Celebrity3 min(s) read
Celine Dion broke down in tears as she shared an emotional message at her first full concert in six years after battling health issues.
The singer, 58, took to the stage in France, on the opening night of her 26-show residency at Plenitude Arena (formerly the Paris La Défense Arena) in Nanterre, beginning with her 1998 song 'On Ne Change Pas'.
Just moments into the song, Celine was visibly choked up, and she paused afterward to wipe away her tears, before putting a hand to her heart, and clasping her hands together to express her gratitude to her fans.
The performance is Celine's first full show in six years, after her live performances were put on hold by the Covid-19 pandemic and her subsequent battle with stiff-person syndrome.
She told concertgoers in French and the English: "There are many of you here tonight from all over the world. Thank you so very much for coming. If it’s your first time in Paris. I hope you fall in love with it, just like I did.
"Finally, it’s amazing we are all together.
"I made a promise. I made a promise to come back, to be back on stage. So here I am, singing for you and singing for me, singing life!"
She added: "Thank you so very much for your support, your patience and if I may say so: I am everything I am because you loved me,” quoting her hit 1996 song, 'Because You Loved Me', before singing the track.
Prior to this show, Celine last performed a full concert in March 2020 at New Jersey’s Prudential Center.
The remainder of her tour was stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic shutting down the world, and her rescheduled shows were later canceled as she battled stiff-person syndrome.
The singer was diagnosed with the rare and progressive autoimmune and neurological disorder in 2022, with the condition causing muscle rigidity, mobility issues, painful spasms and shortness of breath.
Though this is the first full concert she has given since her diagnosis, Celine has taken to the stage for shorter performances, such as singing at the base of the Eiffel Tower at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, and later that year at the 1001 Seasons of Elie Saab fashion show in Saudi Arabia.
Celine revealed in an August interview with Harper's Bazaar that she has been on a strict regimen to ensure she was fit for her Paris residency.
She revealed that as well as taking new medication, she'd also been undergoing physical and vocal therapy and immunotherapy.
The singer also partakes in Pilates sessions three times as week, as well as ballet classes to maintain her fitness.
She revealed that the shows are her way of showing her gratitude to her dedicated fans, explaining: "It’s been so long, I would like to offer them something to show how I’ve missed them."
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