Well, you asked...Inside Story of My Feb Celine Interview

[nystrele]

Celine Cats-

 

OK, I was asked on a previous post to deliver the back-story of my interview with Celine in February for Billboard’s special section… I kind of realized that it probably wasn't as enthralling as I might have imagined... but well, here goes... Read at your own risk.

 

So quite often, when interviews are scheduled with Celine, they occur during my east coast nighttime, since, at that point, she was in vegas, three hours away. so the special section, as you might imagine, was more or less an “advertorial.” It was only approved after so many ad pages were guaranteed from the sales force. To be honest, murmurs of a Celine special go way back. It gained a lot of momentum as an acknowledgment of her 25th anniversary in the business. That came and went. But billboard has one sales guy that has great connections with sony and Celine’s camp and he just didn’t let go. Gotta love that guy!

 

So finally, after I wrote the billboard cover piece for “taking chances” last year, all sorts of politics swirled about regarding whether another major Celine piece was merited – but again, that brilliant sales dude pushed the hook of her world tour and finally -- seriously, after five years -- it was finally a go.

 

So our very capable special sections editor planned an outline for editorial coverage, including a historical piece and an Q&A and lots of info about the tour. I was in charge of the first two, in addition to critics picks and that silly but fun sidebar on “top 10 Celine valentine’s gifts.” The great thrill of the historical look was placing a call to tommy mottola, who is obviously distanced from sony and Celine, and having him phone me back promptly to say, “Celine and Rene are two of the classiest people I ever worked with and I’m happy to talk.” Side story: Tommy was in a rental car and as we’re talking, he realized he was totally lost. I said, “You’re telling me you rented a car without GPS?” and he said, “well, it has it, but I’ll be damned if I know how to work it.” So he pulled over to figure out where the hell he was, and called me back. He gave me a lot of great stuff – all so very loving and praising – which, sadly, had to be greatly abbreviated for the article. But I was able to open it with his quote.

 

And so it goes:

“Tommy Mottola remembers with crystal clarity the first time he witnessed Celine Dion in a recording studio. “Being at the control board and hearing that voice come through the microphone, I thought, you’ve got to be kidding me,” recalls Mottola, who, as Sony Music Entertainment chairman/CEO from 1988-2003, signed Dion to her English-language contract in 1989. “I had never heard that kind of pitch; it was bell clear and she could sing any style put in front of her. Celine had a perfect instrument. It was utterly thrilling—and it takes a lot to thrill me.”

 

Anyway, the weeks kept passing and I wasn’t connecting with Celine’s folks for the Q&A and we were running out of time. Finally, I heard back and they gave me a definite time: Friday at 5 p.m. And I couldn’t do it. My best friend of 30 years died suddenly and I was traveling out of state for his memorial. I told the contact (whom I have worked with many times) that any other time, I’d make it work. But for this… to bury my best friend… I couldn’t even make concessions for Celine.

 

The contact informed me that on Sunday night, the family was leaving for Disney World and that’s it – they’re out of pocket until February, when the tour begins. The only option: I’m back in New York Saturday sometime after 2 or 3 a.m. Can I speak with Celine Sunday? “I’ll check with Rene, but there are no guarantees,” she told me. So I’m burying my friend and wondering… do I get to talk with Celine this weekend? Call me crazy.

 

And I’m faced with this hideous now or never mandate. It either happens at the last possible moment… or it doesn’t. it just doesn’t happen at all…

 

So I return home in the middle of the night; it’s now Sunday morning and there’s a message from my contact: “Celine will talk to you at 9 p.m. Sunday.” Score!! But then I reach 9… 9:30… and I start placing calls. I speak with Rene directly, who says, “We’re running late, Chuck. We’re trying to pack up five years and get on a plane. Celine WILL call you.” Deep breath… I wait… and wait… a little stomach acid forming… and wait… maybe a little gin will ease the anxiety…

 

