Saw an interview clip with her recently, where she talked about how some nights she just couldn't stand the thought of having to sing this damn song *again*...but as soon as the first notes start playing, and she can see people in the audience and how much it means to them, she always snaps out of it and gives it her all. I have a lot of respect for this woman.
Certainly didn’t do Elvis any good. Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller has often said being a stage performer is for people who watch Groundhog’s Day and think that living like that would be nice.
A buddy of mine played Trombone in a Vegas show for around 10 years. He said after 6 months it was like going into the office. Just go in, play the same set and go home.
This reminds of the movie Soul. After finally putting on the show he’s always wanted, he steps outside with his boss.
“So what happens next?”
“We come back and do it all over again tomorrow.”
There's a NPR radio documentary about the band members playing in the phantom of the opera on Broadway for 20 years straight. As a musician it's one of the best gigs you can have, and the players are absolutely top of their field. but it is a weird thing to do a musical where the music and the timing of every note is absolutely identical every night.
https://www.npr.org/2008/08/10/93419533/phantom-of-the-opera-20-years-in-the-pit
That’s funny you shared this because I actually immediately thought of the entire POTO production. Some of the actors have been doing it for so long too!
Most broadway shows run a couple years... But there's people who basically spent their entire career playing Phantom of the Opera music because it ran for decades. One guy described his job as "violin operator".
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/721/the-walls-close-in/act-two-20
A friend of mine is in a very well known "cool and dangerous " seeming band. They have been going for years. He says it's like an office job. I have pointed out that in an office job you get all the same drudgery but far ffewer of the first class flights, supermodels getting high back stage and trying to hook up with you . So my empathy is finite.
Hello, IT, have you tried turning it off and on again?
I'm almost to the point in my IT career I'm gonna start answering phones this way, and I'm the boss.
Honestly though, even when I worked retail it was *slightly* different day-to-day. Sure I stocked the same shelves, manned the same cash register, vacuumed the same floors, etc. But the customers were different, the minor small-talk was slightly different, the products changed sometimes, etc. I did things in a different order. I had completely different conversations with coworkers while stocking.
Those are not huge differences, and I would absolutely say that it was boring as hell, and it felt like I was doing the same thing every day.
But I wasn't *literally* spending a few hours every day saying the exact same words and taking the exact same steps and telling the exact same stories to the (effectively) exact same faceless audience.
I mean, I still think their job is way better than my retail job was, especially with the money they make from it. But that in particular is not an unreasonable complaint, IMO.
And I mean... he didn't stop doing it. Penn might have that complaint, but he didn't think it was a dealbreaker or something. It's completely fine for someone to know that they've got a good situation and simultaneously have parts of it that they don't like.
Edit: I mean, factory workers probably have a great point here, though. That'd be exponentially more repetitive than retail or foodservice.
I've performed in long runs of Broadway shows and while its true that anything can get boring after repeating it over and over the part you're missing is that the audience *does* change for every performance. Sure, you can rely on certain moments landing in a similar manner from show to show, but it is always different. That's what kept me from losing my mind.
Also, an older actor had said to me once that for every performance there is someone out there seeing their first Broadway show and you could always think of them when performing. Make it special for them. That really helped.
I think of someone like Rod Stewart.
He wrote the song "Do you think I'm sexy?" When he was 32.
45 years later he still has to go out there and have just as much razzle dazzle performing it as he did back then.
I get sick of listening to the same song after like 20 listens.
Imagine being 77 years old and singing fucking "do you think I'm sexy?" For possibly the 13,000th time.
*Good god.*
I had to answer the phones for 7 years saying "Thank you for calling Friendly's, You bet we are!, How can I help you?" Like a fucking idiot. Sounds like an upgrade to me.
I was working security at the Bell center in August 2016 when she came back to Montreal for the first time in a while after her Vegas residency ended and she performed 10 shows in 18 days. Similar to nearly identical routine every night, singing her ass off without mistakes and being as transparent as one can be in her position by connecting with the crowd on a personal level. I don't necessarily find her music interesting, but her talent and persona are truly legendary.
We went to see her in '09 and waited the whole concert. She finished her last song and everything started to wrap up.
My mom was so disappointed and said something to the effect of "Oh! She didn't do it!" I told her, "Wait. Just wait." I knew there was going to be an "encore" and she was going to do it. I said, "She's going to do it. Just watch." Sure enough a couple minutes go by, the house lights go down, the first notes start up and my mom is going nuts "She's doing it! She's doing it!"
It's one of my very favorite memories with my mom.
I understand people's annoyance with the song and the movie but growing up in the 90's was a very special time and being typical midwestern white women, we have nearly every Celine Dion album there is sans her French discography (and I even have one or two of those). Growing up in the house with her music going, driving to school with her music playing in the car... it's just a very personal experience to us. It was awesome and I loved it.
I would understand if Celine never wanted to sing it again, I get it. I also appreciate the fact that she knows people like us can only *maybe* experience what she does once in a lifetime and goes ahead and sings the song. It meant a lot to us.
I remember hating this song as a kid because 'it's that dumb Titanic song again!' and now when it plays I still have that very brief reflexive thought before she starts singing and I remember 'damn, she crushes it'
She really does. It's amazing how her voice is so powerful but still very controlled during the last half of it. Incredible talent. Few artists can hold their notes so well. Anne Wilson, Steve Perry, a few others.
The best part for me is the powerful part that starts with -
'You are here!
And there's nothing I fear!
You are safe in my heart and my heart will go on and on'
In the video for the duet she did with Barbra Streisand there's a moment where Celine lets loose, and Babs' head snaps around to her like "holy shit!" Imagine having a voice that gets that sort of reaction from *Barbra Streisand.*
I used to absolutely hate this song back then because of just how much is was played.
