The moment Celine Dion's comeback concert had us holding our breath

"In our time is a world-class seminar every week. Why was Jeremy a lonely snail?" "What were lines doing in York in the third century?" "I'm Misha Glenny and every week I'm joined by expert guests to explore the ideas that shape our world." "It's one of the first times really that you consistently see someone painting teeth, I know that sounds bonkers." "If I was going to define mathematics, I would say it's the study of structure." "In our time, listen on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts." "This is a cbc podcast." "I'm Lamine Abdu Mahmoud and this is commotion and today we are coming to you from Paris because Celine Dion is so back." That is a bit of Celine Dion. It's all coming back to me now and she performed that this weekend in Paris to a sold out crowd in Europe's largest indoor venue and my god. What a performance it was. She pulled off a thing but a lot of us thought she may never do again. She sang again on a stage exactly like she promised. There was a first night of her residency in Paris. She's going to do 26 sold out shows in the largest indoor venue on this continent and she sang for more than two hours to a crowd that just could not help themselves. They just got so excited to have her back. We were all crying. She was crying. There were a lot of tears. It's time to talk about this Canadian cultural icon with a comeback story and what a time it is for that to be happening. "You're gonna be able to ping-pong those here, bunch of middle-coges here. Hello to both of you." It's nice to have you here. How are you guys feeling this morning? We just saw Celine last night. How are you guys feeling right now? I'm a mix of high on life and so tired, but I'm so happy to be here and I'll be thinking about that night a long time. Yeah, of course. Benjamin, what about you? I'm happy. Yeah. I feel like to me, it was one of those nights where I never thought it was actually going to happen. Then it's she's in front of us and then she comes, first of all, we should say, this is one of the most punctual artists of our time. She was a little bit late to come out yesterday, but 45-minute late. I thought, is everything okay? Is Celine okay? I got really worried. Did you get worried? Yeah. Well, I think you texted me. Isn't that unusual for her? I was like, "Oh my God, it's true." Then I got, I was panicking, but she arrived and she was so incredible. Okay, I want to play you guys a moment where, to me, it felt like the whole arena was holding its breath. Here's Celine hitting that big note in my heart will go on. [Music] Here's Jenny, I feel like, okay, I watched this video. I took this video and I watched this video over and over again. I kept on crying as I was, because she walks up to the note. She's literally walking up in order to deliver this gigantic note, because again, we not heard her sing such a long time. Yeah. You are, this is professional for you because you're hopefully right, you're Canada, but also you've been a lifelong fan of Celine Dion. Tell me about this comeback. What does it mean? I think there were two songs that we were all holding our breath and see, is she going to hit the note or not? There were my whole go on, but also all by myself. And it's, she doesn't sing those songs on the same tone that she did, like when she recorded them. It's a lower key. It's a lower key, thank you, but it's so great. I was holding my breath. I wasn't sure if she would do it, but she did. And she wasn't sure. She was. She was. She was. She was amazed being able to get the notes on all by myself like, wow, I did it. She was so proud of herself. And I think that she made us proud, like so much proud for her also. I'm glad that you brought that up, Banger, because there was, I feel like I've seen this clip now, right, which is like her again, walking up to that big note and all by myself, the one that she holds for a long time. And when she delivers it, she kind of just gives it like a pull. Yeah. She let's have real musicians. Yeah. We pulled it off. There's something to that. There's something to like us witnessing in real time. Yeah. And the show was to get to this point where we were expecting this. Is she going to be able to do it again? Yeah. She got it. Does she still got it? Yeah. And yeah, it came right at the end of the show. But yeah, for all by myself, but my heart will go on. I think it was like the eighth song. When it started, I was like, is the show finished? Because I thought she would sing at the end, but she did it. I think she was rushed. She really, she was eager to show us that she could still hit the note. Yeah. I think there's something to that air, right, of the envelope. Hey, we're here to support Celine as she pulls this off, but also at the same time, we're all thinking about it, right? We're all thinking about the told that this is taken on her. Banger, this was the 13th time that you've seen Celine Dion. Yeah. By the way, she also said, you're going to see the rest of the residency. So by the time that October ends, you'll be up to 28. Give me a