Australian press about Céline's Tejking Cianciá

[Céline's Blues]

Celine's titanic confessions

 

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November 11, 2007 12:00am

 

CELINE Dion has a secret.

 

The chart-topping singer, who has made her name and her fortune with sweet ballads about love, is a closet heavy metal fan.

 

So much so that her warm-up song while doing sound checks is almost invariably the AC/DC belt-it-out classic Thunderstruck.

 

"I like hard rock and, if I'm doing stadiums, I want the engineers to crank the sound system up high with rock and roll, heavy metal music - it helps me to get the adrenalin rushing,'' she says, with a smile.

 

"I've been a big fan of AC/DC for about 15 years or 20 years - the sound guys introduced me to them (their music).''

 

This love of rock is evident on Dion's new album Taking Chances - her first in four years.

 

In a change of pace for the songstress, the 16-track album has a much rockier, sexier edge than her previous offerings and the subsequent image evolution will also be featured in her coming world tour.

 

At this interview in Las Vegas, Dion's new look is strikingly evident.

 

Looking like she stepped off the catwalk, the super-slim singer is rock-chick sexy in a studded cream Fendi dress, thick black tights and sky-high black heels, with her long, highlighted hair in coiffed waves and heavily made-up feline eyes.

 

Dion says her new image was not a conscious decision.

 

"I had such a good time recording the album and I listened to it and it is definitely more rock, more edgy and deeper, stronger,'' she says.

 

"But why, I don't know? Is it because I'll be 40 soon? Probably.''

 

Dion says the milestone birthday, which she describes as "wonderful'', has inspired her to take stock of her life and plan some big changes.

 

The French-Canadian is in the final year of her five-night-a-week residency at upmarket Las Vegas casino Caesars Palace - a lucrative contract that saw the singer, her husband-manager Rene Angelil and their son Rene-Charles, now six, move to the gambling mecca.

 

Dion will complete her five-year Vegas deal on December 15 and will kick off her world tour in South Africa on Valentine's Day.

 

After the year on the road, she says she is looking forward to permanently setting down roots.

"I want to have a life and I don't want to work so hard,'' she says.

 

Part of that plan includes expanding the couple's family - a move that Dion says may see this tour be her last. "I certainly don't want to put my child on hold when I go sing and dance and take my child after me - I want to be there every second,'' she says.

 

"We would love to give it a try for sure but I'm not going to be greedy for that because I feel very blessed already.

 

"Rene-Charles is a miracle child that we have. To be able to carry a child, we needed help. We tried for six years and were not capable and we thought: 'You know, we can't have it all'. "But it happened, so we'll try again.''

 

Dion - warm and friendly in person but a diva in the sense that there is an entourage pandering to her every need - says her son has influenced the music in the family's home in Lake Vegas, an exclusive residential community on a mountainside overlooking Las Vegas.

 

"I never play the radio or music or television at the house, I don't have a lot of quiet days and the noise that I want to hear is my son and his laughs and it's for him to call us,'' she says.

 

On this day, Dion is queen bee in a hive of activity that sees her sizeable Team Celine entourage buzzing back and forth in the hotel's presidential suite.

 

Much like she does at her sold-out shows in Caesars Palace, Dion, who is reclining on a golden-hued sofa, commands the attention of her rapt audience.

 

When asked how her new tour will differ from her Vegas theatrical extravaganza, Dion takes a quick glance at her adoring employees.

 

"Shall we say it's going to be a New Day?'' she says theatrically, with a laugh, referencing her 2002 hit.

 

The tour will be created by director Jamie King, who has previously collaborated with Madonna, Prince, Christina Aguilera and and is overseeing the Spice Girls reunion tour.

 

"I'm very thrilled because he's worked with amazing people in the past,'' Dion says.

 

"We're going to have a fashionista moment, then a soul moment, a rock moment, a ballad, an unplugged - there's different blocks during the show that are different colours.''

 

Dion admits she has other aspirations, including a long-held desire to make her acting debut starring in the screen adaptation of the life story of her idol - famed opera singer Maria Callas, who died in 1977.

 

"Her life touches me tremendously - her melancholy and trauma affects me,'' Dion says.

 

Dion, who employs a team of doctors to look after her voice, lives the life of a hermit in an effort not to pick up bugs or strain her vocal chords - with her house, dressing room and the stage humidified.

