Name : Celine Dion
Birth Name : Celine Marie Claudette Dion
Birth Date : March 30, 1968
Birth Place : Charlemagne, Quebec,Canada
Height : 5' 7''
Celine Dion Detailed Biography
From
humble beginnings in a rural French Canadian home town, Céline Dion has
risen to international superstardom like a shooting star. Céline has
been called the premier contemporary pop vocalist of the Nineties. She
has earned music industry accolades from around the world: Grammy Awards
in the US, Juno and Felix Awards in Canada, and World Music Awards in
Europe. The entire world has seen Céline Dion literally transform
herself from a gifted pre-adolescent into an international superstar.
Born in Charlemagne (a small town 30 miles east of Montreal, Quebec,
Canada), Céline is the youngest of 14 children of a highly musical
family. Her parents, both musicians, operated a small club, and on
weekends, the entire family performed and entertained the local
population. From the tender age of 5, Céline sang with her siblings and
quickly acquired the ability to perform live. At the age of twelve,
together with her mother and one of her brothers, Céline composed a
French song which would forever alter the course of her life.
The demo tape containing the song was brought to the attention of René
Angélil, a well respected personal manager. In January 1981, René was so
taken by the voice of the young Céline, that he became determined to
make her an internationally known talent - he even mortgaged his house
to finance the recording of Céline's debut album!
Céline began to receive recognition for her talent in 1982, winning the
Gold Medal at the Yamaha World Song Festival in Tokyo, along with the
coveted Musician's Award for Top Performer. In 1983, she became the
first Canadian ever to receive a Gold Record in France.
The streak of recognition had only just begun.
By 1988, Céline had established a strong name for herself in her native
province of Quebec, where she was enjoying superstar status, receiving
numerous Felix Awards and racking up platinum albums. That same year,
Céline won the prestigious Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin Ireland,
where she performed live before a television audience of 600 million
viewers throughout Europe, the USSR, the Middle-East, Japan, and
Australia.
Céline's international breakthrough came when she 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
Céline's second English language album, called simply 'Céline 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.
Blessed with one of popular music's great voices, she has crossed all
barriers - even that of language - with her electrifying series of
international hits. With her breakneck pace of recording, video shoots,
touring and appearing on TV shows and awards specials, it seems like
Céline has time for little else. Not the case when it comes to an
important cause. Céline has used her talents to further the cause of the
Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In fact, one of Céline's most
emotional songs (''Vole,'' from the 'D'eux' album, later translated into
English as the song ''Fly,'' which appears on the 'Falling Into You'
album) is a touching memorial to her niece, Karine, who was taken from
her by this disease.
A new peak in Céline's spectacular career was reached when she released
her new album 'A New Day Has Come' in March 2002, which ended her
two-year hiatus. The album entered number one in more than 17 countries,
including Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Italy, Norway,
United Kingdom, and the United States within two weeks of its debut. It
features new tracks that range from pure 21st century pop, ''A New Day
Has Come'' to dramatic ballads ''Have You Ever Been In Love'' and ''I
Surrender,'' from breathtaking dance music ''Sorry For Love'' to a pair
of pre-rock classics ''At Last;'' and ''Nature Boy.'' Other highlights
include ''I'm Alive,'' ''Goodbye's (The Saddest Word),'' and ''Rain, Tax
(It's Inevitable).''
The release of the album was accompanied by a blitz of TV specials,
appearances on talk shows and magazine interviews all over the world.
In March 2003, Céline begins a three-year commitment to appear five
nights a week at Caesars Palace Coliseum in Las Vegas, a three-tier,
4000-seat arena designed and currently being built for her show. The
90-minute spectacle will introduce a new form of entertainment, a fusion
of song, performance art, theatrical innovation and state-of-the-art
technology that will inspire its own creative genre. The show is created
by Dragone Productions, a team led by Franco Dragone, the creative
spirit behind ten of the critically acclaimed productions by Cirque du
Soleil.
With each new release, Céline has managed to top her previous successes
and, along the way, has become one of the brightest stars in the world
of popular music. Who would have imagined that Quebec's best kept secret
could have conquered the world the way she has?
Looking back now, we should have known it all along.