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

[celinefanonline]

great!! thanks Chuck!

it isn't that much different to what i think Celine would say / react!!

and for what would surprise the fans, she hates to sing when she's unhappy and unwell...

well for me it isn't really a surprise for me at all!! probably i have heard it long time ago or something..

but yeah she's human so that's normal!!

[amelie]

Hello Chuck!! Thx for sharing the story Do you think your magazine will ask you to interview Rene one day? or that you could push such an interview? (i don't know how it works) maybe that would be eye opening to us all

[Bumble]

Now I understand why Chucks reviews suffer from severere cuts in the final edition of Billboard. The guy is a bantler like celine is!

This inside look was far more interesting to read than the 10 page Billboard special posted before. Thanx for sharing.

[Celine AJ]

AMAZING...

A wonderful sory/review...thankyou so much! Loved reading it...

[CSCfan]

Chuck - thank you so very much for that insightful story! You did what you had to do and it was without a doubt the best way! Céline has such a wonderful personality and is just top class. And that's also how you're doing your job. Kudos!

 

One question....or more an idea: is it feasable to have an interview with René in the future? About the managing aspect in the business and of course what it is like to manage such a mega artist like Céline.

I think this would be very interesting and it's also material for a magazine like Billboard..

 

Thanks!

[Terre]

Thank you so much for the wonderful story! I loved reading it!

[Kyle_Jared]

Thanks Chuck,

 

You're a VERY fortunate man. Celine sings to our souls for all the reasons you've listed in your article. It goes beyond her amazing voice. She radiates her humanity in every performance.

 

Our frustrations with her record company would certainly not be very professional to bring up to her, you're very right.

 

Mind you, it's so infuriating when we have tracks like "Sorry for Love" "Naked" "Reveal".....and now "Fade Away" that may never get out there!!!!!!!

[Dionesque]

That was a fantastic and very interesting read, Chuck! Thank you so much for sharing your personal moments with Céline with us and letting us see a bit "inside" the job of yours and how these things work "behind the scenes".

 

Once again a great proof of Céline's class and generosity!

 

Thank you for giving all your efforts and doing the best of it!

That's a blessing for Billboard and of course for us that it was/is you who coves all things Céline in that magazine as who would understand and support her more than a true fan like you?!

 

Keep up the great job and hope to read from you again soon!

[Lizzy]

Thanks Chuck ! I totally agree and do believe that as well. I loved reading it.

[anewdayhascome]

thanks Chuck for everything!

[Xpresso]

Very interesting read! Thanks Chuck!

I think that Céline respects you as much as you respect her. She never forgets the nice people and that's why she called you herself and spent as much time talking to you.

 

As for asking her tougher questions, I think some people on this forum (no names!) just don't get it. You can't just bring something like this up as she is releasing a new album and going on vacation... And that type of questions would be more suitable for René and/or Sony's executives. (If Sony releases a 3rd non-sense single, then by all means - call René and Sony to see if they haven't lost touch with today's music industry... )

 

Looking forward to reading other interesting posts from you.

[zoe marie]

I believe that some people have the strength to say what they think (as Céline does). To then ask for more is asking too much!!!

Well done with the interview, I loved it, although I would prefer to read all of the interview if possible

[Cesdra]

Thanks for the review. I think it can be relevant to ask those question, if Céline is prepared. If she knows, these kinda things will be addressed, then it's ok to ask them, because she had a chance to prepare.

The only thing I wish for those interviews is that reporters or journalists wouldn't always ask the same questions.

 

I don't think though that Taking Chances is dissillusioning. I love the album! And I don't think that it loses anything of it's quality just because the really great songs haven't been published as singles yet. I also don't think that that's the end of the album just because they haven't gone to radio yet. They still might after the tour, even if the album isn't band new anymore!

[Koolan]

That was a great writeup, very interesting and engaging. Sorry to hear about the loss of your best friend. I agree it's not a suitable time to ask those type of questions.