 

"I love to sing when it's time for me to sing and when I'm at the best of my capacity vocally but if I'm a little sick or tired, it's the worst thing - knowing that I can't give the best of me. You could say I'm a little bit of a perfectionist.''

 

Celine plays Sydney's Acer Arena on March 28, 2008. Tickets on sale December 4 through Ticketek .

 

 

 

 

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Dion's career will go on

Article from: Sunday Herald Sun

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Peta Hellard

 

November 11, 2007 12:00am

 

CELINE Dion will perform her first concert in Melbourne for a decade when she visits Australia on her world tour early next year.

 

The chart-topping superstar will perform at Rod Laver Arena on April 1 -- with the tour set to see her debut a new rock-inspired sound and a sexy new image.

 

Dion's new album Taking Chances, her first in four years, features the singer's trademark power ballads as well as some heavier numbers, inspired by hard rock.

 

The French-Canadian singer said while fans might get a surprise hearing her sing rockier tracks from the album, she would still be performing her biggest hits, including The Power of Love, It's All Coming Back to Me and My Heart Will Go On.

 

"It's not like it's a new Celine -- it's a Celine that has evolved," she said.

 

Dion, who has sold more than 200 million albums, is in her final month of her five-year Las Vegas performance deal at Caesar's Palace and will embark on her world tour in South Africa on February 14.

 

SEE today's IE liftout for more on Celine's new album and tour.

 

 

 

 

 

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Sexy Celine coming back

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Peta Hellard

 

November 11, 2007 12:00am

 

AFTER a sexy new makeover, Celine Dion will begin the Australian leg of her world tour at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on March 26.

 

It will be her first Brisbane appearance since the 1996 Falling into You tour.

 

"I always find that Australia is the place that is closest to home -- it's very similar to Canada," Dion said.

 

Fans will hear a new rock-inspired Dion.

 

Her new album Taking Chances, her first in four years, features the singer's trademark power ballads as well as some heavier numbers inspired by her love of hard rock.

 

"It's not like it's a new Celine -- it's a Celine that has evolved," she said.

 

"For a live show I think (the rockier songs) are going to bring energy -- you can't have a show with ballads only."

 

The 39-year-old French-Canadian said she would still perform her hits, including The Power of Love, It's All Coming Back to Me and My Heart Will Go On.

 

Dion, who has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, is in the final month of her five-year Las Vegas performance deal.

 

Her world tour starts in South Africa on February 14.

 

She will tour for a year then plans to set up home with her husband-manager Rene Angelil and son Rene-Charles, 6, in Florida. She also hopes to get pregnant again, which she says could make this her farewell tour.

 

Dion's last Australian concert was in February 1998 on the Let's Talk About Love tour when she performed two shows in Melbourne only.

[Bruno Dion]

Thanks for news!

[Davey84]

thanks for the articals! I love the first one!

 

and well... final tour... even Céline's little childern will grow up one day!

[fab]

thank u very much i love this review and the congratulations that they tell

[dj4celine]

Hmm.. Nice review

[Tal]

The concert stuff sounds really interesting! Unplugged!

[Teodora]

Cool articles, thank you so much! I love they emphasize how sexy she is.

Last tour... Hmmm, I don't think so. It may be a very long time before she tours again, after the Taking Chances tour, but I'm sure she'll do it again some time. She loves it, it's in her blood. Remember how she said she didn't want to come back after having Rene-Charles, but they had already signed? And how she said RC was sad when she was sad cause she wasn't doing what she loves? And when she started doing it again, it was all fine for all of them.

And, c'mon Celine: if you give RC the opportunity to travel the world with you touring, why deny the second child such an amazing thing?

[sander21]

Hey, some news about the concert, thanks!

I'm curious how different the concerts will be. She will not soon be satisfied after the big Vegas show .. Think it will be great, can't wait!!!!

[Anna_belle]

Thanks for the article. I live in Australia

[Elaine]

Thanks for the articles... It's sad that she says it may be her last tour... I end up believe in that and that makes me sad... And I really believe that if she stops this time it will take her a long time to come back, if not forever... Maybe one day I'll have the chance to see her at some brazilian programs, kind of 20 years from now, and maybe some showcases here, like Dione warrick and other artists have done... But my assumption is that she's really quitting this time...

[Teodora]

Even if she does live for good, we have to remember she gave us over 25 of her best years and 32 unbelievable albums and so much happiness. So I'd be sad for me, but so very happy for her, because I know that if she does this, it's because that's what she really wants. It's so bittersweet, isn't it...

