Another critic, today in Le Monde.

[Javito]

I don't have time now to translate, but I have put in bold the main sentences.

 

Once again, critics agree on what many fans here think about Céline's "new" way of singing, the world tour, her new songs, etc...

 

I hope René "thinks twice" in many aspects

 

Link

 

Neuf ans après avoir chanté deux fois à guichets fermés au Stade de France, Céline Dion a un peu plus de mal à remplir, du 19 au 27 mai, le Palais omnisports de Bercy. Pourtant, s'il reste pour chaque soirée quelques places disponibles (de 78 à 205 euros le billet), ce sont tout de même pas loin de 15 000 personnes qui viendront applaudir chaque jour la star québécoise.

 

 

A la fin des années 1990, sous l'impulsion de son manager et mari, René Angélil, la gamine de la banlieue montréalaise avait doublé son succès francophone d'un triomphe anglophone international. Cerise sur un gâteau de près de 200 millions d'albums vendus, le disque, My Heart Will Go On, tiré de la bande originale du film de James Cameron, Titanic, s'était écoulé, à partir de 1997, à 41 millions d'exemplaires.

 

Depuis, la vogue des "chanteuses à voix" a faibli, tout comme les ventes de celle qui en est l'incarnation. Commencée le 14 février à Johannesburg, en Afrique du Sud, prévue de se terminer le 29 janvier 2009 à Fort Lauderdale, aux Etats-Unis, la tournée Taking Chances de la Canadienne ne renonce en rien à la mise en scène de ses démonstrations vocales, quitte à donner l'impression de chanter comme on le faisait "au siècle dernier".

 

 

INHIBITEUR D'ÉMOTION

 

 

Lundi 19 mai, Céline Dion anime un show en cinq actes. Ascenseurs, promontoires, tapis roulant et cage d'écrans vidéo varient les plaisirs scénographiques. Début sur le thème du "rock", couleur dominante de son dernier album anglophone, Taking Chances, saturé de guitares clinquantes.

 

En courte robe fuchsia, la chanteuse mime une énergie toc. L'évident plaisir de bien faire son métier ne suffit pas à donner vie à un concert engoncé dans sa précision "à l'américaine". Ces cinq dernières années, Céline Dion s'est consacrée à un show, A New Day (disponible en DVD), donné au Caesar's Palace de Las Vegas, pour un total de 741 spectacles. Cette sédentarisation dans le Nevada, n'a-t-elle pas fossilisé un peu plus ce professionnalisme inhibiteur d'émotion ?

 

Le tableau suivant a beau revendiquer le feu de la "passion", il offre peu d'occasions de s'enflammer. Les chorégraphies des huit danseurs, les changements de tenue et les performances de la chanteuse peuvent divertir, mais guère toucher.

 

Quand elle raconte son plaisir d'emmener autour du monde sa mère de 81 ans et son "grand fils de 7 ans", la native de Charlemagne a le ton sympathique d'une cousine québécoise. Mais, en chanson, son sentimentalisme atteint rarement la profondeur romantique d'une Barbra Streisand. Après un hommage au groupe de rock Queen, celle qui sera décorée jeudi 22 mai de la Légion d'honneur par Nicolas Sarkozy se métamorphose en meneuse de revue soul, sans posséder le groove sexy d'une Tina Turner.

 

Au sommet d'une plate-forme entourée de bougies, elle est plus crédible en chanteuse folk, triomphant sur My Heart Will Go On. Avant que Pour que tu m'aimes encore confirme qu'elle s'humanise en français, au son des compositions de Jean-Jacques Goldman.

Edited May 20, 2008 at 09:30 PM by Gonzalillo

[KimboCosmo]

[CelineAndRene]

:S

[I Surrender]

They always got something to say. I have my own opinion.

[anna]

apparently this critic does not like Celine

who cares

[tonybower]

So she hasn't got the emotion of Barbara Streisand or the 'sexy groove' of Tina Turner.

