Celine Marie Claudette Dion, OC OQ (born March 30, 1968 in Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian Grammy and Juno award winning pop singer and occasional songwriter. Born to a large, impoverished family in Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion became a young star in francophone Canada after her manager and future husband, René Angelil, mortgaged his home to finance her first record. She later gained recognition in parts of Europe and Asia after she won both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest.

In 1990 Dion established a grip in the Anglophone music market with the release of Unison, published by Epic Records. During the 1990s, she achieved worldwide fame and success with several English and French records, of which her most successful were Falling into You (1996), and "My Heart Will Go On" (1998) the theme to the 1997 film Titanic. In 1999 she announced a break from entertainment in order to focus on her husband, who was diagnosed with throat cancer.

Three years later, Dion returned to the music scene with the release of A New Day Has Come. By 2004 she had added record sales of 175 million, and was presented with the Chopard Diamond Award from the World Music Awards show for becoming the Best-selling Female Artist in the World. As of 2003 Dion under a contract, that extends through December 2007. Dion's music has been influenced by various genres, from pop and rock ( http://www.ticketnest.com/Pop-Rock.php ) to gospel and classical. She is noted for her technically skilled and powerful vocals.

Music and recording career:

1990?1992: Career breakthrough:

Dion's earlier work consisted of strong rock music influences. A year after she learned English, Dion made an attempt at breaking into the Anglophone market with Unison (1990). She incorporated the help of many established musicians, including Canadian producer David Foster and Vito Luprano. The album was largely influenced by 1980s soft rock fit for the adult contemporary radio format.

1993?1995: Popularity established:

In 1993, Dion publicly indicated her feelings for her manager by declaring him "the colour of love" in the dedication section of her third Anglophone album The Color of My Love. Eventually, Angelil and Dion married in an extravagant wedding ceremony in December 1994.

2000?2002: Career break

After releasing and promoting thirteen albums during the 1990s, Dion felt that she needed to settle down, and announced on her final album, All the Way that she had experienced, she needed a break to enjoy her personal life. Angelil's diagnosis with throat cancer also prompted her to retire. After undergoing fertility treatments, she gave birth to a son, Ren?harles Dion Angelil, on January 25, 2001.

2002?2003: Return to music:

Dion's appropriately titled A New Day Has Come, released in March 2002, ended her two-year break from the music industry. The theme of the album was "new beginnings," and even though it did not incorporate many genres, a few dance-pop tunes ("I'm Alive" and "Sorry for Love") could be found among a throng of adult contemporary tracks. Shania Twain and Chantal Kreviazuk also appeared on the album and sang backing vocals. The album established a more mature side of Dion with the songs "A New Day Has Come," "Nature Boy" and "Goodbye's."

2003?present: A New Day... Live in Las Vegas

Dion performing "I'm Alive" during her show A New Day... in Las Vegas. In early 2002, Dion announced a three-year, 600-show contract to appear five nights a week in an entertainment extravaganza, A New Day, at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. This move was seen as "one of the smartest business decisions in years by any major recording artist" given the poor performance of her current releases.

She conceived the idea for the show after seeing O by Dragone early in her break from recording, and began on March 25, 2003, in a 4000-seat arena designed for her show. The show, put together by Franco Dragone, is a combination of dance, music, and visual effects. It includes Dion performing her biggest hits against an array of dancers and special effects.

In 2005, Dion released her first comprehensive greatest hits album in French, On Ne Change Pas, which features three new songs, including a duet with Il Divo called "I Believe in You". A New Day? was the 6th biggest selling tour in America in 2006. In February 2007, Dion made her latest contribution to a tribute album, the song "I Knew I Loved You" (based on a theme from Once Upon a Time in America), the attraction track on the CD We All Love Ennio Morricone. She went on to perform this song at the 2007 Academy Awards to honor Ennio Morricone.

Dion's next French language album D'Elles is scheduled for released on May 21, 2007 in Europe and Brazil. It will be released in Canada the following day. The first single "Et S'il N'en Restait Qu'une (Je Serais Celle-l? premiered on the radio in Francophone countries on February 14, 2007. Dion is also working on a new English album to be released in October 2007.

During an interview on the 2007 Academy Awards red carpet with Ryan Seacrest for E! Seacrest asked Dion about her plans after her show ends. Dion advised her "intention was to have a short rest and a possible tour of the world" before going on to have another baby.

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