 

Always looking forward to reading your posts. Thanks for sharing the inside scoop with us, Chuck.

[celbabs]

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

you don't care for it anymore?

 

 

I think he means that it hasn't (and won't) sell as well as some of her (many of her?) other albums.

[celbabs]

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.

 

I don't think it's rude but I think it's what he's talking about in his post. Celine doesn't have any say nor does she care about what gets released - singles/DVD's - anything. She just sings the songs.

[paulisia1984]

Thanks ever so much Chuck. Brill job.

[kathyc25]

Thanks so much for the backstory Chuck! I felt like I was on that phone with you! How I wish I was

I really agree with all you said...and if I was in front of her, I don`t think I would have the guts to ask hardly any questions at all!

lol so Thanks again...and, I`m so sorry about your friend. I can`t even imagine what you were/are feeling.

[I Surrender]

Thanks Chuck for all the ins and outs on your chat with celine. I love the fact she phoned u in person and gave u all the time in the world while she was starting her vacation. Bless her.

[aicee]

wow! well worth to read. And to know that Celine is so warm person. Indeed very humble human being.

[raymondedwin]

fantastic chuck. thank you for sharing your story.

[VintageCeline]

Thankyou!!! x

[SensationalCeline]

Very interesting to read...

[Lawna]

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=

 

 

Now this should have been published in Billboard Magazine ...Thanks Chuck for the insight, I feel the same as you about probing her with tough questions. As you said, Celine is a singer and Rene is the manager. Celine can speak from her heart and soul to answer questions about Love & Life, but when technical questions come into play I believe Celine could care less. She's not about that.

 

Anyway, thanks again Chuck for the insight!

[xo1hrt4celineox]

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.

 

i found this to be extremely well said, and quite true (though i'll have to imagine the speaking directly to her part lol) Chuck, I don't know how to thank you enough for all the wonderful things you post for us. I feel 'so lucky, so fortunate' to have you here on this forum!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for being a Celine fan and sharing with all of us!

 

ps, i just about flipped a lid the other day when i rewatched VH1's behind the music- you're on there! i was like holy crap, i know him (in a way) he's on the forum!!

[celinesounds]

thanks Chuck, it is very nice

[Elaine]

Thanks again Chuck for being so kind to us! I agree with everything you said. There are some things that you can't just go around asking, specially if you don't want to spoil anything!.

 

And I'm really sorry for your friend... You'll be in my prayers!

[Bellamy]

ps, i just about flipped a lid the other day when i rewatched VH1's behind the music- you're on there! i was like holy crap, i know him (in a way) he's on the forum!!

Yeah. I watched it recently too. And Chuck is all over the VH1 - TV Moments special. It's weird to see him without beard though.

[nystrele]

you think it's weird for you, imagine when i run across this stuff on TV and see how much i've aged! :eek:

 

i'm hoping the celine E! true hollywood story (canada) i recently interviewed for will be coming soon... they gave me no idea when it would air... hopefully one of you celine cats will be willing to send me a DVD of it, though my hope is that u.s. audiences will also have a chance to see it.

 

cheers!

=chuck=

[Celcool]

Hello Chuck!! Thx for sharing the story Do you think your magazine will ask you to interview Rene one day? or that you could push such an interview? (i don't know how it works) maybe that would be eye opening to us all

 

 

Chuck - thank you so very much for that insightful story! You did what you had to do and it was without a doubt the best way! Céline has such a wonderful personality and is just top class. And that's also how you're doing your job. Kudos!

 

One question....or more an idea: is it feasable to have an interview with René in the future? About the managing aspect in the business and of course what it is like to manage such a mega artist like Céline.

I think this would be very interesting and it's also material for a magazine like Billboard..

 

Thanks!

 

That's what I was thinking as well reading your post, Chuck.

 

Thank you so much for sharing the behind the scenes info with us. It's very much appreciated.