11 p.m. the phone rings. “Chuck, it’s Celine. I’m really sorry. I’m sorry. Is it too late to talk?” Insert REALLY HEARTY LAUGH HERE. And this is the wondrous thing – it’s not the first time that Celine has called me directly. So often you get the publicist…. “Please hold for Xxxx…” and here is Celine on the phone, calling. I giggled (pretty much like an idiot) and said, “Celine, I THINK I can make the time…”

 

It turns out that she was in the car, literally on the way to the airport. She’s talking to rene charles in French… I can hear him yammering in the background… and I have a lot of ground to cover… I’m looking at my questions, skipping some so that I can get in what I really need to and hoping to come back to the lighter, more fun queries. About 30 minutes in, Celine intimates that they’re arriving at the airport and asks me to hold on… I’m assuming we’re done, but I hear her talking to the driver… asking him to take the luggage and telling rene charles that she needs to talk on the phone for a little while longer. Unbelievable. Truly.

 

Our beloved Celine gave me another 15 minutes… I know that she’s primed to get the hell out of the car and get on her plane (and by the way, it occurred to me about halfway through that Celine probably wasn’t rushing to catch her USAir flight; I assume it was a chartered, private airline), and yet she was so patient and answered every question I flung at her.

 

Some of our friends on the forum here have criticized me now and again for not lobbing harder questions at Celine. In my defense, I have to say, first, she is ever so accommodating in addressing so much, but to ask her why her label is not more supportive of her is just not the kind of topic she’s going to address. I mean, really, put yourself in the situation… because of the context of my assignment, there was ground I NEEDED to cover, so tearing apart the label was far from my priority. In my interview for “taking chances,” her confession to me (which appeared in the November cover story…

 

“When people sent me all those romantic songs to make people feel better or to cry, I went there because I had to prove myself,” she begins. “Those songs are great and made me who I am today. It wasn’t a mistake, but I didn’t have a lot of choices. Do you think I wanted to hold those long notes forever and kill myself onstage every night? But everybody always sent the hardest songs to sing to me: ‘If somebody can hit those notes, it’s Celine Dion.’ And I can do it; I can hit them, baby. Now maybe we’re all tired of those 10-second notes—the writers, the people—and they’ve evolved, too. Maybe no one thought I was capable of doing anything else, but I’ve got Heart and Doobie Brothers and Janis Joplin and Credence Clearwater Revival inside of me, too. It’s not a new Celine. There was no deliberate plan after five years to do something else. But I’m like everyone. I’m 39 now, I don’t look like I did 10 years ago, I dress differently—and I don’t sing the same. I have more edge and felt like doing something different.”

 

…Well, I thought that was just brilliant… the rawest quote I had ever gotten from Celine after nearly a dozen interviews… and when I asked her in this conversation about what would surprise people to know and she said that she hates to sing when she’s unhappy… well, again, I thought that was pretty profound. And some of you guys poo-poo’d the overall interview as not probing enough. I get it. Of course, I’d love to ask Celine why this and this and this were never singles and if she believed she’d be even bigger if “sorry for love” and “when the wrong one loves you right” went to radio, as they should have… on and on… we all have those questions… but in context, as I’ve said on our forum before, Celine is not about the business of her career. She is a singer. Rene is the manager. And Sony is the label. Together, all three were able to beat all odds and propel the greatest singer in the world to the superstar status that she merits. So, as much as we all complain – and I’m no martyr here, I’m as disillusioned as the rest of us – when you have the chance to speak directly with Celine, bitching seems like a real waste of precious time.

 

So… to finish my long tale here… Celine gave me more time than I could have dreamed. Here she is having closed the doors on Vegas, she’s ready for her vacation… and she could not have been more indulgent. One class act.

