Celine Dion is going to try to sing. She’s had a viral infection and cancelled four performances at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, sending home 16,000 broken-hearted Celine-deprived fans. Backstage, before tonight’s show, she poses for photographs with a few of her devotees, sniffling between camera flashes. “I’m having a hard time.” She confesses. A man tells her to stop shaking hands. He turns to her fans “Don’t touch her!” he says. Who the hell is he? “I’m her gynecologists
Just for the record, the doctor is not here to examine her. He wants to see the concert.
Next week, Celine releases Taking Chances, her first pop album in five years..
Taking Chances is truth in advertising – Celine, 39 may be one of the top-selling singers of all time, but she’s been in the desert for a long time. Since she left, record sales have hit iceberg. All her first-name – only peers (Mariah, Whitney, Shania) have been replaced by a new crop (Beyonce, Shakira, Christina), some of whom can actually sing. If Celine wants to stay on top, she’s going to have to fight like the diva she is “For five years. I’ve been protected and focused in my surroundings – home, dressing room, home, bowling with my son.”
That’s one way to stay young. Or you can also start imitating the young ones, which is one thing she does on the new album. Taking Chances is a ridiculously divese collection of songs, with more edge. “Oh, yes, I’m a rocker,” Celine says without a hint of irony. The album’s third track, Eyes on me, even transforms her into a pop/Bollywood singer. “It’s my Shakira song,” Celine says. On This Time, she sings about being a battered women, which is the last thing you’d expect to hear from delightfully sappy Celine.
Chances probably won’t win over her critics. But for her fans, it’s nice step up, with echoes of Janis Jolpin. She’s even upgraded her look. She’s on the album cover wearing a heavy gold chain, flashing some cleavage.
In Feb, she’ll begin an international tour. Then she plans on settling down in Florida, where she’ll see if she can turn himself into a movie star and have a second child. “If it doesn’t happen, it’s because life and destiny have decided that. You can’t be greedy,” How very un-Vegas for her.