call. Yeah. Give me a call. But also we should say that you're the culture editor for a party match. Like for you, as you were sort of walking up to this moment, was there a moment in the show when you were like, oh, she did it. She really did it. Oh, the opening. I mean, just opening. Yeah. When she just walks in, because we were confronted with there was something going wrong. No, we were told like she's going to be on stage at 820 and we will told the whole week, beyond time, she's going to be there. So actually, I texted the French promoter at 845, saying, there's something wrong, you know, we were all like Hanuking and then the lights went down and the way she walks like even she she was like a child, you know, humbled, walking slowly to to the audience. And then that was it. I mean, yeah, she could have saying everything. I mean, she was there. We heard a voice. It was one. And that's what we all think that we will remember this exact moment. She was there. I think it was the strongest. For me, it was the strongest part of the show just to see her. I mean, the rest was also amazing, but just to see her arrived. And she was taking it all in the public, the love of the audience. And I really we really felt her pride of being here of being able to come back. And she said hello to everybody. And she was quite humbled also. And I'm wondering you, I mean, you don't really speak French, right? So, but you do know Celine Dion. Of course. And I think the half of the show was songs in French. More than half of the show. Did you think? I think it was, yeah, maybe more than. Was it was it enjoyable for you even though it was in French? And you didn't know all those songs? Yeah, absolutely. I feel like for me, the language I should made no difference because the joy was watching Celine being her element. I think that's the thing that everybody wanted to see is watch Celine be happy again, right? Like, that's something that I wanted to see. And she opened with her song in French. Exactly. On the Jean-Jepeau, which means we don't change. We don't change. That's why I was asking you because the choice of that song, I was all day, I was speculating what will be the first song. The first song. And I've been embedded on it. I'm alive. I thought maybe I'm alive on the Jean-Jepeau. I knew there's come. Her new song, Bonjoule, that she didn't sing. But on the Jean-Jepeau, it was a great song because it says, yeah, we don't change. Sometimes we were some other closes, but we're the same. And I think that was a strong message to send to the audience and the world. But I'm still me. I'm still here. I'm still here. I am Celine Dion. On the whole set list, that's the way she just chosen her songs because she sang about redemption, about being able to still doing her job. That's the whole concept of the show. She's there. I'm alive. I'm happy to be here. I want to share with you guys the moment that took my breath away, which is like the stage at a certain moment transforms into a mountain. And then for somehow, she got a fur coat on. I missed when she put that on. And she walks the top of this mountain. And then she sings perfect opera. Here's what that sounded like. I kind of feel like that was a show of force. In a way, that was her being like. Don't worry about me. I'm good. What did you make about that moment? You found it a little bit weird. I found it weird, but I understood it was the dream of a little girl. When she said thank you for being able to see my dream. When she was a kid, she wanted to be an opera singer. And she never did this before. It was a gift. It was a way to say, "I'm able to do this. Listen to this." But also I think she really wanted to. She did it for herself. She's a huge fan of Maya Carras, the opera singer. So I think she really wanted to show her love. And also I think it was one of the multiple ways that she told us that her voice has changed because her voice has changed. She doesn't sing the same way that she did. But she is sick. And she will remain sick because you cannot cure that. This is the new her. Yeah. She told it during the show. Yeah. Exactly. She told us and we can hear it actually, but it's still very beautiful. And to be able to sing that, I mean, it's hard. I studied opera like back in the days. I couldn't sing that again. And the way that she worked her voice and that she sang, it was really beautiful. And I was sitting. I don't know if she saw it, but there was cut price, because her pianist, but also her a musical director. He was just under her, and he was directing her. And it was so beautiful. And when she said, "Messie, Sarah, I have the pits to feed." Thank you. My dream is coming true. You made my dream come true. I really feel that she was so authentic and she really did it for herself. And we were all there just like enduring it with her. On the first thing she said to the audience, I'm singing for you and I'm singing for myself. Exactly. It was a way to prove herself that she's able to do this come back. And it was the last step of the healing process. She's been fighting for years and years. And now I'm on stage and it's the