 

For all of the constructive criticism that we all share, the point of light always comes back to the fact that not only is Celine the finest vocalist we will know in our lifetimes, but she is also an extraordinary human being… giving, respectful, appreciative, loving. Without those qualities, her music would never be so convincingly passionate, would it? I have to say, now that I’ve sat with “Taking Chances” for almost six months, it is going to end up ranking on the lower end among her catalog (thankfully, no one near as disillusioning as the mommy album “Miracle”). But thank God she is still recording, that she hasn’t yet reduced herself to the “standards” album… there is a lot to be thankful for. Hits are the standard to which we all aspire, so that the world is equally aware of Celine’s fortitude. And believe me, to see Mariah and Madonna in the top 10, as Celine barely hangs onto the Billboard 200 album chart, is infuriating… but tour sales prove without a doubt that this frustrating chapter is far from the last in her legacy. We all believe that, yes?

 

And that, my friends, is enough rambling for one night.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Xoxoxoxo to all of youse,

=Chuck=

[GoldenLeaf]

Thank you for the review Chuck!

[Krys]

that was a very nice read. thanks a lot Chuck

[Celine CRAZY]

wow that was a truly insightful read! thanks a lot chuck u da man!

[idroveallnight]

Chuck!!

 

That was soooo cool to read! I was sitting at the edge of my seat reading each sentence and thinking of what a joy it must've been for you! Thank you for sharing all of these exciting things with us. You rock!!

 

And it is very infuriating to see Mariah and Madonna way up there while Celine has perfectly good material that unfortunately most of the country will never get to hear unless they buy the album. She's pretty much the only performer out there that is still riding on her talent rather than transforming herself into a sex symbol...and for this she is being downplayed. That really hurts.

 

For the record, I wouldn't dream of asking Celine about any of the things the fans here want you to ask (about why Sony is misrepresenting her and yadayadayada). Partly because it's not her responsibility to flame her record label and in a way I think she believes she has to be thankful for the amazing opportunity life has given her (and in essence that beggars can't be choosers). It's because you've remained on such good terms with her that you've been granted all these interviews and I wouldn't dream of putting that in jeopardy. Even one wrong question could ruin everything.

 

So keep up the good work!!

[celínico_sin_remedio]

Thank you so very much,Chuck,for giving us the chance to know why you didn't ask Celine those questions...I totally can understand why.....because I'm a Celine fan. Celine's the best person in the world and I would never had asked 'the' question neither in that situation...I totally can put myself into your place...

 

Thanks again for writing this long story...I think it's personally the longest post that I've read in the English section of this forum...well...the second...the first was your article in Billboard Magazine October issue lol!... I translated it into Spanish for the Spanish section

 

...a pleasure to talk to you,Chuck!

 

[rhaps]

how i wish i could be given even just a single minutes to hear my name called by celine and talk to her a little while....huh!

 

btw, how are the sales of celine's concerts are going on?

[tativale]

Celine Cats-

 

OK, I was asked on a previous post to deliver the back-story of my interview with Celine in February for Billboard’s special section… I kind of realized that it probably wasn't as enthralling as I might have imagined... but well, here goes... Read at your own risk.

 

So quite often, when interviews are scheduled with Celine, they occur during my east coast nighttime, since, at that point, she was in vegas, three hours away. so the special section, as you might imagine, was more or less an “advertorial.” It was only approved after so many ad pages were guaranteed from the sales force. To be honest, murmurs of a Celine special go way back. It gained a lot of momentum as an acknowledgment of her 25th anniversary in the business. That came and went. But billboard has one sales guy that has great connections with sony and Celine’s camp and he just didn’t let go. Gotta love that guy!

 

So finally, after I wrote the billboard cover piece for “taking chances” last year, all sorts of politics swirled about regarding whether another major Celine piece was merited – but again, that brilliant sales dude pushed the hook of her world tour and finally -- seriously, after five years -- it was finally a go.

