name	Miracle
director	Gavin O'Connor
writer	Eric Guggenheim
producer	Mark CiardiGordon GrayRoss GreenburgJustis GreeneJon MoneGreg O'Connor
starring	Kurt RussellPatricia ClarksonNoah EmmerichSean McCannKenneth WelshEddie CahillPatrick O'Brien DemseyMichael Mantenuto
distributor	Walt Disney Pictures
released	February 6, 2004
runtime	135 min.
country
language	English
gross	$64,445,708
awards	}}

''Miracle'' is a 2004 American biographical sports film about the United States men's hockey team, led by head coach Herb Brooks, that won the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics. The USA team's victory over the heavily favored Soviet team in the medal round was dubbed the Miracle on Ice. ''Miracle'' was directed by Gavin O'Connor and written by Eric Guggenheim.

Plot summary

The movie chronicles the journey of the 1980 US Olympic Mens ice hockey team. Then University of Minnesota head coach Herb Brooks (played by Kurt Russell) interviews with the United States Olympic Committee, discussing his philosophy on how to beat the Soviet team, calling for changes to the practice schedule and strategy. Brooks meets his assistant coach Craig Patrick at the tryouts in Colorado Springs. However, Brooks selects a preliminary roster of 26—later to be cut to a final roster of 20—indifferent of the tryouts and the preferences of senior USOC hockey officials. He convinces Walter Bush (Sean McCann), the executive director of the committee, that he has their best interests at heart. Bush agrees to take the heat from the committee, saying, "I'll back you up on this one."

During the initial practice, tempers flare as forward Rob McClanahan and defenseman Jack O'Callahan get into a fight based on an old college rivalry. Brooks bluntly tells the players that they are to let go of old rivalries and start becoming a team. He then calls for introductions, in which each player states his name, his hometown, and for whom he plays.

The coach starts the team on an exhausting conditioning drill (which became known as "Herbies"), in which the team sprints together back and forth across the ice, over and over.

During an exhibition game against the Norwegian National Team in Oslo that ends in a 3–3 tie, Brooks notices the players are distracted by pretty girls in the stands and not playing up to their potential. After the game, in a wrenching scene, he makes them run "Herbies" far into the night, asking the team who it was that they played for. Finally exhausted, forward Mike Eruzione responds with the answer that Herb had wanted all along, "I play for the United States of America!" and the drill is over.

The team plays the Soviets in an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden. The Russians manhandle the young American team, winning by a score of 10-3. During the game, O'Callahan receives an injury that could keep him out of the entire Olympics, and starting goaltender Jim Craig is told he may be benched in favor of back-up goalie Steve Janaszak. Craig ends up retaining his starting job when the coach brings him to realize that he hasn't been giving his very best.

As the Olympic tournament begins, the Americans trail Sweden 2-1 in the first game. Brooks fires up the team during the break by slamming a table out of his way and accusing injured McClanahan of quitting (Doc had said his injury wouldn't get worse if he played on it.) McClanahan ends up playing despite his pain, and the inspired American team came through as Bill Baker scores a goal in the final minute for a dramatic 2-2 tie. They follow that up with a 7-3 win over heavily favored Czechoslovakia, then victories over Norway, Romania and West Germany to earn a spot in the medal round.

The Americans are considered overwhelming underdogs to the Soviets in the first medal round game. The game begins and following a slash which doesn't get called a penalty, the Russians score the first goal. Then O'Callahan, having healed enough from his injury, enters the game for the first time. He makes an immediate impact by knocking down Vladimir Krutov on a play that leads to a goal by Buzz Schneider. Following another Soviet goal the first period winds down. In the final seconds the Soviet goalie Vladislav Tretiak stops a long shot by Dave Christian, but Mark Johnson gets the rebound and scores with less than one second left in the period - the clock shows 00:00.

