Celine Dion's lasting Power Of Love

The queen of power ballads says The Power Of Love and My Heart Will Go On are among the hits that she sings on every tour. She will perform here in July

Celine Dion says she decided to do an Asian tour so she can meet fans that she has never met before.
Celine Dion says she decided to do an Asian tour so she can meet fans that she has never met before. PHOTO: DENISE TRUSCELLO

As the music video for Celine Dion's latest single Ashes, off the soundtrack of superhero movie Deadpool 2 shows, the legendary Canadian singer has quite the sense of humour.

In the four-minute-long video, which has, at press time, racked up 15 million views on YouTube since it premiered last Thursday, Deadpool performs a hilarious interpretive dance around Dion in his full body tactical suit and high heels, as the glamorous singer unflinchingly belts out the power ballad.

That same sense of humour is apparent during a group telephone interview earlier this year with Singapore media, ahead of her first concerts here on July 3 and 4.

When asked how the 50-year-old keeps things fresh for herself, even when she is almost 40 years into her career, with multiple Grammy awards to her name and more than 250 million albums sold worldwide, the singer jokes, without missing a beat: "Fresh? I brush my teeth every morning, I take a shower, I do my vocal exercise and then I do my show, I go back home and take another shower."

Her answer may allude to the mundanity of her routine - the seasoned singer has spent the majority of the last 15 years performing regularly at two residencies at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

She heads to Asia not long after her second residency, Celine, ends after a seven-year run on June 9. The month-long tour kicks off in Tokyo on June 26 before heading to Macau, Jakarta, Taipei, Manila and Bangkok.

Dion insists that going on tour was not because Las Vegas was getting claustrophobic. "The last two summers we travelled to Europe, and we said this year we're going to change it a little bit, and we're going to go to places that we've not been before," she tells The Straits Times.

  • BOOK IT / CELINE DION LIVE 2018

  • WHERE: Sands Grand Ballroom, Level 5 Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, 1 Bayfront Avenue

    WHEN: July 3 and 4, 8pm

    ADMISSION: From $150 for restricted view tickets to $1,200 for VVIP tickets, via www.marinabaysands.com/ticketing and through Sistic (go to www.sistic.com.sg or call 6348-5555). Advance sales for Team Celine members start today and tomorrow; sales for Singtel customers start next Wednesday; while general ticket sales start from May 17.

    INFO: www.marinabaysands.com/CelineDion

"I want to meet some fans I've never met before."

Tickets for her shows at the Sands Grand Ballroom in Marina Bay Sands go on sale today. Prices start at $150 and the $1,200 VVIP tickets are some of the most expensive for concerts held here.

Die-hard fans will be pleased to know that the queen of power ballads has no qualms dipping into her greatest hits.

"There are some (songs) from my repertoire that are pretty much - I don't want to sound pretentious - but things that I cannot go on tour and go on stage and not sing them," she says. "I cannot do this show and not sing The Power Of Love, My Heart Will Go On and Because You Love Me... I hope I do the song that you want me to sing."

"If you want to send me a list of the songs you want me to sing, I will sing them," she quips.

Other than her contribution to the Deadpool 2 soundtrack, there will soon be more new music from her. Her latest studio album may have been 2016 French pop record Encore Un Soir (One More Night), but she reveals that she is recording a new English album.

"I don't know if it's going to be ready for me to sing for you," she says. "If it's ready, I'm going to sing a few and, if not, I'm going to go back to Singapore and sing you my new album, I promise."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 10, 2018, with the headline Celine Dion's lasting Power Of Love. Subscribe