Manchester Evening News Article

[jacwar58]

Article from the Manchester Evening News.

Rather sacarstic I thought

 

 

 

 

Arena set for glam Céline

Sarah Walters

1/ 5/2008

 

IF there's a name in the pop encyclopaedia that splits music lovers without hesitation, it's Céline Dion.

 

On one hand, she's the biggest-selling female artist of all time and SonyBMG's star earner with album sales of around 200m; on the other, she faces a whole host of detractors who struggle to tell her plethora of chart-topping pop-rock tunes from a lump of steaming gorgonzola.

 

One thing these sworn enemy sides can't go to war over, though, is the girl's determination.

 

Born in the backwater of Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion was the youngest of 12 children in a modest but musically gifted family.

 

Her mother - now 80 and still part of Dion's entourage - spotted her daughter's potential early and wrote her a song, which 12-year-old Céline dutifully sang.

 

They mailed it to renowned music manager René Angélil, a man credited on her mother's favourite record, and were soon summoned to the big lights of Montreal to talk over a deal.

 

One chat led to a remortgage (René literally staked his house on Dion's success) and before Céline knew it, she was a big star in her home country with several commercially successful French language albums.

 

Switzerland

 

But, a chance opportunity to enter the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, on behalf of Switzerland, was the gig that changed the course of her fortunes.

 

Her song, Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi (Don't Go Without Me) scraped a one-point win in the final vote from Yugoslavia over UK hopeful Scott Fitzgerald - despite two 'nul points' - and gave Céline an audience of hundreds of millions. And in all the excitement, it resulted in an after-show 'pash' with her manager, starting one of pop's most enduring (and, on the surface of it, unlikely) relationships.

 

Céline underwent something of an image turn around - her natural looks and tight curls tamed and styled.

 

For the first time, people started calling her a diva (talk of her being a badly behaved prima donna continues, although apparently without just cause).

 

Her fledgling career in northern Europe took off, eventually scoring her over 160 hits in 14 territories over the next two decades and recognition around the world.

 

René, now 66, is significantly older than Céline (she's a sprightly 40), but they've remained a firm couple with a miracle son, René-Charles - a strong-willed seven-year-old.

 

IVF

 

It's a family unit Céline is keen to add to, and she's already revealed that she plans to take another career break after her UK tour - which brings her to the M.E.N. Arena until Saturday - to try for another IVF baby.

 

And heck, it's not like she can't afford a couple of years off. She's just completed a five-year run in Las Vegas performing her massively success hit show, A New Day.

 

Originally a three-year deal worth £70m, A New Day was expected to be so popular that legendary casino Caesar's Palace built a 4,000 seat theatre to house it.

 

The two year extension (according to business magazine Forbes) is believed to have netted her a personal fortune of £250m for the five-year run- a pretty delicious cherry on top of the an already absurdly lucrative career.

 

Her latest album, Taking Chances, is one of her slowest shifting to date, but since it's her 35th album, she might expect a more modest reception than in her high flying pop days.

 

Songs like Beauty And The Beast and Think Twice made her an international star back in the day. The theme from the film Titanic, My Heart Will Go On, transformed her into a force to be reckoned with.

 

And yet, that fact puts us right back in the ring. Because while there'll be a whole bunch of people who swayed their way through their wedding dance to the pan-pipes of her 1997 number one single, the mere sound of that tootling flute sends millions of us running for the hills.

 

Taste, then, remains a matter of choice, but there's no doubting that René's gamble paid off. And Céline Dion?

 

Well, how can 200 million people be wrong{hellip}?

 

Céline Dion plays M.E.N. Arena on Friday and Saturday, May 2 and 3. £45 - £125. Click here to buy.

[Shaun]

The last line of the article is the best:

 

"Well, how can 200 million people be wrong."

 

And so say all of us!!!!!

[Terre]

Thanks for the article!

[destin139]

thanks!!

[stevo]

I didn't think it sarcastic- she does split opinions. She's also on the front cover leaving the Lowry- "Celine swaps Las Vegas for...Salford"

[Prince Whiskers]

What's a "pash"?

[zoe marie]

What's a "pash"?

It means a kiss

 

And to reply to someone else:Céline has split the nation, but the fans that love her, more than make up for those that don't. Long may the queen of hearts rule

[paulisia1984]

Amen

[Costa Santos]

Amen

[I Surrender]

Hallelujah