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Random news, thoughts and common questions about Celine (closed)


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Posted

"Like Celine Dion, Lara Fabian started her professional career in Quebec, singing in French, and crossed over to popular success in France before turning to the English-language market under the auspices of Sony. With Dion declaring at least a temporary retirement, it's no surprise that Sony has thrown its considerable weight behind the effort to make Fabian an international superstar. And there's no mistaking that effort on her self-titled English debut (not to be confused with her self-titled debut of 1991, which was sung in French). All the accoutrements of major-label largesse are present, especially in the total of ten credited producers, who include Patrick Leonard (Madonna), Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey), and Brian Rawling, who produced Cher's comeback hit "Believe." Working closely with Fabian, who is a songwriter as well, these heavy hitters have created widescreen power ballads with the occasional dance song thrown in. The lyrics are the usual generalized depictions of the joys and turmoil of romance, with the music almost invariably swelling portentously halfway through the track so the singer can take off on an overwrought tear. Fabian has the pipes to handle such material and is actually better at singing in English than Dion, who always had trouble with her phrasing. She doesn't do herself any favors as a songwriter, but that isn't very important on this kind of record. As in a big-budget summer movie, it's the stars and special effects that matter, not the plot. It's easy to see this album making Lara Fabian a star in the English-speaking world, but it took even Dion a couple of albums to crack that market, and she was a hard worker. Fabian has her work cut out for her, but she's taken a big step toward filling Dion's shoes with this album."

 

~~~

 

I saw this review for Lara Fabian's first English album and I found it incredibly patronising to her and Celine to frame Lara's music as a commercial ploy by Sony to fill Celine's shoes or to try to copy Celine. I hate how these male music critics constantly compare female artists and pit them against eachother in such facile narratives that are full of stereotypes.....and then they always have the nerve to abstractify and almost dismiss Celine and her talent by always calling her by her last name Dion.

 

Their favourite critique is always "overwrought" *insert eyeroll* but is it interesting how they critiqued Celine's phrasing, never heard anyone outright say that before outside of the forum

 

Lara Fabian's first English album was a huge success in Portugal and Brazil because one of her songs (Love By Grace) was part of the soundtrack of a soap opera at the time. It was tremendous!

Lara Fabian was always associated with Celine Dion for her singing, songs, vocal power, etc. But, unlike Celine, she preferred to devote herself to artistic creation and not so much the promotion which led to the departure of Sony Music. Also, Lara Fabian's English career never achieved global prominence probably because it started too late, at a time when divas were being replaced by hip-hop artists in the charts.

She’s a great singer, an artist, and I would love Lara and Celine to record a duet in French in the near future. ;)

Posted (edited)

"Like Celine Dion, Lara Fabian started her professional career in Quebec, singing in French, and crossed over to popular success in France before turning to the English-language market under the auspices of Sony. With Dion declaring at least a temporary retirement, it's no surprise that Sony has thrown its considerable weight behind the effort to make Fabian an international superstar. And there's no mistaking that effort on her self-titled English debut (not to be confused with her self-titled debut of 1991, which was sung in French). All the accoutrements of major-label largesse are present, especially in the total of ten credited producers, who include Patrick Leonard (Madonna), Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey), and Brian Rawling, who produced Cher's comeback hit "Believe." Working closely with Fabian, who is a songwriter as well, these heavy hitters have created widescreen power ballads with the occasional dance song thrown in. The lyrics are the usual generalized depictions of the joys and turmoil of romance, with the music almost invariably swelling portentously halfway through the track so the singer can take off on an overwrought tear. Fabian has the pipes to handle such material and is actually better at singing in English than Dion, who always had trouble with her phrasing. She doesn't do herself any favors as a songwriter, but that isn't very important on this kind of record. As in a big-budget summer movie, it's the stars and special effects that matter, not the plot. It's easy to see this album making Lara Fabian a star in the English-speaking world, but it took even Dion a couple of albums to crack that market, and she was a hard worker. Fabian has her work cut out for her, but she's taken a big step toward filling Dion's shoes with this album."

 

