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The first time I saw Celine Dion sing live in concert was almost 20 years ago.
It was my 24th birthday present.
But I had loved Celine since the early 90s, when my sisters and I would dramatically belt out “The Power of Love.” Her music stayed with me as I fell in love for the first time, left for college, and started my life as an adult.
So when I walked into The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, and the lights went down and I heard the opening chords to “A New Day Has Come” and Celine’s voice filled the room, I couldn’t help it—I bawled.
It seemed unreal, spiritual even, that any one person’s voice could sound like that. Intimate. Clear. Powerful. Full of life and emotion.
And the one thing I remember more than anything is how effortless she made it all look. It was clear that this was what she was born to do, and we were lucky to witness her doing it.
I was fortunate to see her again a few years later with my mom, cousin, and aunt in Washington D.C. And again in Baltimore in February 2020, just weeks before the world went into lockdown and she had to postpone the rest of her tour.
Each concert, each song felt like meeting an old friend again.
And so my heart broke in 2022 when Celine announced that she had been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that causes severe muscle stiffness and painful spasms. And that it was affecting her vocal chords.
The thought that the world might never hear her voice again—and that she might never be able to do what she was born to do again—was too much to comprehend. And so again, I bawled.
But this morning, I spent hours watching footage from Celine’s first concert of her comeback residency in Paris. Six years after the last time I saw her, and four years after her diagnosis, she stepped on stage and the tears flowed—from her, from me, and I’m sure from anyone who was lucky enough to be there live and witness her magic.
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When she opened her mouth to sing, the voice I’d loved for years was still there. Intimate. Clear. Powerful. Full of life and emotion.
But one thing it wasn’t this time was effortless. You could see the work she had put in. The fear. The uncertainty. The relief. And also the joy. The satisfaction. The healing.
And while watching her still felt like a spiritual experience, it also felt deeply human this time.
She wasn’t just a vocal genius who made performing look easy. She was a woman who had her talent, her livelihood, and her health stripped away—and fought her way back.
So many of us are struggling. We’re dealing with too much, trying to survive without enough, feeling stuck or overwhelmed or burnt out. We’re grieving people and dreams and the realities we thought we’d be living. We are looking for motivation, inspiration, a sign to keep going, to show up and keep the promises we made to ourselves.
Even when everything feels like it’s crumbling around us. Even when life threatens to strip away everything we thought we needed.
These videos of Celine launching her comeback in Paris are that sign for me—and maybe for you too.
Enjoy!
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author: Nicole Cameron
Image: YouTube
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