Dion opens new show at Caesars

So the Canadian superstar wrapped her first new show at Caesars Palace the same way she did her last one in 2007: Facing reporters late into the night in a bilingual news conference, fielding questions about everything from drug violence in Mexico, to her breast-feeding routine for her new twin babies, to her breakfast of choice: Crepes with molasses.

"To feel loved and wanted is the greatest thing," the singer told reporters. "And I feel wanted. They got us back."

"As a performer I think I’m at my best right now and as a mom I can’t wish for anything better."

Select highlights of her post-show news conference:

— On her return to the Colosseum stage: "My knees were very shaking," she admitted. "I thought it was maybe going to be different this time, but it was not. My legs were weak I was nervous. Not scared, but nervous."

— On including home movies of her family in the new show: "There was no way to come back here and not share my most precious thing," she said. "The world knows I just had two more beautiful babies. I love sharing my private life, it helps me to deliver my songs."

— On her new routine, juggling motherhood with 70 shows a year: "It never ends," she said. "I still (breast)feed my children every four hours. So I do not have a full night’s sleep."

The breast milk gets pumped backstage and sent upstairs to the family’s temporary lodgings at Caesars Palace after sound check.

"My last wish before I start singing, I always say to my kids, ‘This is for you,’" she said.

When her day "ends for a singer, it starts for a mom."

— On tragedies of nature (the earthquake in Japan) and man-made (the Mexican drug violence):

"I try not to put it on TV," she said of the catastrophe in Japan. "I’m scared, I think a lot of people are scared It seems things are getting worse. And at the same time, we just want to help them as much as we can.

"When it’s the earth that opens up and the ocean that tries to do so much damage, what can we do? It’s a natural tragedy, and that’s what’s scary. When it’s the humans, we do a lot of bad things. But when it’s the nature that takes over, that’s when it’s really scary."

When pressed by a Mexican reporter to comment on the drug violence there, this singer of the world was nonplussed: "Violence in the world, violence in general is a big problem. All of the information we have through television and through technology is not always a positive thing. We have to be careful. It’s unfortunate we have so much anger and so much violence inside of us. People don’t think and don’t talk about meditation anymore. Hopefully when we talk about peace and hope, hopefully it’s not something that’s too far from us."

— On singing "My Heart Will Go On" at every show: "I’m glad that I listened to the people that I was with: Rene (Angelil, her husband and manager)," she said of her initial reluctance to record the "Titanic" theme.

Dion confessed to sometimes wanting to get the song out of the way, and even proposed opening the new show with it instead of holding it for the traditional finale. "He looked at me and said, ‘I don’t think so.’"

"I think it’s a great problem to have," she added.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.