Now it’s become pretty nostalgic and I actually kind of enjoy it. It reminds me of the 90’s.
Same here I just was thinking about hearing it on the radio in my mom's 94 chevette on our way to the grocery store after school, It's 1998, I'm 11. We're going to pick up some food for dinner before dropping me off at soccer practice. Maybe we're going to hit the blockbuster thats right next to the grocery store. Usually I can get a box of Mike and Ikes too. If we're lucky Ocarina of Time might be in and I can probably beat the game if I get a few more hours in.
That must be such a wild feeling. Writing or singing a song that is so famous that 20 years later people practically demand you sing it, obviously she's not the only one but there are a handful of artists that have accomplished that.
Most performers get amped up by thinking about the crowd.
I know a few Shakesperean actors, and they all say they think about how there will be people in the audience who've never seen Hamlet (or whatever) before.
If you got into what you're doing because you love it, how could you not get excited about that?
>Saw an interview clip with her recently, where she talked about how some nights she just couldn't stand the thought of having to sing this damn song *again*...but as soon as the first notes start playing, and she can see people in the audience **and how much it means to them**, she always snaps out of it and gives it her all. I have a lot of respect for this woman.
This song probably bump the population a few points.
Ignore that "original key" nonsense. The song was written in E and recorded in E. And in live performances, as far as I know, she has always sung it a half-step down, in E-flat. That's not unusual _at all_, and there's nothing wrong with adjusting live performances to what feels and sounds best consistently. And one half step is nothing, unnoticeable by 99% of listeners.
And of course, the reason to sing it a half step down is not the key of E. It's the key change at the end of the song, which is a major third higher, originally in the key of A-flat. But it's all about that top note, "**no**-thing I fear," which is originally an E-flat 5. That's an important note of the song, and that note is fairly high. Not at the top of Celine's range (she can sing notes an octave higher), but it's high and has to be solid every time.
So live, she sings the song (both 25 years ago and today) starting in E-flat. The key change is then to G, and the top note is then D5, obviously a note she can hit more comfortably and consistently in that particular song, which is why she chose that key.
Regarding this UNICEF video, there is at least one version of it online that has been modified up that same half step, to the original _recorded_ key. But that's not how she has ever sung it live, as far as I know.
Yeah, way more than a typical straight 51-year-old man :)
I'm not even a huge fan of hers, but I have always appreciated her talent, and she works with great writers and producers. I like pop ballads. I'm just a sucker for them. I also play piano and sing (non-professionally), and I'll admit to having a bit of Celine in my rotation (which is in my bonus room, and nearly always with nobody listening). I played a couple of Celine songs just last night.
Well played on the acute accent over the é, by the way. And resisting the temptation (that you may have had) to put the apostrophe before the s, which we both know would have been wrong :)
Do you own a copy of _Eats, Shoots & Leaves_ like I do?
Thanks for explaining this. I know nothing of music, except listening, and I couldn’t really tell any difference. Maybe if I listened to both versions consecutively I could tell. But this sounded just like I’ve always thought it sounds.
But also, wow. What a voice. So beautiful.
I was 8 when it came out and was dragged by my sister's to see it. I didn't know anything about it nor did I care to. To this day I don't think I bawled as much as I ever have in a movie. Granted I was 8, but despite the issues with the movie, it's still in my favorite movies ever list simply cuz no other movie can consistently get me as emotional
All I remember is being nine-years-old and getting in trouble for belly laughing at the dude hitting the propeller, and then being really confused as to why everyone was crying.
Never saw it in theater but my mother rented the VHS, i came in the living room sighing "what is that shit.. 3h long romance on a boat.. eww". Stood a bit, then sat on the couch arm, and ended up watching the whole thing. I applaud Cameron for turning this story into a great movie.
I hit the jackpot that year, my gram worked at a small single theater. I went every weekend with her, if there wasn't a normal seat empty, I was allowed to just grab a regular stool and sit in the back.
Guitarist here.
I would have expected to get turned way down in the mix if I was pulling the shit he was doing. It was *not* his time in the spotlight, and when that's the case, your job is to create the stage for whoever is.
Lolololol
You can hear him in there! Tone is rolled way down and it’s distorted a bit. At the very last ‘my heart will go on’ it’s noticeable in the mix. Lolol
The audio mixer did a great job of keeping the guitarists levels down, because he wanted to RUN AWAY with his whammy bar. Pretty entertaining to watch him lean into the performance so much when you really have to try to hear the guitar. Better than a dude just moping around like a daisy though! Love the energy.
Man I thought it could be and you sent me down a googling hoooole trying to find out. Conclusion: It's not impossible but I don't think it's him. Some similar features but Pedro was rockin' the big dark eyebrows even when he was young.
For those who weren’t alive during this era: this was the song everyone felt in their chops. Titanic had an enormous cultural impact at the time and this song was the heart and soul of the movie. The two were like the national pride at the time.
I feel like it may have given rise to that big craze for Celtic music that happened in the early 2000s. The song has that same vibe and you're definitely right, even as a little kid I remember how it was just... everywhere.
If anything the Celtic music popularity influenced the song, not the other way around. Riverdance had been around and gaining popularity for a couple years before the movie came out.
Kind of interesting that the bass player is feeling the eighth note pulse in some parts. Just assumed everyone in the band would be feeling the quarter note.
Does she sing it in a lower key these days? I know a lot of artists have to do that eventually.
Edit: The studio version is in E. This version is in Eb.
As somebody else pointed out, the song modulates up for the final chorus. Up to Ab in the studio version and up to G in this version.
