{"id":930271,"date":"2026-10-16T12:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T12:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/930271\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T12:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T12:54:09","slug":"ai-sound-upgrade-for-celine-dion-and-harry-styles-concerts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/930271\/","title":{"rendered":"AI sound upgrade for Celine Dion and Harry Styles concerts"},"content":{"rendered":"

PARIS \u2013 Canadian singer Celine Dion\u2019s\u00a0voice soared through the Plenitude Arena on the outskirts of Paris<\/a>, bringing her\u00a0Titanic (1997) theme song to fans in the far reaches of the vast entertainment venue almost as clearly as if they were\u00a0next to her on stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most of the 35,000 fans in the stands on a recent night were more focused on the pop diva\u2019s\u00a0outfits, and\u00a0ability to perform while recovering from\u00a0a rare neurological disorder<\/a>, than the constellation of\u00a0speakers surrounding the stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But those black boxes are part of a\u00a0sound system developed by French company L-Acoustics, which is using artificial intelligence to transform the audio experience at live events.<\/p>\n

Earlier in 2026, L-Acoustics, a well-known name in the niche world of high-end audio, launched\u00a0a new software platform called Source Intelligence\u00a0that uses\u00a0machine learning to\u00a0isolate a singer\u2019s voice from distracting background sounds in real time.<\/p>\n

The technology filters out noise from other instruments,\u00a0backup singing, crowds and general sound reverberating around the venue, producing clear vocals and reducing feedback\u00a0that can ruin a show. Source Intelligence can eliminate as much as 40 decibels of\u00a0non-vocal sound, according to the company, an advance that has impressed audio engineers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like voodoo practically,\u201d said Denis Savage, the front-of-house engineer for Dion, who has\u00a0worked with the artiste for 38 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you mix a Celine Dion show, people want to hear Celine Dion. You just need to keep her on top of the mix at all times,\u201d said Savage, who uses Source Intelligence\u00a0to produce the 58-year-old singer\u2019s performances.<\/p>\n

L-Acoustics \u201cjust\u00a0makes that task easier\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

At a time when live events are more popular and more high-tech than ever, several audio companies are working to develop technology to improve sound quality. It is a key component of concerts but often gets overwhelmed by chaotic crowds and\u00a0visual displays.<\/p>\n

Technology separating vocals from other noise has been around for years, pioneered by DJs working in clubs.<\/p>\n

Other audio companies have also been using machine learning and neural networks in their software, such\u00a0as Alpha Labs and Cedar Audio. German rival D&B Audiotechnik in September unveiled a system that allows sound engineers to virtually hear what a concert will sound like from every seat in the house.<\/p>\n

While other systems, such as Alpha Labs\u2019\u00a0De-Feedback, can operate on equipment from various manufacturers, L-Acoustics is taking a page from Apple\u2019s playbook in creating a walled garden.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Source Intelligence works exclusively with L-Acoustics sound systems and requires the company\u2019s L-ISA Processor II, tying customers to its broader hardware and software ecosystem.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Founded in 1984 by Christian Heil, a physicist with a passion for acoustics who was inspired by a Pink Floyd concert, the\u00a0company is seeing a surge in demand, buoyed by the\u00a0boom\u00a0in the live music industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

L-Acoustics\u00a0recently wrapped up a complete overhaul of the Hollywood Bowl,\u00a0and its Source Intelligence platform is behind the\u00a0sound of\u00a0blockbuster tours by singers Harry Styles, Bruno Mars, The Weeknd and Rosalia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For L-Acoustics, which has historically focused on\u00a0hardware \u2013 the company\u00a0helped popularise the \u201cline array\u201d technology of stacking speakers\u00a0in the 1990s \u2013 the expansion into AI software allows it to offer a full system approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving great loudspeakers is not enough\u201d, you also need to have great content and audio, co-chief executive Laurent Vaissie\u00a0said,\u00a0speaking from his office in Nashville.<\/p>\n

L-Acoustics expects revenue to reach\u00a0\u20ac400 million (S$575 million) in 2027, according to Vaissie, a double-digit increase from 2026.\u00a0The closely held company gets most of its business from\u00a0large live shows but is expanding in theatres, sports venues, nightclubs and some high-end retail.<\/p>\n

Creating the sound design\u00a0at the Plenitude Arena presented a unique set of challenges.<\/p>\n

With capacity for as many as 45,000 people across 13km of stands, the place was built to host rugby matches\u00a0and was even used as a swimming pool during the Paris Olympics in 2024.<\/p>\n

For Dion\u2019s 26-concert residency at Plenitude,\u00a0L-Acoustics\u2019 latest generation L1 speakers were hung over the left, centre and right side of the stage.<\/p>\n

The L1 are\u00a0smaller and lighter than previous generations, allowing for better control of the sound direction and coverage. This means Dion\u2019s voice and the bass is coming from the centre cluster of speakers only, giving a more even source of sound for the whole floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith just one source, you get something consistent, and avoid all sorts of problems\u201d such as noise spill and echoes, said Francois Desjardins, Dion\u2019s systems engineer for the show, speaking from the arena\u2019s central console after the Sept 26 concert.<\/p>\n

The speakers also leave the stage up to 26 decibels quieter than where the audience sits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no sound on stage practically,\u201d Savage said. This makes it easier for Dion to hear the actual music and indications pushed in her in-ear\u00a0devices, rather than her own voice bouncing back. \u201cIt\u2019s much cleaner.\u201d<\/p>\n

The whole audiovisual and acoustic system used at Dion\u2019s Plenitude concert costs north of \u20ac1 million, Vaissie said.<\/p>\n

Sound typically takes 10% of a production budget, behind lighting (20%) and video (40%). The technical gear for Dion\u2019s residency was bought by Solotech, a Montreal-based production company that provides it to AEG Worldwide, the show\u2019s producer.<\/p>\n

Solotech will use L-Acoustic\u2019s\u00a0speakers\u00a0on different gigs over the coming months, and they will return to Paris in 2027 when Dion is back for a new series of 10 shows.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The L1 speakers are assembled in Marcoussis, south of Paris, where L-Acoustics keeps its factory, headquarters and French DNA.\u00a0The bulk of the acoustics core technology \u2013 including some speaker components \u2013\u00a0are made in Germany and assembled in France.<\/p>\n

The firm has 1,100 employees, about 20% of whom\u00a0work on research and development, and it has seen consistent growth over the past two decades, Vaissie said.<\/p>\n

Despite\u00a0concerns within the music industry about AI, Vaissie believes L-Acoustics\u2019\u00a0software is not going to automate the work of sound experts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not taking the job of the mixing engineer,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is replacing other techniques that they used.\u201d Bloomberg<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PARIS \u2013 Canadian singer Celine Dion\u2019s\u00a0voice soared through the Plenitude Arena on the outskirts of Paris, bringing her\u00a0Titanic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":930272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,136],"class_list":["post-930271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=930271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/930272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=930271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=930271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=930271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}