June 7, 2008 - Stockholm, Sweden (The Globe Arena)

[boyblackuk]

"A song for you"

 

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Thank you for posting.

She was out of pitch a few times. It was good but to be honest, I expected more.

 

I must have been listening to a different song from u it fantastic

[Bellamy]

Had anyone posted these photos?

 

http://img192.imagevenue.com/loc582/th_35338_21107274_122_582lo.jpg

 

http://img108.imagevenue.com/loc961/th_35355_21107275_122_961lo.jpg

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[anewdayhascome]

Awesome!

[golfpro]

Concert was fab as expected. Celine flew in from Berlin last night for the concert and I think is basing herself there for the next few concerts.

[stevo]

ASFY was amazing- first time I've enjoyed it.Yeeha!

[godessceline]

Oooohh my God, I don't know where to start. Stockhoooolm!! First of all: no, I never waited outside her hotel. My dad doesn't know stockholm and wasn't too keen on the idea of driving round aimlessly trying to find her hotel after having spent six hours in a car already. I was absolutely gutted at first (but didn't show it) but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because I gave her my letter. I gave her my letter and she was right in front of me looking down at me. This is going to sound totally exaggerated and psychotic but I can't believe it.

 

I had written a (quite long, haha) letter to her that same evening, and I knew I wanted to try and give it to her. Third row is a great seat and since I know at least somewhat what the stage design and set list are like since Paris; I also had an inkling of when she would be closer to the edge of the stage. (I was opposite of the "My Love" section). She started "Because You Loved Me" and started walking closer and it felt like the right moment to try and give it to her. Not only was she close to the edge but the song describes so well the role she has played in my life, and it felt like the right moment to me...symbolical. (of course this was all just in my own head. ) I excused myself as I passed the people in my row (wasn't too far from the end of it which made things easier) and moved towards the front of the stage. I don't think my heart has EVER beaten that fast. There was that "rope" stop right in front of it with the guards behind it, and I tried making eye contact with the one closest as I bent down to go under it. (I was taking a huge risk here, I know). I tried showing him the letter before I approached Céline so he wouldn't at least have an idea about what I wanted to do. She was singing but noticed someone was at her feet and looked down. And this is where my mind goes blank. I remember me holding the envelope out to her to show her what it was before I left it on the stage floor. I remember her looking down at me and reaching her hand out to me and saying "thank you" softly but I can't remember...was she still singing when she said it? What verse? Did I smile at her or did I seem serious? Did I meet her gaze when she looked at me? I don't know. I don't know, I don't know. I just....(and I'm about to start crying here) looked up at her and saw that warm, loving look on her face as she reached her arm out to me before she turned around to carry on with the song. At this point, the guard next to me had already grabbed my arm and in the corner of my eye I saw another one approaching. I appreciate the fact they care for her safety and in that way they were doing their job perfectly (which feels nice, knowing she's well looked after) but for God's sake, it was just a letter. I promise there's no anthrax in it. I hurried back to where I was supposed to be and I don't remember much of the rest of the song. I've gone over that moment by the edge of the stage a million times in my head, trying to figure out how she saw it whens he looked down at me. How did she perceive me? Did I seem insecure to her? Did I look....weird? Was she wondering what i wanted when she saw the guard react? All of these things are going through my mind when in reality, all it probably was to her was that she saw me, saw the letter, showed her appreciation (and maybe got a little curious ) and that was it for the time being. In reality, it was only a matter of seconds but in my head...time stood still. Ten years of pain and memories flashed before me so quickly, but somehow, those few seconds in front of her lasted an eternity. I can't explain it. And I probably sound psychotic now but I'm all there, I promise. Did ANYONE happen to film "Because You Loved me" from last night? I'd so love to have it.

 

I have to say I'm a little paranoid now, wondering if she actually got the letter? I remember reading somewhere that someone collects everything left on stage for her but I don't know if that is still the case. I think so as she carried on singing from different places on the stage without picking it up but I was so gone after that I forgot to check. I hope that security guard didn't remove it or something. I don't know. I certainly have no illusions about a reply from her, and that was never the point of this anyway. If she reads the letter, if she knows how much she's helped me...that is all I want.