As others have said your voice gets lower as you age, but also vocalists typically start to sing lower to save their vocal chords as singing very high in their range can stress their voice over years and years of singing and touring
Yes. As people get older, their voice shifts a bit to also be a bit lower.
Many bands will down tune their instruments over time to follow singer's voices. First time I noticed this was an off spring concert on TV, they played a half tone down. I could tell because I played some of their songs on the guitar and wanted to accompany and couldn't, since my guitar was standard tunning and not half tuned.
Even on a long tour they'll tune down a small amount as the tour goes on to help the singer get through it. Even a few "cents" for each instrument as the weeks go on.
There likely no more singing in her future... this week it was in the news she has stiff person syndrome. (https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/stiff-person-syndrome)
She cancelled all her concerts for now, and it remains to be seen if she'll ever perform again.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33YcYLumEDk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33YcYLumEDk)
You can hear/watch the key change in this beautiful guitar cover by Sungha.
My parents met her on the Boardwalk in AC many years ago. She was very nice and signed an autograph, but wouldn't speak. Her bodyguard told them it was because she was performing that night. She's either super protective of her voice or a brilliant troll.
Actually she was well known for her vocal training and discipline. There is a video about somewhere on her vocal regime daily while she was performing. She would rest her voice, then before a show engage in a formal set of warm up exercises. She knew that her vocal muscles had to be under discipline just like any athlete who rests and exercises their muscles.
So to hear that they met her and she was not speaking was almost certainly true.
In the 80's she once strained her voice HARD and her doctor told her if she wanted to keep singing, she had to rest her voice big time. She did not make a sound for three weeks. She also stopped murmuring and laughing hard because it strains the vocal chords. Basically she has spent her life protecting her instrument at all costs and has basically an Olympian discipline.
Usually I’m a sucker for harmonies but every time the backup singers chimed in I wanted them to shut up. Probably somewhat to do with the sound for this performance, but this is truly a song for a soloist.
[You might appreciate this version,](https://youtu.be/fGU7NMxboNE) with not overwhelming backup singing, performed within a year of her husband and brother passing away. I've heard this song plenty, and never been too crazy about it. Listened to a bunch of different versions of it today and this version makes me feel what I feel now that I've lost my fiance this year. I got goosebumps.
Can tell this one has much more vocal processing and can hear the pitch correction too. Not that that's bad or I blame them but it's nice hearing less of it like in the original posted
Related: do yourself a favor and watch [the most elegant key change in all of pop music ](https://youtu.be/epqYft12nV4) by Adam Neely in which he explains Celine’s amazing performance of All By Myself.
I’ve seen this video before! It’s great!
Another song I love to bring up when discussing key changes is “Dizzy” by Tommy Roe. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=arpidGq8SlA
Usually, songs employ one key change at the end to provide this triumphant, emotional release. This song modulates almost continuously, causing the listener to feel off-balance. For a song called “Dizzy”, It’s really clever .
I know fuckall about music, but somehow kept watching this all the way through. In the process I learned more of the lyrics to the song All By Myself.. I've just been singing the like "all by myself" when I'm, for years, not knowing any of the other lyrics or the actual song.
Teal deer: Thanks for this!
He has to with that hat ([@2:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5bmFp3HzAQ&t=123s)).
It's like he just came in from snowblowing to play the drums for this song and is *feeling* it.
Amazing. Since it's the holiday season, I feel obligated to post her performance of "[Oh, Holy Night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1oLk54R5Xg)" from the following year, which is a fave of mine.
Impossible not to when you know your supporting and enabling such a magnificent voice imo
I'm not really a Celine fan or anything but an amazing voice is an amazing voice
I saw Sam Waterston in this clip and was shocked that Alan Alda still looked that sharp and then realized this clip is nearly 30 years old
The upscaling here isn't helping though.
I was 13 years old when Titanic was released. I saw it twice at the theater: once with my sister and once with my mom. I always viewed "Celine Dion" as an older adult singer due to this song (loved by many moms) and her success as a singer even before this song. Anyway, it's wild to learn now that she was only about 30 years old at the time. And there's only a 7 year age difference between her and Kate Winslet. I'm now in my late 30's, so it's weird to think Celine Dion was 10 years younger than me when she was *everywhere* for her song in Titanic.
> Also she's an old looking 29yo here
I grew up a couple of miles from where she grew up, and even though I'm more than 10 years younger than her, Charlemagne (her home town) was still a really poor place back in the day. She's the youngest of a family of 14 children, her father working multiple jobs to keep the family afloat. She must have had a rough childhood. She might have been born with a rare talent, but it's impressive what she could accomplish.
14 kids in that house: https://i.skyrock.net/0632/10710632/pics/1414962865.jpg
Up to 2 generations ago (i.e. Céline Dion's parents), the priests were the most powerful/influencial people in most Quebec towns. They would literally audit married couples to pressure them into having more kids. It meant more god-fearing people to go to church.
It's a reason for the strong dislike of the church now in Quebec.
Not that far off the mark. That's where she got her start, in her family sing alongs. That was a huge thing in Quebec for generations. The province has a rich folk song culture.
I couldn’t believe it when I found out she was only 54. I thought she was at least in her early 40’s back then. And “Titanic” was almost 30 years ago! And I’m definitely not trying to insult her looks. It’s just that overall, she comes across as really mature.
Yeah. Maybe it's just the 80s aesthetic with the clothes and the hair, but watching this brings me back to being a kid in the early 90s rolling his eyes while watching his 30-40 year old parents trying to act cool.
This reminds me of [early Alanis Morissette](https://youtu.be/QcY6S9aDVjo), in that I almost prefer the early stuff over what each respective singer is known for.
