Photos: Celine Dion talks fashion collection, shopping, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and Caesars residency
Superstar singer Celine Dion is in preliminary talks about extending her run of Las Vegas shows after her current contract expires at the end of 2019, I can exclusively reveal. Celine has been performing as a headliner since 2003 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, but rival casino theater offers to continue her Las Vegas residency have been sent to her management team.
As she weighs the possibilities of remaining in Las Vegas through 2021, we will keep track of this developing story. “There are lots of variable possibilities,” I was candidly told. “We have a number of options, and all will be looked at slowly. We think of Las Vegas as our second home, so we may all be here with walkers by the time it’s all said and done.”
Celine, who returns to Caesars on April 4, has a busy schedule over the next few weeks: On March 2, she has agreed to attend the red carpet premiere in Hollywood for “Beauty and the Beast” starring Emma Watson. It was more than 25 years ago that she sang the title track in a duet with Peabo Bryson, and she will now sing “How Does a Moment Last Forever?”
While launching The Celine Dion Collection of handbags, clutches, luggage and accessories, including wrist cuffs, at the Project Women exhibits at MAGIC at Mandalay Bay on Tuesday, she confirmed that her late husband and manager, Rene Angelil, had persuaded her to sing it for the new live-action film.
Celine admitted that she was shaking after seeing the new film: “It was hard for me to commit because I felt as if I was cheating on the original. I’m still in love with that first movie, and the song is in our show every night at Caesars.” She revealed talking to Rene’s spirit about the decision and felt that she had his blessing to go ahead.
Rene died here more than a year ago after a long battle with throat cancer. Celine wore a stunning white Elsa Schiaparelli couture outfit of hearts with golden arrows emblazed through a large heart over her chest, but it was her sky-high red heart suede boots that caused a stir with the admiring crowd. “I love these boots,” she confessed to me.
Our thanks to Denise Truscello and Janine Noble for our photo gallery. The 200-plus items in The Celine Dion Collection will officially go on sale around the world this fall, but her website, CelineDion.com, will feature three special selections next month. We’ll have a full report next week. And Celine starts her run on NBC’s “The Voice” with Gwen Stefani in March.
A Team Celine member told me: “She was so diligent with her mentoring. She even went to the orchestra to discuss the right sound of the notes for the contestants. In every way possible, she tried to help her would-be star singing teams. Nobody at the TV studio had ever seen somebody so diligent like that before.”
On April 16, Celine will appear in a Bee Gees TV special and is Donatella Versace’s guest at The Met Gala in New York on May 1. Meantime, she also is busy at work on her next English-language album now expected in the first quarter of 2018. I’ve learned that she has settled on the first three tracks.
Celine sold 400,000 tickets in one day for her European tour, which begins June 15 in Denmark and includes shows added to dates in London and Manchester in England. I was told that she will perform two shows, one in English and the other in French, when she changes over June 29 to the French leg with shows in Bordeaux, Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Nice and Switzerland.
The tour ends Aug. 3 in Birmingham, England, before Celine returns here. “All of these are new projects,” Celine told me. “Rene and I didn’t plan the handbag collection. That was new, but he would be proud of what we have done. I feel stronger taking on all this new work since his death. He and I were always 50-50 in our life together.
“When he left us, he gave the rest of the 50 percent to me and the children so that we would be strong. I’ve also got more confidence because I now stand up for myself. Before, he said what we do, when we do this television show or not or go on tour. He was on top of it all. Now, though, I take more time, I pause to think about it.
“I didn’t have any questions before, but now I ask, then I get back later with my answer. I believe I can still do this, and he will always be with me. I’ve become the leader of our family.” Celine was in fine, fun form when we chatted — even singing to me. “The first thing I said when I came out of my mother’s stomach, I started to sing,” she laughed with me.
“I thought they’d ask me to sing today, but they didn’t, which is why I broke into song for you. I talk so much; I don’t even let people have the time to ask questions. I say what I need to say. I’d like to tell you, though, why I did these fashion accessories when there’s a lot of purses in the world. Why would I put my name on purses and handbags and carry-ons when I don’t need to?
“I love fashion a lot, obviously. I’m a woman on top of it, but it’s hard for me to go window shopping. That’s bad, it ain’t happening with me, there’s no window shopping. But I have such a wonderful relationship with my fans, even more than ever. People had so much compassion since Rene passed. I’ve always been accessible like an open book.
“But more than ever before, it’s become all about social media, far more than recording a record and you hope that it’s going to be played on the radio. I thank God that I have Las Vegas to sing my songs because maybe I would not be played on the radio. Social media, Facebook and all that, I don’t do it personally, but my son does and my team does.
“I understood when you sing, you have to be accessible, and people want more. How can I give them more? I’m a mother, as well. It’s impossible to be everywhere all the time. How could we find a way? So we have started with a lifestyle, my lifestyle being available to fans. I don’t have to change anything with my life or my styles.
“Instead of just having merchandising and selling T-shirts and programs, I could have leather goods, accessories, luggage, then we can build this if we want to into jewelry, clothing for kids, all that. I’d better stop right there! Today I want to enjoy and see how it goes. I’m a dreamer, but I’m becoming more of a believer. I said yes because I’m an accessible artist.
“I want my products to be affordable. We’re not selling $2,000 purses. I’m excited that my collection is affordable. For the people who cannot afford what they deserve, that would be my phrase. I want them to have what I can have. People work hard, so I tried to find styles that look expensive but people can buy for $80 or $120. I’m very proud of what we achieved.”
Then Celine made a startling confession: “I’ve never had the regular thing of being ordinary and going window shopping. It’s not me to want to go into a store that’s closed and opens just for me even though I love shopping too much. I’ve never been able to go shopping. Even when I was 11, I was at the kitchen table singing for my brothers and sisters.
“One time in Japan, I was shopping, and we thought it was going to be OK, but I was being followed. I turned around, they had to put up a red cable between me and the crowd. I had to run because there was a little panic going on. People started to accumulate, and I started to run on the sidewalk. I had to push through a doorway window to get into the car.
“There was about 300 to 400 people shaking the car. I’d been recognized, and I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I thought The Beatles were still alive. I’m not saying this pretentiously, but I never thought something like this could happen to me. I understood that if I want to do something normal, I have to organize my freedom. My team gives me some distance.”
We joked about looking into a crystal ball in Las Vegas — after 2019 with a new, extended contract. “I hope to still be here and that my strength and health are good. I hope that I still have the drive I have now. I hope my 16-year-old, Rene-Charles, who I love so much finds his way for his near future.
“He’s going to have to make big decisions about which college to go to, driving a car and all that. I wish that we all stay healthy and that the world calms down a little bit. I wish all of us peace and love and honor.” Next week, Celine will walk us through her collection and reveal what she packs inside her own purse and luggage.