 

So our very capable special sections editor planned an outline for editorial coverage, including a historical piece and an Q&A and lots of info about the tour. I was in charge of the first two, in addition to critics picks and that silly but fun sidebar on “top 10 Celine valentine’s gifts.” The great thrill of the historical look was placing a call to tommy mottola, who is obviously distanced from sony and Celine, and having him phone me back promptly to say, “Celine and Rene are two of the classiest people I ever worked with and I’m happy to talk.” Side story: Tommy was in a rental car and as we’re talking, he realized he was totally lost. I said, “You’re telling me you rented a car without GPS?” and he said, “well, it has it, but I’ll be damned if I know how to work it.” So he pulled over to figure out where the hell he was, and called me back. He gave me a lot of great stuff – all so very loving and praising – which, sadly, had to be greatly abbreviated for the article. But I was able to open it with his quote.

 

And so it goes:

“Tommy Mottola remembers with crystal clarity the first time he witnessed Celine Dion in a recording studio. “Being at the control board and hearing that voice come through the microphone, I thought, you’ve got to be kidding me,” recalls Mottola, who, as Sony Music Entertainment chairman/CEO from 1988-2003, signed Dion to her English-language contract in 1989. “I had never heard that kind of pitch; it was bell clear and she could sing any style put in front of her. Celine had a perfect instrument. It was utterly thrilling—and it takes a lot to thrill me.”

 

Anyway, the weeks kept passing and I wasn’t connecting with Celine’s folks for the Q&A and we were running out of time. Finally, I heard back and they gave me a definite time: Friday at 5 p.m. And I couldn’t do it. My best friend of 30 years died suddenly and I was traveling out of state for his memorial. I told the contact (whom I have worked with many times) that any other time, I’d make it work. But for this… to bury my best friend… I couldn’t even make concessions for Celine.

 

The contact informed me that on Sunday night, the family was leaving for Disney World and that’s it – they’re out of pocket until February, when the tour begins. The only option: I’m back in New York Saturday sometime after 2 or 3 a.m. Can I speak with Celine Sunday? “I’ll check with Rene, but there are no guarantees,” she told me. So I’m burying my friend and wondering… do I get to talk with Celine this weekend? Call me crazy.

 

And I’m faced with this hideous now or never mandate. It either happens at the last possible moment… or it doesn’t. it just doesn’t happen at all…

 

So I return home in the middle of the night; it’s now Sunday morning and there’s a message from my contact: “Celine will talk to you at 9 p.m. Sunday.” Score!! But then I reach 9… 9:30… and I start placing calls. I speak with Rene directly, who says, “We’re running late, Chuck. We’re trying to pack up five years and get on a plane. Celine WILL call you.” Deep breath… I wait… and wait… a little stomach acid forming… and wait… maybe a little gin will ease the anxiety…

 

11 p.m. the phone rings. “Chuck, it’s Celine. I’m really sorry. I’m sorry. Is it too late to talk?” Insert REALLY HEARTY LAUGH HERE. And this is the wondrous thing – it’s not the first time that Celine has called me directly. So often you get the publicist…. “Please hold for Xxxx…” and here is Celine on the phone, calling. I giggled (pretty much like an idiot) and said, “Celine, I THINK I can make the time…”

 

It turns out that she was in the car, literally on the way to the airport. She’s talking to rene charles in French… I can hear him yammering in the background… and I have a lot of ground to cover… I’m looking at my questions, skipping some so that I can get in what I really need to and hoping to come back to the lighter, more fun queries. About 30 minutes in, Celine intimates that they’re arriving at the airport and asks me to hold on… I’m assuming we’re done, but I hear her talking to the driver… asking him to take the luggage and telling rene charles that she needs to talk on the phone for a little while longer. Unbelievable. Truly.

 

Our beloved Celine gave me another 15 minutes… I know that she’s primed to get the hell out of the car and get on her plane (and by the way, it occurred to me about halfway through that Celine probably wasn’t rushing to catch her USAir flight; I assume it was a chartered, private airline), and yet she was so patient and answered every question I flung at her.