last. Can I ask you a bunch of any stumbles in the show? Like any moments are like, "Oh, this didn't feel like it quite kind of came together." For me, there was a bit of a delay between session three and session four. That felt like a little bit. All the interludes were pretty low-key. The audience didn't understand that is this an encore as she was left to stage. So it was two and two and four and 25 minutes. So maybe they need to the pacing of the show was quite. What's the word? I think I want to study the pacing. There are so many songs, I know all the songs have sit in, but there are so many songs I was surprised to see them on a comeback show. Some old songs even in French that a lot of people don't know. No, there was no one know the songs. There was this song from her last album, The Courage. The song is The Chase. I mean, it's not a song that went on the radio or. Yeah, exactly. So I think the prayer, which for me is a Christmas song, but I know it's not. It's still beautiful, but she didn't her do it with Andrea Bacchelli, but she did his part. That's another way to prove us that she sings for herself also. I think that she sings some songs that she absolutely know that she can sing because her high performances are for all by myself. My heart will go on and some other really tough songs to sing, but the rest, she's really capable of singing them. For all the preparation that went into this tour, I feel like this show is still going to evolve as we go. This was that one. There's still. It felt to me like there's a lot of tightening to be done because we're coming to the transitions from one point to another point. What about you, Benjamin? I'm very surprised by this because they've been rehearsing for months and months. Me too, I was quite surprised. For me, I was expecting Vegas show. Everything had to be perfect. It was not perfect at all. There were some moments like we were lost, so yeah, they're going to fix it. They're humans, so they all can fail. That's appreciable. I appreciate you saying that they're humans because I think the thing that changed for me is that before the diagnosis, before Celine told us, she asked the person syndrome, I would have told you that she was not a mere mortal, you know that she was not among the regular mortals among us. There was a little bit of that in the set design. This set sort of opens, it looks like a temple for the gods, and she's standing there very firmly. It looks eternal. It looks forever. It's kind of like Celine's just been here all the time. She will be here forever. When you have expectations that high, like even the Chinese little bits people are going to notice, right? It's quite unusual for her. Everything was so tight before. For me also, I was surprised by that. It's the first time, and I saw ten shows of Celine, but I saw a lot of DVDs. They've seen her 13 times, you've seen her 10 times. It was my 10th time, but I got to catch up. That was my first time. It was the first time that I saw her ask her musicians to start again a song. Oh, that's right. I think it was for the chase. She was like, she was conscious. She missed the clue. I love that moment. I was like, "Oh my gosh, she's human." She's human. I think us being reminded actually is good, is healthy for us to be reminded of she's human. Although we're saying this, all the show is made that we see her as a goddess. She's come from the temple. She sings on a platform. She doesn't go to a bit of a distance. She doesn't go to the audience. She doesn't shake hands. She's not Robbie Williamson walking everywhere. She's just, you know, she's like a goddess now, and that's really different from the show. She used to be more accessible. Oh, yeah. She was accessible. She was, she was pinching the audience. It's more energetic. Yeah. And I think that she has to manage a little bit more her energy and it shows on the show. As she said, yeah, I'm working with my disease, so she knows how to work with this adjustment for how they look like. I will say that, like, maybe physically not as accessible as she used to be, but emotionally she was. I just wanted to play you guys a clip. This is Celine, really emotional when she was thanking her fans. Thank you so very much for your support, your patience, and if I may say so, I am everything because you loved her. I mean, look, Celine told us that she was there because we loved her. The reason that she made the comeback wasn't because she loved her. And then she, I know, I goosebumps for me too. I honestly, since she said that and then went into because you loved me, I was just crying for the entirety of the song. And it was still perfect timing for the song. But he was the thing. As you were watching that song, for me, as I was watching that song, as I was actually just crying for the entirety of the song in the speech, I couldn't help but think back to those shots in the documentary of what it looked like for her to go through St. Joseph's Syndrome. Because she told us in that documentary that she had to take double the daily dosage of volume just to get through the day. And I kind of felt a little bit complicated