Masked singer
Happy birthday to Céline Dion! In honor of the iconic singer’s 51 years on earth, we’re enumerating 51 things we absolutely adore about her. Bonne anniversaire, Céline!
1. First of all, we love that she’s 51.
We love that Céline has been around for a half-century (plus one). On the one hand, she looks youthful and beautiful and luminous and we’d never guess she’s in her 50s by looking at her, but on the other hand, she’s such a cultural institution we can’t believe she hasn’t been around much, much longer, filling our lives with tender ballads and expressive hand gestures since time immemorial.
2. Speaking of which, we love this hand gesture:
3. We love a good Céline throwback.
4. She’s Canadian!
Who doesn’t love Canadians? We love their politicians! We love their ice dancers! We love their snarky superheroes! We love Céline Dion!
5. Not only that, she’s Québécois!
That is, elle est Québécois.
6. And therefore often sings en français, and who can resist that? Pas nous!
7. She is the youngest of 14 siblings.
Yes! Fourteen!
8. She has a genuine rags-to-riches life story.
More like Céline-derella, am I right?
9. And she chronicled it in her autobiography.
My Story, My Dream was published in 2001.
10. We love that she was discovered at age 12…
What were you doing at age 12?
11. By her future manager and husband, René Angélil…
12. To whom she was married for 21 years, and cared for when he became sick with cancer.
13. And upon his death, her strength and grace were genuinely inspirational.
Dion’s brother died just two days after Angélil’s, and the singer in grief was a vision of dignity.
14. But let’s look back on happier times. We love her bridal style.
Honestly, that headpiece.
Laurence Labat/Sygma via Getty Images
15. Actually, we love all of her style.
16. She wore this iconic Galliano to the Oscars in 1999.
The white backwards tux was ahead of its time, truly.
17. In 2017, at 49, she posed for a nude photo.
18. Also in 2017, she wore Versace to the Met Gala.
She went avant-garde in her first time attending the glamorous event.
John Shearer/Getty Images
19. She took full advantage of the Met Gala photobooth.
20. See? She isn’t afraid to get silly, even wearing couture.
21. And she blew the roof off the 2017 BBMAs wearing this spectacular modern dress.
She sang “My Heart Will Go On.”
Kevin Mazur/BBMA2017/Getty Images for dcp
22. Wait a minute, have we not mentioned that we love “My Heart Will Go On” yet?!
We love “My Heart Will Go On,” and we love its music video.
23. Speaking of essential ‘90s music videos, let’s not forget “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.”
24. Anyway, Céline sang “My Heart Will Go On” at the 1998 Oscars.
25. And she actually wore Titanic’s Heart of the Ocean necklace to the Oscars!
But I thought the old lady dropped it into the ocean in the end?
Vince Bucci/AFP/Getty Images
26. But “My Heart Will Go On” isn’t the only Best Original Song winner she recorded.
She sang “Beauty and the Beast” in a duet with Peabo Bryson for its classic ‘90s pop movie-credits version.
27. She has also provided the soundtrack to countless heartbroken ice-cream binges.
“All By Myself” was originally recorded by Eric Carmen in 1975, but Céline’s 1996 cover is iconic on its own.
28. She has released a total of 71 albums and box sets.
That’s 26 studio albums, seven live albums, 17 compilation albums, and 21 box sets. Can you honestly imagine having released 71 of anything?
29. She has been nominated for 17 Grammys — and won five.
30. She knows how to strike a pose.
31. She is the queen of Las Vegas.
She is a pioneer of the Sin City residency, a career move that Elton John, Cher, and Britney Spears, among others, have made in her footsteps.
Denise Truscello/WireImage
32. Nobody sings “God Bless America” as beautifully as she does.
She performed the song at a special post-9/11 concert in 2001, and before the 2003 Super Bowl, among other venues.
33. But even though she’s sung patriotic songs and achieved enormous success in the States, she’s never abandoned her French-Canadian roots.
34. Pink called her a “magic light bulb.”
“She is just simply amazing,” Pink told EW. Yeah she is!
35. She is so, so rich.
We know it’s gauche to talk about money, but just look at these numbers: With a net worth of $400 million, Dion ranked third on Forbes’ list of America’s Richest Female Entertainers in 2017 — ahead of Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Barbra Streisand. Pretty much every time a person so much as thinks about Vegas, a 100-dollar bill materializes out of thin air in front of her.
36. She has duetted with herself — in hologram form.
37. Not to mention Elvis in hologram form!
38. And with Josh Groban, in completely real life!
39. And don’t forget Barbra Streisand!
40. She and Justin Bieber are 10th cousins three times removed.
We told you we loved Canadians!
41. We love Céline-isms.
She has such a way of expressing herself. For instance, where most people would simply say to compare performing in Vegas and in Europe is “apples and oranges,” Céline tells us, “I can’t compare a pair of jeans and a nightgown, but I can’t live without either of them.” Who would even think to describe it that way? Céline Dion, that’s who.
42. She’s not afraid to take chances!
43. And she can dance!
44. Four of her songs were performed on Glee.
Rachel Berry, it seems, is a big fan.
45. She’s been honored with the Order of Canada and elevated to its highest rank.
The highest rank of the Order of Canada is Companion, because Canada.
46. She’s also received France’s Legion d’honneur.
47. She’s been named a Goodwill Ambassador in the fight against hunger by the UN.
48. And she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
And just look at the jaunty little suit she chose for the occasion!
49. Her flowing hair is absolutely aspirational.
We’ve never seen it looking less than perfect.
50. And she posts goofy Instagrams with Adele!
51. In 2018, she recorded “Ashes” for the Deadpool 2 soundtrack.
Yes, Deadpool and Céline! Don’t even think about putting her in a box!
Is that 51 things already? What don’t we love about Céline? Let’s hear it for the birthday girl!