 

Some of our friends on the forum here have criticized me now and again for not lobbing harder questions at Celine. In my defense, I have to say, first, she is ever so accommodating in addressing so much, but to ask her why her label is not more supportive of her is just not the kind of topic she’s going to address. I mean, really, put yourself in the situation… because of the context of my assignment, there was ground I NEEDED to cover, so tearing apart the label was far from my priority. In my interview for “taking chances,” her confession to me (which appeared in the November cover story…

 

“When people sent me all those romantic songs to make people feel better or to cry, I went there because I had to prove myself,” she begins. “Those songs are great and made me who I am today. It wasn’t a mistake, but I didn’t have a lot of choices. Do you think I wanted to hold those long notes forever and kill myself onstage every night? But everybody always sent the hardest songs to sing to me: ‘If somebody can hit those notes, it’s Celine Dion.’ And I can do it; I can hit them, baby. Now maybe we’re all tired of those 10-second notes—the writers, the people—and they’ve evolved, too. Maybe no one thought I was capable of doing anything else, but I’ve got Heart and Doobie Brothers and Janis Joplin and Credence Clearwater Revival inside of me, too. It’s not a new Celine. There was no deliberate plan after five years to do something else. But I’m like everyone. I’m 39 now, I don’t look like I did 10 years ago, I dress differently—and I don’t sing the same. I have more edge and felt like doing something different.”

 

…Well, I thought that was just brilliant… the rawest quote I had ever gotten from Celine after nearly a dozen interviews… and when I asked her in this conversation about what would surprise people to know and she said that she hates to sing when she’s unhappy… well, again, I thought that was pretty profound. And some of you guys poo-poo’d the overall interview as not probing enough. I get it. Of course, I’d love to ask Celine why this and this and this were never singles and if she believed she’d be even bigger if “sorry for love” and “when the wrong one loves you right” went to radio, as they should have… on and on… we all have those questions… but in context, as I’ve said on our forum before, Celine is not about the business of her career. She is a singer. Rene is the manager. And Sony is the label. Together, all three were able to beat all odds and propel the greatest singer in the world to the superstar status that she merits. So, as much as we all complain – and I’m no martyr here, I’m as disillusioned as the rest of us – when you have the chance to speak directly with Celine, bitching seems like a real waste of precious time.

 

So… to finish my long tale here… Celine gave me more time than I could have dreamed. Here she is having closed the doors on Vegas, she’s ready for her vacation… and she could not have been more indulgent. One class act.

 

For all of the constructive criticism that we all share, the point of light always comes back to the fact that not only is Celine the finest vocalist we will know in our lifetimes, but she is also an extraordinary human being… giving, respectful, appreciative, loving. Without those qualities, her music would never be so convincingly passionate, would it? I have to say, now that I’ve sat with “Taking Chances” for almost six months, it is going to end up ranking on the lower end among her catalog (thankfully, no one near as disillusioning as the mommy album “Miracle”). But thank God she is still recording, that she hasn’t yet reduced herself to the “standards” album… there is a lot to be thankful for. Hits are the standard to which we all aspire, so that the world is equally aware of Celine’s fortitude. And believe me, to see Mariah and Madonna in the top 10, as Celine barely hangs onto the Billboard 200 album chart, is infuriating… but tour sales prove without a doubt that this frustrating chapter is far from the last in her legacy. We all believe that, yes?

 

And that, my friends, is enough rambling for one night.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Xoxoxoxo to all of youse,

=Chuck=

 

Hi Chuck! I have to say that I totally agree with you - with everything you said.

 

I couldn't hope for anything different from Céline. That's how she is, she is on the 'hot' water, inside the 'pool' of showbiz but she is still the same. She is still the little girl from Charlemagne who grown up with 13 brothers and sisters, a humble family.... etc. She knows what is really important in life, the true valeus.

