I would like to tell you about my favourite singer, Celine Dion.
Celine Dion is one of the biggest international stars in pop music history, selling more than 200 million albums worldwide. She was born in Quebek, Canada in 1968. She came out of a large work-class family being the youngest of 14 children. Celine Dion began singing in her parents’ piano bar when she was just five years old. By the age of 12 she had written one of her first songs, «Ce N’etait Qu’un Rêve», which she recorded with the help of her mother and brother and shipped off to a manager named Rene Angelil. After weeks with no response from Angelil, Celine’s brother Michel phoned him and said, «I know you haven’t listened to the tape, because if you had, you would’ve called right away.» Angelil called the family back the same day to set up a meeting with Celine. When the 12-year-old performed in his office in Montreal, Angelil cried and set in motion the process of making her a Quebecois, and later international star. In 1983 she became the first Canadian to have a gold record in France and she won a gold medal at the Yamaha songwriting competition in Japan. There was also a triumph in the Eurovision song contest in 1988.
When she was 18, Dion saw Michael Jackson performing on television and told Angelil that she wanted to be a star like him. Angelil’s ordered her to take 18 months off to remake her image. She was also sent off to English school to polish the language that would help her to break into the American market. When she emerged from this process, she had made an amazing transformation.
The payoff came almost immediately. Her 1990 breakthrough album, Unison, was released in the U.S.A and produced several hit songs, but it was her duet with Peabo Bryson on the theme song of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast that was her true breakthrough. The song reached number one on the pop charts and won both a Grammy and an Academy award. «Beauty and the Beast» was also featured on her second English album.
During this time there were also important developments in Dion’s personal life. In 1988 Angelil crossed the line from manager to romantic partner. Fearful that fans would find the 26-year difference in their ages unsettling, the couple kept their relationship a secret for several years. But their 1994 wedding in Montreal’s Notre Dame Basilica was celebrated not only by the 250 invited guests, but by millions of fans worldwide.
One of the hardest working stars in show business, Dion continued to record and perform on a schedule that would kill most people. She recorded six albums between 1992 and 1996, when her album Falling Into You took her to a new level of stardom. 1996 also brought her another honor; she was asked to perform at the opening ceremonies of the Atlanta Olympics. After she recorded «My Heart Will Go On,» the theme song for James Cameron’s blockbuster movie Titanic, she reached worldwide popularity.
Dion needed a break after more than a decade and a half of activity. In 1999, her husband Angelil was diagnosed with cancer. Celine announced a temporary retirement so that she could spend more time at home and have a child. She gave birth to a son in January 2001.
Dion returned to the public eye in March 2002 with A New Day Has Come. The album debuted at number one in over 17 countries.
In 2003 there came an album One Heart. Dion released her next English Language studio album, Miracle in 2004. Miracle had a theme centering on babies and motherhood.
Then there were 2 Francophone albums: 1 fille & 4 types, released in October 2003 and D’elles, released in 2007. Later that same year, Dion released the English album Taking Chances.
The French-language album, Sans attendre was released in 2012 and was a great success in all French-speaking countries.
In 2010 Celine gave birth to two healthy twin boys.
Her recordings are mainly in French and English. During her career, Dion has won five Grammy Awards. She is the second best-selling female artist in the US, with her albums Falling Into You and Let’s Talk About Love both certified Diamond in the US. In addition, her 1995 album D’eux, is the best-selling French-language album of all time. In 2004, after surpassing 175 million in album sales worldwide, she has become the best-selling female artist of all time. Dion remains the best-selling Canadian artist of all time with record sales of more than 200 million copies worldwide.