EXCLUSIVE Inside the Olympics Control Room: Celine Dion’s Performance & Thomas Jolly talks about her

SUBSCRIBE!
Thomas Jolly (Artistic Director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympics) was a guest of the French Institute in Athens (29/01/2025). During the Q&A, he talks about Celine. And they show exclusive behind-the-scenes footage during Celine's performance of "Hymne A L'Amour". At the end of the event, they show Celine's whole performance on the big screen.
Celine Dion (b. 30 March 1968) is a Canadian pop singer. She's noted for her powerful & technically skilled vocals. She's the best-selling Canadian & French artist of all time.
Youngest of 14 children. She emerged as a teen star. She gained international recognition winning the 1982 Yamaha World Song Festival & the 1988 Eurovision representing Switzerland. After learning English, she released her 1st English album, Unison.
She achieved worldwide fame after releasing best-selling albums in history, such as Falling into You & Let's Talk About Love, each with over 30 million copies. She also scored a series of no1 hits, The Power of Love, Think Twice, Because You Loved Me, It's All Coming Back to Me Now, That's the Way It Is, I'm Alive & her signature song My Heart Will Go On, the theme for the film Titanic. D'eux became the best-selling French album ever. A New Day remains the highest-grossing concert residency & the Taking Chances Tour, one of the highest-grossing tours.
She is one of the best-selling artists with more than 200 million copies & regarded as one of music's most influential vocalists. Winner of 5 Grammys & 2 Oscars. She has the most no1 Adult Contemporary songs for a female artist.
She was named after Hugues Aufray song Céline
At 12 Celine, her mother & her brother wrote Ce n'était qu'un rêve & sent it to René Angélil. He mortgaged his home to fund her 1st record, La voix du bon Dieu
She was bullied at school for her appearance
She is the 1st Canadian to receive a gold record in France for D'amour ou d'amitié
At 18 she retreated from spotlight for months, doing dental work & learning English
Her breakthrough came with the song of Disney's Beauty and the Beast (w/ Peabo Bryson, 1991)
Celine & Rene married in 1994. They have 3 sons
She suffered a miscarriage & lost one of the triplets
She sang The Power of the Dream at the opening of the 1996 Olympic Games
After Rene's diagnosis with cancer she took a break in 2000
In 2016, within 2 days Rene & her brother Daniel died of cancer
She claimed to be a mezzo-soprano.
She cites as idols: Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Charles Aznavour, Carole King, Anne Murray, Barbra Streisand & Bee Gees
Artists cite Dion as influence: Britney Spears, Rihanna, Adele, Josh Groban, Delta Goodrem, Leona Lewis, Jennifer Hudson, Vanessa Hudgens, Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande, Sam Smith, Frank Ocean, Charlotte Cardin & BTS
Artists praised her voice: Beyoncé, Carlos Santana, Elton John, Coldplay, Ne-Yo, Carole King, Barbra Streisand, Luciano Pavarotti, Bee Gees, George Martin, Justin Bieber, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Drake, Cher, Quincy Jones,Tommy Mottola, David Foster, Shania Twain, Jennifer Lopez, Lea Michele, Patti LaBelle
Since her debut, many followed with concert residencies in Las Vegas: Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Usher, Tiesto, Diana Ross, Mariah Carey, Aerosmith, Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, Rod Stewart, Sting, Cardi B, Christina Aguilera & JLo
celinedion.com
#celinedion #celine #music #olympics #olympics2024