PARIS, March 31 — Megastar singer Celine Dion on Monday announced her return to performing after a lengthy break prompted by a rare health condition, calling the comeback news revealed on her birthday “the best gift”.
Addressing fans in a video released on social media, the 58-year-old Canadian said her condition had improved and she would perform a series of shows in Paris beginning in September.
“This year, I’m getting the best birthday gift of my life. I’m getting the chance to see you, to perform for you once again,” she said.
Dion will also release a new single, her entourage confirmed to AFP, by one of her best-known composers, Jean-Jacques Goldman, who was behind the album D’eux that made her famous.
She is expected to perform the new song at the Paris shows – an event that comes more than six years since she was forced to step away from the stage.
Her “Courage World Tour,” launched in late 2019 was cancelled a few months after it began because of the Covid-19 pandemic, then due to the singer’s health problems.
‘Feeling good’
“I want to let you know that I’m doing great, managing my health, feeling good,” she said in her post on Monday.
Dion first disclosed in December 2022 that she had been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, an incurable autoimmune disorder.
The Quebec-born star was forced to cancel the remainder of her shows indefinitely.
Treatment can help alleviate symptoms of the condition that can cause stiff muscles in the torso, arms and legs.
The 2024 documentary I Am: Celine Dion provided an intimate look at the charismatic performer’s career and the severity of her pain from the condition, including suffering a seizure.
Despite the diagnosis, Dion vowed she would fight her way back to the stage.
“I’m not dead,” the singer told AFP in 2024 on the red carpet ahead of the premiere of the documentary.
Later that year Dion sang from the Eiffel Tower for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony, while athletes sailed down the river in pouring rain.
The Eiffel Tower was again lit up Monday for Dion, as crowds gathered to watch a light show with written messages on the side of the tower saying “Paris, I’m ready,” followed by her cover of Edith Piaf’s L’hymne a l’amour (Hymn to Love).
Singing again
Dion was launched onto the global stage in 1988 representing Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin.
Then aged 20, she sang Ne partez pas sans moi (Don’t Leave Without Me), which won her the prize.
The following year, Dion opened the TV extravaganza for host Switzerland with her winning French-language song.
She then premiered the single Where Does My Heart Beat Now – heralding her career switch into English, which set her on the path to global chart domination.
She has sold more than 260 million albums during a career spanning decades, and has won five Grammys – two for My Heart Will Go On, the hit song from the 1997 epic Titanic.
On Monday, Dion told fans that she has continued to feel their support despite her years off stage.
“Even in my most difficult times, you were there for me. You’ve helped me in ways that I can’t even describe, and I’m truly so fortunate to have your support,” she said, describing that she was now “singing again, even doing a little bit of dancing”.
Dion is set to perform 10 shows over five weeks at the Paris La Defense Arena beginning on September 12. — AFP
