Here are the latest certifications from Music Canada. Congratulations to the artists and a big thank you to Canadians for continuing to support them by buying their music.
Tag Archives: Celine Dion
Celine Dion Launches Her Finest Album of the New Millennium
Céline Dion, CC, who started out as a teen star became the best-selling Canadian recording artist of all-time having sold some 200 million records worldwide. At home, she has scored six diamond albums and won 20 JUNO awards. To her name are 31 Top 40 hits, about half of which (16) have made the Top 10. Her most recent of the latter category was 2007’s “Taking Chances” (#9). Celine continues her reign as a formidable hit generator with her latest album Loved Me Back to Life, a followup to last year’s triple platinum, Félix award winning Sans Attendre. Like all superstars who manage to continue their success, Céline is able to keep up with the changing trends in musical style while never losing her foothold on the foundation of her persona.
The standard version of Loved Me Back to Life contains 13 tracks (15 on the deluxe version) of mostly original songs with a couple of covers. To be frank, we are quite amazed at the quality of this work. The vocal excellence is a given (check out “Breakaway”) but here Celine pulls off a surprisingly masterful handling of genuine modern pop music while at the same time never losing sight of her AC roots, and she gives the R&B tracks a more classy treatment than what we are accustomed to these days. Simply put, Loved Me Back to Life is Celine’s finest album of the new millennium. To take full advantage of the sound, we recommend buying this on CD and picking up the deluxe version for the two exquisite bonus covers. We provide the iTunes link below so you can have a listen to the song samples. This album is highly recommended.
Loved Me Back to Life on iTunes Celine Dion’s Official Website
Ice Conduit to the 2013 ADISQ Gala: AC Album of the Year Nominees
Sans Attendre by Céline Dion
A triple-platinum release at home with worldwide sales in excess of 1.3 million, the most successful Canadian recording artist of all-time remains a force to be reckoned with. The album contains “Parler à mon père” which peaked at #53 on the Canadian Hot 100 and was the 77th biggest song of 2012 in France. It is a dedication to Céline’s father (and #1 fan) who passed away several years ago. The disc also has three duets: with legendary Canadian Jean-Pierre Ferland, Johnny Hallyday (best-selling French recording artist of all-time), and virtual duet with Caribbean singer Henri Salvador.
L’instant aimé by Jorane
Québec City’s Baroque-pop singer-songwriter Jorane has been called the Tori Amos of the cello. She makes classical folk pop with a dash of the avant-garde. She has received well over 20 Félix nominations, winning one for Folk Album of the Year in 2004, and has also been nominated for 2 JUNOs. Mostly originals, this 10th album of hers also contains a cover of Diane Dufresne’s “J’ai rencontré l’homme de ma vie” as well as of Indochine’s classic “J’ai demandé à la lune”. There are also 2 instrumental (voice without words) tracks.
C’est d’l’amour ou c’est comme by Lindsay & De Larochellière
They are both JUNO winning recording artists. She is a newer artist from Guelph, ON. Though an Anglophone, she fell in love with French music and culture on a trip to France when she was 18. She released her first album in 2006. He is a veteran, having scored a number of hit singles in the late 80s to early 90s and released a platinum album. The two of them met at a music festival and experienced instant chemistry. De Larochellière’s manager had the idea of their making an album together. This is the fruit of their labours, a sweet folk-pop album.
L’escapade by Ingrid St-Pierre
Fairly new to the club, this is the second LP from charming, candid, and intelligent Ingrid St-Pierre who had previously dazzled the citizens of Trois-Rivières with her café lounge piano and string quartet gigs. Her first album procured a trio of Félix nominations (her music video for “Ficelles” was nothing short of stunning). L’escapade continues her drive towards the highest standards of art and beauty and showcases a celebration of autumn’s pretty melancholy best enjoyed, in her words, while dressed in wool garments eating some toffee.
Confidences by Roch Voisine
He is a multiplatinum artist at home and in 1989 became the first Canadian Francophone artist to score a diamond album in France, thanks to Hélène. He has scored huge hits in both official languages, his best-known Anglo song being the David Foster-produced “I’ll Always Be There”. New Brunswick’s 2-time JUNO winner Roch Voisine, after completing his Americana trilogy of covers, unveiled his 20th studio album, Confidences, which consists of entirely original compositions, including the single “Montréal-Québec” as well as a 14-minute-long song entitled “Le chemin”.
Ice Conduit to the 2013 ADISQ Gala: Best-Selling Album of the Year Nominees
Star Académie Noël by Various Artists
As the title suggests, this is a Christmas album by the 14 stellar 2012 finalists of Montréal hit TV reality series Star Académie. In just 17 days, it was certified platinum. Season’s greetings classics were arranged under the artistic direction of multiplatinum recording artist Gregory Charles in a variety of genres: gospel, folk, pop, traditional vocal, AC, jazz, and blues. Hearing these holiday tunes confirms that Leclerc, Bédard, Lachance, Audet, May, Malette, Lee, Couture, Benoit, Morin, Dion, Lafond, Guerrette, and Pelletier are among the best young vocalists in the country.
Mes amours, mes amis by Paul Daraîche
This platinum album contains 15 sumptuous tunes of quintessential country singer Paul Daraîche, all performed in duets with some of Canada’s biggest superstars: Lynda Lemay, Daniel Lavoie, Richard Desjardins, Isabelle Boulay, Roch Voisine, Isabelle Boulay, Mario Pelchat, Yves Lambert, Édith Butler, Maxime Landry, Laurence Jalbert, Patrick Norman, Luce Dufault, Cindy Daniel, and Marc Hervieux. Onboard as well are French stars Dick Rivers and Hugues Aufray. Paul has a music career spanning 45 years and has sold 1.7 million albums. This is his 27th.
