Céline Dion - Purple Rain (Prince) - Live in Montréal Spirit Day - 2016

Céline Marie Claudette Dion CC OQ (/seɪˌliːn diˈɒn/,[1] also UK: /- ˈdiːɒn/,[2] French: [selin maʁi klodɛt djɔ̃], Quebec French: [- d͡zjɔ̃]; born 30 March 1968)[3] is a Canadian singer. She is renowned for her powerful, technically skilled vocals,[4][5] and remains the best-selling Canadian recording artist and one of the best-selling artists of all time with record sales of over 200 million worldwide.[6][7] Born into a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, she emerged as a teen star in her home country with a series of French-language albums during the 1980s. She first gained international recognition by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, where she represented Switzerland. After learning to speak English, she signed on to Epic Records in the United States. In 1990, Dion released her debut English-language album, Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.Dion cites idols as varied as Aretha Franklin, Charles Aznavour, Carole King, Anne Murray, Barbra Streisand, and the Bee Gees, all of whom she would eventually collaborate with.[213][214][215] Her music has been influenced by numerous genres, including pop, rock, gospel, R&B, and soul, and her lyrics focus on themes of poverty, world hunger, and spirituality, with an emphasis on love and romance.[32][216] After the birth of her first child, her work increasingly focused on maternal loveNumerous artists have either mentioned Dion as a major influence or as one of their favourite singers including: Britney Spears,[250] Rihanna,[251] Christina Aguilera,[252] Frank Ocean,[253] Adele,[254] Josh Groban,[255] Delta Goodrem,[256] Jordin Sparks,[257] Jake Zyrus,[citation needed] Leona Lewis,[258] Jessie J,[259] JoJo,[260] Lea Michele,[261] Jennifer Hudson,[262] Ariana Grande,[263] Regine Velasquez, Taylor Swift,[264] Vanessa Hudgens,[265] The Canadian Tenors, Faith Hill, Katy Perry, Sevyn Streeter, Kelly Clarkson,[266] Ava Max,[267] Perrie Edwards,[268] Loren Allred[269] and Sam Smith [270] among many others. Country singer Martina McBride is widely heralded by the press as the Celine Dion of Country music.[271]

Many artists have also praised Dion's voice, singing ability or expressed an interest in working with her including Met Opera conductor and musical director Yannick Nézet-Séguin,[272][273] Beyoncé,[274] Carlos Santana,[275] Elton John,[276] OneRepublic,[277] Coldplay,[278] Sharon Osbourne,[279] Nicole Scherzinger,[280] Ne-Yo,[281] Carole King,[282] Barbra Streisand,[283] Luciano Pavarotti,[284] Bee Gees,[285] Sir George Martin,[285] Justin Bieber,[286] Jean-Jacques Goldman,[287] and Cher.Timbaland stated "Celine has such a beautiful, mesmerizing voice. She is so talented. I think we could create something that is a classic like she is already." Josh Groban remarked "She's a powerhouse. In this day and age, when more and more studio-produced, tiny-tiny voices