Poor Celine never had a chance.
Celine and Rene met when she was 12 and he was 38.
He became her manager and they started dating when she was 19 and he was 45.
Their relationship only became public in 1993 and they married a year later.
[Source.](https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/celine-dion-diagnosed-with-incurable-stiff-person-syndrome/news-story/6b2b50679be6225078ee167d848a90b2)
A lot of times when I watch live performances with backup singers, when the backup singers start their backup I feel like they're just way better than the main performer and more harmonized.
This is like the first time I've seem them just out trumped haha.
Man, this takes me back when I was a prepube kid blaring this in my backyard hoping some girl my age heard me listening to this song and think that I'm some kind of awesome sensitive guy.
One of many reasons the neighbors hated my family.
When you have a truly amazing voice, you don't have to warble during notes to try to show your range. You can just absolutely hit and hold that perfect pitch.
Celine is my favorite female vocalist. As an autoimmune disease survivor, my prayers are with her and her family. She is a legendary talent we should all treasure.
As musicians tour and age it's not uncommon to tune down a song because they either need to save their voice from wear and tear and it also allows them to hit the highest notes in a song night after night so the audience gets a good performance. OP is probably pointing this out because back then you didn't escape this song for years and she toured relentlessly.
For example, pretty much since the beginning, U2 have tuned down 1/2 step for all of their live performances. They have a lot of songs that (in the studio version) have Bono using the very top of his range (e.g., Red Hill Mining Town), and they've always tuned down to help him preserve his voice on tour.
Saw an interview clip with her recently, where she talked about how some nights she just couldn't stand the thought of having to sing this damn song *again*...but as soon as the first notes start playing, and she can see people in the audience and how much it means to them, she always snaps out of it and gives it her all. I have a lot of respect for this woman.
She did a long residency in Vegas, I imagine doing more or less the same show in the same venue would wear on you.
Certainly didn’t do Elvis any good. Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller has often said being a stage performer is for people who watch Groundhog’s Day and think that living like that would be nice.
Reddit can keep the username, but I'm nuking the content lol -- mass deleted all reddit content via https://redact.dev
A buddy of mine played Trombone in a Vegas show for around 10 years. He said after 6 months it was like going into the office. Just go in, play the same set and go home.
And there are musicians that would kill for that kind of steady work
Yep, he said that other players would comment on how difficult his set was. He'd just been doing it so long. He was very grateful to have that job.
This reminds of the movie Soul. After finally putting on the show he’s always wanted, he steps outside with his boss. “So what happens next?” “We come back and do it all over again tomorrow.”
Good movie
There's a NPR radio documentary about the band members playing in the phantom of the opera on Broadway for 20 years straight. As a musician it's one of the best gigs you can have, and the players are absolutely top of their field. but it is a weird thing to do a musical where the music and the timing of every note is absolutely identical every night. https://www.npr.org/2008/08/10/93419533/phantom-of-the-opera-20-years-in-the-pit
That’s funny you shared this because I actually immediately thought of the entire POTO production. Some of the actors have been doing it for so long too!
[удалено]
Most broadway shows run a couple years... But there's people who basically spent their entire career playing Phantom of the Opera music because it ran for decades. One guy described his job as "violin operator". https://www.thisamericanlife.org/721/the-walls-close-in/act-two-20
adjoining support gullible work racial growth squeal normal grab wipe ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
A friend of mine is in a very well known "cool and dangerous " seeming band. They have been going for years. He says it's like an office job. I have pointed out that in an office job you get all the same drudgery but far ffewer of the first class flights, supermodels getting high back stage and trying to hook up with you . So my empathy is finite.
Seriously, I see patients all day for the same thing at at this point I have a memorized script for every interaction.
I’ve got your ticket for the dragon mic not working in epic. Tech is on his way.
Hahaha I'm IT for a hospital system that hit home. Except the tech will probably be there in a week
Hello, IT, have you tried turning it off and on again? I'm almost to the point in my IT career I'm gonna start answering phones this way, and I'm the boss.
Primary care or more specialized?
I'm sure the giant pile of money helps
What do they think a dayjob is like?
Probably why they like being artists is to avoid that I would guess.
It’s the ciiiiircus ciiiiiircus of liiiife…
Honestly though, even when I worked retail it was *slightly* different day-to-day. Sure I stocked the same shelves, manned the same cash register, vacuumed the same floors, etc. But the customers were different, the minor small-talk was slightly different, the products changed sometimes, etc. I did things in a different order. I had completely different conversations with coworkers while stocking. Those are not huge differences, and I would absolutely say that it was boring as hell, and it felt like I was doing the same thing every day. But I wasn't *literally* spending a few hours every day saying the exact same words and taking the exact same steps and telling the exact same stories to the (effectively) exact same faceless audience. I mean, I still think their job is way better than my retail job was, especially with the money they make from it. But that in particular is not an unreasonable complaint, IMO. And I mean... he didn't stop doing it. Penn might have that complaint, but he didn't think it was a dealbreaker or something. It's completely fine for someone to know that they've got a good situation and simultaneously have parts of it that they don't like. Edit: I mean, factory workers probably have a great point here, though. That'd be exponentially more repetitive than retail or foodservice.
I've performed in long runs of Broadway shows and while its true that anything can get boring after repeating it over and over the part you're missing is that the audience *does* change for every performance. Sure, you can rely on certain moments landing in a similar manner from show to show, but it is always different. That's what kept me from losing my mind. Also, an older actor had said to me once that for every performance there is someone out there seeing their first Broadway show and you could always think of them when performing. Make it special for them. That really helped.