~~~

 

I saw this review for Lara Fabian's first English album and I found it incredibly patronising to her and Celine to frame Lara's music as a commercial ploy by Sony to fill Celine's shoes or to try to copy Celine. I hate how these male music critics constantly compare female artists and pit them against eachother in such facile narratives that are full of stereotypes.....and then they always have the nerve to abstractify and almost dismiss Celine and her talent by always calling her by her last name Dion.

 

Their favourite critique is always "overwrought" *insert eyeroll* but is it interesting how they critiqued Celine's phrasing, never heard anyone outright say that before outside of the forum

It's far more respectful for a critic to call an artist by their surname than to feign familiarity with their subject. There's absolutely nothing wrong with referring to Céline as "Dion" in a review - it's relatively standard practice. And while I agree that the direct comparisons between female artists are generally unwarranted and over-played, it's no secret that Sony saw Lara Fabian as a way to fill the gap in Céline content during her hiatus. That doesn't reflect negatively on either of them - in fact, you could see it as quite a compliment to view Lara Fabian as so on the same level as one of their mega-stars that she could take on that mantle. Obviously it didn't work as well as they'd hoped, but while they're different artists in many ways, you can't deny they check off many similar boxes. And Lara Fabian's self-titled 1999 album (well worth a listen) contains some great tracks that could easily have been recorded by Céline, too.

Lara Fabian's first English album was a huge success in Portugal and Brazil because one of her songs (Love By Grace) was part of the soundtrack of a soap opera at the time. It was tremendous!

Lara Fabian was always associated with Celine Dion for her singing, songs, vocal power, etc. But, unlike Celine, she preferred to devote herself to artistic creation and not so much the promotion which led to the departure of Sony Music. Also, Lara Fabian's English career never achieved global prominence probably because it started too late, at a time when divas were being replaced by hip-hop artists in the charts.

She's a great singer, an artist, and I would love Lara and Celine to record a duet in French in the near future. ;)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JKw-pmd3Vg

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_Bf5oLGnjQ

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFjzPUJnHOI

 

When L. Fabian released the single I Will Love Again in 2000, during Celine's hiatus, I thought (and many people also) who is this Celine copy? And that was exactly Sony's concept for Lara. She never had the chance to break through in the English speaking market, because she will always be the most famous Celine impersonator.

+ It was too late for her to become an international star at that time, the music business changed so much (Pop Divas were not popular anymore).

Edited by comingback
  • Like 1
Posted

Well Sony did want to find a new Céline during her break so they went for Lara. There's no doubt about it. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony did tell René and Céline that they would go for Lara if Céline went ahead with her hiatus... to give them some pressure and change their mind. That's probably why Céline doesn't "like" Lara that much (that's my impression at least).

And that review says Lara started in Quebec. That's false. She started in France and Belgium but that didn't work so well so she moved to Montreal. And that's when the Céline copying started... :D

  • Like 1
Posted (edited)

Hey guys I have a question for you all... Do you guys think that we will hear from Celine again before she goes back to performing next year? I mean like maybe an interview or a video from home or something? Just wondering... I do miss hearing her & seeing her, & I do know she has been taking a break since this pandemic started... & its been almost a year & a half since the pandemic started & I miss seeing/seeing Celine sooooo much!

 

I really do HOPE to hear from her before she starts touring back up/ new Vegas residency next year... Again I understood she wanted to take a break & all, I just hope to get a small SOMETHING , like a small video of her maybe singing a snippet of a song or a small interview or something, so she can come out of hiding before next year @ least lol... 🙏😊

Edited by thatstheteacherinmehbaby
sincerely, maria :) <3
Posted

Hey guys I have a question for you all... Do you guys think that we will hear from Celine again before she goes back to performing next year? I mean like maybe an interview or a video from home or something? Just wondering... I do miss hearing her & seeing her, & I do know she has been taking a break since this pandemic started... & its been almost a year & a half since the pandemic started & I miss seeing/seeing Celine sooooo much!

 

I really do HOPE to hear from her before she starts touring back up/ new Vegas residency next year... Again I understood she wanted to take a break & all, I just hope to get a small SOMETHING , like a small video of her maybe singing a snippet of a song or a small interview or something, so she can come out of hiding before next year @ least lol...

