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Céline Marie Claudette Dion CC OQ (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer.

Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her music has incorporated genres such as pop, rock, R&B, gospel, and classical music.

In 1999, Dion received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2004, one which she dedicated to her father, who had died the month prior. In May 2003, she placed at No. 10 on VH1‘s list of “50 Greatest Women of the Video Era”.Dion’s album Falling into You is included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame‘s Definitive 200 list. “My Heart Will Go On” was included in the list of Songs of the Century, by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2021, Dion was ranked by Forbes as the third richest woman in entertainment with an estimated net worth of US$460 million.

In October 2010, Dion was named a Goodwill Ambassador, a program created by the UN in 1999, sharing this accolade with Oscar-winner Susan Sarandon. She also received several state decorations. In 2004, she was awarded the Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award. On 26 July 2013, she was awarded the highest rank of the Order of Canada, the Companion of the Order of Canada, by the Governor General of Canada and the investiture ceremony was held at Citadelle of Quebec, in which they said: “An incomparable artist, she is equally known for her compassion, generosity, and commitment to a number of social and humanitarian causes. She is notably the national celebrity patron for Cystic Fibrosis Canada and the honorary patron of the CHU Sainte-Justine.

By the end of 1998, Dion was recognized by Billboard as the “Woman of the Year”.They also stated how Céline’s voice was featured in eight charting albums on Billboard 200 year-end chart which sold 18 million units during a calendar year (excluding her own catalog sales and recent releases at that time). The West University of Timișoara conducted a research study that analyzes Céline Dion’s contributions to global music culture in both spatial and temporal terms, In November 2013, Dion was inducted at the American Gaming Association Hall Of Fame for her outstanding contributions to the growth and stature of the gaming industry.

Dion cites idols as varied as Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Charles Aznavour, Carole King, Anne Murray, Barbra Streisand, and the Bee Gees, all of whom she would eventually collaborate with. Michael Jackson in particular was a major motivation for her to learn English as early as in the 1980s. Her music has been influenced by numerous genres, including pop, rock, gospel, R&B, and soul.

 

 

Photo by Joshua Hanson on Unsplash