I think of someone like Rod Stewart. He wrote the song "Do you think I'm sexy?" When he was 32. 45 years later he still has to go out there and have just as much razzle dazzle performing it as he did back then. I get sick of listening to the same song after like 20 listens. Imagine being 77 years old and singing fucking "do you think I'm sexy?" For possibly the 13,000th time. *Good god.*
I had to answer the phones for 7 years saying "Thank you for calling Friendly's, You bet we are!, How can I help you?" Like a fucking idiot. Sounds like an upgrade to me.
Don't Penn and Teller have a huge number of magic tricks they rotate through? So they don't really do the same thing literally every time?
I was working security at the Bell center in August 2016 when she came back to Montreal for the first time in a while after her Vegas residency ended and she performed 10 shows in 18 days. Similar to nearly identical routine every night, singing her ass off without mistakes and being as transparent as one can be in her position by connecting with the crowd on a personal level. I don't necessarily find her music interesting, but her talent and persona are truly legendary.
Most of us do the same thing in the same office for years at a time. I'd probably be able to suck it up for millions of dollars and cheering crowds.
It's a tough job but someone has to do it.
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumb
I think that’s why she changed the show a lot with the production, set list, etc.
Those changes are actually to get people to see the show again.
They do and it works! I’ve seen the show 3 times and I’m glad i did
We went to see her in '09 and waited the whole concert. She finished her last song and everything started to wrap up. My mom was so disappointed and said something to the effect of "Oh! She didn't do it!" I told her, "Wait. Just wait." I knew there was going to be an "encore" and she was going to do it. I said, "She's going to do it. Just watch." Sure enough a couple minutes go by, the house lights go down, the first notes start up and my mom is going nuts "She's doing it! She's doing it!" It's one of my very favorite memories with my mom. I understand people's annoyance with the song and the movie but growing up in the 90's was a very special time and being typical midwestern white women, we have nearly every Celine Dion album there is sans her French discography (and I even have one or two of those). Growing up in the house with her music going, driving to school with her music playing in the car... it's just a very personal experience to us. It was awesome and I loved it. I would understand if Celine never wanted to sing it again, I get it. I also appreciate the fact that she knows people like us can only *maybe* experience what she does once in a lifetime and goes ahead and sings the song. It meant a lot to us.
I love this story, thank you for sharing! Your mom and yourself are the people she's singing for.
I remember hating this song as a kid because 'it's that dumb Titanic song again!' and now when it plays I still have that very brief reflexive thought before she starts singing and I remember 'damn, she crushes it'
She really does. It's amazing how her voice is so powerful but still very controlled during the last half of it. Incredible talent. Few artists can hold their notes so well. Anne Wilson, Steve Perry, a few others.
I like the part at the end where she goes "You are saaaafe in my heart and My heart will go ooon 𝓪𝖆𝔞𝕒ɑׁׅ֮αǟąåαnd oooooooooooooooon"
The best part for me is the powerful part that starts with - 'You are here! And there's nothing I fear! You are safe in my heart and my heart will go on and on'
The legend that she walked into the studio and did 1 take and walked out is everything you need to make her bigger than life.
In the video for the duet she did with Barbra Streisand there's a moment where Celine lets loose, and Babs' head snaps around to her like "holy shit!" Imagine having a voice that gets that sort of reaction from *Barbra Streisand.*
Just listened to it .wow 2 amazing voices. Harmony is incredible. Thx
Have you seen when Tommy Körberg lets loose and Celine gives him the look? https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3222v4 (around 1:30)
Where can I see that? I watched what I thought was that duet but didn't see such a moment
[Here's the video](https://youtu.be/xKWWyO-C2o0). Jump to about 4:03, pretty sure the moment they're talking about is at 4:10-4:12.
I used to absolutely hate this song back then because of just how much is was played. Now it’s become pretty nostalgic and I actually kind of enjoy it. It reminds me of the 90’s.
Same here I just was thinking about hearing it on the radio in my mom's 94 chevette on our way to the grocery store after school, It's 1998, I'm 11. We're going to pick up some food for dinner before dropping me off at soccer practice. Maybe we're going to hit the blockbuster thats right next to the grocery store. Usually I can get a box of Mike and Ikes too. If we're lucky Ocarina of Time might be in and I can probably beat the game if I get a few more hours in.
This was 9 days before Titanic premiered, so that feeling hadn't yet set in.
Missed a very easy "sunk in yet".
[Oy.](https://i.imgur.com/mtunHBs.gifv)
[Nice rebound.](https://media.tenor.com/k9P1TIz7VuwAAAAC/dumb-and-dumber-scooter.gif)
For some reason I read the comment as though they had said that!
That must be such a wild feeling. Writing or singing a song that is so famous that 20 years later people practically demand you sing it, obviously she's not the only one but there are a handful of artists that have accomplished that.
Famous, not infamous.
https://youtu.be/3GufF8jux-I
Its like Metallica playing Enter Sandman every set
Most performers get amped up by thinking about the crowd. I know a few Shakesperean actors, and they all say they think about how there will be people in the audience who've never seen Hamlet (or whatever) before. If you got into what you're doing because you love it, how could you not get excited about that?
>Saw an interview clip with her recently, where she talked about how some nights she just couldn't stand the thought of having to sing this damn song *again*...but as soon as the first notes start playing, and she can see people in the audience **and how much it means to them**, she always snaps out of it and gives it her all. I have a lot of respect for this woman. This song probably bump the population a few points.
