Celine was born the youngest of 14 children on March 30, 1968. She began singing around the age of 5 on top of the kitchen table for her family. After her father bought a small bar, her brothers & sisters would perform, and Celine finally did. When word got out Celine would be singing, the bar was packed. Her mother decided she shouldn't be singing in bars, but as a prfession. When she was 12, she met the man who would change her life (in more ways than one!) Rene Angelil gave her a contract, and morgaged his house to pay for Celine's first 2 albums.
By the age of 18, she still did not know English, and she went to school to learn it. 2 months later, she was approaching speaking fluent. On one of her tours, she sang 1 English song. Irene Cara's classic "What a Feeling." and did not understand a word she was singing. In 1990, she released her first English album titled, "Unison." What made her very-known in the US, was when her self-titled album was released, Celine did a collaboration with Peabo Bryson for the Disney movie, "Beauty and the Beast." This song won a grammy for best pop collaboration w/vocals, and won an oscar for best song. Celine was on her way to fame in the US.
Celine and Rene finally let the world know, they were in love and engaged in 93. In December of 1994, Celine and Rene married dispite a 26 year age difference. Celine's wedding dress included a 15 pound tiara, which had to be sewn to her head to make it hold! The wedding was considered the royal wedding of Canada. Before the wedding, Celine released her 3rd US album titled "The Colour of My Love" which reached #4 on billboard and went quadroople platinum. Her biggest hit off the album "The Power of Love" spent 4 weeks @ #1 on billboard, giving her her very first #1 in the US. Other big songs from the album were Misled, Think Twice, Only One Road, and her duet with Clyde Griffin "When I Fall in Love" which was featured on the Sleepless in Seattle soundtrack.
1996 became one of Celine's biggest years. In March, she released her 4th album, titled "Falling Into You." The frist release from this album was the hit from the movie "Up Close and Personal," titled "Becuase You Loved Me." This song knocked Mariah Carey's One Sweet Day OUT of #1 on billboard (which by the way holds the record for most weeks at #1). It also became the 2nd most played song on the radio for 1996 (next to Donna Lewis' I Love You Always Forever). Her next song from the album "It's All Coming Back To Me Now," in my opinion is the best song she ever recorded. This song put her album "Falling Into You" at #1 on billboard. The single peaked @ #2 on the singles chart, and spent many weeks at #1 on the AC charts. The 3rd release was a remake of the Eric Carmen classic "All By Myself." The single reached #4 on billboard, spend 3 weeks at #1 on AC, and peaked at #7 on pop radio. A spanish version of the song Sola Otra Vez was released and reached #5 on the Latin Singles chart. The album also includes a song titled "Fly" which she dedicated to her late niece Karine. This is also on her french album, titled "Vole."
Celine was not suppose to release an album in 1997, but after performing "I Finally Found Someone" at the 1997 Oscars, Rene got in touch with Barbra Streisand and they were to record a duet together. Celine also had oppurtunities to collaborate with names like The Bee Gees, Carole King, and Luciano Pavoratti. How could she pass this up?
On November 18, 1997 Celine released her 5th English album "Let's Talk About Love." The lead-off single was her duet "Tell Him" with Barbra Streisand. The song peaked at #2 on the AC chart. But it was the next song that would give Celine her biggest hit to date. She recorded "My Heart Will Go On" for the soundtrack to "Titanic." The movie and the song were explosive hits. My Heart Will Go On debuted at #1 on Billboard, and also hit #1 everywhere else. The song won Celine Grammies for Record of the Year, and Female Pop Vocal. James Horner recieved Grammies for Song of the Year, and Best Song Made for a Movie. One month later, My Heart Will Go On won the Oscar for Best Original song. To quote Madonna "And what a suprrise!"
The 3rd single from "LTAL" was "To Love You More." In 1996, this song was the first song to debut at #1 in Japan byu a foreign artist. In 1998, America got their taste of the song, although in 1997, Miami pop station Y 100 played it as a Japanese import. The song made the 20's on Pop, but was one of AC radio's biggest songs of 1998.
In 1998, Celine released her Christmas album "These Are Special Times." The album featured collaborations with R Kelly, blind opera tenor Andrea Bocelli, and fellow Canadian Bryan Adams, as well as 2 songs with her entire family. The first single was the collaboration with R Kelly titled "I'm Your Angel." The song debuted at #1 on Billboard, and stayed there for 5 weeks. The single went platinum. The 2nd release was "The Prayer" with Andrea Bocelli, which was featured on the soundtrack to "Quest For Camelot." The song was nominated for an Oscar, but lost to When You Believe by Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston.
In April 1999, Celine and Rene discovered a cancerous tumor on Rene's neck. He underwent surgery to have it removed, and so far he's 3 years clean!
This was a wake-up call for Celine. At the end of 1999, Celine decided to take a break from her career, but not before releasing one more album! On November 16, 1999, Celine released "All the Way: A Decade of Song" which featured 9 of her biggest hits, along with 7 new tracks, including a virtual duet with the late Frank Sinatra. The first single "That's The Way it Is" reached #3 on the Pop Chart, and #2 on the AC chart.
