worth revisiting<\/a>.<\/p>\nDestined for greatness \u2026 Dion in 1991. Photograph: Mark Baker\/Sony Music Archive\/Getty Images18. Misled (1993)<\/p>\n
Dancefloor-focused pop isn\u2019t what Dion is famous for, but The Colour of My Love\u2019s diversion into camp club anthem territory is surprisingly good \u2013 she makes a fine disco diva and the house remixes, by MK and E-Smoove, are great. E-Smoove\u2019s piano-powered Mission mix is the pick.<\/p>\n
17. Ne Bouge Pas (2003)<\/p>\n
The album 1 Fille et 4 Types is an example of Dion deliberately playing against type. Made with a quartet of Francophone singer-songwriters including Jean-Jacques Goldman, it produced the improbable sound of the power ballad queen singing over distorted slide guitar, wailing harmonica and a Bo Diddley beat. Fun!<\/p>\n
16. Encore un Soir (2016)<\/p>\n
Recorded before the death of Dion\u2019s husband, Ren\u00e9 Ang\u00e9lil, but released a few months afterwards, the title track of her 2016 album offers a reflection on the passing of time that was unavoidably coloured by the singer\u2019s loss. A chart-topper in France, it\u2019s a beautiful song, made all the more potent by Dion\u2019s restrained vocal.<\/p>\n
15. I\u2019m Alive (2002)C\u00e9lion Dion: I\u2019m Alive \u2013 video<\/p>\n
A subtle update of Dion\u2019s characteristic style, I\u2019m Alive threw a mid-tempo four-to the-floor beat and a softly chugging synth bassline into the mix to impressive effect. A viral mashup of the track with the Whispers\u2019 disco classic And the Beat Goes On propelled it back into the singles chart 22 years later.<\/p>\n
14. The Prayer (1998)Giant duet \u2026 with Andrea Bocelli at the Grammys in 1999. Photograph: Frank Micelotta Archive\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Take your pick from Dion\u2019s original solo version, a duet with Andrea Bocelli and a later duet with Josh Groban. The Oscar-nominated, Golden-Globe-winning hit from the largely forgotten animated film Quest for Camelot shines regardless, a suitably cinematically orchestrated and lavish showstopper.<\/p>\n
13. To Love You More (1995)<\/p>\n
Originally recorded for a television drama in Japan, To Love You More followed hard on the heels of Dion\u2019s major English-language pop breakthrough album, The Colour of My Love. It\u2019s another vast hit, featuring a beautiful melody, a sprightly string arrangement and a vocal that fires on all cylinders.<\/p>\n
12. A New Day Has Come (2002)C\u00e9line Dion: A New Day Has Come \u2013 video<\/p>\n
Dion\u2019s first release after a couple of years of maternity leave, A New Day Has Come was reflective of her new-mum status: \u201cWhere there was weakness I found my strength \/ All in the eyes of a boy.\u201d One critic suggested it resembled a \u201cgentle exhale\u201d \u2013 certainly, there\u2019s a lovely, lullaby-like quality to its melody.<\/p>\n
11. Pour Que Tu M\u2019Aimes Encore<\/p>\n
If French-speaking listeners thought Dion might turn her back on her native tongue after her English breakthrough, they were wrong. She followed up The Colour of My Love with D\u2019eux, the bestselling album not in English made by a female artist. Its gently funky biggest hit became one of her signature songs.<\/p>\n
10. I Drove All Night (2003)<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an impressive fearlessness about Dion\u2019s choice of covers. The definitive version of I Drove All Night (first released by Cyndi Lauper) is by Roy Orbison, one of the most celebrated and distinctive voices in rock history. No matter: Dion\u2019s take, which replaces the cantering rhythm with a house pulse, is utterly assured.<\/p>\n
Showstopper \u2026 at the Met gala in 2019. Photograph: Stephen Lovekin\/BEI\/Rex\/Shutterstock9. Beauty and the Beast (1991)<\/p>\n
Dion was recruited to provide a more radio-friendly take of the version of the great Disney ballad, sung by Angela Lansbury in the movie. She was a relative newcomer, so Peabo Bryson was employed to amp up the star power; understandably, it\u2019s their version that became the most famous.<\/p>\n