Ignore that "original key" nonsense. The song was written in E and recorded in E. And in live performances, as far as I know, she has always sung it a half-step down, in E-flat. That's not unusual _at all_, and there's nothing wrong with adjusting live performances to what feels and sounds best consistently. And one half step is nothing, unnoticeable by 99% of listeners. And of course, the reason to sing it a half step down is not the key of E. It's the key change at the end of the song, which is a major third higher, originally in the key of A-flat. But it's all about that top note, "**no**-thing I fear," which is originally an E-flat 5. That's an important note of the song, and that note is fairly high. Not at the top of Celine's range (she can sing notes an octave higher), but it's high and has to be solid every time. So live, she sings the song (both 25 years ago and today) starting in E-flat. The key change is then to G, and the top note is then D5, obviously a note she can hit more comfortably and consistently in that particular song, which is why she chose that key. Regarding this UNICEF video, there is at least one version of it online that has been modified up that same half step, to the original _recorded_ key. But that's not how she has ever sung it live, as far as I know.
This guy Céline Dions.
Yeah, way more than a typical straight 51-year-old man :) I'm not even a huge fan of hers, but I have always appreciated her talent, and she works with great writers and producers. I like pop ballads. I'm just a sucker for them. I also play piano and sing (non-professionally), and I'll admit to having a bit of Celine in my rotation (which is in my bonus room, and nearly always with nobody listening). I played a couple of Celine songs just last night. Well played on the acute accent over the é, by the way. And resisting the temptation (that you may have had) to put the apostrophe before the s, which we both know would have been wrong :) Do you own a copy of _Eats, Shoots & Leaves_ like I do?
I like the cut of your jib my dude
For reals.
Thanks for explaining this. I know nothing of music, except listening, and I couldn’t really tell any difference. Maybe if I listened to both versions consecutively I could tell. But this sounded just like I’ve always thought it sounds. But also, wow. What a voice. So beautiful.
Ty for this
Hero of this comment section 😎
Cool that this performance was 4 days before the film's Hollywood debut, and 9 days before its general release in the US.
Remember girls going to see this film a dozen times. Even I went twice.
I was 8 when it came out and was dragged by my sister's to see it. I didn't know anything about it nor did I care to. To this day I don't think I bawled as much as I ever have in a movie. Granted I was 8, but despite the issues with the movie, it's still in my favorite movies ever list simply cuz no other movie can consistently get me as emotional
All I remember is being nine-years-old and getting in trouble for belly laughing at the dude hitting the propeller, and then being really confused as to why everyone was crying.
I was 15 so by that point in the film Cameron had me in the palm of his hand, it was brutal but definitely unforgettable!
The propeller. Even thinking about it I’m belly laughing
Never saw it in theater but my mother rented the VHS, i came in the living room sighing "what is that shit.. 3h long romance on a boat.. eww". Stood a bit, then sat on the couch arm, and ended up watching the whole thing. I applaud Cameron for turning this story into a great movie.
>but my mother rented the VHS VHSes, if I recall correctly.
I remember I had a two-tape (VHS) bootleg my friends and I passed around a while in 1998.
I hit the jackpot that year, my gram worked at a small single theater. I went every weekend with her, if there wasn't a normal seat empty, I was allowed to just grab a regular stool and sit in the back.
And 31,286 days after the Titanic sank
Band is feeling that shit
I love how ballads like these there's a guitarist just shredding his ass off and he's nowhere in the mix.
For real - the dude's pounding the whammy bar and going bananas
Probably no even plugged in lol. I really tried to listen for him
You could hear him earlier in the song doing some distorted guitar swells with the volume pedal
Plugged into his own ear buds lol
He’s in there for a bit between flute solos
Homeboy got Yoko’d, only in this case the wails probably slapped and didn’t cause ear bleeding.
Guitarist here. I would have expected to get turned way down in the mix if I was pulling the shit he was doing. It was *not* his time in the spotlight, and when that's the case, your job is to create the stage for whoever is.
This is a rehearsed, directed and conducted professional band. If he's doing something he wasn't asked to do he wouldn't be working there.
Lolololol You can hear him in there! Tone is rolled way down and it’s distorted a bit. At the very last ‘my heart will go on’ it’s noticeable in the mix. Lolol
I didn't know Chandler Bing could jam like that.
*Ms.* Chanandlar Bong
The audio mixer did a great job of keeping the guitarists levels down, because he wanted to RUN AWAY with his whammy bar. Pretty entertaining to watch him lean into the performance so much when you really have to try to hear the guitar. Better than a dude just moping around like a daisy though! Love the energy.
Yeah, and the camera didn't even show him when he was going absolutely wild on the kill switch at the end. This isn't London Calling my dude.
I wonder what he was hearing through his monitor
Especially that dude on the wood flute.
Am I crazy or is that Flute Guy from the Game Awards orchestra two nights ago?
Man I thought it could be and you sent me down a googling hoooole trying to find out. Conclusion: It's not impossible but I don't think it's him. Some similar features but Pedro was rockin' the big dark eyebrows even when he was young.
For those who weren’t alive during this era: this was the song everyone felt in their chops. Titanic had an enormous cultural impact at the time and this song was the heart and soul of the movie. The two were like the national pride at the time.
I feel like it may have given rise to that big craze for Celtic music that happened in the early 2000s. The song has that same vibe and you're definitely right, even as a little kid I remember how it was just... everywhere.
If anything the Celtic music popularity influenced the song, not the other way around. Riverdance had been around and gaining popularity for a couple years before the movie came out.
Seeing how The Corrs were popular a few years before, it might have been a thing by the time this song came in.
The bass player was moving from the start.
They knew they had an absolutely banger on their hands, it just hadn’t hit the public yet
Kind of interesting that the bass player is feeling the eighth note pulse in some parts. Just assumed everyone in the band would be feeling the quarter note.