[ahmed]

thats good...

[Céline's Blues]

From the Australian Woman's Day:

 

 

 

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Celine's taking a chance

Friday, November 9, 2007By Michele MinelasAfter almost half a decade performing in the desert Celine Dion is back with a brand new album.

 

Celine Dion is holed up at the plush Ritz Carlton hotel near her home in Vegas Lakes, Las Vegas. Celebrating the final few weeks of her $110 million-plus contract at the famed Caesar's Palace, which ends December 15, and with the release of a new album Taking Chances, and an upcoming world tour, this 39-year-old chanteuse, shows absolutely no signs of slowing down.

 

Wearing a beige, studded Fendi mini-dress, black stockings and black Christian Louboutin heels, the Quebec-born singer is even more glamorous in person than you might imagine. Surprisingly down-to-earth and candid in spite of her celebrity status, Celine is more than happy to talk about the two men in her life, hubby and manager René Angélil, 65, and her precious six-year-old son René-Charles, as well as her hopes to extend her family and why the best is yet to come.

 

How do you feel about leaving Las Vegas? What do you think you'll miss most about it?

Well, it's been my home for the last five years. We consider ourselves Las Vegans now. [Laughs]. We're going to keep our house here because my son was one-and-a-half when we moved here and he made memories here. It's his home. We've celebrated six birthdays here, so we're going to keep this house although we're building our new house in Florida.

 

René said you'd like to have more kids after the tour ends?

Well I would love to. It's a miracle child that we have. I thought at one point I was not going to be able to have a child. I'm not going to be greedy. I'm going to push my luck. I hope we'll be blessed again. If not, we will be cherishing every moment we have with our son.

 

Is there anything you'd do differently the second time around?

No. What I never do is regret. I don't regret anything. And I know for sure, this is something that I'm so sure of myself. In the business, I'm not sure of anything but I have to say as a mother, I might have done things wrong, some things right, hopefully more right than wrong.

 

You'll be turning 40 next March. In this youth obsessed culture, is that something that worries you?

Oh, gosh no, I can't wait! My twenties were spent proving to myself that I could do this career. My thirties were still turning around a little. Then I became a mom and I had meaning in my life. It feels to me that as time passed, I have become more grounded. I started in the clouds and I'm coming down the ladder. My feet are definitely more grounded than before. I'm holding onto my life. I'm so centered in feeling great about me, that I can give great things to my son and my husband and my family. I see clearer and clearer now. Thank God there's something positive about getting older. Something other than wrinkles and gravity and ageing.

 

You have an Australian tour coming up. What can audiences expect?

A brand new show. It's very modern, very fresh, dynamic [snaps fingers]. Very up-tempo. Uplifting. Edgy. Let's put it this way, same Celine — I will be singing my previous repertoire that's for sure, but I also have my new album called Taking Chances, and those songs are very powerful. Definitely a lot more edgy. I will be performing both old and new songs. I can't wait. I'm very thrilled. And I love your country.

 

What's your best memory of Australia?

Every time I went to Australia it felt like home. And I think it's a compliment because there's no place like home. And if you are away from home and you feel at home, it's amazing. The people are very extraordinary. You're lucky because you have beaches there. I remember playing golf a couple of times. Perth was an amazing journey. I think I played golf in Melbourne. I went to the beach in Sydney. We never stayed long enough to do so much. My mom and my son and my husband will be there next year. And I'm sure we're going to have time to visit and appreciate more of your country.

 

What do you never leave home without?

My son. Sometimes my husband has to stay for business stuff, but most of the time, my husband and my son.

 

Lets talk about the album title Taking Chances. Do you consider yourself a big risk-taker?

Risk-taker? No. Do I take chances? Yes, for sure, that's all I do. I have to. The best proof that I can give you is how my career started. My husband mortgaged his house to make my first album. Did he take a chance? Yes. He took a risk. It turned out OK for us, thank God. But that's what I do in my life. I take chances in what I believe.

 

How do you stay grounded?

You try no to be part of the show business world. I do not want to know the record sales and the numbers and the popularity and how much it's going to sell. When the curtain falls down, it's over. I go home and I have an extraordinary life with very extraordinary people and I want to preserve that. I certainly don't have any awards or gold records in my house. Q Why not? A I don't want to be connected with show business. And please don't get me wrong, I love what I do and it's a fun thing. I love the spotlight. I love what I'm doing. But when I'm home, that is when I can be the true me. I'm most likely in bare feet, pyjamas … whatever.