8. Tell Him (1997)<\/p>\n
Barbra Streisand, one of Dion\u2019s biggest idols, suggested a collaboration after Dion deputised for her at the 1997 Oscars ceremony \u2013 she sang Streisand\u2019s duet with Bryan Adams, I Finally Found Someone. Whatever you make of Tell Him\u2019s booming, slightly dated production, there\u2019s no doubt their voices work incredibly well together.<\/p>\n
7. Immortality (1997)C\u00e9line Dion: Immortality \u2013 video<\/p>\n
Written by the Bee Gees for the stage version of Saturday Night Fever \u2013 their 1996 demo was released on their greatest hits record in 2001 \u2013 the trio provide immediately recognisable backing vocals on Dion\u2019s take. It\u2019s a great song: the stately pace and power ballad dynamics suit her perfectly, while the chorus is pure Gibb brothers magic.<\/p>\n
6. All By Myself (1996)<\/p>\n
Another example of Dion boldly claiming an extremely well-known song for herself, her take on Eric Carmen\u2019s mid-70s weepie \u2013 the global theme tune of the recently dumped \u2013 manages to ratchet up the tormented drama. It\u2019s no mean feat, given how dramatic and racked the original sounds.<\/p>\n
5. That\u2019s the Way It Is (1999)<\/p>\n
A new track appended to Dion\u2019s greatest hits collection All The Way \u2026 A Decade of Song, That\u2019s the Way It Is is the handiwork of three Swedish songwriters \u2013 Max Martin among them \u2013 collectively responsible for a string of Britney Spears hits. This is a little lighter and poppier in tone than Dion\u2019s usual work, yet was another huge hit.<\/p>\n
4. My Heart Will Go On (1997)C\u00e9line Dion: My Heart Will Go On \u2013 video<\/p>\n
A No 1 in more than 25 countries \u2013 it shifted more than 18m copies \u2013 the Titanic theme was originally supposed to be sung by the Norwegian soprano Sissel Kyrkjeb\u00f8. It\u2019s almost impossible now to imagine anyone other than Dion singing it, so familiar is her gradual build from fragile whisper to full-on fireworks.<\/p>\n
3. Because You Loved Me (1996)<\/p>\n
Few artists do a big old ballad climax quite like Dion \u2013 and Because You Loved Me is the perfect example. Written by Diane Warren, it slowly develops from hushed beginnings until, three minutes in, Dion hits a series of high notes and her vocal explodes, soaring and imploring over gospel-influenced choir.<\/p>\n
2. The Power of Love (1993)<\/p>\n
Famed in the UK thanks to Jennifer Rush\u2019s chart-topping 1985 original (and not to be confused with the Frankie Goes to Hollywood song), The Power of Love was relatively unknown in the US before Dion got hold of it and turned it into a paean to her romance with her manager, and soon-to-be-husband, Ang\u00e9lil. Synths shiver, drums boom, guitars echo. Dion sounds as if she means every word.<\/p>\n
1. It\u2019s All Coming Back to Me Now (1996)C\u00e9line Dion: It\u2019s All Coming Back to Me Now \u2013 video<\/p>\n
Writer Jim Steinman claimed It\u2019s All Coming Back to Me Now was inspired by the scene in Wuthering Heights when Heathcliff exhumes Cathy\u2019s corpse and dances with it on a beach. No such scene exists, but that\u2019s Steinman for you. His songs are so wilfully overblown that they require a singer with total emotional commitment to pull them off without sounding silly \u2013 and Dion perfectly fit the bill after a version by the girl band Pandora\u2019s Box flopped. She sings it as if it\u2019s a matter of life and death, her voice supremely powerful and emotive even amid Steinman\u2019s characteristic Wagnerian bombast. The end result is a mad, spectacular triumph.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"20. Ashes (2018) When C\u00e9line Dion\u2019s era as a foolproof hitmaker ended, she seemed weirdly liberated and more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":620536,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,61,60,278],"class_list":["post-620535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/620536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}