MAGAZINE AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES ON CELINE

MODENA, Italy (June 9, 1998) -- The Charity songfest Pavarotti and Friends was directed by Spike Lee and co-starred pop performers Celine Dion and Stevie Wonder. Proceeds were to benefit poor children in the West African nation of Liberia. The four Spices and Pavarotti joined forces for the song Viva Forever. Also on the program were Vanessa Williams, Natalie Cole, Jon Bon Jovi and Trisha Yearwood.

By Jean-Noel Bassior

Avoiding a disaster of Titanic proportions, Celine Dion dashes into a New York City airport, making the supersonic Concorde by only a few minutes. She's due in Paris today. Italy tomorrow, Germany the day after that. And with her impossibly tight schedule of music festivals, concerts and TV appearances, plus a recording session for a new album, Dion can't afford to miss the boat...or the plane, in this case.

Last night was equally heavy on the adrenaline. At the eleventh hour she was forced to abandon her plans to sing the duet "Tell Him" with Barbra Streisand at the Grammy Awards. After a last-minute rehearsal, she performed the megahit theme from Titanic, "My Heart Will Go On," instead. "Barbra said, "I can't believe what's happening. I'm in bed with the flu and a 102-degree fever." And she was coughing every two words," says Dion in melodious English spiked with a French-Canadian accent. "She said, "Honey, I can't do it," and she was waiting for my answer. I said, "Barbra, don't worry about it." Dion pauses. "But I was disappointed. Singing "Tell Him" with her live was going to be a big dream come true for me."

When word leaked out that Streisand would not appear, a flurry of news reports hinted that the two divas were dueling. "There is no competition--it's so ridiculous," Dion says, dismissing the stories with a wave of her hand. "I have idolized Barbra Streisand since I was a little girl. I'm so honored to have recorded a song with her." Streisand is happy to confirm their friendship. "Celine is all anyone could ask for in a singing partner--professional, easygoing, generous," she told MCCALL'S. "Her amazing voice is surpassed only by her kind and gentle heart."

But industry praise doesn't come often enough for Dion. Despite the fact that she's sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, critics have been harsh. People dismissed her repertoire as "mush blather"; Newsweek called her a "vanilla diva."Some characterize her trademark ballads as slick and schmaltzy, her vocal style as cold and robotic. Others say her hard-driving schedule (she performs more than 200 concerts a year) is destroying her health; that her marriage to Rene Angelil (she's 30 he's 56) is a Svengali relationship in which he controls her; that she's desperate to have a baby but can't.

Dion, ever the trouper, does her best to shrug off the unquestionably painful criticism. "I don't give a heck!" she says, then takes a deep breath and apologizes for sounding defensive. "I don't mean to be rude, but I don't care what people think about our lives, our happiness, our troubles." In recent years there have been more than enough troubles. Eerily, the lyrics of her Titanic ballad--about love that survives even death--ring true. Five years ago her 16-year-pld niece, Karine, lost a lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis. Dion had always been close to the young girl, and the singer was overcome by grief. Then it dawned on her that Karine would have wanted her to be strong and carry on the fight.

"I was at the hospital, singing into her ear very softly, and she passed away in my arms," Dion says quietly. "I felt every single part of her body leaving us.In French we say accompagner quelqu'un--" to be there with them as they journey to heaven." It was very hard, but at the time it was an incredible gift." Since that moment Dion has made it her personal crusade to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis as well as numerous other children's charities. "Losing Karine showed me how precious life is," she reflects. "I never take it for granted. And I cherish everyone I love, every single moment I have with them. The agony of losing those she loves is a constant fear. The younges of 14 children, she thinks of herself as the center of a flower. "My family and friends are the petals, and I will probably lose all of them before me."

That might sound morose, but her worries are understandable: She's already had a few bad scares. She was only 16 when her mother, Therese, underwent quadruple-bypass surgery, and a few years ago there were rumours Angelil was sufferring from health problems too. Incidents like these are all the more painful for Dion because she grew up in a very close-knit clan. She was raised in Charlemagne, Quebec; her mother was a housewife, and her father, Adhemar, worked a string of jobs ranging from butcher to prison guard. To help pay the bills, they formed a singing group called Dion's Family and took the show on the road. "My family is my foundation," Dion says. "We never had a lot of money, but we had a wealth of love, joy and affection."