 

Well, Tina Turner and Barbara Streisand don't have the incredible voice of Céline Dion!

 

And as for 'struggling' to fill Bercy, very few artists could achieve the audience Celine will achieve over six performances. And comparing it to the shows in 1999... Celine performed only twice at the Stade de France whereas she will be giving six shows at Bercy. Maybe the numbers still won't match but it won't be far off!

[Javito]

Maybe they are envious because she chose Las Vegas to stay 5 years instead of Paris? They seem a bit envious, but sure they expected the Céline they remembered from Live A Paris or Au Coeur Du Stade, and the current Céline is miles far away from that Céline

[Céline's Blues]

Apparently does not like Céline? He does have many valid points, especially the one lingering about her constant incoherence.

[tonybower]

You're right. I've heard a lot of French people criticise Celine for the path her career took (ie. singing songs in English, becoming hugely successful for it, and deciding to stay in America for 5 years.)

 

I think many believe she sold out or was untrue to her roots, but I think mainly they are envious. Celine did what was right for her career. I like that a lot of French people have strong opinions about excessive wealth, but Celine did what anybody else in her position would do. And she is a huge star as a result. I think some of these critics would relish the opportunity to see her fail now and that's why they take such pleasure in twisting facts and make it sound like her career is struggling. They enjoy this because Celine's success (in their eyes) is a direct result of her choosing a more 'American' formula than a 'French' one. What they don't appreciate is that her success is actually more about her incredible talent, and singing in English opened the talent up to a wider audience.

 

As for her stint in Vegas: Celine chose this not just for financial stability but for family stability. I don't think AND is the highlight of her career in any way but it paid off. And I'm sure if Paris had been able to offer her a similar deal and guarantee night after night of sold out audiences, she would just have easily moved to France and stayed here.

[Céline's Blues]

You're right. I've heard a lot of French people criticise Celine for the path her career took (ie. singing songs in English, becoming hugely successful for it, and deciding to stay in America for 5 years.)

 

I think many believe she sold out or was untrue to her roots, but I think mainly they are envious. Celine did what was right for her career. I like that a lot of French people have strong opinions about excessive wealth, but Celine did what anybody else in her position would do. And she is a huge star as a result. I think some of these critics would relish the opportunity to see her fail now and that's why they take such pleasure in twisting facts and make it sound like her career is struggling. They enjoy this because Celine's success (in their eyes) is a direct result of her choosing a more 'American' formula than a 'French' one. What they don't appreciate is that her success is actually more about her incredible talent, and singing in English opened the talent up to a wider audience.

 

As for her stint in Vegas: Celine chose this not just for financial stability but for family stability. I don't think AND is the highlight of her career in any way but it paid off. And I'm sure if Paris had been able to offer her a similar deal and guarantee night after night of sold out audiences, she would just have easily moved to France and stayed here.

We have to consider one thing now. She doesn't have any success now, all she does is feeding off her past successes one last time when she still can. Her goals have changed and even though her career has always been money driven it's now more than ever apparent and the critics, especially the French ones begin to see her through. Even a child could do the simple math seeing what is going on in the camp Céline. The American formula is almost imposing itself fiercely upon every spectator and fan. Earlier on it the line was more or less clrearly defined, now everything is being flushed down in one single money stream. Of course nobody would blame her for that, never ever, she's human after all but her choices now are far from perfect. Far, far, FAR from perfect.

[Javito]

Do you remember when Céline talked in 1995 about the automat robot singing WDMHBN or TPOL without any feeling and emotion? That is how they see her now, and thought I can't agree on every case, I have to agree that that is the result of 5 years of performance in Las Vegas, singing all the days the same songs

[greasepaint*30]

is anyone able to translate???????