Sans Attendre by Céline Dion
A triple-platinum release at home with worldwide sales in excess of 1.3 million, the most successful Canadian recording artist of all-time remains a force to be reckoned with. The album contains “Parler à mon père” which peaked at #53 on the Canadian Hot 100 and was the 77th biggest song of 2012 in France. It is a dedication to Céline’s father (and #1 fan) who passed away several years ago. The disc also has three duets: with legendary Canadian Jean-Pierre Ferland, Johnny Hallyday (best-selling French recording artist of all-time), and virtual duet with Caribbean singer Henri Salvador.
Le Québec est mort, Vive le Québec! by Loco Locass
Around since 1995, Loco Locass perform Franco rap music of a highly political nature. They are a trio with nicknames Biz, Batlam, and Chafiik augmented by several musicians. In the past, the group’s album Amour Oral was certified gold and won a pair of Félix awards. This album of theirs landed on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart at #4, was nominated for Recording Package of the Year JUNO, and funky track “Le mémoire de Loco Locass” finished in the year-end CKOI Top 50 chart. With their sophisticated brand of rap, they have been recognized for their strong compositional skills.
Miroir by Marie-Mai
Upon release, Marie-Mai’s 4th studio album topped the iTunes albums chart. Recently, it has been certified platinum. It contains her smash hits “Sans cri ni haine”, a Franco cover of Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend” and “C.O.B.R.A.” both of which made the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. The album presents a thoughtful blend of Marie-Mai’s signature high-energy tunes like “Toujours là”, delicate ballads like “Différents”, heartland guitar tracks like “Je rêve de nous”, and piano-driven melodies like “Si les mots”. The English tracks were taken from 2010 recordings of an unreleased Anglo EP.
Céline Dion’s Loved Me Back to Life Official Track List
At home, Céline Dion has scored 34 Top 40 singles, six diamond albums, and 20 JUNO awards. Worldwide, she has received some 175 awards and has sold an estimated 200 million records. She is the best-selling Canadian recording artist of all-time and is ranked 9th in the world. Loved Me Back to Life is the name of her upcoming studio album, her first Anglophone release since 2007’s Taking Chances. Last year, her Francophone Sans Attendre was certified triple platinum at home, the year’s most successful album from a domestic recording artist. Loved Me Back to Life will be released November 5 and can already be pre-ordered through the usual outlets.
As to be expected, the team involved in making the album included some of the world’s top songwriters and producers. This time around, Céline has opted mainly for those involved in the R&B dominion of music. Loved Me Back to Life was produced by Tricky Stewart responsible for #1 hits “Single Ladies” by Beyoncé, “Touch My Body” by Mariah Carey, “Me Against the Music” by Britney Spears, and “Umbrella” by Rihanna. Also onboard the production team was Babyface who has won ten American Grammy Awards. Below is the official track list with notes on some of them.
Loved Me Back to Life Official Track List
1. “Loved Me Back to Life”
This is the album’s opening song, title track, and lead single, currently available for download via iTunes. You can preview the entire song on SoundCloud (see below). The song was composed by Australian recording artist Sia Furler who was the featured vocalist on David Guetta’s “Titanium” and who co-wrote Rihanna’s “Diamonds”. Dion performed it live in Québec City at the end of July and is scheduled for U.S. chat show performances on Jimmy Kimmel September 6 and Ellen DeGeneres September 11. Please note that most of the lyrics for the song posted online are wrong. Celine’s team should release the official lyrics in due course.
2. “Somebody Loves Somebody”
This track was produced by Swedish trio Play Production and co-composed by American singer-songwriter Audra Mae (who incidentally is actress Judy Garland’s great-great niece).
3. “Incredible” (with Ne-Yo)
Ne-Yo is an American artist who has scored a couple of Top 10 hits in Canada. He previously worked with Céline on her Taking Chances album, co-writing and co-producing “I Got Nothin’ Left”. This new track is a duet and Ne-Yo commented that singing with Céline made him question his own vocal ability.
4. “Water and a Flame”
The original song was recorded by Australian singer Daniel Merriweather and featured Adele. It was not a big hit. We expect that to change with Céline’s version.
5. “Breakaway”
6. “Save Your Soul”
This was composed by Colombian artist Danny Mercer who has worked with Pitbull, The Wanted, and will.i.am.
7. “Didn’t Know Love”
This was co-written by Britain’s Francis “Eg” White who has worked with such stars as Adele, Will Young, and James Blunt.
8. “Thank You”
Composed by the aforementioned Ne-Yo.
9. “Overjoyed” (with Stevie Wonder)
Céline has performed this in her Las Vegas shows. Stevie Wonder needs no introduction and wrote and performed the original, a U.S. Top 30 hit in 1986. He rearranged and reworked the song for Céline.
10. “Thankful”
11. “At Seventeen”
This is a cover of the original Janis Ian song which was a U.S. Billboard #3 hit in 1975.
12. “Always Be Your Girl”
13. “Unfinished Songs”
This was written by Diane Warren and was featured in the British film Song for Marion though not included on the soundtrack as it was to be saved for the Céline Dion album.
Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks
14. “How Do You Keep the Music Playing”
15. “Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel)”
This is a cover of the Billy Joel song from his 1993 album River of Dreams.
Celebrity Baby, Reunion, Stateside Release, New Music
Mr. Entertainment, Michael Bublé, and Argentine wife Luisana Lopilato are now the proud parents of a baby boy. Noah arrived 2:26 a.m. in Vancouver. Congratulations to this awesome couple!
