11 - 17 April 2002
Issue No.581
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 11 - 17 April 2002 Issue No.581 |
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Limelight
"A new day has come"
The music world is buzzing, blazing and blowing over the return of one of the great virtuosos of the 20th century. A new century welcomes back the diva of divas. Two years ago, millions of fans were saddened when Céline Dion, a singer at the height of a brilliant international career, suddenly announced her retirement. What! Why? Where did she go? And why is she back? I resolved to seek the reasons for the exit and return of the Queen of Pop, the Nightingale of the North, Canada's National Treasure, the Divine Miss Dion. It appears Miss Dion was on a two-year hiatus during which she accomplished the greatest feat of all, won her greatest award, sang her sweetest song. Miss Dion had a baby! The baby is now one year old and Miss Dion is ready to resume her stellar, lucrative career. Appearing on all the appropriate major talk shows such as Barbara Walters, Larry King and Co., Dion is launching her new album with the auspicious title A New Day Has Come. Already number one on every major chart worldwide, the album is sending more than a ripple on satellite transmissions around the globe. Indeed, a new day has come for the little village girl from the little village town in the province of Quebec, Canada. Whether you are a pop music fan or not, Céline Dion is a twentieth century 'Cinderella' whose incredible 5 octave range voice, which has enchanted hundreds of millions, is in the Guinness book of records as the widest female range ever. Her meteoric rise from obscure and humble beginnings to super-stardom is a tale worth telling. It is also a tale of love as grand and as powerful as her own sublime voice.
The youngest in a family of 14 children, Céline was born 30 March, 1968 in Charlemagne, a village outside Montreal, in the province of Quebec, Canada. Her parents, both musicians, owned a small piano bar, and on weekends, the whole family would join in song and dance, to the delight of the local population. At five, Céline joined the troupe and although the youngest, she sang the longest, the hardest and the loudest. At age 12, together with her mother and brother, Céline composed a song in her native French, which came to the attention of a respected singer turned talent agent, René Angelil. Her electrifying voice left Angelil spellbound. This child's voice was a whole symphony orchestra. Though only a very little girl, skinny and helpless, Angelil discovered her will of steel, expressed in her amazingly powerful voice, full of purity and emotion. It was nothing less than heavenly. So convinced was he of this hidden treasure, he mortgaged his own house to finance her first album. He sent a "demo" to one of his heroes, French songwriter, Eddy Marnay who had written for the likes of Piaf, Mouskouri, Montand and Streisand.
On hearing little Céline, Marnay cried "c'est la voix du bon dieu" (It's the voice of God) He sat and wrote her a song by that same name. Céline sang Marnay's song on Quebec's most popular talk show, leaving the whole province in a trance. Angelil wasted no time. By Christmas, her second album was released Céline Chante No‘l. The wheel of great fortune for both of them was already turning.
The following year she participated in the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, she sang Tellement j'ai d'amour pour Toi. She also represented France with Eddy Marnay's song La Voix du Bon Dieu. She sang with such depth of feeling, such power, such pathos, it was hard to believe she was 14, not 40. From 1,907 contestants and 30 finalists, Céline won Tokyo's Gold Medal in front of 115 million TV and satellite viewers.
The diva is back
René gave her wings and she flew high over the skies of her Quebec and the rest of Canada and France. With d'amour ou d'amitié she became the first Canadian ever to win a gold medal record in France in 1983. As she grew, so did her voice, her power, her stature and her legions of fans. Her voice learned to express thirsts of passion and longing, pains of illusions and disillusions. Always by her side, Angelil watched her flourishing youth blossom with every new year, every new song. She held out both her hands to him. With tender confidence and classic silence, René steered her course all the way to the top. But though the French world was at her feet, the world of the English had not yet heard of Céline Dion. She could not even speak the language. Angelil was determined to win the vast American market next door. She studied and practiced and worked hard. When Disney called, she was ready. She sang the title song to the animated hit film Beauty and the Beast with Peabo Bryson, and won the Oscar as well as the Grammy for best song in 1992.
While the 80s marked her reign in France, it was the English that would make her the international superstar she would become in the 90s. Britain quickly took to Céline, putting her song Think Twice from her album The Colour of Love 5 weeks on top of the British charts, an unprecedented achievement since 1965, during the halcyon days of the Beatles. Céline had achieved what had heretofore been impossible, introducing French music to the upper reaches of the British charts. The little girl from Charlemagne had grown to be totally dependent on her agent, her mentor, her manager and her friend, every moment of her life. Her attachment, gratitude and adoration was plain for the world to see. Despite the fact that he was 26 years her senior, twice married with three children, René and Céline tied the knot in 1994. Their devotion to each other was touching, so unique in the world of show business. But stormy seas lay ahead. Far from living "happily ever after", René Angelil soon discovered that he had cancer of the throat. Céline, who had just lost a niece to cystic fibrosis, was devastated. She accompanied René everywhere and concentrated on helping him overcome his ordeal, and together they did. Film history's biggest blockbuster, "Titanic" was awaiting Céline. Her rendering of the love theme from the tragic film, touched hearts worldwide, converting non-fans, winning her another Oscar and Grammy. When she cried out My Heart Will Go On, the rest of the world cried with her.
Blessed with pop music's truly great voices, Dion's awards could fill volumes. In the midst of her professional success that knew no equal, between videos, albums, conert tours, TV shows, specials and personal appearances, all Céline Dion wanted now was to have a baby. So she dropped everything and she did. The baby was born January 25th 2001 and christened René Charles Angelil. The family will now live under the Nevada sun where Céline will be singing at the specially built Coliseum Theatre, seating 2,000, attached to the classy Caesar Hotel in Las Vegas. She will work 5 nights a week and spend the days and weekends with René father and René son. She wished to play golf, so she bought a golf course. Her residences around the world can fill a city suburb. She also bought an island in Canada where she plans to build a chateau for her Renés.
A New Day Has Come, an inspiring title to her new album, is like a dream come true, like a wish fulfilled, like a prayer granted. Would it be more than just a title to a new song on a new album, the world would truly have reason to rejoice! Meanwhile we continue to sing with Céline Dion.
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