When Céline Dion released her debut English album, Unison, back in 1990, she quickly rose to prominence in the United States and became a popular figure there. Many fans from all across America were listening to her songs, and the demand for her live tour across America began to reach peak levels. Unison was a mix of dance songs and ballads in the theme of ’80s soft rock music. It was a number one bestseller in Quebec and eventually reached Platinum in the united states. A year after the album’s release, it even won a Juno Award for Album of the Year and Dion won a Juno Award for Female Vocalist of the Year.
The most popular song from Unison was by far “Where Does My Heart Beat Now,” which reached the top 10 charts across the continent in the United States. These tours would eventually prove to be her most commercially successful singing endeavors and mark her as one of the world’s best and most sought-after live performers. A surprise was waiting for a young singer though, as she was suddenly hit by an unexpected loss of her voice just a few weeks before the tour was about to begin.
An Unexpected Romance
Céline Dion and René Angélil first met under strictly professional circumstances. She was an up and coming singer and he was a talent manager who believed he could take her to the top. Right from the start, it was clear that the two had a strong bond. It’s not every day that a young teenage singer can make a grown man cry, especially in an audition. The two originally met when Céline was just 12 years old. By that point, René had already been married twice and had three children. On his second marriage, he was actually married to a Canadian pop star named Anne René.
Céline revealed that when she was just 17 or 18 years old, her feelings towards her manager began to change, and she started seeing him in a more romantic way. By that point, René had already seen something special in the young singer. Not every manager would take a risk as big as mortgaging their own house just to help a singer they’re managing debut their singing career. It was later revealed that while the two began their professional relationship in the early ‘80s, their romantic relationship began in April 30, 1988. The reason they know the exact date is because their first romantic experience happened the very same night that Céline won the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest that took place in Dublin, Ireland. She was only 19 years old at the time.
She Decided to Take Some Time For Herself
One of the riskiest moves that Céline Dion did was deciding to take 18 months to get back readjust to the frenzy of fame and fortune. So many of today’s singers find themselves getting propelled into fame and celebrity without having gone through the experience of growing up and becoming mature individuals. They spend their youth hiding from paparazzi and being written about in tabloids, all in the efforts of appeasing a large group of fans and critics.
You can usually see the results of this kind of childhood, as entertainers and celebrities who never make the transition into adulthood often find themselves burning out or worse, falling to the unhealthy and harmful addictions. It proved to be one of the best decisions of her career, as can clearly be seen by her amazing longevity as a singer and the fact that she never became “corrupted” by the media and exposure.
She Lost Her Voice Just Before the US Tour
Mere months before her United States tour, Céline was doing a show celebrating her Incognito album when she suddenly injured her voice. She went to see an otorhinolaryngologist named William Gold who explained to her that she was suffering from laryngitis, a condition that causes inflammation of the voice box. This was on top of her general fatigue from not being used to performing so much. Céline’s schedule was packed with shows but the young singer still didn't know how to train and control her voice to prevent injuries.
Celine's doctor gave her two options: either have immediate vocal cord surgery to let her keep using her voice, or take a three-week break from singing and let her inflammation subside. Dion decided to take a break and began to take vocal training with William Riley. The vocal training was a success and the singer found herself back at peak condition, now armed with the knowledge of how to properly use her voice in a way that doesn't cause strain and inflammation. Up next, things get romantically charged between Céline Dion and her manager, René Angélil. How did the controversial romance begin and where did it all lead to?
Controversy Over the Age Gap
Both René Angélil and Céline Dion knew that the public would not be immediately understanding of their romantic relationship. It was clear to them that the twenty-six year age gap was not a small deal, especially considering that the singer wasn’t even twenty years old yet. Show business is a very lucrative industry and tends to attract predatory type men who end up taking advantage of young women who want to make it big, sometimes even underage girls. The couple knew that it might appear as-if they began dating before it was legal to do so, as they originally started working together when Céline was just 12. They both decided that it would be best to just come out publicly instead of hiding it, especially since they had nothing to be ashamed of.
This was the beginning of a beautiful and blossoming relationship that would end up lasting until the last day of René’s life. Céline said in her autobiography, My Story, My Dream, that she was already in love with the manager from a very young age. He was also romantically attracted to her, but refused to do anything sexual before she was already a woman. Her mother was initially worried about the relationship, but the singer told her "I'm not a minor. This is a free country. No one has the right to prevent me from loving whoever I want to." She eventually revealed her relationship with René in a tearful 1992 interview with journalist Lise Payette.