A number of you may remember Stereos, a JUNO-nominated, multi-platinum band from Edmonton. Member Patrick Kordyback of the now defunct outfit has formed a new one called i65 which has been signed by Vancouver label 604 Records (Carly Rae Jepsen, Marianas Trench). Their debut single “Another Summer” is available now.
From “Painted Ladies” in 1973 to “Levity” in 1985, The Ian Thomas band enjoyed radio airwave success across the country, the front man being the real life brother of adored Canadian comedic actor Dave Thomas (Grace Under Fire and Bob & Doug McKenzie, eh). The band has reunited after 33 years to help their ailing band mate. You can read about it HERE.
Due to the success of Harmony and its first two singles, Serena Ryder‘s team will be releasing the album in the United States. Billboard magazine has all the info HERE.
It appears that a number of upcoming album releases are getting pushed back to November. Yes, those strategizing record companies! This may have to do with taking advantage of Christmas shopping culture or it may not. In any case, it appears that the new albums from Céline Dion and Avril Lavigne are now to be in record stores in November rather than early autumn.
Speaking of November, multi-platinum, JUNO-winning BC band Hedley has announced a brand new studio album, Wild Life, due out on Remembrance Day. Lead single “Anything” has cracked the iTunes Top 5.
Celine Dion Receives the Country’s Highest Honour
In July, international superstar singer Celine Dion was awarded with the country’s highest honour: Companion of the Order of Canada. She was named as such back in 2008; however, she was officially presented with the insignia last month from Governor General David Johnston at the Citadel of Quebec. Celine Dion has received 175 awards from around the world and has sold an estimated 200 million records. Her latest album, Loved Me Back to Life, is to be released in the fall. Celine’s husband Rene Angelil was also presented with an insignia – for Member of the Order of Canada – for his work as a music producer assiting Francophone artists to make it onto the world stage. In the beginning of it all, Rene mortgaged his own house to help fund Celine Dion’s career.
We thought we would take this opportunity to offer our congratulations and also (especially for our international readers) explain Canada’s system for recognizing citizens who perform outstanding service to the country. What is the Order of Canada?
The Order of Merit
Firstly, the highest honour for a Canadian, or any citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations under the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, is actually the Order of Merit. This is awarded by the Queen and is limited to only 24 living individuals (besides a limited number of honorary members) at one time. The only living Canadian member is former Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Recipients are members for life and receive post-nominal letters OM and a medallion.
The Order of Canada
The second highest honour for a Canadian is the Order of Canada which was introduced during the country’s centennial birthday in 1967. The Order is divided into three tiers: Companion (highest in rank), Officer, and Member. At a special ceremony, the awards are presented by Canada’s Governor General (the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II).
Companions of the Order of Canada
Companions of the Order of Canada (post-nominal letters: CC), have demonstrated a lifetime of outstanding achievement and merit of the highest degree, especially in service to Canada or to humanity at large. Appointments are limited to 15 per year and 165 living individuals at any given time. Besides Celine, other current members include filmmaker Denys Arcand, author Margaret Atwood, neurosurgeon Claude Bertrand, Canada’s first female Prime Minister Kim Campbell, poet and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, astronaut Marc Garneau, hockey player Wayne Gretzky, director Norman Jewison, ballerina Karen Kain, diplomat Stephen Lewis, singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, actor Christopher Plummer, and educator David Suzuki.
Deceased companions include co-discoverer of insulin Charles Best, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada John Cartwright, politician (responsible for Canada’s health care system) Tommy Douglas, architect Arthur Erickson, opera singer Maureen Forrester, humanitarian and social activist Terry Fox, journalist Peter Gzowski, painter Lawren Harris, Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lester B. Pearson, and jazz pianist Oscar Peterson.
Officers of the Order of Canada
The Officer of the Order of Canada (post-nominal letters: OC) recognizes a lifetime of achievement and merit of a high degree, especially in service to Canada or to humanity at large. Appointments are limited to 64 per year and there is no limit to the number of living individuals at any given time.
Officers include singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, music producer David Foster, actor Donald Sutherland, basketball player Steve Nash, and news anchor Peter Mansbridge.
Members of the Order of Canada
The Member of the Order of Canada (post-nominal letters: CM) recognizes a lifetime of distinguished service in or to a particular community, group or field of activity. Appointments are limited to 136 per year and there is no limit to the number of living individuals at any given time.
Examples of Members include children’s singer-songwriter Raffi, jazz musician Maynard Ferguson, hockey player Trevor Linden, and sports-caster Howie Meeker.
Promotions and Medals
Individuals can receive “promotions” within the order. For example, an Officer, through increased contributions to humanity, can be promoted to a Companion. The award can be revoked (for criminal conviction, for example). And recipients can also refuse the award or resign later on.
Recipients of the Order of Canada receive a medal. The insignia is a six-point snowflake, with a red annulus at the center bearing a maple leaf. The Companion medal has a red maple leaf, Officer gold, and Member silver. All medals bear an inscription of the motto of the Order—DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM—which means “They desire a better country”). The annulus is surmounted by St. Edward’s Crown.
World’s All-Time 9th Biggest Recording Artist Releasing New Album in November
It has come to our attention that the world’s 9th best-selling recording artist of all-time will be launching new album Loved Me Back to Life November 4/5. She was born in the quaint town pictured above. She’s Canadian, and her name is Céline Dion. Celine originally wanted to release two back-to-back albums at the end of last year, one French and one English, but later it was decided to re-work the English album. Her French album Sans Attendre did very well, and at triple platinum was the best-selling Canadian release domestically last year.
Apparently, the main reason for delaying the English album was a change of decision from a half covers/half originals release to an album of mostly originals. In our humble opinion, this was a good call. Celine’s celestial voice has the world’s finest songwriters composing for her, so why not have mostly originals? The album title is named for what is rumoured to be the album’s first single which was composed by Australia’s Sia Furler. Celine performed this song live in Québec City in July. It is also rumoured that one of the couple of covers on the album will be Journey’s “Open Arms”.