 

Didn't she do an interview like last last last week?

Posted (edited)

Hey guys I have a question for you all... Do you guys think that we will hear from Celine again before she goes back to performing next year? I mean like maybe an interview or a video from home or something? Just wondering... I do miss hearing her & seeing her, & I do know she has been taking a break since this pandemic started... & its been almost a year & a half since the pandemic started & I miss seeing/seeing Celine sooooo much!

 

I really do HOPE to hear from her before she starts touring back up/ new Vegas residency next year... Again I understood she wanted to take a break & all, I just hope to get a small SOMETHING , like a small video of her maybe singing a snippet of a song or a small interview or something, so she can come out of hiding before next year @ least lol... ����

She will start touring again this year not next year. Actually in less than two months in august ;) it's not that far away Edited by ordinary fan
Posted

It's far more respectful for a critic to call an artist by their surname than to feign familiarity with their subject. There's absolutely nothing wrong with referring to Céline as "Dion" in a review - it's relatively standard practice. And while I agree that the direct comparisons between female artists are generally unwarranted and over-played, it's no secret that Sony saw Lara Fabian as a way to fill the gap in Céline content during her hiatus. That doesn't reflect negatively on either of them - in fact, you could see it as quite a compliment to view Lara Fabian as so on the same level as one of their mega-stars that she could take on that mantle. Obviously it didn't work as well as they'd hoped, but while they're different artists in many ways, you can't deny they check off many similar boxes. And Lara Fabian's self-titled 1999 album (well worth a listen) contains some great tracks that could easily have been recorded by Céline, too.

 

I'm well aware it's standard practice, I don't live under a rock. But Celine in the rare category of artist who can be called by one name. It's been done for Whitney, for example, interchanging between calling her Houston and Whitney. It's also been done for Elton John, evenly calling him Elton and John in reviews. It's not feigning familiarity with someone who at that point was the biggest musical star on the planet.

 

And I disagree, I think trying to immediately compare a singer to another right as they start their career (in a new language, in this case) is wrong and patronising. A sentence or two in a review is fine, but they framed the entire review within this narrative umbrella. You say it's no secret that Sony viewed Lara as a "Celine filler" (my words) for a couple of years, but where is the evidence directly from Sony's mouth?

 

In any case, I think Sony and critics would be doing a disservice to Lara to market her that way. Because Lara has her own talent and voice that are immense and can stand alone apart from Celine. Never would I deny that they are similar in multiple ways, but so are many other artists and they often don't get so blatantly put in a shadow of someone else like that from the jump. Females often do, and it's very sad, but not all....and males rarely do.

Posted

I am going to make a video of "The Top Celine's songs". I have decided on these songs please tell me on which order should I put it..

fans know the best...

[songs are decided on Celine's breakthrough songs/songs admired by people]

 

 

Courage

Immortality

My Heart Will Go On

Ashes

Because You Loved Me

That's The Way It Is

I'm alive

I Drove All Night

The Power Of Love

All By Myself

Where Does My Heart Beat Now

A New Day Has Come

It's All Coming Back To Me Now

Beauty And The Beast

 

 

Should I include any other song?

Posted

I am going to make a video of "The Top Celine's songs". I have decided on these songs please tell me on which order should I put it..

fans know the best...

[songs are decided on Celine's breakthrough songs/songs admired by people]

 

 

Courage

Immortality

My Heart Will Go On

Ashes

Because You Loved Me

That's The Way It Is

I'm alive

I Drove All Night

The Power Of Love

All By Myself

Where Does My Heart Beat Now

A New Day Has Come

It's All Coming Back To Me Now

Beauty And The Beast

 

 

Should I include any other song?