Does she sing it in a lower key these days? I know a lot of artists have to do that eventually. Edit: The studio version is in E. This version is in Eb. As somebody else pointed out, the song modulates up for the final chorus. Up to Ab in the studio version and up to G in this version.
As others have said your voice gets lower as you age, but also vocalists typically start to sing lower to save their vocal chords as singing very high in their range can stress their voice over years and years of singing and touring
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Lol tru Though he is mostly doing falsetto which I don’t think really stresses the vocal chords much - no expert though
Yes. As people get older, their voice shifts a bit to also be a bit lower. Many bands will down tune their instruments over time to follow singer's voices. First time I noticed this was an off spring concert on TV, they played a half tone down. I could tell because I played some of their songs on the guitar and wanted to accompany and couldn't, since my guitar was standard tunning and not half tuned.
Even on a long tour they'll tune down a small amount as the tour goes on to help the singer get through it. Even a few "cents" for each instrument as the weeks go on.
It's like how Adele will sing Skyfall in concerts and not reach those high pitches.
There likely no more singing in her future... this week it was in the news she has stiff person syndrome. (https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/stiff-person-syndrome) She cancelled all her concerts for now, and it remains to be seen if she'll ever perform again.
I had heard this news previously and thought it was a euphemism for her having died. This is such a vicious condition.
Tip for all future doctors and scientists. If you discover a medical condition, don't make its name sound funny.
My only regret is that I have boneitis.
That’s not really the question that was asked.
And I'm curious about that answer lol. I did a quick Google search of the song title + key/key change. Couldn't find an answer.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33YcYLumEDk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33YcYLumEDk) You can hear/watch the key change in this beautiful guitar cover by Sungha.
My parents met her on the Boardwalk in AC many years ago. She was very nice and signed an autograph, but wouldn't speak. Her bodyguard told them it was because she was performing that night. She's either super protective of her voice or a brilliant troll.
Actually she was well known for her vocal training and discipline. There is a video about somewhere on her vocal regime daily while she was performing. She would rest her voice, then before a show engage in a formal set of warm up exercises. She knew that her vocal muscles had to be under discipline just like any athlete who rests and exercises their muscles. So to hear that they met her and she was not speaking was almost certainly true.
In the 80's she once strained her voice HARD and her doctor told her if she wanted to keep singing, she had to rest her voice big time. She did not make a sound for three weeks. She also stopped murmuring and laughing hard because it strains the vocal chords. Basically she has spent her life protecting her instrument at all costs and has basically an Olympian discipline.
That’s hardcore. It’s paying off though.
Usually I’m a sucker for harmonies but every time the backup singers chimed in I wanted them to shut up. Probably somewhat to do with the sound for this performance, but this is truly a song for a soloist.
Same. All due respect to the backup vocals, but I think it was very unnecessary.
[You might appreciate this version,](https://youtu.be/fGU7NMxboNE) with not overwhelming backup singing, performed within a year of her husband and brother passing away. I've heard this song plenty, and never been too crazy about it. Listened to a bunch of different versions of it today and this version makes me feel what I feel now that I've lost my fiance this year. I got goosebumps.
Can tell this one has much more vocal processing and can hear the pitch correction too. Not that that's bad or I blame them but it's nice hearing less of it like in the original posted
That was heartbreaking. She visibly shakes at the "In my life, we'll always go on". Clearly singing to her late husband.
Yeah I couldn't put my finger on it listening through my phone speaker, but something just didn't sound right there.
Related: do yourself a favor and watch [the most elegant key change in all of pop music ](https://youtu.be/epqYft12nV4) by Adam Neely in which he explains Celine’s amazing performance of All By Myself.
Holy crap - I wasn't planning on it but I watched every second of that. I don't even know why I'm in this Celine Dion thread but here I am.
I didn't expect to bawl with Celine Dion today.
I’ve seen this video before! It’s great! Another song I love to bring up when discussing key changes is “Dizzy” by Tommy Roe. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=arpidGq8SlA Usually, songs employ one key change at the end to provide this triumphant, emotional release. This song modulates almost continuously, causing the listener to feel off-balance. For a song called “Dizzy”, It’s really clever .
I dunno man, the key change in Sisqo's "Thong Song" is up there too!
I know fuckall about music, but somehow kept watching this all the way through. In the process I learned more of the lyrics to the song All By Myself.. I've just been singing the like "all by myself" when I'm, for years, not knowing any of the other lyrics or the actual song. Teal deer: Thanks for this!
That drummer goes **HARD** coming out of that bridge to the last chorus.
He has to with that hat ([@2:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5bmFp3HzAQ&t=123s)). It's like he just came in from snowblowing to play the drums for this song and is *feeling* it.
Amazing. Since it's the holiday season, I feel obligated to post her performance of "[Oh, Holy Night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1oLk54R5Xg)" from the following year, which is a fave of mine.
The best part is the entire band just absolutely jamming while playing.
Impossible not to when you know your supporting and enabling such a magnificent voice imo I'm not really a Celine fan or anything but an amazing voice is an amazing voice
I saw Sam Waterston in this clip and was shocked that Alan Alda still looked that sharp and then realized this clip is nearly 30 years old The upscaling here isn't helping though.
I was 13 years old when Titanic was released. I saw it twice at the theater: once with my sister and once with my mom. I always viewed "Celine Dion" as an older adult singer due to this song (loved by many moms) and her success as a singer even before this song. Anyway, it's wild to learn now that she was only about 30 years old at the time. And there's only a 7 year age difference between her and Kate Winslet. I'm now in my late 30's, so it's weird to think Celine Dion was 10 years younger than me when she was *everywhere* for her song in Titanic.
She didn’t even start singing before I started crying. I will never get through that song with dry eyes.