So, there you have it. This will be Celine Dion’s first English album since 2007’s Taking Chances. We will give you more on the new album (including the cover art) when the info becomes available.
Ice Conduit to the 2013 JUNOs: ALBUM OF THE YEAR Nominees
Normally, the JUNOs honour democracy by giving this award to the best-selling album. Last year, Michael Bublé’s Christmas took the award. It was the second best-selling album in the world, outsold only by Adele’s 21. The best-selling Canadian album in the world last year was Justin Bieber’s Believe, while domestically, it was Céline Dion’s Sans Attendre. It would certainly be fabulous to see either the work of a youth or a Francophone album nab the award. Hedley’s Storms which continued to sell well last year won the Pop Album award last year. New to the international scene, Carly Rae Jepsen is up for the award for her second LP Kiss as is Marianas Trench for Ever After. Below are some tidbits about the artists and the albums.
Carly Rae Jepsen, Kiss
Mission, BC’s pop princess is up for five JUNO awards this year, adding to her two nominations from 2010. Kiss is her second full-length album, the first being Tug of War. In-between the two, she released her EP Curiosity. Kiss was named by Allmusic.com as 2012’s tenth best album in the world and has achieved gold certification in Canada. It contains the best-selling Canadian single of all-time domestically, “Call Me Maybe” (7x platinum), a re-mix of her Top 20 gold hit “Curiosity”, #1 hit “Good Time” with Owl City, Top 40 collaboration with Justin Bieber, “Beautiful”, Top 30 hit “This Kiss”, and her current charting single “Tonight I’m Getting Over You”.
Céline Dion, Sans Attendre
The Charlemagne, Québec native is the best-selling Canadian recording artist of all-time worldwide. Currently, having sold 114 million records, she ranks 11th in the world. The album title, literally meaning “without waiting”, was the only triple platinum Canadian release in 2012. Sans Attendre contains three duets with prominent singers: legendary Canadian Jean-Pierre Ferland, Johnny Hallyday (best-selling French recording artist of all-time), and Caribbean singer Henri Salvador. As the latter is no longer with us, this is a virtual duet. The first single from the album “Parler à mon père” peaked at #53 on the Canadian Hot 100, a respectable feat for a Francophone tune. It was the year’s 77th biggest song in France. “Les Petits Pieds de Lea” made it to #80 on the Canadian Hot 100. Dion has won 20 JUNO awards.
Hedley, Storms
The BC band’s 4th studio album won the JUNO for Pop Album of the Year last year. It has since attained platinum certification. The album spawned hit single “Invincible”, a Top 10 hit, and “One Life”, a Top 20 hit. Both songs made the year-end charts. Hedley released “Kiss You Inside Out” as a separate single later on. It became the band’s best-selling single, peaking at #2 and finishing 2012 as the 2nd biggest Canadian song of the year. Due to its success, Hedley re-released Storms to include the single. The band has so far won two JUNO awards.
Justin Bieber, Believe
Stratford, Ontario’s 19-year-old Justin Bieber has won 3 JUNOs thus far including one for Pop Album of the Year in 2011 (for My World 2.0). Believe was the world’s best-selling album from a Canadian artist in 2012 and a double-platinum release at home. It debuted at #1 in 30 countries and sold 57,000 copies domestically in its first week of release. Bieber has sold a million records in Canada so far. Believe spawned five Top 20 hit singles: “Boyfriend” (#1), “Die in Your Arms” (#14), “All Around the World” (#10), “As Long as You Love Me” (#9), and “Beauty and a Beat” (#4). It title track also made the Canadian Hot 100.
Marianas Trench, Ever After
The Trench have yet to win a JUNO award. Prior to this year, they had received two nominations. This year they are up for three. Ever After is the Vancouver band’s 3rd album and has been certified platinum. The album has spawned four hit singles: “Haven’t Had Enough” (#9), “Fallout” (#26), “Desperate Measures” (#20), and “Stutter” (#28). The first three all made the year-end Top 100, and the fourth is their current hit. Ever After is a concept album the songs of which are like chapters of a continuous fairy tale type story. There are no pauses between the individual tracks.
Comparing the Albums
| TITLE | CERTIFICATION | LP CHRONOLOGY | HIT SINGLES* |
| KISS | Gold | 2nd | 6 |
| SANS ATTENDRE | 3x Platinum | 25th | 2 |
| STORMS | Platinum | 4th | 3 |
| BELIEVE | 2x Platinum | 3rd | 6 |
| EVER AFTER | Platinum | 3rd | 4 |
* Tracks from the album that have to date made the Canadian Hot 100.
Comparing the Artists
| ARTIST | JUNO AWARDS TO DATE | HIGHEST CERTIFICATION ON A RECORD |
| Carly Rae Jepsen | 0 | 7x Platinum |
| Céline Dion | 20 | Diamond |
| Hedley | 2 | 3x Platinum |
| Justin Bieber | 3 | 3x Platinum |
| Marianas Trench | 0 | 2x Platinum |
First Canadian Album Released in 2012 to Be Certified Triple Platinum
Some new certifications were awarded in the past few days which are very encouraging for Canadian artists. First off, Ever After, last year’s exquisite album from Vancouver group Marianas Trench, has been declared Platinum. As far as this year’s albums go, a trio of Gold awards have been given to Diana Krall for Glad Rag Doll, The (Canadian) Tenors for Lead with Your Heart, and Carly Rae Jepsen for Kiss. Billboard has just handed Carly the Rising Star Award of 2012.