 

Career breakthrough is a bit different from admired songs. If you want you could just do the top songs based on their chart position. I think that's the most "scientific" way to do such a video. You're missing "I'm Your Angel" if we go off of that metric

Posted
Sony didn't need to say anything. Signing Lara during Céline's hiatus was clear enough. It doesn't take a genius to understand what their strategy was.
Posted

 

 

I'm well aware it's standard practice, I don't live under a rock. But Celine in the rare category of artist who can be called by one name. It's been done for Whitney, for example, interchanging between calling her Houston and Whitney. It's also been done for Elton John, evenly calling him Elton and John in reviews. It's not feigning familiarity with someone who at that point was the biggest musical star on the planet.

 

And I disagree, I think trying to immediately compare a singer to another right as they start their career (in a new language, in this case) is wrong and patronising. A sentence or two in a review is fine, but they framed the entire review within this narrative umbrella. You say it's no secret that Sony viewed Lara as a "Celine filler" (my words) for a couple of years, but where is the evidence directly from Sony's mouth?

 

In any case, I think Sony and critics would be doing a disservice to Lara to market her that way. Because Lara has her own talent and voice that are immense and can stand alone apart from Celine. Never would I deny that they are similar in multiple ways, but so are many other artists and they often don't get so blatantly put in a shadow of someone else like that from the jump. Females often do, and it's very sad, but not all....and males rarely do.

 

Come on, Sony's biggest star Celine Dion was on a hiatus and Mottola himself said in an interview (Wall Street Journal) that Lara Fabian is his biggest project in 2000. No explanation needed.

Posted (edited)
I always wonder what Celine thought about this Lara Fabian competition pressure caused by her own record label, and especially the whole thing with Mottola vs Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson which happened around the same time. She was part of the same record company. I think she was concerned about her existence and future as an artist. When she was on her break things went crazy (maybe that's why she went on a break because there was so much fuss behind the scenes?) Maybe that's why Rene was looking for another option that would make them independent from this record company and that's how the Cesars Palace deal happened. What are your opinions on this? Looking at this whole thing I must say that Mottola was quite an a*hole, and what Jlo was to Mariah is what Lara was to Celine. No wonder Celine never acknowledged Lara. Edited by ryba
post-5889-0-11519200-1681245149_thumb.jpg

Posted

I always wonder what Celine thought about this Lara Fabian competition pressure caused by her own record label, and especially the whole thing with Mottola vs Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson which happened around the same time. She was part of the same record company. I think she was concerned about her existence and future as an artist. When she was on her break things went crazy (maybe that's why she went on a break because there was so much fuss behind the scenes?) Maybe that's why Rene was looking for another option that would make them independent from this record company and that's how the Cesars Palace deal happened. What are your opinions on this? Looking at this whole thing I must say that Mottola was quite an a*hole, and what Jlo was to Mariah is what Lara was to Celine. No wonder Celine never acknowledged Lara.

 

I'm pretty sure that Celine noticed that Sony signed Lara Fabian, but she didn't take that seriously, because she was a mom now. But Rene always had an eye on the show business (Sony etc.) so he made the Vegas deal, because he saw the decrease of the album sales etc..

  • Like 1
Posted

I just realized today while listening to Céline's "Power Of The Dream" that among the vocal trinity only Céline can deliver a very difficult powerful smooth-resonance with vowel "i and e". This is the hardest vowel to sing with in belting.

 

Dreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaam

 

 

Trinity's Vowel Strengths

 

Céline

 

I & E

 

Mariah

 

A

 

Whitney

 

A & O

 

 

I find this fascinating. Do you know anything else about The Vocal Trinity strengths and what sets Celine apart from Whitney and Mariah? I know all three singers are obviously fantastic and all have special qualities to bring that make them equally amazing, but is there anything that Celine can do that Whitney and Mariah perhaps can't do quite as well or haven't demonstrated as much?

highfive.jpg

Posted (edited)

 

 

 

I find this fascinating. Do you know anything else about The Vocal Trinity strengths and what sets Celine apart from Whitney and Mariah? I know all three singers are obviously fantastic and all have special qualities to bring that make them equally amazing, but is there anything that Celine can do that Whitney and Mariah perhaps can't do quite as well or haven't demonstrated as much?

 

The other thing that i have noticed is that Mariah has a weak head voice while both Céline and Whitney has a stronger head voice.

