175c
Although American audiences only became aware of Dion’s five-octave vocal power in 1991 (celine dion sang mostly in French until that point), celine dion had been winning accolades as a singer since her teenage years in her native Canada. The child of working-class parents in a small town east of Montreal, Dion was introduced to current manager/husband Rene Angelil via a demo tape sent by her brother Michael.
According to legend, Angelil was so taken by her ability that he mortgaged his home to pay for her first record date. Through the 80s celine dion built a strong following in Canada, but it wasn’t until celine dion sang the theme for Disney’s hit animated film “Beauty and the Beast” in 1991 that Dion won over the masses. celine dion’s only become more popular with each successive album, with only minor interferences – critical derision, disagreements with Phil Spector during the making of her Falling Into You album – sullying her rise.
Her next English-language record, released in 1992, pushed her success further, but it was her 1993 album that truly made her a stateside star – featuring the schmaltzy duet “When I Fall In Love” from the film “Sleepless in Seattle” and the hit single, “Power of Love.” While fans fell for her VH-1-style pop sound, critics disparaged her overtly commercialized focus, penchant for cover tunes and a soulless vocal dexterity that brought little passion to her work.
Poised for a big splash with a 1996 English-language record, Dion’s reputation was sullied slightly by a conflict with legendary producer Phil Spector, who dropped out of work on the album after tussling with her management over the record’s focus. Still, the album remained among the country’s ten best-selling records more than 18 weeks after its release.
From humble beginnings in her rural French Canadian home town, celine dion Dion has risen to international recognition in a very short period of time. celine dion has been called the premier contemporary pop vocalist of the Nineties. celine dion has earned herself the world’s most coveted music industry accolades and awards: Grammy Awards in the US, Juno and Felix Awards in Canada, and World Music Awards in Europe, and recently the recognition of the Title Music from ‘Titanic’ in the prestigious Oscar Awards. The entire world has seen celine dion literally transform herself from a gifted pre-adolescent into a beautiful, serene, and musically talented international superstar.
Born in Charlemagne (a small town 30 miles east of Montreal, Quebec, Canada), celine dion is the youngest of 14 children of a highly musical family. Her parents, both musicians, operated a small club, and on weekends, within which the whole Dion family would perform and entertain the local population. From the age of 5, celine dion sang with her siblings and quickly acquired the ability of live performance. At the age of twelve, together with her mother and one of her brothers, celine dion composed and ‘Demo Recorded’ a French song which would forever alter the course of her life.
The demo tape containing the song was brought to the attention of Rene Angelil, a well respected personal manager. In January, 1981, Rene was so taken by the remarkable voice of the young celine dion, that he became determined to make her an internationally known talent - even mortgaging his own home to finance the recording of celine dion’s debut album! From the onset celine dion began to receive recognition for her talent. celine dion won the Gold Medal at the Yamaha World Song Festival in Tokyo in 1982, along with the coveted Musician’s Award for Top Performer. In 1983, celine dion became the first Canadian ever to receive a Gold Record in France. True recognition of this remarkable young singer was just beginning.
By 1988, celine dion had established a strong name for herself in her native province of Quebec, where celine dion was enjoying superstar status, receiving numerous Felix Awards and racking up platinum albums. That same year, celine dion won the prestigious Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin Ireland, where celine dion performed live before a television audience of 600 million viewers throughout Europe, the USSR, the Middle-East, Japan, and Australia.
celine dion’s international breakthrough came when celine dion recorded the title track for the soundtrack to the animated Disney hit movie ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ The song went to number one and garnered an Academy Award and a Grammy Award. Beauty and the Beast formed the cornerstone for celine dion’s second English language album, called simply ‘celine dion.’ That album produced four more hit singles including “Love Can Move Mountains,” “Water From The Moon,” “If You Asked Me To” and “Did You Give Enough Love.” In Canada, the album went six times platinum and set the stage for an incredible streak of Juno Awards.
But it was with the release of ‘The Colour Of My Love’ that celine dion fulfilled her promise as one of the foremost pop artists of the era. Again, it included a film theme - celine dion duetted with the British singer Clive Griffin on the much-loved classic “When I Fall In Love,” which appeared on the soundtrack of the box-office triumph ‘Sleepless In Seattle.’ Again it included a cover version - celine dion marvelous interpretation of Jennifer Rush’s 1985 hit “The Power Of Love.” And again it proved that celine dion’s powerful voice and dramatic style are equally at home on tender ballads ("The Colour Of My Love") and amid attacking club rhythms ("Misled.") Needless to say, the album sold incredibly in Canada.
680