- Published
Iconic Canadian pop singer Céline Dion has kicked off her long-awaited comeback show in Paris on Saturday, after a six-year hiatus due to health issues.
asserted
Dion → publish → issues
The 58-year-old superstar was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome in 2022, which forced her to pull back from touring.
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which → diagnose → touring
Dion, one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, has not performed a full show since a 2020 concert in New Jersey - the last before the Covid pandemic cut her tour short.
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pandemic → sell → tour
In 2024, she performed just one song at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
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she → perform → ceremony
Saturday marked the first of Dion's 26-show residency at Paris' La Plenitude Arena, Europe's largest covered concert arena.
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Saturday → mark → Arena
"I made a promise," she told the Paris audience of about 30,000 people in her emotional return.
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she → make → return
"I made a promise to come back, to be back on stage.
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I → make → stage
Singing for you, and singing for me," she said.
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she → sing → me
"I am everything I am because you loved me," she told the crowd.
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she → love → crowd
She also broke down in tears after finishing a song, telling the audience: "I had promised myself not to cry."
"But I'm so happy to see you all.
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I → break → you
I missed you."
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I → miss → you
They weren't the only tears of the night, as the star appeared to be overcome with emotion several times.
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star → appear → emotion
Dion will be performing in Paris throughout September and October and into the New Year.
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Dion → perform → Year
The Mirror's Lucy Needham, external noted that the singer was 50 minutes late to start, and may have needed extra time to "compose herself" for the "emotionally charged return".
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singer → note → return
"Eyes-brimming, the veteran singer gave herself little nods of approval after every line, before finally breaking down at the end of the track, seemingly overwhelmed at having made it through.
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singer → brim → it
"
After beginning her set in a black gown, she later changed into a trouser suit "to show off some of those signature kooky dance moves," says Needham, adding that she appeared "to be having the time of her life, gyrating and slapping her thighs with glee".
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she → begin → glee
The night was a "a tense, tearful, joyous affair probably even more so for the singer than for her loyal audience," writes The Telegraph's Neil McCormick, external.
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McCormick → write → audience
She started out slow, he says.
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he → start → ?
"Her voice sounded fragile and exposed, but at least it was her distinctive voice, not some autotuned approximation.
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it → sound → ?
"
"At first, she was clearly struggling to hold herself together," he continues.
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he → struggle → herself
"Her vocals wobbled dangerously, as if about to crack or collapse.
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vocals → wobble → ?
But she was gaining confidence with every moment back on stage."
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she → gain → stage
She broke down in tears as the audience roared in approval after the first song, and addressed the crowd in both French and English during the set.
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audience → break → set
"This was a high-stakes, high-wire return, perhaps the riskiest comeback in the history of showbusiness," McCormick continues, referring to her health condition.
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McCormick → continue → condition
But he concludes: "I honestly think I prefer this less superhuman Céline.
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I → conclude → Céline
Sarah Leavitt, reporting from Paris for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), external, said the crowd "was left without words" by the stunning performance.
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crowd → report → performance
She noted that she didn't want to cry, but "of course she cried right away."
Dion also "endeared herself" to the crowd by saying during one song that she wanted to stop and start over.
Will Hodgkinson at the Times of London, external writes in his review, "miraculously, her art will go on," that the performance was "overwhelming".
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performance → note → review
She "looked suitably humbled and tearful" as she emerged, he said, going on to praise the stage direction.
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he → look → direction
"Truly, she was throwing the love at the crowd, who threw it right back at her.
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who → throw → her
It was quite overwhelming, actually," he writes.
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he → write → ?
"Céline Dion's strength lies in being a diva with the common touch while being as French as they get, even if she is Canadian.
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she → lie → touch
She fulfilled that role with all the verve you could hope for," writes Hodgkinson.
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Hodgkinson → fulfil → verve
"The concert had a spiritual feel, with visual interludes steeped in biblical imagery alluding to a pilgrimage," Elsa Keslassy writes for Variety.,
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Keslassy → have → Variety
external
In video clips, Dion is seen wandering in a desert.
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Dion → see → desert
"The set design was highly cinematic, with a monumental staircase sweeping up one side and a moon dominating the stage, while the backdrop appeared to have a stark, almost brutalist gray texture."
The star, known for power ballads like My Heart Will Go On and Because You Loved Me, has said she will not let her diagnosis control her life.
"The way I see it, I have two choices.
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I → sweep → choices
Either I train like an athlete and work super hard, or I switch off and it's over," she told French Vogue magazine, external in 2024.
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she → train → 2024
"I've chosen to work with all my body and soul, from head to toe, with a medical team."
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I → choose → team
When Dion announced the first leg of her Paris residency back in March, nine million fans signed up for early access tickets to the concerts, French outlet FRI reported.
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fans → announce → FRI
The shows sold out so fast that her management company soon announced an additional 10 shows scheduled for May 2027, which have also since sold out.
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which → sell → May
Fans who were unable to snag tickets to one of the highly anticipated shows have not been left out entirely - events honouring Dion's comeback have dominated Paris in recent weeks.
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events → snag → weeks
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