being there last night because I'm like, am I asking you to do this? Is this for me? Don't do this on my back. But does that feel complicated for you at all, Benjamin? Yes and no, because she explained that she felt because of the light she said we're being on stage. And that's her job. Is she just want to do a job again? And maybe into your time that will be, she will be in Vegas and it will be usual. And we will remember the day she came back. But she fought for just being able to do her job. Yeah, I think like there's something to be said about so he is not like other artists. This is this is someone who like you can see her getting energy as the show goes on. There's a reason there's a reason why she meets her fans in front of her hotel and not the media. I think the fans give her so much love and energy and she said in the documentary that she is what she missed the most is to see her fans and have this kind of conversation with that. That's what makes her her more human than any of us because you don't see Beyoncé or Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift. Taylor, she did her rehearsal show of her last show in Paris for 10 days. We never saw her. Now I see. No one, everybody try to catch up. No one saw her. Celine is she's getting to the audience. She's talking to them. And that's why we love her so much because it feels natural. She doesn't hide. She's happy. Yeah, the first of all, I just like that little sort of comment of she's talking to her fans but not the media because I am talking to two media people who have done their best to try to get some access to Lindi on. And for the most part she is not she's not talked to any media at all as we sort of you know have this run. However, she's been outside that hotel every single day so lead up to the show. Last conversation I had with her from a teen said okay we really need an interview we want to make like like 14 pages. And the answer was go in front of the hotel. That's the place where you will find her more accessible because otherwise she said more last night to the audience that in the last two years times you know in the last I mean even though she didn't talk that much. No but she answered the question we were all asking herself how are you. Yeah, she said I'm doing well. I want you to know I'm doing well. She told us that but also we should say in the audience she and I Twain was there. Yeah. Oprah was there. Gil King and Oprah were there. Yeah, they were together sitting not like on eights videos or something. Yeah, whispering among themselves. Also some people from Quebec and some singers from the other people also so yeah it was interesting to see them. They're expecting the biggest VIP crowds for the whole run. For the whole one. Yeah, every night. Yeah. Because I was surprised they weren't that much yesterday. This is 16 shows. There's some more to come. The next show there will be lots lots of people you know the French president is expected the thought I'm not French president are expected. Well some can we also get the tickets for the in a world where the news feels bigger louder and harder to make sense of Canadians need more than headlines. Hi, I'm Karen C. Olin news reporter and host of the big story podcast from world shaping events to the everyday stories that spark debate. My team and I will explain what matters and why it matters to you. We're here to help you make sense of the news and give you the context you need for those kitchen table conversations trusted Canadian focused curious. Listen to the big story wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Elmine of the Mahmoud and this is commotion And we are right now in Paris where Celine Dion just kicked off her residency right here in the city, she's doing 26 shows in Paris. Benjamin Loccajus here and Eugène Le Pimple and those here. And I'm really excited to be talking to both of you. Eugène, let me ask you, but this, like, I want to get into this idea of soft power. Like how Celine is representing both Quebec and Canada on the world stage. Is there a way that Celine sort of represents our values as an ambassador for this country? Like, maybe just something about, something gentler, right, about the way that she is. Yeah. She operates in life. That's actually a very good question and the first thought that I have is that I was a little, not sad, but I was expecting a little more of her, like, Kibbikwa side yesterday. And I think that the audience, you told me, was 40% were from abroad. So I think, I think they don't understand who's the crowd right now. Like who's she speaking? Yeah. So she's not really French. She's not really American. She's not really Canadian. No, she mentioned her mother and we talked about this. She talked about my mom wrote my first song called "Sanitica" and I was thinking, "Oh, maybe she's going to do it for us." Yeah, maybe she will sing her first song, which is like, yeah, she's not like that. And that's the only thing she said about her, her Kibbikwa. About her family, about her heritage, so that surprised me a little bit. But about your question, I think that she's just. She. How