From humble beginnings in a rural French Canadian home town, Celine Dion has risen to
international superstardom like a shooting star.Celine has been called the premier contemporary
pop vocalist of the Nineties. She has earned music industry accolades from around the world:
Grammy Awards in the US, Juno and Felix Awards in Canada, and World Music Awards in Europe. The
entire world has seen Celine Dion literally transform herself from a gifted pre-adolescent into an international superstar.

Born in Charlemagne (a small town 30 miles east of Montreal,Quebec, Canada), Celine is the youngest of 14 children of a 
highly musical family. Her parents, both musicians, operated a small club,and on weekends, the entire family performed 
and entertained the local population. From the tender age of 5, Celine sang with her siblings and quickly acquired the 
ability of performing live. At the age of twelve, together with her mother and one of her brothers,Celine composed a 
French song which would forever alter the course of her life.

The demo tape containing the song was brought to the attention of Rene Angelil, a well
respected personal manager. In January,1981, Rene was so taken by the voice of the
young Celine, that he became determined to make her an internationally known talent - he
even mortgaged his house to finance the recording of Celine's debut album!

Celine began to receive recognition for her talent in 1982, winning the Gold Medal at the Yamaha World Song Festival 
in Tokyo, along with the coveted Musician's Award for Top Performer. In 1983, she became the first Canadian ever to 
receive a Gold Record in France.

The streak of recognition had begun.

By 1988, Celine had established a strong name for herself in her native province of Quebec, where she was enjoying 
superstar status,receiving numerous Felix Awards and racking up platinum albums.
That same year, Celine won the prestigious Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin Ireland, where she performed live 
before a television audience of 600 million viewers throughout Europe, the USSR, the Middle-East,Japan, and 
Australia. 

Celine's international breakthrough came when she recorded the title track for the soundtrack to
the animated Disney hit movie 'Beauty and the Beast.' The song went to number one and
garnered an Academy Award and a Grammy Award. Beauty and the Beast formed the cornerstone for
Celine's second English language album,called simply 'Celine Dion.' That album produced four more hit singles 
including "Love Can Move Mountains," "Water From The Moon,","If You Asked Me To" and "Did You Give Enough Love." 
In Canada, the album went six times platinum and set the stage for an incredible streak of Juno Awards. 

But it was with the release of 'The Colour Of My Love' that Celine fulfilled her promise as one of
the foremost pop artists of the era. Again, it included a film theme - she duetted with the
British singer Clive Griffin on the much-loved classic "When I Fall In Love," which appeared
on the soundtrack of the box-office triumph'Sleepless In Seattle.' Again it included a coverversion - 
her marvelous interpretation of Jennifer Rush's 1985 hit "The Power Of Love."And again it proved that 
Celine's powerful voice and dramatic style are equally at home on tender ballads ("The Colour Of My Love") and
amid attacking club rhythms ("Misled.") Needless to say, the album sold incredibly in Canada.

At this time, the Celine juggernaut started rolling at a momentous pace in the UK. British fans took 
extremely well to "Think Twice," a ballad on 'The Colour Of My Love'. For five consecutive weeks, the
song and album stood on top of the respective British charts, an achievement not replicated since 1965 and 
the heyday of The Beatles. "Think Twice" remained at number one for two more weeks, surpassing the magic million 
mark to become only the fourth million-selling single ever in the UK by a female artist.

And with her 'D'eux' album, Celine achieved what everyone thought was impossible - introduced
French music to the upper reaches of the British charts. The world had truly discovered Celine Dion. 

Blessed with one of popular music's truly great voices, she has crossed all barriers - even that of
language - with her electrifying series of international hits. With her breakneck pace of recording, 
video shoots, touring and appearing on TV shows and awards specials, it seems like Celine has time for 
little else. Not the case when it comes to an important cause. Celine has used her talents to further cause of
the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In fact, one of Celine's most emotional songs ("Vole," from the 'D'eux' album, 
later translated into English as the song Fly, which appears on the 'Falling Into You'album) is a memorial to her niece, 
Karine, who was taken from her by this disease.

Released in March 1996, 'Falling Into You' became the best-selling album released that year; topped
the charts in 11 countries, and was voted Album of the Year and Best Pop Album in the 39th annual
Grammy Awards. The album, to date, has sold more than 25 million copies world wide.

'Let's Talk About Love' is the follow-up to her double Grammy Award-winning album. Recorded
in London, New York and Los Angeles, 'Let's Talk About Love' features a host of special guests
including some of popular music's greatest vocalists, songwriters, and producers.

With each new release, Celine has managed to top her previous successes and, along the way, has become one of
the brightest stars in the world of popular music. Who would have imagined that Quebec's best kept secret could 
have conquered the world the way she has?

Looking back now, we should have known it all along.
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