As a girl, Dion was gawky, with crooked teeth and "arms longer than my dreams." She met Angelil, a well-known agent, when she was 12 and he was 39. He was so impressed he mortgaged his house to finance her first album--an insane risk at the time. "Nobody wanted a 12-year-old to make an album," recalls Dion, "but he said, "I believe in her." Within a year, her single, "It Was Only a Dream" topped the charts in Quebec. At 13 she was a regional treasure, affectionately known to her fans as La P'tite Quebecoise.

But her relationship with Angelil took on an overtone of scandal when his second wife filed for divorce within three years after he met Dion. Dion defends herself. "I would never take the happiness of anybody," she says vehemently. Angelil, she points out, already had his "personal problems" when she met him. "It was not very happy times in his life." And though, says Dion, she was young with no advice to offer, she'd learned from growing up in a loving family how to "be there for someone. But I couldn't take away his pain."

Slowly, their relationship evolved. "When I met Rene, I loved him, but as a child," she explains. "The more I got to know him over all the years we worked together, the more I fell in love with him." When she was 21, Angelil finally acknowledged his own fellings and proposed. The timing couldn't have been worse: Dion--after a crash course in English--was now rocketing to stardom in the United States, and her first English album, Unison, and the single "Where Does My Heart Beat Now' were climging the charts. The couple knew their relationship would be perfect fodder for the tabloid press.

"We kept it a secret," Dion says. "I didn't want people to think, "This is a sugar-daddy type of thing." But she grew increasingly frustrated--and angry. They couldn't kiss or even hold hands in public. "I wanted to scream "I'm in love" to the whole world," She says defiantly. Finally she did just that by writing a personal message to Angelil in the liner notes of her 1993 album, The Colour Of My Love. The couple's wedding--a $500,000 extravaganza on December 17, 1994--was televised nationwide in Canada. "It is the most important thing I have ever done," she says of her marriage. "If my fame ended tomorrow, I would still be fulfilled. I have Rene to thank for that."

The idea that the music might end for her is not completely out of the question--and Dion is always aware of that. During an important 1990 concert, she opened her mouth and couldn't make a sound. The first diagnosis was nodes on her vocal cords, and the cure--surgery--was a risk that could have ruined her voice forever. Fortunatley, a second doctor found that her throat was just severely inflamed. The prescription? Dion was orderd to practice three weeks of complete silence. "Thank God it worked," she says, "When I lost my voice, it was like losing my life. "To prevent a recurrence, she stops talking three days before she begins work on an album and on the day of a concert she doesn't speak until late afternoon. "It was a wake-up call to take better care of myself," she adds.

Not overdoing it is perhaps the most difficult thing in the world for Dion. Friends and colleagues worry that she pushes herself too hard. "When you're famous, there are people pulling at you 24 hours a day," says on of her record producers, David Foster. "That wears her down. She has a great heart: she wants to say yes to everything." But this hectic pace makes it hard to start a family--something Dion longs to do. "We're trying," she says, sighing, "but right now there's too much pressure. That's why it doesn't happen." That break was supposed to have come last year. In April 1997, Angelil announced to the press that his wife was putting her career on hold to focus on starting a family. But instead she whipped through a worldwide tour and recorded Let's Talk About Love.

Why the change of plans? Industry insiders advised her to strike while the iron was hot. "They said, "You're big right now; the last thing you want is for people to forget about you, "Dion recalls. But could it be that putting off parenthood was not what Dion intended? Is there some truth to the stories alleging she miscarried or has health problems that prevent her from conceiving? She bristles, "They want to find me a disease, you know? There are so many things said about us that aren't true," she says, "and we can't fight them all." But she doesn't fight them, and after a conversation in which she faces fact and fiction head-on, one thing is clear: Celine Dion is simply unsinkable. "When people say terrible things, things that aren't true, I tell myself why I chose this public life: to touch people. That is la raison, "the reason." She smiles. "And I am a strong person, of that I am certain."