do you say? She gathers a lot of people from around the world, but also transgenerational, and she is so kind and so generous. And maybe that's her Canadian Kibbikwa side also. I will say that. And her goofiness? I think it comes from Quebec. She's so funny. She's so funny. But last night I wanted to see that side a little bit more, but I. Yeah. We didn't. No, but I understand that she really. She's goofy, but I was only my first time to hear it. She did? I don't know. I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Her guitar thing, which is like her signature. But she used to dance more. She used to add. But I understand that she doesn't anymore. Like, she really has to. She's 58. We're figuring out where to do something. Not only the age, but also, like, her energy. She really has to manage her energy. And I think she was stressed. I really think that she was stressed out last night. About the nature of the first one. Yeah. There was so much pressure. Yeah. People have flown from all over. Yeah. To watch the show. Okay. Usually, I feel like it's been kind of fascinating for me to watch Celine Dion and the love that Paris has for her. You know, when we talk about the concert, one of the things that she did do is. She kind of acted as a bit of an ambassador for Paris. You know, she was like, "Hey. This is your first time here. I hope that you fell in love with it the same way that I did." And I was like, "Oh, she's maybe acting as de facto the mayor of Paris in the moment." But I feel like there's got to be something to the idea of people in Canada being like, "Hey, why isn't this happening in Montreal?" Do you feel like we'll see any Quebec dates anytime soon? I hope so. I mean, they're rumors and you might. That she will go to Asia and they may be in Montreal after. I don't think so. But we don't have the venue. That's true. That's why they. Yeah. But at the same time, seeing 30,000 people last night, I was like, "I think this show would be better with less people." I think. 45,000 people. No, 30. But in an arena, like the Bell Center. Yeah. Which is like 15 or 20,000 people. That would be amazing. I thought it would be more intimate. And we would hear the public more and we would all get hyped together. And I thought the energy would be better. I said that like weeks ago, but only because I wanted it to be in Montreal. But last night, I was like, I actually proved my point. You're like, "As a matter of fact, move this to Montreal." But I understand why it was in Paris. I mean, there's this love story in Paris with Paris. But it's also very central for people coming around the world. And the venue. Is it for you to exist the venue? Well, it was, but I arrived like three hours before the show. So it was easy, but. Yeah. And yeah, so. And when she arrived in Paris, she said. Which was kind of hurtful. But she said, "It's my second home here." Yeah. Now we're gonna ask her. What is her first home? But still. I don't think you need to ask that. No, yeah, but. She's afraid of. I'm afraid of this. That will be Vegas. She will forget about this. But I don't think she's supposed to. Okay, you're right. Maybe let's not ask that question. No, no, no. But also, I will say that like, there's something about the tirelessness of this woman. Like the idea that you spend the whole week in the run-up to this gigantic show coming out every day. You know, creating your fans, singing with them, dancing in the show. Right? Putting out a show for everybody. How does she keep going, Benjamin? Like, you've interviewed her before. She's hired drugs, you know? Is that the answer? How did she do it? How did she do it? Not because that's the way she does the job. Yeah. She always did that. Yeah, she always did that. And she. I mean, for the last 20 years I've been following her, that's always been lots of people waiting for her. She wouldn't be sitting doing that with people in front of her hotel. Yeah. She needs that and they know this. And because she has always been responding, so they keep coming. Yeah. Then it's the real exchange. You don't see that in Vegas. She couldn't do this in Vegas. She came through the parking and then went back to her home. That's only in Paris that she can't actually see the crowds, touch them, feel them. I think there's something about that idea of her being powered by fans, which is. Yeah. It's just something that you hear from a lot of other artists, but you don't see it in practice. But with Selena, you see this person become more animated. Yeah. Like, take up literally more space as people are yelling her name, right? Yeah, at some level, she's not of her time. Like, she doesn't feed her Instagram that much. I mean, she doesn't, but her team a little bit. But everything is still analog. She actually meets her fans. Yeah. She talks to them. So she really keeps in touch that way. The way it used to be, if you like. The way it used to be. And I remember for the show that she did for 10 years ago after René died. Yeah. The way the audience was here for her, when she. I saw this show. It was in Onverse in Belgium for the first night, the opening night. And