 

Is it hard for you to be one of the world's beauty icons, to look good and keep in shape ?

I don't feel that pressure, no. First of all, my shape. I'm lucky I don't have to do anything for it! I know it's not fair, but it's the truth. I'm always trying, like most women, to look as good as we can for ourselves. I have a husband I want to please him. I want to feel good. I want to know that I'm sexy and beautiful. But when I'm in pyjamas at home and I'm being a great mother, that's beauty. It's not about makeup and hair and high heels and all that. That's image. But beauty, as you know, comes from within.

 

What's the secret to your successful marriage?

Communication. I wish there were recipes. Everybody would follow the book or the recipe. But the rules that are good for you are not necessarily good for me. And that's the same thing as with raising children. What the neighbours do with their children is for them and I don't judge that. I respect, and I'm expecting from them to accept my own decisions. But in a couple it's about communication and respect. René and I are different. We share different opinions. And that can be very hard when your husband is your manager!

 

How do you separate the husband and the manager?

I think it's harder for him to separate it than for me to separate my artist life and the wife. When I'm home it's very difficult for me to sign an autograph or watch myself on television. My husband, however, always remains my manager. That's the thing I have the most difficulty with. That's what he doesn't understand. When I see myself on TV I say to him, "Record it and you can watch it tonight after we have had some family time". I don't like to have Celine Dion on TV taking over my family time! That is the worst thing for me. I'm my worst enemy.

 

René said you were an AC/DC fan?

Yeah, whenever we set the stage, I have them turn on "Thunderstruck" to get the adrenaline pumping for the show. I have no idea how it came about! [Laughs]

 

And I hear René-Charles is a big High School Musical fan?

[Laughs] Yes! And Hanna Montana, whoo! He's got the video iPod of them, its crazy. But it's so nice to see him express himself through music, too. Anything he decides to do in life, I will be supportive, but music doesn't have to be it. One night a couple of weeks ago, he took his keyboard that has recorded songs in and he goes, 'Mum, do you want to sing?' I go to myself, 'This is the last thing I want to do after every night for five years straight', but this is my son. I said, 'Of course.' I said 'What do you want me to sing?' And he starts the music from Titanic. And I'm trying to follow the keyboard, a very techno version. But accompanied by my son, it was very special.

 

Celine's new album Taking Chances is out now on SonyBMG

Edited November 12, 2007 at 03:05 PM by Céline's Blues

[salsacolin]

Excellent!!!

 

Thanks Seb for all those articles.

 

[Céline's Blues]

You're welcome!

 

 

Delta and Dion's diva duet

 

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November 14, 2007 12:00am

 

ONE is a Australian treasure, the other one of the world's most loved singers - and now Delta Goodrem and Celine Dion are on track for a diva duet when the Grammy Award winning performer arrives in Sydney next year.

After she wraps up her flashy five-year residency in Las Vegas in December, Dion yesterday announced she will tour Australia through March and April 2008.

 

The tour announcement is music to Goodrem's ears - not only because she has idolised Dion since childhood, but because the pair's recent musical collaboration means a combined performance is likely when the diva hits town.

 

In a professional and financial boon for the Sydney star, Dion recently recorded a track Goodrem penned for inclusion on the Canadian crooner's comeback album, Taking Chances.

 

Goodrem wrote Eyes On Me last year with Swedish hitmaker Kristian Lundin, but it didn't make it onto her album Delta - with Dion instead taking the opportunity to record it.

 

While both large-lunged ladies are signed to the same record company at Sony BMG, the approach is likely to come from Dion's US management.

 

"It's early days but the opportunity is definitely there - Australia is one of Celine's best selling territories so it would make sense,'' a Sony BMG spokeswoman said.

 

Goodrem met her idol for the first time in January this year, when the pop princess and her boyfriend Bryan McFadden popped backstage for a quick meet and greet following one of Dion's Vegas shows.

 

"Delta is such a huge fan of Celine's and it was a total highlight for her song to be included on the album,'' Goodrem's manager said.

 

"If their schedules allow for it we'll make every effort to connect with Celine - Delta would be beside herself.''

[Célinefull]

there's been so much media about Delta having written some/all of the lyrics or whatever to that song...and the reviews that were written were unusually nice to Céline, I mean actually unbiased and treating Céline like a real artist, which usually means that they've been paid to write them.