[tonybower]

We have to consider one thing now. She doesn't have any success now, all she does is feeding off her past successes one last time when she still can. Her goals have changed and even though her career has always been money driven it's now more than ever apparent and the critics, especially the French ones begin to see her through. Even a child could do the simple math seeing what is going on in the camp Céline. The American formula is almost imposing itself fiercely upon every spectator and fan. Earlier on it the line was more or less clrearly defined, now everything is being flushed down in one single money stream. Of course nobody would blame her for that, never ever, she's human after all but her choices now are far from perfect. Far, far, FAR from perfect.

 

You have a point, of course. But Celine's current lack of success is partly down to her Vegas engagement but also terrible promotion (which might itself be connected to Celine's change of priority careeriwise: does she really want another big hit single and all the touring and promotion that would necessitate?) So many people who were once anti-Celine actually respect her now and, with the right exposure I think she could have more 'credible' success today. But she doesn't 'need' it anymore, doesn't value it as she doesn't see her career as life-affirming anymore.

 

Like any mainstream chart singer, Celine's career has always been driven by money. At the risk of sounding like a naive 'stepfordian'(!), I think this aspect mainly lies in René's hands for Celine has always been foremost a singer. And if today, Celine's name has become more like a brand, that is surely as a result of the current state of the music industry, the fact that it might be a good idea to cash in on previous success, especially if you intend to take a break for an unspecified length of time. I'm sure when Barbara Streisand charged £500 for a ticket to her shows last year (what was the motivation or possible justification there?!) she still sang songs that were recorded thirty years ago... I can't be sure, of course, but all artists have their stock catalogue for which they will always be recognised and which they will always be obliged to perform. It is surely as soul-destroying for the artist as it is frustrating for the more dedicated fans and horrifying for the 'ivory-tower' music critics! But that is the nature of the business.

 

Maybe you're right that French critics are seeing through Celine and her choices. But I think their 'sensitivity' to such issues comes from the fact that Celine 'chose America' in the end (as anyone else would have done in the interests if their career) and I believe their portrayal of Celine is unneccesarily harsh... as deep down I think it is, at least in part, motivated by politics and pride rather than a 100% objective appraisal of her career.

Edited May 20, 2008 at 10:47 PM by tonybower

[Nmj]

Critics will be critics and 95% or more dont like Celine why get mad about it just accept it because Celine is the type of person that, if you Don't LOVE her, then you HATE her. Edited May 20, 2008 at 11:08 PM by Nmj

[sgcpc]

can someone translate this please?!

[tonybower]

A very quick, rough translation:

 

Nine years after performing two sold-out shows at the Stade de France, Celine Dion is finding it a little more difficult to fill Bercy (19th-27th May). However, even if some places remain available (78€ - 205€ a ticket) there will still be around 15 000 people who will come each night to applaud the quebecois star.

 

 

At the end of the 1990s, on the impetus of her husband-manager, the little kid from the suburbs of Montréal doubled her French-success with international English triumph. Since then, the fashion for female singers with "big voices"” has declined, just like the sales of the woman who epitomises such singers. The Taking Chances Tour (which started in Feb 2008 and is set to end in jan 2009) does everything it can to showcase (Celine's) vocal ability, in an attempt to give the impression that she sings like she did last century.

 

EMOTION INHIBITOR

 

 

On Monday 19th May, Céline Dion gave a 5-act show. Ramps, moving walkways, and a screened-cage (...) Debut for the rock theme which is the dominant style of her latest English record, Taking Chances, drenched in clanging guitars.

 

Wearing a short, pink dress, the singer gave the impression of excessive energy. The visible pleasure of doing her job well was just not enough to bring life to a show that was buried in its all-too American style. Over the last five years, Celine committed herself to a show, AND, presented at Caesar's Palace in LV for a total of 741 performances. But has this time in the Nevada desert only served to fossilise further this professionalism which stifles emotion?

 

The following tableau tries to recapture the flame of passion but offers few occasions to ignite it. the routines of the 8 dancers, the costume changes and the singer's performances might distract but rarely touch.