 

 

I was really worried about the crowd because Swedish crowds don't tend to be very warm or enthusiastic (apart from rock people and teenage girls with their boy bands) but OMG the crowd was absolutely FANTASTIC!! They were all like me! *lol* Even shout-outs and "I love you"'s all through the night, fantastic! She was touched as well and this time, "My Love" made her voice shake more than I've ever heard it do before. Close to sobbing, even. I love her.

 

Rober Wells; amazing musician and creator of some quite spectacular shows here in Sweden, co-wrote and played as, some of you might know, piano on the studio version of "A Song For You". I had totally forgot about this so we were all absolutely gobsmacked when she introduced him and he walked down from the audicence. She tried explaining how emotional it had been for her to record the song and feel the vibrations from his piano in her microphone at the same time but this was after "My Love" and she was still moved so she struggled to find the words (which the Swedish papers of course picked up on ). They performed the song together and it was absolutely amazing, absolutely perfect. Just him on the piano and her, FEELING that song like never before. I have a shot from one of the screens and her FACE...she was so into it. The crowd went absolutely wild afterwards; roaring,and stomping their feet as they got up for a standing ovation. It was such a fantastic night, I can't believe it's over. I'm still in a haze after last night's "moment" (if you can call it that) but I know that once these past few weeks start to sink in and I've worked them through and turned them into memories...I will feel empty. Seeing her on stage three times in three weeks, PLUS seeing her outside the hotel and looking into her eyes last night has made me..."used" to seeing her, if that makes sense. And I love that feeling. It's going to be so hard to let go of that when I don't even know if I will ever see her again. Ever. That first week in Paris...it felt comforting, safe, somehow, to know that she was basically just down the road. Even though I wasn't actually in the octagon, she was nearby. Having said that I would never, ever dream of bothering her. Even standing in front of her last night, I was worried...was I bothering her? Putting her off when she was trying to sing? I over analyze things like crazy.

[I Surrender]

Nice pics. Thanks.

[zoea2812]

The night sounded fantastic. Wish I could have been there.

[Dionesque]

Thank you for your loooong, interesting review, godessceline!!!

 

Wow, your story about the letter sounds so familiar to me!!

You know, i also had a letter for her, I brought it to the first concert I went to (in Anterp) and i also thought about gaving it to her while she was on stage. I had the advantage of being in the front row that night but still... I was too afraid about the security guards and even if I did some steps forward when she was very close to the edge of the stage in front of me, I didn't dare to cross that "rope" thingy.... :S I felt really bad about it later but it was stronger than me... She noticed me staying in front of her, that's for sure! Maybe she even saw the letter... Anyways, I handed the letter to someone from her team later on, I know she received it so this is the main thing.

[Frida]

godessceline: aaaw, that was you? (jag satt snett bakom där du stod )

[Teodora]

I love A Song For You! Loved it on the album, I love it live! It sounds perfect, just her amazing voice, the piano and violin. Perfect! That's what she should be doing. Sing more new songs, not the same old ones. As good as they are and as much as I love them, we've all been hearing them a million times before. And these new songs are fabulous, they need to be sung live!

[Davey84]

oooh it's really MUCH better then the album version! I didn't even think about her singing this song live!! I guess it was a one off for Sweden! I really hope these gems will make their way to the dvd... did you read that SONY??? I SAID I really hope these gems will make their way to the dvd

 

 

MP3 A Song For you

 

http://www.zshare.net/audio/13294488027ce88f/

 

can someone upload it somewhere else? cos I only get a wmp load... not a real download

[zoea2812]

I have just seen the "A song for you" from the Sweden concert on YouTube. It looked and sounded brilliant. Far far better than the album version.

[I Surrender]

I watched the studio recording of A song for you on friday and was amazed by it then and live its even better.

[fred]

Thank you everone for posting vids and reports! Can't believe she's been here, hehe.

It would be wonderful to have this on DVD since Globen is rather intimate. However this is the first time (judge by the photos and vids) I've seen Globen in such unglamorous glow, it looked so cheap and dusty.

 

Don't know if this has been mentioned, but did she do Think Twice???

 

I will soon post a translation of an official report from Sweden's most respected media reporter.

 

/fred

[CSCfan]

No I hope this won't be on DVD...just to punish you for not going to the show dear Fred....

[Frida]

Thank you everone for posting vids and reports! Can't believe she's been here, hehe.

It would be wonderful to have this on DVD since Globen is rather intimate. However this is the first time (judge by the photos and vids) I've seen Globen in such unglamorous glow, it looked so cheap and dusty.