that energy that was for her healing, you know? All those people crying with her because she had just lost the love of her life. And she, as always, played this game with the audience, telling the truth, telling what she went through. And we saw her not being able to do her job and then she's back. So yes, that's the energy she gets. Yeah. I think when I think about that idea and I think about how that came out on the show, I just keep returning to that moment after all by myself. The first big note of all by myself. Like, there's a knowing look, the survey exchange between her and the musicians, but also between her and the audience. We got through that, didn't we? We were all waiting for her to get through that. I assume she would say we did this together, you know? I'm sure she sings better when they're the audience than on the rehearsal. I'll take credit for that. That was personally me, right? Yeah, it was entirely because of me. I saw her, she did like a little bit. Yeah, she was like, I'll take credit for some reason. Fine, I'll take credit for some reason. You should. That's meaning you need to stay. Hey, you said that's I guess I must say for the rest of this run. A bunch of like the 16 shows in this in this residency sold out in less than an hour. And then they added another 10 that are happening in 2027. This is we're talking about Europe's largest indoor venue, just selling out just like that. There is something about Celine that is connecting right now. What do you think that is? Like, why do you think people are hungry for Celine Dion right now? Because four years ago, she was thinking that two years ago, so that we would never see her again. Yeah. And the documentary was quite obvious about this in the last sequence. We said, no, she won't be able to sing. And then she made the Olympics. And that was a huge moment in France. Having her on the world. Yeah, for the world. But in France, you know, and it was like, oh, she. She can't sing. Yeah, she can. And she belongs to us. Yeah. That's the French item. I know, I know, I know. I was like, watch in that moment in Paris, you know, like my kid watching me and my wife's sort of like, look at the screen going, oh, wow. Yeah. They're just crying. They're just crying as they watch this unfold. But that's the story of being reborn. You know, she. Everybody likes a comeback story also. Yeah. And nostalgia also has a big part of it, I think. You know, all the merch that is sent, like at the arena, but also at the pop-up store, at Yarnit Lafayette. Most of them are from pictures from the 80s or the 90s. Yes. They were this crew neck from falling into you and those things about Titanic. And this is from her first album in English. So there's that factor also. And in the last five years, there were a lot of TikToks and memes and reels on Instagram of millennial parents showing Celine Dion to our kids. That's me. Oh, just being in their car and singing Celine Dion instead of going to therapy. And I think that nourished her persona and her legend, in a way. And what we saw last night was a reinvention. Because we were used to being funny, being witty, and we saw diva. We saw the equivalent of Barbara Strezon, you know. She's from this top of her gigantic platform, yeah, for sure. And I think we also saw kind of a fragility in her, like an imperfect diva. And maybe people were. will be like critical of that. But I just, I admire that, that she still is able to show her vulnerability in a way. - I think that is a really wonderful place to leave it. I really appreciate you guys being here. - Thank you. - After this, you know what we're gonna do? We're gonna go out to Celine's hotel. - Yeah. - I just came about side. Maybe she'll come out and sing with us. Do you think she will? - Well, maybe if you say, - Last night, there was like 300 people, do you know? - 300, that's C. McSex. - That's pretty excessive. - I'll sing with 300 of the Beatles to Leigh Young. That sounds fine. Let's go do that. I really appreciate your time, you guys. This has been really wonderful. Thanks again for doing this. - Thank you. - Thank you. - Yes, of course. Here's your name, Lupine Blondo is a host of Radio Canada. I'm Benjamin Locage. There's an editor-in-chief for Culture of Paris Match. We are all right here in Paris. By the way, you should go and find our Instagram and our YouTube pages because we've-- - You did such a great job. - We've been uploading a lot of content on there. We've been having the greatest time. (laughing) We went to a Celine Dion karaoke. We heard that you were quite a spectacular show at Backyard karaoke. We missed the one that you went to, but we went to the one right afterwards. We had a great time. In the meantime, my name is Elimine Abdelmajmoud. This show is called Comotion. We are in Paris, but this show will be back tomorrow. We would love to see you then. In the meantime, have a great day. I don't know. Go listen to some Celine Dion because I do think your day kind of needs it. (laughing) That's the way it is. (laughing) (upbeat music) - For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca/podcasts.