Why I'm Celine Dion's biggest fan and not watching her on Oprah
For those of you who know me well, you know I'm Celine Dion's biggest fan. No I don't act fan-crazed and do anything I can to see her. I've never even met her in person. But for me, as she's grown up musically, I've grown up as a person and her music is a soundtrack to my life. For those who are surprised, I've been listening to her music since Beauty and the Beast came out when I was in high school. Obviously my taste in music has changed dramatically, but I still go back to certain favorites like Celine and Barbra. As soon as I heard that song I went out and bought all the cds of hers I could get a hold of. At the time she had only two English cds. I saw her in concert summer after my grandma died with my mom for the first time. This was in 1996. Her Falling Into You cd was a huge hit and there was a song on there called "Call the Man" that spoke to me. That song expressed everything I was going through emotionally at the time. Particularly the verse:
"Call the man who dreams in once upon a time,
Maybe he can mend this broken heart of mine
Shine a light ahead, the future isn't clear
Call the man, he's needed here."
I had just graduated from Valley College and was going to Cal State LA in September. Suddenly my life seemed to be changing in a lot of different ways and that song gave me strength to continue when everything seemed to be falling apart.
Going to that concert with my mom was a special time. It was the first time we'd been out since my grandma had died. It was a chance to reconnect. It was also (what I didn't realize at the time) a chance for my mom to become Celine's newest fan. She really hadn't heard much of her music, but as soon as Celine came onstage singing "The Power of Love" she was an instant fan.
I saw Celine again in concert later that year, and then again in 1998 after the song "My Heart Will Go On" suddenly put her music on everyone's sonar. That October I got to go with my mom and some friends to see the tv taping of her show on CBS for Thanksgiving. Shortly after that she went into retirement for two years. At the same time I had moved back home after a pretty bad illness. I remember watching her on, ironically, Oprah at 1am when she was talking about having a baby and not performing for awhile. I sat on my bed and cried. Her music, which meant so much, suddenly wouldn't be there to guide me.
By the time she came out of retirement I now had a steady job and had just met online my future husband, Nick. Celine's newest song was "That's the Way it Is." It's funny that all these years later I find out my best friend Courtney who was dating her future husband at the time and I listened to that song a lot like myself thinking about our future husbands.
When I found out my friend's grand-daughter might have cystic fibrosis, the first place I looked for information was Celine's website. She had lost her niece to that disease and spoke about it prominently on her website and in her liner notes.
When I got married I walked down the aisle not to the Wedding March, but to Celine's version of "At Last." Of course "Beauty and the Beast" was also played prior to the processional.
For my present for finishing my credential and finishing my first year of teaching, Nick and I went to Las Vegas to see Celine in concert. He wasn't really a fan before the concert, but by the end of it, like my mom, he was her newest fan. I'm convinced that you can take someone who hates her music to her concert and they will be a fan before the show is over. The show was phenomenal.
For the Fall 2007 season, a new show by Ron Koslow, creator of the tv show Beauty and the Beast was coming on CBS called Moonlight. For the promos they were playing...what else? but Celine's new single "Taking Chances."
Today Celine Dion is on Oprah with what is supposed to be her biggest fans in the audience. Well aside from the fact that I don't like Oprah for a variety of reasons...Celine's biggest fans are not in the audience. They are here in Colton. That's why I'm not watching the show. I don't want to see Oprah's idea of a big Celine fan get to meet her, get special stuff, etc. while I miss out. I don't want to be a crazed fan of anyone. I've been fortunate enough to meet a lot of my favorite celebrities, some that I'm fortunate enough to call friends, and I know someday I will have the opportunity to meet Celine as well.
Tomorrow her first English album since One Heart will be released. I'm buying it right after work. A year from now I will see Celine in concert again...I wonder what changes my life will bring and how Celine's music will influence me in the upcoming year?
"Call the man who dreams in once upon a time,
Maybe he can mend this broken heart of mine
Shine a light ahead, the future isn't clear
Call the man, he's needed here."
I had just graduated from Valley College and was going to Cal State LA in September. Suddenly my life seemed to be changing in a lot of different ways and that song gave me strength to continue when everything seemed to be falling apart.
Going to that concert with my mom was a special time. It was the first time we'd been out since my grandma had died. It was a chance to reconnect. It was also (what I didn't realize at the time) a chance for my mom to become Celine's newest fan. She really hadn't heard much of her music, but as soon as Celine came onstage singing "The Power of Love" she was an instant fan.
I saw Celine again in concert later that year, and then again in 1998 after the song "My Heart Will Go On" suddenly put her music on everyone's sonar. That October I got to go with my mom and some friends to see the tv taping of her show on CBS for Thanksgiving. Shortly after that she went into retirement for two years. At the same time I had moved back home after a pretty bad illness. I remember watching her on, ironically, Oprah at 1am when she was talking about having a baby and not performing for awhile. I sat on my bed and cried. Her music, which meant so much, suddenly wouldn't be there to guide me.
By the time she came out of retirement I now had a steady job and had just met online my future husband, Nick. Celine's newest song was "That's the Way it Is." It's funny that all these years later I find out my best friend Courtney who was dating her future husband at the time and I listened to that song a lot like myself thinking about our future husbands.
When I found out my friend's grand-daughter might have cystic fibrosis, the first place I looked for information was Celine's website. She had lost her niece to that disease and spoke about it prominently on her website and in her liner notes.
When I got married I walked down the aisle not to the Wedding March, but to Celine's version of "At Last." Of course "Beauty and the Beast" was also played prior to the processional.
For my present for finishing my credential and finishing my first year of teaching, Nick and I went to Las Vegas to see Celine in concert. He wasn't really a fan before the concert, but by the end of it, like my mom, he was her newest fan. I'm convinced that you can take someone who hates her music to her concert and they will be a fan before the show is over. The show was phenomenal.
For the Fall 2007 season, a new show by Ron Koslow, creator of the tv show Beauty and the Beast was coming on CBS called Moonlight. For the promos they were playing...what else? but Celine's new single "Taking Chances."
Today Celine Dion is on Oprah with what is supposed to be her biggest fans in the audience. Well aside from the fact that I don't like Oprah for a variety of reasons...Celine's biggest fans are not in the audience. They are here in Colton. That's why I'm not watching the show. I don't want to see Oprah's idea of a big Celine fan get to meet her, get special stuff, etc. while I miss out. I don't want to be a crazed fan of anyone. I've been fortunate enough to meet a lot of my favorite celebrities, some that I'm fortunate enough to call friends, and I know someday I will have the opportunity to meet Celine as well.
Tomorrow her first English album since One Heart will be released. I'm buying it right after work. A year from now I will see Celine in concert again...I wonder what changes my life will bring and how Celine's music will influence me in the upcoming year?