 

I also thought that what she said about surprising people is very deep but not surprising heheh I guess that was what people meant. At least it was what I thought (think). Maybe because we have been following Céline for all those years and we 'kind of' know her - for good - I mean, what to expect. I don't know ..... but her answer was very sincere and deep but not surprising at all ehehe Well..... I think it wouldn't never bee anyway because she doesn't have anything 'oohhhh' to say like those scandals that we are used to hear around....

 

Céline is - as you said- an extraordinaire human being --- she cares about others, she doesn't put herlself into a better place - over people - she treats everyone equaly - as humain beings - she's a special person, that's for sure!

 

Thank you so much for sharing your excitiment with us, your time with Céline on the phone etc -- all the things she shared with you! Thank you for that! We really appreciate it!!!

 

About 'the questions' -- do not worry about it - I think that those kind of questions are not polite in way and I totally understand you. And Céline as you said for being an extraordinaire person deserves to be respected for her as she is, inside, as a person who has a god heart --- not the singer celebrity thing --- Ohh gosh heheh I love her heheh

[Your_Su_Phu]

although I admit I was one of the people who were a bit dissapointed when I first read the interview, I always was thankful for your efforts and the time you took to do all of this, and I totally agree with your point in this thread. Thanks so much Chuck for everything you've done! Edited April 4, 2008 at 02:38 AM by Your_Su_Phu

[ByuSmurf]

Brilliant, as always, Chuck!! Thanks for the rewind!

[Chantel]

Chuck,

 

That was an amazing read!! You are such a good writer. I guess that goes without saying since you write for a major magazine. Thanks for revealing more about our angel. It is nice to know that once again she is so kind and considerate of others when she doesn't have to be. Such an amazing woman! Thanks again for sharing with us.

 

Carmen

[mebe]

Thank you Chuck! I totally understand what you mean. You are absolutely right. It's always a pleasure to read you.

[fabtasticfoo]

Let me add my thanks to the chorus, Chuck. I really enjoyed hearing the back story and your thoughts on the interview.

 

I also understand why you didn't ask those questions, and I enjoyed the answers you got to the ones you asked. I wonder, if the interview situation hadn't been so unusual, perhaps Celine wouldn't have been so candid.

[ashleylovesceline]

Once again --- thank you so much, Chuck! Amazing review, Céline is such a class act! And so sorry to hear about your friend.

[stevethefan]

Thanks Chuck for giving all of us a great insight into what it's like to interview Céline. It's great to hear how even though she was extremely busy and on her way to the airport that she still was able to give you the interview. I also love the fact that you are a true fan who truly appreciates Céline. Edited April 4, 2008 at 03:49 AM by stevethefan

[newyorksnl15]

thank you chuck, it was nice to get the kind of behind the scenes information. It was a great read

[Jacqui]

Thanks for sharing that with us. I totally understand your point, by the way- of course I think the record company should do more for her career, but if I were talking to Celine there would be so much else to ask and say...

I love how giving she is, and her openness- some celebrities are all "ok, I'll do the interview, but you can't ask about this or this because it's private and I don't want to talk about it etc etc." That bugs me. I love how Celine will discuss all kinds of things honestly.

[binsk]

why do you say TAKING CHANCES is not high on her catalog list?

you don't care for it anymore?

[Duchess]

thank you chuck for your interview. it's always nice to see when someone has a talent and you most certainly do in the way you write.

 

you speak about questions? sorry i must have missed something along the way, probably the boat, but did you ask the fans for questions at some point?

 

are you going to do another interview with celine sometime in the near future or perhaps distant . i do have one question.........why doesn't she release her concerts on dvd for her fans. that's not rude is it? it would just be nice to have more dvd's especially of her younger days.

[A New Day Has Come]

Chuck that such an amazing read you did a fantastic job on that interview. She was so patient with you, even when she was late for her plane

 

and she took time to answear your questions. She is such a sweet heart. I so jelourous that you got to talk to her on the phone that is so

 

awesome.

[nano]

That was nice to read...Thank you, Chuck!!!

[JP]

Thanks for taking the time to share that with us! I completely understand your point!