Canadians are showing heartwarming support for Francophone artists, as the contestants of Star Academie have, just 17 days after its release, received a Platinum award for their Christmas album, Noel. Their previous disc earlier this year became a double-platinum release. That disc, along with Justin Bieber’s Believe, were the best-selling albums of 2012 until today when it was announced that a Canadian album had gone Triple Platinum, another French language release. Can you guess whose? Below is a table of the recent certifications.
Celine Dion’s Sans Attendre – The Wait is Over
Céline Dion has released something like her 25th album, Sans attendre. The Charlemagne, Québec native is the best-selling Canadian recording artist of all-time. Currently, having sold 114 million records, she ranks 11th in the world. She can out sing just about anyone under the pop/rock umbrella and always has a team of the world’s best songwriters, musicians, and producers surrounding her. Therefore, you can be assured that any album she releases is going to be good, and, certainly, her new album is no exception. The album title, literally meaning “without waiting”, is explained by Celine to be about not putting off for tomorrow what you can do today.
The standard album contains 14 tracks and a deluxe edition is available with 2 additional songs. There are 3 duets with prominent male singers: legendary Canadian singer-songwriter Jean-Pierre Ferland, Johnny Hallyday (best-selling French recording artist of all-time), and Caribbean singer Henri Salvador. As the latter is no longer with us, this is a virtual duet. The first single from the album, released earlier, “Parler à mon père” peaked at #53 on the Canadian Hot 100. It is dedicated to her father who passed away several years ago. She says that her father was always her #1 fan.
To promote the album (not that she needs to), Dion appeared on a television special in Montréal recorded on October 15 and broadcast on the TVA network. She performed selections from the new album, a duet with funny man Fred Pellerin, and a medley of her hits with Star Académie contestants. This show drew 2.3 million viewers in Canada becoming the most watched of the autumn so far. She will be appearing on a TV special in France later this month (November 24). The next single released from the album will be “Le Miracle” complete with a music video.
Speaking of miracles, there is one that’s very real, and that is the miracle of Céline Dion’s voice, dazzling us in both official languages, accompanied by fabulous, world-class music. Since release, the album has been #1 on the iTunes chart. Her first studio album in 5 years, the wait for Sans attendre is over. Check it out today.
Céline Dion Official Website Sans Attendre on iTunes
ATF Tunes: Don’t turn around now; you may see me cry
The artist whose song made it to #6 needs no introduction, because she is the most successful Canadian recording artist in history. Six diamond albums, 200 million records sold worldwide, 10th best-selling artist of all-time worldwide, 35 Top 40 singles, sang the 8th best-selling single of all-time internationally, and has won 20 Juno awards. She is also one of the few Canadian artists to score hits in both official languages. You know who it is. The question is: which song of hers made it here?
We listened to all of Céline Dion’s English and French songs prior to selecting our favourite and deciding on its position on our ATF list, and it was a tough choice. Our policy of not including covers helped whittle the volume of songs down a bit. As it turned out, the song that we liked best was not a big hit for her and was released as a single in Spain of all places; a music video was never made. It was off her 1993 English album The Colour of My Love (our favourite album of hers) but was not included on the U.S. version. Albert Hammond wrote the lyrics and Marti Sharron the music. It was produced mainly by Steve Lindsey who has worked with Leonard Cohen, Elton John, and Peter Gabriel, among others.
It appears that the song could be considered Dion’s greatest that was never a charting single because many singers took advantage of this and covered it in various languages later on: Myriam Hernandez (Spanish), Elena Paparizou, Sergei Penkin (Russian), Kate Julien (French), André Hazes (Dutch) and Josh Groban. Of course, no one could sing it better than Celine Dion’s original vocal.
The astoundingly gorgeous song we’re talking about is “Just Walk Away“, one of our favourite songs of all-time by a Canadian artist. Warning: do not listen to this song without a box of tissues nearby. The tears will not be from sadness but from being mesmerized by such heart-walloping beauty.
Lyrics
I know I never loved this way before
And no one else has loved me more
With you I’ve laughed and cried
I have lived and died
What I wouldn’t do just to be with you
I know I must forget you to go on
I can’t hold back my tears too long
Though life won’t be the same
I’ve got to take the blame
And find the strength I need to let you go
[Chorus:]
Just walk away
Just say goodbye
Don’t turn around now; you may see me cry
I mustn’t fall apart
Or show my broken heart
Or the love I feel for you
So walk away
And close the door
And let my life be as it was before
And I’ll never, never know
Just how I let you go
But there’s nothing left to say
Just walk away
There’ll never be a moment I’ll regret
I’ve loved you since the day we met
For all the love you gave
And all the love we made
I know I’ve got to find the strength to say
[Chorus]
Summary
Song: “Just Walk Away”
Album: The Colour of My Love
Year: 1993
Artist: Céline Dion
Origin: Charlemagne, QC
Céline Dion (Part 4: 2000-Present)
Besides continuing to release albums, Celine Dion, having accomplished everything imaginable, became involved in helping to further develop the French Canadian music industry and its budding new artists. She recorded “Sous le vent“, a duet with Quebec’s hot new male singer Garou. It appeared on the latter’s Seul album which went Diamond in France. The single topped the charts there as well as in Belgium.
In 2001, it was announced that Celine Dion had given birth to a son. At some point, she signed a $100 million contract to perform for five years at Caesar’s Palace, a casino hotel in Las Vegas, USA.
Her next studio album came in 2002 and bore the title A New Day Has Come. Canadian fans were no doubt eager to pick it up after Celine’s hiatus, as 150,000 copies were sold during its first week on store shelves. 12 million copies were sold worldwide and it was certified 6x Platinum in Canada. It was her first studio album since 1992 not to reach diamond certification in a country. It was clear though that Dion was more concerned with broadening the scope of her life, performing in Las Vegas, raising a family, assisting new artists, and making concept albums, experimenting with new genres.
