Happy Birthday Céline Dion! 53 Reasons Why We Love the Music Icon
In honor of the legendary singer’s 53 years on earth, we’re enumerating 52 things we absolutely adore about her. Bonne anniversaire, Céline!
1. First of all, we love that she’s 53.
We love that Céline has reached more than a half-century. On the one hand, she looks youthful and beautiful and luminous and we’d never guess she’s 53 by looking at her, but on the other hand, she’s such a cultural institution we can’t believe she hasn’t been around much, much longer, filling our lives with tender ballads and expressive hand gestures since time immemorial.
2. Speaking of which, we love this hand gesture:
3. We love a good Céline throwback.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hij_QxDkIJI
4. She’s Canadian!
Who doesn’t love Canadians? We love their politicians! We love their ice dancers! We love their snarky superheroes! We love Céline Dion!
5. Not only that, she’s Québécois!
That is, elle est Québécois.
6. And therefore often sings en français, and who can resist that? Pas nous!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/AzaTyxMduH4
7. She is the youngest of 14 siblings.
Yes! Fourteen!
8. She has a genuine rags-to-riches life story.
More like Céline-derella, am I right?
9. And she chronicled it in her autobiography.
My Story, My Dream was published in 2001.
10. We love that she was discovered at age 12…
What were you doing at age 12?
11. By her future manager and husband, René Angélil…
12. To whom she was married for 21 years, and cared for when he became sick with cancer.
13. And upon his death, her strength and grace were genuinely inspirational.
Dion’s brother died just two days after Angélil’s, and the singer in grief was a vision of dignity.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/xmLizHSJyJ0
14. But let’s look back on happier times. We love her bridal style.
Honestly, that headpiece.
15. Actually, we love all of her style.
16. She wore this iconic Galliano to the Oscars in 1999.
The white backwards tux was ahead of its time, truly.
17. At 49, she posed for a nude photo.
18. She also wore Versace to the 2017 Met Gala.
She went avant-garde in her first time attending the glamorous event.
19. She took full advantage of the 2017 Met Gala photobooth.
20. See? She isn’t afraid to get silly, even wearing couture.
21. And she blew the roof off the 2017 BBMAs wearing this spectacular modern dress.
She sang “My Heart Will Go On.”
22. Wait a minute, have we not mentioned that we love “My Heart Will Go On” yet?!
We love “My Heart Will Go On,” and we love its music video.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/CUmOFqQRkco
23. Speaking of essential ‘90s music videos, let’s not forget “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.”
https://www.youtube.com/embed/pDxoj-tDDIU
24. Anyway, Céline sang “My Heart Will Go On” at the 1998 Oscars.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/DyahS_p725I
25. And she actually wore Titanic’s Heart of the Ocean necklace to the Oscars!
But I thought the old lady dropped it into the ocean in the end?
26. But “My Heart Will Go On” isn’t the only award-winning song she’s recorded.
She sang “Beauty and the Beast” in a duet with Peabo Bryson for its classic ‘90s pop movie-credits version.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/pgYEJHJXFB4
27. She has also provided the soundtrack to countless heartbroken ice-cream binges.
“All By Myself” was originally recorded by Eric Carmen in 1975, but Céline’s 1996 cover is iconic on its own.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/NGrLb6W5YOM
28. She has released a total of 71 albums and box sets.
That’s 26 studio albums, seven live albums, 17 compilation albums, and 21 box sets. Can you honestly imagine having released 71 of anything?
29. She has been nominated for 17 Grammys — and won five.
30. She knows how to strike a pose.
31. She is the queen of Las Vegas.
She is a pioneer of the Sin City residency, a career move that Elton John, Cher, and Britney Spears, among others, have made in her footsteps.
32. Nobody sings “God Bless America” as beautifully as she does.
She performed the song at a special post-9/11 concert in 2001, and before the 2003 Super Bowl, among other venues.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ri001qawOPM
33. But even though she’s sung patriotic songs and achieved enormous success in the U.S., she’s never abandoned her French-Canadian roots.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/jRr9v-23RH4
34. Pink called her a “magic light bulb.”
“She is just simply amazing,” Pink told EW. Yeah she is.
35. She is so, so rich.
We know it’s gauche to talk about money, but just look at these numbers: With a net worth of $400 million, Dion ranked third on Forbes’ list of America’s Richest Female Entertainers in 2017 — ahead of Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Barbra Streisand. Pretty much every time a person so much as thinks about Vegas, a 100-dollar bill materializes out of thin air in front of her.
36. She has duetted with herself — in hologram form.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/6YGVoOheZjY
37. Not to mention Elvis in hologram form!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/demh7Whc96s
38. And with Ne-Yo, in real life!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/QvO5z5tx4ZA
39. And don’t forget Barbra Streisand!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/X4p_3scB_8c
40. She and Justin Bieber are 10th cousins three times removed.
We told you we loved Canadians!
41. We love Céline-isms.
She has such a way of expressing herself. For instance, where most people would simply say to compare performing in Vegas and in Europe is “apples and oranges,” Céline tells us, “I can’t compare a pair of jeans and a nightgown, but I can’t live without either of them.” Who would even think to describe it that way? Céline Dion, that’s who.
42. She’s not afraid to take chances!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZKYKNZvQ6Jc
43. And she can dance!
44. Four of her songs were performed on Glee.
Rachel Berry, it seems, is a big fan.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/9SB5tCHaEb8
45. She’s been honored with the Order of Canada and elevated to its highest rank.
The highest rank of the Order of Canada is Companion, because Canada.
46. She’s also received France’s Legion d’honneur.
47. She’s been named a Goodwill Ambassador in the fight against hunger by the UN.
48. And she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
49. Her flowing hair is absolutely aspirational.
We’ve never seen it looking less than perfect.
50. She posts goofy Instagrams with Adele!
51. She was an adorable kid!
52. She’s one of the greatest artists of all time.
53. And she's also a fun mom who's not afraid to pose with her sons (René-Charles, 20, and twins Eddy and Nelson, 10) in matching jammies.
Is that 53 things already? What don’t we love about Céline? Let’s hear it for the birthday girl!
This article originally appeared on Ew.com
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