I LOVE -- chilling out sitting, thinking and relaxing are great luxuries to me. I browse through magazines and let my mind wander. Sometimes, I think about fashion or decorating my house. But I'm most relaxed when I'm on holiday with my husband Rene.

SHOES -- I don't drink, I don't smoke and I don't do drugs...but I do buy shoes! I own about 500 pairs. Rene and I have three houses -- and all of them are full of my shoes! When I really like a style. I'll buy two pairs. Then if I break one. I still have another pair to wear.

MY CHILDHOOD -- people think growing up as the youngest of 14 children must have been hard. But my family was great. Even though we didn't have much money. I loved my childhood. There was a wonderful mixture of music, love and happiness at home.

SHOPPING -- I'm crazy about it. Wherever I am in the world and whatever day it is, I have to buy clothes. And when I can't I always think about it. It's my favourite hobby, even if it is very expensive.

CHEERIES -- I eat them by the pound. They have a beautiful flavour and they're low-cal, so I can eat as many as I like.

MY WEDDING DAY -- It was two years ago. I wanted a fairy-tale wedding and that's what I got. My dress was so big, it didn't fit in the car. When we got to our room at dawn, we were so tired, we fell asleep -- still wearing our wedding outfits.

CHILDREN -- Rene and I would like a family. I think I'd be a good mum, because I was brought up by the best. I love kids and know that when I have a child, it'll be the happiest moment of my life. My children will come first, no matter what.

OSCAR NIGHT -- I can't believe I've been part of the Oscars. In 1992, I sang the theme tune to Beauty and The Beast and won an Oscar for it. It was amazing to sing in front of legends like Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli. Afterwards, I ate shrimp with Patrick Swayze and met Paul Newman in the lift. It was so exciting.

HOUSEWORK -- I like cleaning, making the bed and doing laundry. I don't have to but I enjoy it. I also cook for Rene. It may not be gormet cuisine, but I do get a kick out of making the most of leftovers.

MY HUSBAND -- I trust Rene completely. We laugh and cry together. He has a big heart and he's so gentle. He's the greatest person.

I LOATHE -- Some of my features. I've always wanted to look like a model -- I wish I had a smaller nose, a squarer face, fuller lips, bigger breasts and a smaller bum. I used to feel insecure about my looks, but marriage has given me more confidence. Now I feel mature, powerful and sexy.

MONEY TALK -- I don't like talking about money, dates or contracts. I leave all that to Rene. I don't want to put energy into such things as it would detract from my singing.

CLOTHES THAT DON'T FIT -- Whenever I see clothing I want, I buy it -- even if the shop doesn't have my size. If it's too tight or too big I have it altered. I don't like doing this, but it's sometimes necessary.

SCHOOL -- I hated it and couldn't wait to leave. My mother was always trying to convince me it was essential. "Celine, you didn't go to school yesterday," she'd say. "You have to go today". But I would say: "Mom, I'm too tired". And besides, even when I was there, all I did was dream and sing in my heart.

BRATTY KIDS -- There's nothing more offensive than seeing kids behaving like brats. It amazes me that so many parents allow their children to have such bad manners.

WORKING TOO HARD -- Sometimes, I wish I could have more time off work. I'm happy with my job, but I'd like to get more sleep. Life can be very hectic, so Rene and I try to pace ourselves and make plans to take breaks.

ALCOHOL -- It's always tasted horrible to me. I hate feeling drunk, and booze isn't good for my vocal chords anyway, so it's best to stay away. Actually, anything cold is bad for my throat -- so I never have ice either.

MORNINGS -- I'm not good at that time of day. I don't like talking and I'm so slow until I have some coffee. Having said that, waking up and seeing that the sun is shining always helps me feel better.

HOUSE-HUNTING -- We live in a huge house in Montreal, but it took us ages to find the right one. We lost count of the number of times we read details of a place that sounded perfect -- until we saw it.

DIVORCE -- You always hear about couples who have only been married for a few years separating. It's obvious they haven't taken their vows seriously.