One Heart followed in 2003 with the #1 single in Canada and Sweden, “I Drove All Night”, previous versions having been performed by Roy Orbison and Cyndi Lauper. Her first French album since becoming a mother appeared that year as well. It carried the title 1 fille & 4 types, meaning one girl and four boys. “Tout l’or des hommes” became the most successful French language song on the nation-wide Canadian singles chart, peaking at #2.
In 2004, Celine began branching out. She recorded her first children’s album, dedicated to the babies of the world. In this concept album, she joined forces with Australian creative photographer Anne Geddes. Miracle, produced by David Foster, was part of a CD-book multimedia collection. That year, she also released a live album (from her shows in Las Vegas). It included the new song “You and I” which topped the AC charts in Canada. The music video was shot at Toronto’s Pearson International airport and was used in Air Canada’s advertising campaign. She recorded “Ma Nouvelle-France” for the French Canadian film Nouvelle-France. It peaked at #7 in Quebec.
A greatest hits package of 25 years of her French songs appeared in 2005. Some versions included two CDs and some three. On ne change pas featured three new songs: “Je ne vous oublie pas”, “Tous les secrets” (theme from the animated European film Asterix and the Vikings), and “I Believe in You” (duet with Il Divo). She performed a duet with French Canadian singer Marc Dupré called “Tout près du Bonheur” which appeared on his album.
In 2007, Dion released the French D’elles and English Taking Chances. The former was a concept album that celebrated womanhood. The latter saw Celine veering away from soft rock and AC back into pop / rock. She said she wanted to pay tribute to some of the edgier rock music with which she grew up. To promote the album, she embarked on a year-long 132-date worldwide tour starting in South Africa.
On 22 August 2008, she presented a free outdoor show on the Plains of Abraham for the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. A greatest hits package of Dion’s English songs came out that year: My Love: Essential Collection. As her hit singles varied in different countries, two different versions (i.e. track listings) of the album appeared on different continents (Americas & Australia vs. Europe). My Love: Ultimate Essential Collection was also available which included two CDs instead of one.
Celine Dion returned to Caesars Palace in 2011 for a new three-year deal with 70 shows per year. She released the Franco album Sans Attendre in 2012 and Anglo album Loved Me Back to Life in 2013. Both albums were certified multiplatinum. Following the passing of her husband and manager in 2016, Celine released French language album Encore un soir.
Celine Dion Part 3 is HERE.
Copyright 2011 by The Canadian Music Blog
Significant Albums and Hit Singles
2002: A New Day Has Come
• 6x Platinum
• 12 million copies sold worldwide
• Hit Singles: “A New Day Has Come” (#2 CA and SWI), “I’m Alive” (#2 BEL; #4 GER)
2003: One Heart
• 3x Platinum
• 5 million copies sold worldwide
• Hit Singles: “I Drove All Night” (#1 CA and SWE), “One Heart” (#27 UK)
2003: 1 file & 4 types
• 2.5 million copies sold worldwide
• 2x Platinum in France
• Hit Singles: “Tout l’or des hommes” (#1 QC; #2 CA; #3 FR), “Et je t’aime encore” (#2 QC; #14 BEL; #16 FR), “Contre nature” (#2 QC)
2004: Miracle
• 2.5 million copies sold worldwide
2005: On ne change pas (French Greatest Hits)
• 3x Platinum
• 1.5 million copies sold worldwide
• Hit Singles: “Je ne vous oublie pas” (#2 FR), “I Believe in You (Je crois en toi)” (#8 POR), “Tous les secrets” (#10 GRE)
2007: D’elles
• 2x Platinum
• Hit Singles: “Et s’il n’en restait qu’une (je serais celle-là)” (#1 FR), “Immensité” (#7 QC), “On s’est aimé à cause” (#5 QC)
2007: Taking Chances
• 4x Platinum
• Hit Single: “Taking Chances” (#9 CA; 90th of 2008 CA; #5 SWI)
2008: My Love: Essential Collection (English Greatest Hits)
• 2x Platinum
2012: Sans attendre
• 3x Platinum
• Hit Singles: “Parler a mon pere” (#53 CA), “Les Petits Pieds de Lea” (#80 CA)
2013: Loved Me Back to Life
• 4x Platinum
• Hit Singles: “Loved Me Back to Life” (#26 CA), “Incredible” (#44 CA)
2016: Encore un soir
• 2x Platinum
Céline Dion (Part 3: 1995-1999)
A large team of some of the world’s top producers, songwriters, and musicians assembled for Dion’s next English album. David Foster returned to the scene. Covers of songs by Eric Carmen, Tina Turner, and Jim Steinman were recorded as well as new material including Diane Warren’s “Because You Loved Me”. The latter became the third biggest song of the year in the United States and fifth biggest in Canada. English versions of songs from D’eux were also included on the album. Falling Into You became Celine Dion’s biggest album. Diamond certifications were achieved in Canada, the U.S., New Zealand, France, and Australia. It sold 32 million copies worldwide and was named Album of the Year by the American Grammy awards.
She performed the David Foster / Babyface song “The Power of the Dream” at the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.
A live album from her show in Paris was released on which was included a new English song entitled “To Love You More”, a Top 10 hit in Canada and #1 diamond-selling single in Japan.
