Celine Dion Launches Album and World Tour
Canadian fans of singer Celine Dion can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The Quebec-born diva confirmed Monday that she will tour for the first time in nine years to promote her new album, D’elles, and will stop in Montreal and Toronto.
While details of the shows, including dates, still have to be worked out, Dion told the Canadian Press she expects to be back in Montreal by August 2008.
“It’s certain that I’ll do shows in Montreal,” she said during an interview at an exclusive golf club in Lake Las Vegas. “You know, I’ve travelled a lot, I’ve done many shows, but I haven’t seen the world much. I’m going to take advantage of this world tour and my son gives a good opportunity.”
Her tour will include concerts in Europe, Asia and Africa.
Dion, who didn’t rule out additional concerts in other Canadian cities, leaked the news about the Canadian content of her tour during the launch of D’elles.
With 13 tracks penned by female writers from Quebec and France, the album is being billed as a tribute to women.
It is also her first album of new French-language material since the 2003 release of 1 fille & 4 types.
Indeed, the much-awaited album comes as the 39-year-old singer embarks on a new phase in her career. This December, Dion will wrap up a successful five-year run at the Las Vegas hotel Caesar’s Palace.
“You know, having done a project for five years, it’s like wearing the same bathrobe for five years,” Dion said. “It was a security zone for me to wear this same bathrobe because it was a zone where I felt good.”
Dion has sold more than 175 million albums around the world, making her the No. 1-selling female artist of all time. She has 22 albums to her credit, including compilations.
Her only break from performing came in 2000 when she was pregnant with son René-Charles.
Along with D’elles, which hits stores in Canada on Tuesday, Dion already has an English album in the works, which she expects to be released before Christmas.
“I have four recorded,” she said. “But this one won’t be a concept album.”
Her new French album is a follow up to her 1995 release D’eux, which sold around seven million copies worldwide.
With the huge success of D’eux, producer Jean-Jacques Goldman was brought back as musical supervisor for D’elles. Among the songwriters on the album is Nathalie Nechtschein, a young French woman with Down syndrome.
“I can’t say which song I like best, but I find it extraordinary to sing Nathalie Nechtschein,” Dion said.
And if recording albums and embarking on a major world tour weren’t enough for the working mother, Dion said she and her husband would like to have another child.
“That’s the best thing still to happen to me,” Dion said. “I’ve known 25 years of the artistic life, I still have to blossom as a woman.”