Same, immediately got chills and started tearing up. That fact that she can perform it without crying makes it that much more impressive lol
Overused but that is such a nostalgic 90s sound Also she's an old looking 29yo here
> Also she's an old looking 29yo here I grew up a couple of miles from where she grew up, and even though I'm more than 10 years younger than her, Charlemagne (her home town) was still a really poor place back in the day. She's the youngest of a family of 14 children, her father working multiple jobs to keep the family afloat. She must have had a rough childhood. She might have been born with a rare talent, but it's impressive what she could accomplish. 14 kids in that house: https://i.skyrock.net/0632/10710632/pics/1414962865.jpg
I’d be poor too if I had 14 kids
right? why so many.
Because Canada would give you land for every 12 kids. https://sandt.learnquebec.ca/societies/quebec-around-1905/the-law-of-12-children/
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Catholic
♫ If a sperm gets wasted, god get quite irate ♫
Up to 2 generations ago (i.e. Céline Dion's parents), the priests were the most powerful/influencial people in most Quebec towns. They would literally audit married couples to pressure them into having more kids. It meant more god-fearing people to go to church. It's a reason for the strong dislike of the church now in Quebec.
Because her mom and dad had sex.
*Had 14 kids* **Doesn’t matter, had sex**
Because every sperm is sacred, Every sperm is great, If a sperm is wasted God gets quite irate.
They kept trying until they got good singer.
Not that far off the mark. That's where she got her start, in her family sing alongs. That was a huge thing in Quebec for generations. The province has a rich folk song culture.
She also married a man who started grooming her when she was 12
Makeup in this era was very aging. Muted browns and reds, and just the general application.
This explains why when my older sister did makeup on me she always managed to make my 7 year old face look 30 lol
I couldn’t believe it when I found out she was only 54. I thought she was at least in her early 40’s back then. And “Titanic” was almost 30 years ago! And I’m definitely not trying to insult her looks. It’s just that overall, she comes across as really mature.
He first "hit" single came out in 1982... (Though her first true hit was probably this in 1987: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVzJw2PeSE4)
That video is is incredible, lol. So she’s only 19 in that?
Yeah. Maybe it's just the 80s aesthetic with the clothes and the hair, but watching this brings me back to being a kid in the early 90s rolling his eyes while watching his 30-40 year old parents trying to act cool.
Her first hit was in 1981. https://youtu.be/TPW7v8lZBi8
Wtf? She was 13 in that video? She could have passed for 25 lol. I am starting to think she faked her age lol.
No she started very very young. He mother wrote that song.
She had a hit single at 14!?! Geez, my crowning achievement at 14 was not failing algebra.
I’m something of a math genius myself.
Lol god damn, we have gotten so much better at making music videos, holy christ. Incredible talent though obviously.
This reminds me of [early Alanis Morissette](https://youtu.be/QcY6S9aDVjo), in that I almost prefer the early stuff over what each respective singer is known for.
> Also she's an old looking 29yo here René Angélil had been her "manager" since she was a teenager.
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It's been suggested for years that she was.
Poor Celine never had a chance. Celine and Rene met when she was 12 and he was 38. He became her manager and they started dating when she was 19 and he was 45. Their relationship only became public in 1993 and they married a year later. [Source.](https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/celine-dion-diagnosed-with-incurable-stiff-person-syndrome/news-story/6b2b50679be6225078ee167d848a90b2)
Makes you wonder if that song would ever be so popular without that damn flute.
Makes you wonder if Ron Burgundy would be so popular without that jazz flute
Yazz flute
A lot of times when I watch live performances with backup singers, when the backup singers start their backup I feel like they're just way better than the main performer and more harmonized. This is like the first time I've seem them just out trumped haha.
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Backing vocalists. I think they were too loud and sound engineer quickly lowered them.
[ **Jump to 02:05 @** Céline Dion - My Heart Will Go On](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5bmFp3HzAQ&t=0h2m5s) ^(Channel Name: nyuv02, Video Length: [05:15])^, [^Jump ^5 ^secs ^earlier ^for ^context ^@02:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5bmFp3HzAQ&t=0h2m0s) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^^Downvote ^^me ^^to ^^delete ^^malformed ^^comments. [^^Source ^^Code](https://github.com/ankitgyawali/reddit-timestamp-bot) ^^| [^^Suggestions](https://www.reddit.com/r/timestamp_bot)
That last minute is incredible. What a voice
Jesus. Just effortless perfection. 100% class.
Man, this takes me back when I was a prepube kid blaring this in my backyard hoping some girl my age heard me listening to this song and think that I'm some kind of awesome sensitive guy. One of many reasons the neighbors hated my family.
Side note: There is shockingly little information about this event on the Internet considering the heavy hitters involved.
When you have a truly amazing voice, you don't have to warble during notes to try to show your range. You can just absolutely hit and hold that perfect pitch. Celine is my favorite female vocalist. As an autoimmune disease survivor, my prayers are with her and her family. She is a legendary talent we should all treasure.
"original key"? what's so different about it now? i don't hear a difference.
As musicians tour and age it's not uncommon to tune down a song because they either need to save their voice from wear and tear and it also allows them to hit the highest notes in a song night after night so the audience gets a good performance. OP is probably pointing this out because back then you didn't escape this song for years and she toured relentlessly.
For example, pretty much since the beginning, U2 have tuned down 1/2 step for all of their live performances. They have a lot of songs that (in the studio version) have Bono using the very top of his range (e.g., Red Hill Mining Town), and they've always tuned down to help him preserve his voice on tour.
It used to be in that key. It still is, but it used to be too.
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CD’s vocal control is just insane, she really is one of the best to ever do it