 

Don't know if this has been mentioned, but did she do Think Twice???

 

I will soon post a translation of an official report from Sweden's most respected media reporter.

 

/fred

 

Who? Unfortunately I read the reviews on aftonbladet and expressen, but I didn't expect any better from them..

[fred]

Review from Expressen by Sweden's most respected media reporter Anders Björkman. (And indeed Frida, the only journalist Expressen(or any Swedish media) has who can be called 'a true journalist'). This guy has been around for a while.

 

I know I didn't pay much attention to Sebbaboa's article quoting lessons, so this is not the way it "should" be layout wise.

 

Expressen, june 8 2008

Anders Björkman

 

Powerful, but one soon gets tired.

 

**

Celine Dion

Globen, Stockholm

No pause, 100 straight minutes

Was the grand piano out of tune?

 

Big singer, sparkling show, enthusiastic audience, but personally I am surprisingly not too moved.

The show is suggestive, elegantly directed and the stage is an enormous cube with audience on four sides. It is a piece of engineering art, which moves up and down and to the sides. There ride musicians, backing vocals and eight acrobatic dancers.

Celine Dion stands on an elevated cube on the cube, when she for the first time lets loose the great voice. The fans recognizes each song and she shows the notorious gestures. Pat on the hip, long arm straight up and the big hands with the long fingers.

It feels powerful to start with, but I grow tired fast. Here are no nuances, she lets the valuable voice roar, the orchestra rumbles too hard and the same sound carpet stays on.

 

She also misses nuances when she speaks. French drama meets Las Vegas-acting and I don’t believe for one second neither the words nor the tears.

She skillfully does a number by Robert Wells, who pretends to descend from the grandstand and plays piano, just like he does in a song on her album.

But her recap of the incredible moments in the studio with Robert becomes a roar of laughter which somewhat peals off the edge of the song, where she sings only to piano comp and actually shows that she knows what nuances are.

And yes, the Titanic-song comes as well - when the audience has applauded for so long that she has time for a sixth clothing change.

But the magical stage, it was something really extra.

 

/fred

[Frida]

That was written by Anders?! Jeez... He gave her 2/5, SERIOUSLY?! Give me a break... 2 isn't even "good", it's "acceptable"

[Thomas]

At least he liked the stage! lol

[I Surrender]

They always find somethin to moan about. Thats their way of saying they actually really like her

 

The fans were happy and thats the main thing.

[Shaun]

Is the article that cruel though? Celine does act during the show, most people love it but it's easy to see how it would annoy the neutral spectators. Let's face it, we've seen the same "emotional" performance of "My Love" numerous times now and do we all honestly believe that Celine's tears are genuine at every single show? Again, they may well be, but it's easy to see how the cynics doubt it.

 

But yes, as Thomas said, at least he liked the stage.

Edited June 8, 2008 at 10:03 PM by Shaun

[CSCfan]

Let's face it, we've seen the same "emotional" performance of "My Love" numerous times now and do we all honestly believe that Celine's tears are genuine at every single show?

 

Yes, we have....but the critics in each different country haven't...

 

Besides, if you would be standing/sitting right in front of her during that part you would know it's real....at that moment Céline clears her head and puts so much emotion & passion into the song and its meaning, it becomes real. At the end when she's pointing & looking straight in front of her....it's not too anyone particular, she just does it with all her heart, to a 'space' in front of her....she's million miles away at that point. It's definately real..

[I Surrender]

No doubt about it. The song will always be special to her and the people's reaction to it gives it an extra dimension. No doubt in my mind its an act. No way.

[Teodora]

Obviously not a fan... At least he didn't make stupid remarks about her voice, he admits it's amazing. And he obviously knows nothing about Celine. She is a very emotional being. OK, sometimes she does act, I can't believe she can get emotional too tears every single concert, but I do believe they're real some of the times. And even when they're not coming from the heart, let's give it up for Celine - the actress! C'mon, most actors out there need fake tears, Celine does it for real, each time, and each time it seems real, when you're there, even if afterwards, knowing she does this in all the concerts, you imagine it can't be for real all the time. Then again, most people attending concerts don't follow Celine as closesly as we do, and they don't know. For them, Celine is moved to tears that night. Am I making any sense?

