"Celine close up"

[Koolan]

Celine close up

Examiner Exclusive

 

LAS VEGAS -- There are only 20 minutes left until showtime and Celine Dion still has a meet-and-greet and an interview to squeeze in. People are racing frantically up and down the hallway outside her pre-show chill-out area, but Dion couldn't be more relaxed. She emerges, fresh from hair-and-makeup, in a body-hugging, blue terry warmup suit and flip-flops, and plops herself into the chair next to mine.

 

"I'm sorry, I have allergies going on right now," she says, tissue in one hand and clutching a mug of hot water with the other. "People think [performers] don't get sick, but we do. But the hardest thing for me is to cancel a show and let down my fans."

 

Her "the show must go on" attitude is certainly admirable, but Dion isn't ashamed to admit she's fantasized about calling in sick to work before.

 

"Come on," she jokes, nudging me with her foot. "Sure, there's nights I don't feel like [performing]. But there are 4,000 people sitting out there [in the theater] right now expecting to see a show. So I go on. That's what it means, being a performer."

 

I ask Dion if "A New Day ..." ever feels like a job. With nearly 400 performances already under her belt and another 600 or so to go (Dion's engagement was recently extended through 2007), you couldn't blame her for thinking of each performance as just another day at the office. She insists, however, that the thrill is far from gone.

 

"No, not at all," she replies. "I mean that. I feel very privileged to be able to do what I love. It's not always easy, like tonight, but there's no other life, baby."

 

That life and access to it became community property when Dion was upgraded to international superstar status in the 1990s. But she says the way she lives her life, aside from a few obvious perks, hasn't changed one bit and she believes that's helped her stay off the radar of the dreaded paparazzi, whom she compares to curious toddlers.

 

If they think you're hiding something from them, they won't leave you alone," she explains. "If you tell a child, 'Don't do that' or 'Don't touch that,' what is the first thing that child is going to do? So me, my life is an open book. I've been in those magazines a couple times but, for the most part, they're not interested in me because I have nothing to hide. I say it all, I share it all."

 

The only part of her life Dion has tried to limit the public's access to is her son, Rene-Charles, who served as the inspiration for Dion's most recent album, "Miracle," a heartfelt homage to the unbreakable bond between a mother and a child.

 

"He was our miracle," she says. "We tried and tried for six years and, at one point, I thought, 'I have so much already, maybe this is the one thing life says I can't have.' It was very hard."

 

But just when Dion had begun to make peace with the prospect of life without children, she discovered she was pregnant; and overnight her priorities shifted. Being a good mom to Rene-Charles became No. 1, which she says played a huge part in her decision to give up touring (at least for now) and sign a multi-year deal with Caesar's Palace.

 

The time she spends with Rene-Charles is the only break (if you can really call taking care of a 4-year-old a "break") in the five-time Grammy-winner's busy schedule. Since returning from a self-imposed, two-year hiatus in 2002, Dion's life has been one recording session, concert, television appearance, interview or photo shoot after the next, leaving little time to relax, which the admitted workaholic says she's still learning to do.

 

"People tell me, 'Celine, you need to let go, you need to relax. Find a hobby.' But, honestly, this is what makes me happy -- my family and my work."

 

That passion and dedication to her craft has become comic fodder for some in recent years. For instance, one of "Saturday Night Live" player Ana Gasteyer's most popular bits was a characterization of Dion, complete with French accent, as an over-the-top, self-important diva who insists she's "finally knowing about being normal" because she recently learned to make toast.

 

"No matter what I say [about that], I'm trapped," says Dion. "If I say, 'Oh, I don't mind,' people will say, 'Yeah, right.' But if I say, 'Yes, I mind," then they'll say, 'Who does she think she is?' The truth is I loved it."

 

Something Dion will never live down is her performance at the 1998 Oscars, when she pounded her chest with her clenched fist during "My Heart Will Go On," a move that, like the song itself, has become virtually synonymous with the name "Celine Dion," so much so that Gasteyer worked it into her Dion impersonation.

 

"I had no idea that would have such a big impact," she says. "I was just trying to [convey] the emotion of the song and words weren't enough. It wasn't calculated. Things like that come naturally for me."

 

She pauses and smiles.

 

"But the fact that, six years later, you're still asking me about this, well, I guess it wasn't such a bad move, huh?"

source: http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/2005/02...en01_celine.txt

 

This is a great article!! She's so open about everything. I like how she calls the paparazzi, curious toddlers This writer seems to like Celine She pounded her chest on the Oscars for the first time ever? I guess that was a good move, Celine!!

[Mozinha]

CUTE CUTE CUTE!!!!!

[Bellamy]

She pounded her chest on the Oscars for the first time ever?      I guess that was a good move, Celine!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

definitely not the first time, but it's the most famous time.

[Clari]

Celine's so funny, LOL @ "curious toddlers" XD

 

Awww... "But the hardest thing for me is to cancel a show and let down my fans."

[1Celine12]

Those shows that were cancelled before were due to her hurting her neck. I love Celine's ambition to go on even if her body is telling her not to. Maybe we should learn from all this.

[Mozinha]

Those shows that were cancelled before were due to her hurting her neck.  I love Celine's ambition to go on even if her body is telling her not to.  Maybe we should learn from all this.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yes, definately

[ploup]

Thanks for the article

[MontYeo]

Excellent interview. The thing is, Celine loves to talk - and she's got a great intellect - a passionate intellect - behind that - that's why it's worth listening to her speak, and also to her sing!

[tativale]

CUTE! I LOVE IT!!! Thank You Vic!!!!!

 

Love "curious toddlers" hahahhahaha

[Celine's Wife]

AWWWWWWW she's so freaking cute!

[DjCeline]

she's soo funny and cute!!! .

thank you for the article