 

Also Whitney and Céline has a louder thicker vocals than Mariah where she has this soft/lighter vocals

 

I find Whitney and Céline has similarities. But when it comes to difficult vowels like the “I”, Céline has the strongest one even up to now that she’s older the vowel “I” is still there.

 

That is Mariah’s weakest vowel which she goes to the very easy one “A” open vowel.

 

Here is the few examples of vowel “I” of Céline. There’s a lot but this would be enough to hear it :)

 

 

 

No matter what they saaaeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiy

Edited by jpatdeleon09
  • Like 1
Posted

Even the climax part of All By Myself. Other singers will go to the easiest vowel "A". They will sing it like anymAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

 

While Céline still doing the "o" - Anymooooooooooooooo

  • Like 1
Posted

The other thing that i have noticed is that Mariah has a weak head voice while both Céline and Whitney has a stronger head voice.

 

Also Whitney and Céline has a louder thicker vocals than Mariah where she has this soft/lighter vocals

 

I find Whitney and Céline has similarities. But when it comes to difficult vowels like the "I", Céline has the strongest one even up to now that she's older the vowel "I" is still there.

 

That is Mariah's weakest vowel which she goes to the very easy one "A" open vowel.

 

Here is the few examples of vowel "I" of Céline. There's a lot but this would be enough to hear it :)

 

https://youtu.be/RL54uMKjxfQ

 

https://youtu.be/W93phgWI8po

 

No matter what they saaaeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiy

 

 

Thanks for those videos! :) Do you know if it's true that Celine and Beyonce are the only mainstream artists alive who can execute operatic techniques such as messa di voce, a technique that involves a gradual cresendo and diminuendo while sustaining a single pitch. That is, a note sung at a quiet volume, gradually and smoothly made louder until it reaches a high volume, then similarly made quiet again? I saw that written on Instagram once and wondered if it's true.

 

Can Whitney and Mariah do this technique as well, or is it just Celine out of the vocal trinity?

highfive.jpg

Posted (edited)

 

 

 

Thanks for those videos! :) Do you know if it's true that Celine and Beyonce are the only mainstream artists alive who can execute operatic techniques such as messa di voce, a technique that involves a gradual cresendo and diminuendo while sustaining a single pitch. That is, a note sung at a quiet volume, gradually and smoothly made louder until it reaches a high volume, then similarly made quiet again? I saw that written on Instagram once and wondered if it's true.

 

Can Whitney and Mariah do this technique as well, or is it just Celine out of the vocal trinity?

 

Dynamics

 

Like what she’s been doing with “S’il Suffisait D’aimer”

 

“Nous ferions de ce rêve un MOOOOoooooooonde” - she goes with the higher volume then it gradually fades into a quieter volume . I really like this part when she sings this live.

 

 

And this pops in my head now since this 2:50 were mentioned in a reaction video

 

 

i think you know the answer that both Whitney and Mariah can do as well. SOTR of Mariah performance - crescendo.

 

They can do all techniques but of course all of them have weaknesses and strengths like in vowels. But still only Céline can do the most difficult vowel to belt with

Edited by jpatdeleon09
  • Like 1
Posted

Come on, Sony's biggest star Celine Dion was on a hiatus and Mottola himself said in an interview (Wall Street Journal) that Lara Fabian is his biggest project in 2000. No explanation needed.

 

Sony investing in a big star is not the same as "this person X is being seen/labeled/marketed/groomed to be a replacement for Celine specifically" .... and, my entire point is, even if Sony did see or explain it that way, it's very patronising to do so with an artist quite unique and talented in her own right.

 

Mottola was involved very heavily in lots of the artists he managed. A lesson in that is how closely he supervised Jennier Lopez's debut around that same time. And I have no doubt it was a big project for him. But this label of "replacement" does not sit right with me at all. It's adding another talented artist to their roster. The implication seems to be that Lara's English career wouldn't exist if Celine hadn't taken a break....which I think is disrespectful.

Posted (edited)

I find this fascinating. Do you know anything else about The Vocal Trinity strengths and what sets Celine apart from Whitney and Mariah? I know all three singers are obviously fantastic and all have special qualities to bring that make them equally amazing, but is there anything that Celine can do that Whitney and Mariah perhaps can't do quite as well or haven't demonstrated as much?