Anyway, bad review, but he obviously doesn't like her music at all. I bet it's another hard rock fan sent to a Celine concert

[fred]

Haha! Indeed he liked the stage. And I could also notice a compliment for her performance of A Song For You.

 

And yes, Frida Anders Björkman did write this, I am sure even critical little me would had been a bit more kind. I am at least very glad it was Anders Björkman and not Anders Nunstedt who reported from Céline's concert, Nunstedt's taste (or lack of taste) in music is somewhat bitter tasting to say the least.

 

I found yet another report from the concert, the same new paper however, but slightly more positive.

 

Expressen.se june 8 2008

Tobias Rosvall, Alexandra Sundqvist

 

Expressen.se reported directly from Céline Dion’s concert.

 

This Saturday came circus Céline Dion to Stockholm.

The world artist awakened a full Globen with her voice.

Expressen.se covered the concert at place.

Read the direct report here.

 

Right after half past seven at Saturday night did the supporting act Calaisa walk up on the square stage in the middle of Globen. The sisters, who contributed in this years Melodifestival, warms up the exited audience. The “Schlagerballad” “If I could” gets most ovations and projects to gigantic screens.

The spirit in the arena is high, even if people drop in one by one.

It’s noticeable that the fans are waiting for the big star of the evening - Céline Dion.

 

After delivering a preview of the new album the countrypopband gets off stage. The audience is on needles, waiting for the Canadian songbird. Meanwhile more and more drops in in Globen.

 

When Céline Dion gets lowered down on stage in a video cube rises a roar of excitement in the audience sea. Wearing a pink dress she starts off with the song “I drove all night” as the orchestra arises from the stage floor. Second song is “The power of love” which is decorated by powerful light effects and a tone secure voice.

After she praises Calaisa.

- They are fantastic, she bursts out.

 

Then the evenings most beautiful moment takes place. Dion performs the power ballad “It’s all coming back to me now” and follows this with “Because you loved me”. The sing-along roars between the rows of chairs.

 

The nights first clothing change takes place. The world star shows up in a silvery dress and a big white cape which flickers by the winds of the Carola-fan. The amazing “All by myself” builds up to end in a magical a capella- crecendo - the audience stands up and cheers again.

Eight dancers show up and Dion changes clothes again.

Then she fires a set of songs from the latest album “Taking chances”.

 

The famous duet “I’m your angel”, which Dion recorded with R. Kelly, is being sung together with one of the backing vocalists - and this is actually slightly better than the original.

 

Next Robert Wells shows up on stage! The long haired pianist has actually written the song “A song for you” together with Andreas Bagge for Celine Dion.

Dion takes the opportunity to praise Wells before they nail the song.

- He is a fantastic artist, she says to the audience.

She continues:

- This song is special for me. I felt the vibrations from the piano when we recorded, it became our song.

 

Then the delighted mix continues. The night’s first (an only) French song “Pour que tu m’aimes encore” is being performed. It is being followed by Queen’s “We will rock you” and the entire Globen swings on beat.

The temperature rises with the bombastic soul hit “Love can move mountains” and Céline is now dressed in an all white, short dress.

The world star then gets off stage.

 

After a few minutes of deafening applauses and yelling she reappears once more. This time in a golden finery - and fires off more soul classics.

Dion gets off again but returns after a huge cheering.

As extra number she performs the “Titanic”-classic “My heart will go on”. It is dead silent in Globen.

 

16 000 people stands up during the last song. Noticeably touched by the praises which follows goes Céline Dion off the stage.

 

I am quite surprised they liked the tour version of IYA better than the album version, and they seem to like LCMM as well.

 

/fred

Edited June 8, 2008 at 10:29 PM by fred

[Céline's Blues]

since when is the stage magical? It's hysterical. But not magical.

[imaswede78]

Song For You is exactly the way I imagined it would be. Sing it in Chicago pleeeeez!!!

[Céline's Blues]

Song For You is exactly the way I imagined it would be.

Oh yes, properly sickening isn't it?

[luciusbright]

It's amazing to hear "A Song For You" live,I never thought it could happen!!!!

I do wanna a longer version of the live "ASFY", the whole part ,how she present Robert Wells and so on....

What a wonderful thing that we can hear more new stuff form this fab new album"TC"

Thank you all for the reviews ,pics and vedios,of course~~~~~~~~