As she describes her delight in taking her mother and son around thw world, she has the sympathetic tone of a quebecois cousin. But when singing, her sentimentalism rarely reaches the same romantic depths of Barbara Streisand. After a homage to the rock group, Celine, who will receive the Legion d'honneur this week, transforms herself into a soul-singer, without ever achieving the sexy groove of Tina Turner.

Standing atop a platform surrounded by candles, she is more credible as a folk singer, triumphantly singing MHWGO. Before PQTME confirms that she becomes more human when singing to the sound of JJG compositions.

Edited May 20, 2008 at 11:59 PM by tonybower

[amadino]

well he doesn't like her, thats for sure

[amelie]

because you don't agree....

[Alex_Incognito]

It's not an awful review---it just makes it sound like the tour could be better and the song choice lacks emotion.

[beautyroses]

since I didn't see her concert in bercy I can't say he is right or wrong,but i don't think he hates Celine cos he said Celine has two sold out shows in stade du france,we can't deny her performances in stade du france was so great although I can't speak french it was the show that made me her fan

I only connect these things to lack of time and tiredness of Celine,maybe it is her fault maybe it is not,but we can see a little bit of lack of interest remember ACDS who many songs she sang from SSDA there,it was many but now in her taking chances tour if you see the track list of concer you see only one song from her new album "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une" and only "Tous l'or Des hommes ".and I see the price for tickets in euroup is so expensive and only Celine fans will attend there and with such a price no non celine fans or no people in the edge.

it is for sure Celine star is stting down and it is clearly visible after "A newday has come " album,and I think even in farnce sh is still more loved than in america and even canada

I don't know why the hell she likes to sing queen medly,while she doesn't sing the great songs of her new albumes like surprise surprise.but I think I should respect her choice

[Soloni]

[Javito]

I don't know why the hell she likes to sing queen medly,while she doesn't sing the great songs of her new albumes like surprise surprise.but I think I should respect her choice

 

Agree, and thats the point of Chuck Taylor. I don't understand what necessity she has of including medleys of other artists's songs in her concerts? Does Céline Dion need that, with more than a 500 song repertoire? Its a so stupid decission, when you have DOZENS of great songs in your career that are waiting to be presented live in front of the audience!

[beautyroses]

I don't see any similarity between Celine and singer of queen,Celine has many many songs and she can choose from them, and also I don't know why she sticked to the songs that are repeated for many years like "power of love" "to love you more" and "all by myself" ,specially all by myself ,,it is powerful but it is so sad and it doesn't fit a married woman who has happy life,Plz celine enlarge your view you have many songs to choose

[CelineAndRene]

SCREW THIS CRITIC!

 

May he fall down the stairs tonight! LOL

 

He probably doesn't like ballads. AC/DC crap more like...

[anna]

It's not an awful review---it just makes it sound like the tour could be better and the song choice lacks emotion.

 

well that's true for sure

Edited May 22, 2008 at 12:07 PM by anna

[WendyB]

Just because the seats were empty doesn't mean the tickets weren't sold. Someone from way behind us asked one of the arena personnel if they could upgrade their seats and they were told they were all sold out. Some people can't make it because of illness, last minute changes in their personal life etc. Also, some tickets were bought by people hoping to make a profit by selling them on eBay etc. Guess some of them failed

[Nmj]

He is a dumb #ss

-Nmj

Edited May 22, 2008 at 10:42 PM by Nmj

[CelineDionx]

its the people that support Celine that she cares about.... one review isnt going to dampen her spirits... she has so much support she prob didnt even read it!

[hamiltonclare]

He sounds almost gleeful in attacking Celine. Muppet.

[CelineRox]

SCREW THIS CRITIC!

 

May he fall down the stairs tonight! LOL

 

He probably doesn't like ballads. AC/DC crap more like...

 

 

I remember Celine saying that she loves AC/DC when she sang 'shook me all night long' at Divas show!!