That's even more beautiful that after all those years, she still so nice with everybody who support her, she never forget

[Cheerfuljane]

when you have the chance to speak directly with Celine, bitching seems like a real waste of precious time.

 

 

I'm nominating this for quote of the century

 

Thanks for the inside scoop

[LuisMa]

And believe me, to see Mariah and Madonna in the top 10, as Celine barely hangs onto the Billboard 200 album chart, is infuriating… but tour sales prove without a doubt that this frustrating chapter is far from the last in her legacy. We all believe that, yes?

 

I definitely agree and do believe that as well.

 

Thanks Chuck, as always.

 

[Jeffieboi]

I usually nevre read posts that long all the way through because I'm ADHD...but I read every word of your post, lol. I totally agree with your views on not asking Celine certain questions. because it might piss her off and/or hurt her feelings. If you ever have a chance to interview her again...could you ask her what her highest and lowest notes are? Because right now we only know from what we've heard live or on an album. We've never actually heard her try to sing as high or as low as she can. It's just something I've always wanted to know.

 

Oh hell yes! 500 posts! WOO HOO!

Edited April 4, 2008 at 06:59 AM by Jeffieboi

[ticktock]

thank you very much for your inside story , Chuck, it was very well written and a very engaging read.

[Shesings2me]

Chuck, we are blessed to have you contributing to this forum and we live vicariously through you when you get in such close and personal contact with Celine. Thanks for respecting the rest of us enough to share your own intimate details of your experience; it is a pleasure as always. Sorry to hear about the loss of such a close friend; may peace be with you.

 

So...when and where are you seeing the tour? Would love to meet you! Tracy

[Teodora]

Thanks so much for the story, it's really nice! You're right, it is a bit frustrating to see some other singers like Madonna or Mariah on the charts, and not Celine. But like I said before, I'd rather have Celine make good music and not be on the charts, than make music especially for the charts. I mean, c'mon, when you name a song "Touch my body" and you appear half-naked on the video, it's gonna go up the charts no matter what. Which is a shame, that woman is wasting her talent, but that's another story.

Celine has always made her fame on concerts, because she's better at performing than anybody else out there. So nice of Tommy Mottala to say what he did. What is he doing now? He, Rene and Celine should start their own record company Bring Vito in too and there'd be no stopping them!

On the other hand, I think "Taking Chances" is one of the best albums she's ever done. Of course, she'll always be remembered by the biggest hits, that doesn't mean those are her best work (except D'eux, which is truely both her biggest French hit and her best French work to date). All I can say is I've never listened to one of her English albums for 6 months in a row. Seriously, I've only been listening to this begining to end since I got it. I think it's underestimated and very badly promoted, but it doesn't really matter now, she's done it and it's amazing and that's all that matters.

Chuck, my man, you're deeply in love with her. Thinking about her during you're best friend's funeral.... need I say more?

 

P.S. So sorry about your friend, I can only imagine how hard that must have been

[Prince Whiskers]

You gotta give it to Chuck. Hello, any conflict with Sony must be addressed privately.

 

Again, why must the shadow of Mimi stalk every thread on our dear forum?????

[Filine]

Chuck, thank you so much for this beautiful background info. I think there won't be many other top class artists to commit to an interview like this on their way to a holiday destination. This kind of stories remind me every time that Céline really, truly deserves all the love she gets from her fans and really I wonder sometimes if I could do the same thing. She always does all of this with a smile and such kindness and it's only rarely that we see her in a less than radiant mood. It shows a piece of character that many others could learn from. I doubt if I would have the patience, the commitment, the strength to deal with it all, which make me respect her even more.

 

I don't think Céline would have answered the questions about Sony anyway she probably would have deverted from the topic politely because they will never ever compromise the people they work with. If they are in a commitment they will go all the way and differences will be worked out between the four walls of the Sony office.

 

I am sorry for the loss of your friend, Chuck

Thank you so much,

 

Cindy