold onto hope, she saw a throat specialist.
His reply was that she didn't need an operation- she just
needed to give her voice a 3-week rest without talking.
Céline quickly agreed to that, and it worked. Today, she
still gives her voice a rest a few days before singing a
concert. She communicates by writing, or when her mother
calls her on the telephone, she taps on the receiver to
communicate. 2 taps for no, one tap for yes.
-Back to the story of her career.- It was time to take a
new step- Céline was to learn English. She enrolled in a
Berlitz school and every day for two months studied
English. At the end of those two months, she was
bilingual! She then recorded her first English album,
Unison.
After 1.7 million records of Unison sold,
Céline was asked by Disney to record a song for the
animated film, Beauty and the Beast. She recorded the
song with Peabo Bryson that became an instant hit. (She
still looks back at that song and says that "Beauty
and the Beast" really boosted her career.) With that
song came her newest album, self- titled Celine Dion.
But during this time Céline's family was going through a
tragedy. Céline's niece, Karine had been battling with
Cystic Fibrosis. Céline was there the moment she passed
away. Céline's friend/ songwriter, J.J. Goldman, wrote a
song dedicated to Céline's niece. There is a French
version- "Vole," and an English version,
"Fly." Céline will always remember Karine.
"This is definitely the strongest thing that I have
ever done in my life, and the most important one."
(In each of her more recent albums, you can see a little
message that Céline writes to Karine.) And, ever since
practically the beginning of her career, Céline has
supported the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. (For more on
Céline and her involvement in the CCFF, please visit
this page.)
During Céline's stressful schedules of recording
sessions, television appearances, concerts, etc., she
didn't have time for a relationship. However, she was
starting to fall for her manager, René. René also found
himself in love with Céline. Naturally, they wanted to
keep this relationship a secret. (Otherwise it would be
perfect "food" for the tabloids.) However, with
the release of her next album, The Colour of My Love, she
wrote a message to René in the CD booklet. This
announced her love for René to the world. (Céline was
relieved to find out that her fans took the news -for the
most part- quite well.)
"Rene, for so many years I've kept our special dream
locked away inside my heart... but now it's getting too
powerful to keep this inside my heart... but now its'
getting too powerful to keep this inside of me...
So after all these years, let me 'paint the truth, show
how I feel, try to make you completely real'...
Rene, you're the Colour of My Love. L.V. Céline."
On December 17, 1994, Céline and René were
married. This event was televised live across Canada. It
has since been nicknamed Canada's Royal Wedding. Céline
wore a HUGE (well, how else can I describe it?) fluffy
white French lace, Italian silk, beaded wedding dress w/a
long train, and a huge headpiece actually sewn to her
head!
Time was going by fast... in 1996 she released a new
album, Falling Into You. It launched a huge concert tour
across the U.S. and world. She traveled around in private
jets and limousines, sometimes going to four different
cities in a week. She sang for crowds that consisted of
thousands of screaming fans.
In 1996 she sang "The Power of the Dream" at
the Olympics.
Céline had
worked day and night, devoted to her music. She was
realizing her dream. Finally, she was there.
Everyone knew Céline was going to with for artist of the
year at the 1996 Grammy's. Unfortunately, they were
wrong. And in general when most people don't win artist
of the year they also miss out on album of the year. But
Céline did win the Grammy for album of the year! And who
were the first people she thanked during her acceptance
speech? Her mom, dad, and brothers and sisters, of
course.
It was a tiring schedule, everything was so busy.
According to Céline- that's okay. She can deal with the
people, the publicity, and the schedules.
Céline and René were debating whether or not to release
another album after the major success of Falling into
You. Céline deserved a break after months of her hectic
lifestyle. Besides, she needed a break to try to make
another dream of hers come true- to have a baby.
However, Céline was at the top of her career, and it
wasn't ready to slow down for her baby. She was receiving
offers from some of music's greatest voices. Carole King,
the BeeGees, Luciano Pavarotti... even her idol, Barbra
Streisand, and all were willing to record songs with her.
She even received an offer to do another movie theme
song. So, she decided to make another album.
Let's Talk About Love was released in 1997.
After the release of this album, Céline was
right back on the public scene. She appeared on numerous
more shows, made music videos, and was back on a concert
tour. She won so many awards and was overwhelmed with the
success of the theme from the record- breaking movie
Titanic. The song is you all know it, "My Heart Will
Go On." It has won almost (*almost*) too many awards
and to this day is still winning awards.
Céline kept going on and on...
In the fall of 1998 she released another French album,
S'il Suffisait D'Aimer.
In November of 1998, she released her first ever English-
spoken Christmas album, These Are Special Times.
In the spring of 1999, Céline went through another
tragedy. Her husband, manager, and friend, René was
diagnosed with skin cancer. Céline had to cancel
numerous tour dates in the U.S. and Europe throughout the
summer months. She had planned on taking a break in 2000,
but she found herself taking a not- so relaxing,
unplanned, early break. Luckily, before long René began
to recover, and Céline was right back out onstage,
pushing towards her next break in 2000.
And that brings us up to present time. Céline's story
has a long way to go before it's going to finish. There
may soon be a pause in her career, but with our
understanding and above all, support, we hope she'll be
in the spotlight once again in the future. I'm sure that
then she'll have another big hit song like My Heart Will
Go On and her little child watching from backstage. :-)
Good luck, Celine!
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