Celine Dion
Celine Dion was born Celine Marie Claudette Dion in 1968 to a poor family in the Charlemagne,
Canada. She is a world-renowned
singer, as well as an actress, songwriter, and entrepreneur. She first started as a teen star in the French-speaking world. Her first record was financed by her own manager (now her husband) after he mortgaged his home. Her very first Anglophone album (Unison) was released in 1990. This album established her as one of the world’s most
famous divas.
Early Childhood and Career
Celine is the youngest child of a violinist mother, Therese Tanguay, and an accordionist father, Adhemar Dion. She was raised as a Roman Catholic, and eventhough her childhood was spent in poverty, her own account tells a happy childhood. Her first manager was Rene Angelil, a music manager who soon became her husband. Angelil was so greatly impressed by Dion’s singing that he decided to make her a popular diva. In order to fund Dion’s first record, Angelil mortgaged his home. The effort paid fruitfully when the record made a number one hit. Celine Dion instantly became a famous star in
Quebec. During the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival held in Tokyo, Japan, she won the “Best Song” and “Top Performer” awards. In 1983, she also became the first Canadian artist to receive a French gold record. After the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland, Dion became more popular in other countries in Asia, Europe, and Australia.
Conquering America
Before conquering the American stage, Dion underwent a change of image. She had dental surgery to improve her overall look and was tutored by Ecole Berlits in 1989 to improve her English skills. In order to capture the English-speaking audiences, she had to go through extreme lengths to develop her English and improve her appearance on stage. In 1990, she released her first English Album under the name Unison.
The 1992 Breakthrough
In 1992, Celine Dion’s second English album became a solid US platinum, selling about 2 million copies worldwide. As Dion became more proficient in English, her fame rose to higher levels. She was making concerts in the UK, in Spain, in Japan, and many other countries. She began to tour the US in 1993 and became an established pop star along with other popular names such as Whitney Houston and Barbra Streisand. Her singing was more focused on powerful romantic ballads, as well as on dance tunes all written by professional songwriters.
Career Break and Return to Music
In the years 2000 to 2002, Dion took a break from music and the performing arena. She gave birth to a son in 2001, but then went back to performing in 2003 when she had a $100M contract at the
Las Vegas Caesar’s Palace. For the record, she won 20 Junos and 33 Felix awards, earned $55M a year, and sold over 175M albums all over the world. She also won 5 Grammys and other outstanding awards. In 2010 she gave birth to twin boys.
Popular Songs
Some of the most popular songs by Celine Dion include Because You Loved Me, My Heart Will Go On, Without You, I’m Your Angel, The Power of Love, All By Myself, and Beauty and the Beast.