After 1996, there wasn’t much more for Celine to accomplish, save one. She hadn’t yet sung a #1 English song of the year. Performing the theme song of blockbuster movies had proven an effective means of bolstering success. To ensure she got the #1 song of the year meant singing a song for the #1 movie. How does one know that a movie will be a huge triumph? Chances are that it’s going to be made by the strongest director. Celine Dion knew that Canadian director James Cameron (Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Aliens) was working on his big-budget masterpiece, Titanic with hot Hollywood heart-throb Leonardo DiCaprio. But her singing the theme song almost didn’t happen.
Cameron, who had worked with Hollywood film scorer James Horner on Aliens, had selected him to write the music for Titanic. Originally, “My Heart Will Go On” was slated to appear in the film only as an instrumental motif. Horner told Cameron that he would like to make a full vocal version of it for use in the end credits of the movie. Cameron said no; he did not want to go commercial at the end of the film. But Horner knew that if a brilliant recording was made, he could persuade Cameron. The first step was to have lyrics written. He turned to Will Jennings who had written songs for Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton. He then approached Celine Dion asking her to sing it. After listening to the song, she said no, for unknown reasons. She felt perhaps that it didn’t make sense as Cameron had refused to include such a song in the movie. It meant recording a demo song, which, by now, was far beneath her. It was her husband and manager who talked her into recording the demo. The story goes that Horner waited until Cameron was in a good mood before having him listen to the demo. He listened to it and declared his approval.
The movie wasn’t just a hit, it broke all box-office records, becoming the biggest movie of all-time. No doubt one factor that helped was the theme song. “My Heart Will Go On” topped the charts in countries around the world and was easily the number one song of the year; in fact, it became the eighth best-selling single in world history. It won Record of the Year at the American Grammy awards.
The song was included on Celine’s next English album, Let’s Talk About Love, which, at 31 million units sold, nearly matched her previous album’s sales. Yet another diamond album (Canada, France, and the U.S.) it was and another Album of the Year Juno award was given to Celine Dion.
In 1998, Celine released her next French language album. It was titled S’il suffisait d’aimer. Like its French predecessor, it attained diamond sales in France where the title-track was a Top 5 hit and a number one in Quebec. At the end of the year, her first “English-language” Christmas album was released—These Are Special Times—with songs recorded in a number of languages. The album was a mixture of Christmas traditionals with a few new tunes. She performed a duet with Andrea Bocelli called “The Prayer”. The song was co-written by David Foster. Another new song was “I’m Your Angel” which she performed with American singer R. Kelly (the R stands for Robert). The album was her fifth to be certified Diamond in Canada and sold 12 million worldwide.
In 1999, a greatest hits album was released, All the Way … a Decade of Song, that included a generous number of new songs. “That’s the Way It Is” and the #1 “I Want You to Need Me” were staples of radio airplay at the turn of the millennium. After the new year, Celine Dion announced that she was going to take a break from her entertainment career to begin a family.
Celine Dion Part 2 is HERE. Part 4 is HERE.
Copyright 2011 by The Canadian Music Blog
Significant Albums and Hit Singles
1996: Falling Into You
• Diamond in Canada, Australia, France, and the U.S.
• 32 million copies sold worldwide
• Grammy Award (U.S.) for Album of the Year
• Hit Singles: “Because You Loved Me” (#1 CAN, US, AUS), “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” (#1 CAN; #2 US), “All by Myself” (#7 CAN; #4 US), “Call the Man” (#11 UK)
1996: Live à Paris (Live Album)
• 2x Platinum
• 3 million copies sold worldwide
Hit Single: “To Love You More” (#9 CAN; #1 JAP)
1997: Let’s Talk About Love
• Diamond in Canada, France, and the U.S.
• 31 million copies sold worldwide
• Juno Award for Album of the Year
• Hit Singles: “My Heart Will Go On” (#1 in many countries around the world), “Tell Him” (#3 UK), “The Reason” (#11 UK), “Immortality” (#2 GER), “Treat Her Like a Lady” (#29 UK)
1998: S’il suffisait d’aimer
• 4x Platinum
• Diamond in France
• 4 million copies sold worldwide
• Hit Singles: “Zora sourit” (#12 BEL), “S’il suffisait d’aimer” (#1 QC; #4 FR), “On ne change pas” (#16 BEL), “En attendant ses pas” (#10 BEL), “Dans un autre monde” (#7 BEL)
1998: These Are Special Times (Christmas album)
• Diamond
• 12 million copies sold worldwide
• Hit Single: “I’m Your Angel” (#11 CAN; #1 US)
1999: All The Way…A Decade of Song (Greatest Hits + New Songs)
• Diamond
• 17 million copies sold worldwide
• Hit Singles: “That’s the Way It Is” (#13 CAN; #5 SWI), “Live (for the One I Love)” (#23), “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (#19 UK), “I Want You to Need Me” (#1)
Céline Dion (Part 2: 1990-1994)
CBS-Columbia was acquired by Sony. And the label felt it was time for Celine to release her first English crossover album. This had been attempted before by Francophone artists, nearly always failing. Dion worked with language coaches, a top team of songwriters was summoned, and not one but three top-notch producers were brought in: David Foster in Los Angeles, Andy Goldmark in New York, and Christopher Neil in London. The result was 1990’s Unison.
Interestingly, the album was not an instant hit. English Canada’s stubbornness in refusing to air songs by Francophone artists in both official languages was struggling against the inevitable. The first single, “(If There Was) Any Other Way”, only managed to crawl up to #23 on the charts. The second single, the title-track, did even worse, barely making the Top 40. But, like a star hockey player faking a couple of shots to take out the goaltender, Celine Dion saved her formidable slap shot for the third released single. “Where Does My Heart Beat Now” broke into the Top 10 in Canada and the Top 5 south of the border (and in Norway). And now Celine Dion was a household name. The album itself went 7x Platinum in Canada and sold 3 million copies worldwide. It won the Juno for Album of the Year in 1991. And Celine received the first of six Female Artist of the Year Junos. She became a regular guest on The Tonight Show and U.S. talk show circuit.