 

I always say that there are things Whitney could do better than Celine, but things Celine could do that Whitney could never do. The first thing that comes to mind is the crazy mixed voice belts G5 and above that Celine has done, starting mostly in 2007-2008.

 

Mariah obviously can do the whistle register, but Celine's lows were probably the most solid out of all of them. Whitney's head voice is more powerful, but Celine has more control/agility and to me it's more beautiful. Mariah never really used her head voice that much. I think Celine's agility is probably as strong or better than Mariah's, but that's close. However, Celine's musical stylistics are so different and come from a totally diferent place----not really gospel, but as one reviewer puts it from "foreign sounding scales"

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SXW6rVTpJY

Edited by PuraVida
  • Like 1
Posted
Mariah can't do her whistle thing anymore unless she screams. :D
Posted

I always wondered why Celine cannot--or, at least, has not done this type of gospel belting with her voice. I guess it's falsetto? Or head voice? I'm not sure exactly how to categorise it, but it's a type of belt usually done by gospel or soul singers. Somehow I cannot imagine Celine's voice doing it, as I think it relies on a lot of vocal "body" and Celine's voice is on the smaller/thinner side.

 

Patti Labelle's background singer does it at 5:03 then Patti does it at 5:57. Then in the second video Cynthia Erivo does it at 3:02

 

Posted

Imagine doing that on Lying Down LOL it won’t fit. We don’t know if she can do it since she doesn’t do much gospel in her songs. Or at least very rare.

 

But i think Céline’s version will be much cleaner if she does that. I’m thinking it will be a lot closer to the one she did in Memphis (Instrument impressions) no growling head note. Just a cleaner head note.

Posted
Really Random Thought: I Wish Celine would sing Time to Say Goodbye sometime, with anyone.
  • Like 3
Posted

The Palm Beach Post

 

Not sure where to put this ,, But You have to subscribe to it ,,, But anyway

Head line says that a $30 Mill house just sold for $24 mill in a few days,

 

( Guess Who's house this was Celine house in Admirals Cove ,)

Posted
Has anybody seen that she has new Merch on her website
Posted

Imagine doing that on Lying Down LOL it won't fit. We don't know if she can do it since she doesn't do much gospel in her songs. Or at least very rare.

 

But i think Céline's version will be much cleaner if she does that. I'm thinking it will be a lot closer to the one she did in Memphis (Instrument impressions) no growling head note. Just a cleaner head note.

 

I know Patti Labelle can do a clean head note too, I'm just wondering if Celine can do this type of singing. All the singers chose to sing the note in that particulary way. It doesn't need to be done on a gospel song, it just often is used by gospel or R&B influenced singers usually.

Posted (edited)

 

 

I know Patti Labelle can do a clean head note too, I'm just wondering if Celine can do this type of singing. All the singers chose to sing the note in that particulary way. It doesn't need to be done on a gospel song, it just often is used by gospel or R&B influenced singers usually.

 

I don’t know if Céline can but I don’t think she can do what Patti does. The growling head note. But the cleaner one. I think she can do it. Patti loves head notes. She always does that haha

 

I find it funny in some parts when she sings If You Asked Me To. There are too many head notes and speed up words lol

 

But I love patti. She’s a legend. Still have the powerful voice.

Edited by jpatdeleon09
  • Like 2
Posted

I don't know if Céline can but I don't think she can do what Patti does. The growling head note. But the cleaner one. I think she can do it. Patti loves head notes. She always does that haha

 

I find it funny in some parts when she sings If You Asked Me To. There are too many head notes and speed up words lol

 

But I love patti. She's a legend. Still have the powerful voice.

 

I love Patti too. But that particular note that Cynthia and Patti did, I can't imagine Celine doing.

Posted (edited)
1625043700[/url]' post='2406623']

I love Patti too. But that particular note that Cynthia and Patti did, I can't imagine Celine doing.

 

I haven’t heard her do that growling head notes only clean head notes

Edited by jpatdeleon09
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