In June 2000, Celine made a press release announcing that she was pregnant with her first child! The event she had been hoping for over 6 years was finally going to happen!. In October 2000, The Collector's Series Volume 1 was released, which featured 3 songs previously not released in the US. The Power of the Dream from the 1996 Olympics was also included, which until then was only available as a B-Side for the single "It's All Coming Back to me Now."
Celine's life changed for the much better in 2001. On January 25, Celine gave birth to a healthy baby boy Rene Charles Angelil. The happy new mom also signed a deal with Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas for a new show which would begin in 2003.
Celine returned to the spotlight in 2002 with her new album A New Day has Come. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, giving Celine her 4th #1 album and her first #1 debut. The first single was the title track A New Day Has Come The song reached #22 on the Billboard Hot 100, #25 on the R&R Pop Chart, #19 on the Hot AC chart, and spent a record 19 weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. Two versions of the song were recorded, and a softer version of the song became a top 10 hit on the Smooth Jazz chart.
The second single was I'm Alive from the movie "Stuart Little." I'm Alive did not fare as well, only reaching #54 on the Pop Chart and #6 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The song however has become a fan favorite and has become a staple in her live shows.
The last 2 releases only charted on the AC chart. Goodbye's The Saddest Word penned by Mutt Lange was not an official release in the U.S. but managed to reach #25 on the AC chart, while the final release, a cover of Etta James' "At Last" made the top 15.
In 2003, Celine began her what would become a near 5-year stint at Caesar's Palace with her show "A New Day." The same day as the show's opening, Celine released her 7th English studio album One Heart. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200. The first single was a cover of Cyndi Lauper's 1989 hit I Drove All Night. IDAN reached #27 on the pop chart, #7 on the AC chart, #23 on the Hot AC chart and #45 on the Billboard Hot 100. IDAN also managed to reach #1 on the Canadian Singles Chart, amd peaked at #2 on the Billboard Dance chart.
Only 2 other songs were released from the album, and both only made the AC chart. The second single Have You Ever Been in Love was a big AC hit reaching #2 on the chart, and barely missed the Hot 100. The 3rd single was Stand By Your Side which only made #17 on AC.
In 2003 Celine released her first French album in 6 years (and her 3rd to be released in the U.S.) with 1 Fille & 4 Types. The album hit #1 in Canada, and the first single Tout l'or des Hommes hit #2 on the Canadian Singles Chart. The song Tu Nages from the album was originally recorded by Indonesian singer Anggun.
Celine released 2 albums in 2004. The first one was a live album recorded from her Vegas gig. The album A New Day: Live in Las Vegas debuted at #10 on the Billboard chart. The album included a new song called You And I which reached #16 on the AC chart despite minimal promo.
Her 2nd release was a new album and part of a project with baby photographer Anne Geddes. The album Miracle included new songs and lullabies, a remade rendition of "The Prayer" and even a french lullaby. Miracle debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum. The first single was a cover of John Lennon's tribute to his son Beautiful Boy. The song only reached #18 on the AC chart, and the album's 2nd single In Some Small Way only reached #28.
In 2005, Celine appeared on So Amazing a tribute to the late Luther Vandross. She covered hit 2004 hit Dance With My Father. In 2006 she also recorded a collaboration I Believe in You with international quartet Il Divo. The song appeared on their album Ancora. In 2007 Celine also got to take part in American Idol's "Idol Gives Back" concert and performed a virtual duet with Elvis Presley singing If I Can Dream. The video from the performance reached #1 on iTunes.
In 2007, Celine finally returned to the international spotlight. She released her first new album of new material in almost 5 years. The album Taking Chances was released in October and debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 behind Alicia Keys and Josh Groban. The first single was the title track Taking Chances written by Kara DioGuardi. The song despite minimal promo had moderate success. It debuted (and peaked) at #54 on the Hot 100 and reached #26 on the Digital Sales chart. The song also got to #6 on the AC chart and #36 on the Hot AC chart. A remix for the song reached #1 on the Dance chart. The 2nd single, a cover of Heart's Alone failed to chart.
In 2008, Celine began a new tour, the "Taking Chances World Tour" opening on Valentine's Day in South Africa and lasted through February 2009. She also did another CBS concert special in February 2008, where she performed The Prayer as a duet with Josh Groban. The song was released to iTunes to promote the special, and sales alone helped the song debut at #71 on the Hot 100.
During the tour, Celine released her 2nd hits collection My Love: Essential Collection featuring songs spanning the last 2 decades of her career, and featured a new song There Comes a Time (Soldier). The song My Love, originally released on Taking Chances, was re-recorded for the release and reached #15 on the AC chart. The album debuted at #8 on the Billboard chart.
When the Taking Chances tour ended, Celine announced she would be on sabbatical for the remainder of the year.
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