She decided to follow things up with a new French album that paid tribute to the writing talents of Luc Plamondon. The 1991 album was called Dion chante Plamondon in Canada and Des mots qui sonnent in Europe. Four new songs were written for the album. The remaining tracks, many of which were from the Starmania musical, were covers of Plamondon songs previously sung by Claude Dubois, Fabienne Thibeault, Martine St-Clair, Diane Dufresne, and Marie Carmen. The album was certified 2x Platinum in both Canada and France, selling 2 million copies worldwide.
Although Celine and her record company were no doubt happy with her success in crossing over to the English market, she still hadn’t performed a chart-topping hit. She was arguably a better singer than Mariah Carey, who debuted the same year as Dion’s English debut, but Unison sold five times less the number of copies as Carey’s debut. New strategies were invoked. The first was to name her second album eponymously in order to promote her name as a singer. The second was to shift the music away from pop / rock to a more soft rock / adult contemporary sound in order to appeal to a wider audience. The third was to perform the theme song of a blockbuster movie—Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The album Celine Dion was released in 1992 and the strategies invoked proved wise. The album was a Diamond-seller in Canada, produced her first chart-topping hit single (“If You Asked Me To”), and sold 5 million copies worldwide. “Beauty and the Beast” (which she sung with Peabo Bryson) was nominated and won a number of awards including the Juno for Song of the Year and Academy Award (U.S. version of the Genies) for Best Original Song. Dion embarked on a world tour.
Unlike many other singers, like Alannah Myles, whose album sales declined with each subsequent release, Dion’s kept increasing. As her rich voice was captivating more people, a growing number of the world’s top songwriters began submitting new compositions for her. In no time at all, she went from having to choose from a hundred new songs to perform for her next album to a thousand. She decided that each album would include a mixture of covers of old songs as well as new ones. Her 1993 release, The Colour of My Love, sold four times more copies than her previous, self-titled album, going diamond in Canada and 6x Platinum in the U.S., and nabbing the Juno for Album of the Year. Her cover of Jennifer Rush’s “The Power of Love” topped the charts in Canada, the U.S., and Australia, becoming the 4th biggest song of the year in the U.S. and 10th in Canada. In Britain, “Think Twice” topped the weekly singles chart.
It was time to score a diamond French language album. Roch Voisine had done it back in ’89. Why couldn’t she? France’s star singer-songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman was recruited to produce and co-write for the album. D’eux was released the same year as The Colour of My Love. The first single released was “Pour que tu m’aimes encore”. The lyrics tell the story of a woman whose partner left her for another. She pleads that she would turn herself into gold so that he will love her again. The Goldman song topped the singles chart in France for 12 straight weeks, becoming the biggest song of the year. It was a number one hit in Quebec and Belgium as well. Although it wasn’t granted English radio airplay in supposedly bilingual Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland played the single and it made the British Top 10. It won both the Felix and the Victoires de la Musique in France for Song of the Year. The album spawned several more big hits. Did the album attain Diamond status? You bet—in France. In Canada it was certified 7x Platinum, becoming, by far, the best-selling French language album of all-time in the country. It also became the biggest French language album of all-time worldwide, as 10 million copies were sold.
The following year, Dion and her long-time manager René Angélil were married and she took a break from recording to dedicate some time to her new husband. A live album from her show at the Olympia in Paris was released in 1994. Two years later, it was time for her next English album. The Colour of My Love had sold 20 million copies. Would her next album be able to do even better?
Celine Dion Part 1 is HERE. Part 3 is HERE.
Copyright 2011 Canadian Music Blog
Studio Albums and Hit Singles: 1990-94
1990: Unison
• Langauge: English
• 7x Platinum
• 3 million copies sold worldwide
• Album of the Year Juno
• Hit Singles: “(If There Was) Any Other Way” (#23), “Unison” (#38), “Where Does My Heart Beat Now” (#6 CAN; #4 US), “The Last to Know” (#16), “Have a Heart” (#26)
1991: Dion Chante Plamondon
• Language: French
• 2x Platinum (Canada and France)
• 2 million copies sold worldwide
• Hit Singles: “Des mots qui sonnent” (#10 QC), “L’amour existe encore” (#16 QC), “Je danse dans ma tête” (#3 QC), “Quelqu’un que j’aime, quelqu’un qui m’aime” (#1), “Un garçon pas comme les autres (Ziggy)” (#2 FR)
1992: Celine Dion
• Language: English
• Diamond
• 5 million copies sold worldwide
• Hit Singles: “Beauty and the Beast” (#2 CAN; #9 UK & US), “If You Asked Me To” (#1 CAN; #4 US), “Nothing Broken But My Heart” (#3), “Love Can Move Mountains” (#2), “Water from the Moon” (#7), “Did You Give Enough Love” (#17)
1993: The Colour of My Love
• Language: English
• Diamond
• 20 million copies sold worldwide
• Album of the Year Juno
• Hit Singles: When I Fall in Love” (#23), “The Power of Love” (#1 CAN, US, AUS), “Think Twice” (#13 CAN; #1 UK), “Only One Road” (#15 CAN; #8 UK)
1993: D’eux
• Language: French
• 7x Platinum
• Diamond in France
• 10 million copies sold worldwide
• Hit Singles: “Pour que tu m’aimes encore” (#1 QC; #1 on Year-End Chart in France), “Je sais pas” (#1 QC; FR; BEL), “Destin” (#3 QC), “Le ballet” (#6 on Year-End Chart in France), “J’irai où tu iras” (#14 QC)
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