The ‘Titanic singer.’ That is how most people know about the revolutionary icon that is Celine Dion. Yes, icon. Legend. Queen. I have said it many times, and I will say it again to the people in the back: Celine Dion is the most underrated singer of the vocal trinity and she deserves a lot more attention. Don’t believe me?
Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey (the other two members of the trinity) all have cult followings and their spaces are completely justified in the pantheon of legendary vocalists. From the way Mariah revolutionized R&B music with 1995’s Fantasy remix or how I Will Always Love You became the best selling soundtracks of all time, these two women are always, always on top. But what about Celine? Why is she so underrated and why, I believe as a fan, she should get more appreciation for everything she does?
Here’s the scoop:
Celine Dion was born in Charlemagne, a small town near Montreal, Canada, so she had to learn English in order to conquer the English speaking market. She had released many French studio albums since the age of 12 (yes, 12) that had charted in Canada and France, won the Eurovision song contest in 1988 at the age of 20, the Yamaha Festival in Japan, had gold charted albums, and had gained a good amount of recognition and awards in the french speaking world before going into the anglophone market.
Then, she learned English, and released Unison in 1990. The lead single “Where Does My Heart Beat Now” gained certain notoriety on the charts and eventually was certified gold in the United States. But it was 1991’s “Beauty and the Beast” duet with Peabo Bryson, yes that Disney movie you probably watched as a kid, that catapulted her into even more recognition and made her win her first Grammy and Academy Award.
Despite all of this, her popularity was not that high, meanwhile the two other singers of the trinity kept charting on the Billboard charts and getting number one singles every year. I mean, who could forget Mariah’s Emotions and MTV unplugged in 1992? No one. But, that being said, Celine still didn’t get much recognition until 1993’s The Colour of My Love album. And still, even though she charted with The Power of Love in the Billboard top 100, most of the people in the United States barely knew her, while the rest of the world (looking at you, UK), had Think Twice as one of its most profitable singles from the same album! I mean… come on!!!
Not to mention, she still recorded songs in French! It wasn’t until 1995’s D’eux, also known as The French Album, also known as the bestselling French CD in the history of France, and 1996’s Falling Into You that finally made her a household name in the U.S and all over the world. It was the best-selling album of 1996. She won a number of awards from those two albums alone, including two Grammy awards, two Victories de la Musique awards (the French equivalent of the Grammys), and many many more. The unforgettable setlist of both albums became instant hits and classics. My Heart Will Go On (the soundtrack to Titanic you’re probably sick of listening to at this point in time) made her a smash sensation in 1997. And the rest is pretty much history.
But enough about her biography, let’s talk about her voice. Celine has a range that spans 3-3.5 octaves and is considered to be a lyric soprano. Her resonance seems to be her most famous and versatile asset when it comes to singing. To quote a sound engineer in 2007, “When you do that big note, can you step away a little bit? You’re pushing air and have a very high frequency. Technology isn’t there yet.” This means that her resonance cannot be fully captured by modern technology. If you still don’t believe me, go check out her Taking Chances recording sessions on YouTube.
Also, her impact on Las Vegas has been so enormous that she turned the city upside down into the entertainment juggernaut it is in 2021. The Colosseum at Caesars Palace didn’t exist if it weren’t for Celine back in 2003, and the concept of the residency was unknown in the early 00s. It wasn’t until she decided to take chances and gamble with it that A New Day… became the best-selling residency in Las Vegas history and she is currently the best female touring act of all time, surpassing Madonna, as of 2021.
At the end of the day, the trio that is the vocal trinity is unmatched and shall not be compared to one another. But know that Celine also deserves more love, and appreciation for all the amazing things she has done throughout her life and career. So, as March is women’s month, go and give her repertoire a listen. Go beyond “My Heart Will Go On” into the more obscure and underrated albums of her vault. You will feel emotions and impacts from one of the juggernauts of the industry. Who can hold an English and French career simultaneously and still sell stadiums and albums as of 2021? Celine. That’s who. So give it a try. I swear one of these days, you’ll have a song or two stuck in your head.
Information is taken from Celine Dion’s official webpage, her vevo account on Youtube, and her DVDs throughout the years.