During the first intermission the Soviet coach replaces Tretiak with backup Vladimir Myshkin. In the second period the Soviets score a goal to go up 3–2. Early in the final period the Soviet team is called for a penalty, giving the Americans a man advantage. Johnson scores his second goal of the game just as the penalty is about to expire. Later Eruzione enters the game and scores to give the US a 4-3 lead. The entire team skates onto the ice as the crowd celebrates.

Now, however, the US team goes into a defensive mode, as the Soviet team becomes increasingly aggressive to score in the final ten minutes. After a long, intense and suspenseful 10 minutes, the clock ticked down the final few seconds, in which commentator Al Michaels said his now famous words, "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!" The Americans held off the Soviets, and completed one of the biggest upsets in sports history. As the team proudly celebrates on the ice with the roaring crowd, an obviously emotional, shaken and proud Herb leaves the rink to a small, quiet room to have a few seconds of quiet with himself, to take in what he and the team had just accomplished.

Two days later, the team would then go on to defeat Finland to win the gold medal. The movie ends with Brooks staring out over his team with pride as the entire team crowds together on the gold medal platform.

Cast

Actor !! Role
Kurt Russell	Herb Brooks
Patricia Clarkson	Patti Brooks
Noah Emmerich	Craig Patrick
Sean McCann	Walter Bush
Kenneth Welsh	Doc Nagobads
Eddie Cahill	Jim Craig (ice hockey)>Jim Craig
Patrick O'Brien Demsey	Mike Eruzione
Michael Mantenuto	Jack O'Callahan
Nathan West	Rob McClanahan
Kenneth Mitchell (actor)	Kenneth Mitchell	Ralph Cox
Eric Peter-Kaiser	Mark Johnson (ice hockey)>Mark Johnson
Bobby Hanson	Dave Silk
Joseph Cure	Mike Ramsey (ice hockey)>Mike Ramsey
Billy Schneider	Buzz Schneider
Nate Miller	John Harrington (ice hockey)>John Harrington
Chris Koch	Mark Pavelich
Kris Wilson	Phil Verchota
Stephen Kovalcik	Dave Christian
Sam Skoryna	Steve Janaszak
Pete Duffy	Bob Suter
Nick Postle	Bill Baker (ice hockey)>Bill Baker
Casey Burnette	Ken Morrow
Scott Johnson	Steve Christoff
Trevor Alto	Neal Broten
Joe Hemsworth	Mark Wells
Robbie MacGregor	Eric Strobel

Awards

Best Sports Movie, ESPY Award (2004)

Release

The movie grossed $19,377,577 on its opening weekend, February 8, on 2,605 screens. It subsequently closed with a worldwide gross of $64,445,708.

Reception

The movie received a 68 on Metacritic and a 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. Elvis Mitchell of ''The New York Times'' stated that the movie "does a yeoman's job of recycling the day-old dough that passes for its story." Kenneth Turan of the ''Los Angeles Times'' referred to the movie as "a classically well-made studio entertainment that, like ''The Rookie'' of a few years back, has the knack of being moving without shamelessly overdoing a sure thing."

''Miracle'' is currently standing as the third best sports movie of all time in the ongoing poll at ''Sports In Movies''.

References

External links

Text, Audio, Video of Coach Brooks' Address to Players During Olympic Match with Sweden from AmericanRhetoric.com

Text, Audio, Video of Coach Brooks' Address to Players Before Olympic Match with the Soviet Union from AmericanRhetoric.com

Category:2004 films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:Disney films Category:Sports films based on actual events Category:Olympic films Category:Ice hockey films Category:Cold War films Category:Films shot in Vancouver Category:Films set in the 1970s Category:Films set in Minnesota Category:Ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics Category:Films shot in British Columbia Category:Films set in 1980 Category:Films set in the 1980s

fr:Miracle (film, 2004) it:Miracle (film) ja:ミラクル (2004年の映画) pl:Cud w Lake Placid ru:Чудо (фильм, 2004) fi:Miracle (elokuva) sv:Miracle

Name	Herb Brooks
Birth name	Herbert Paul Brooks, Jr.
Birth date	August 05, 1937
Birth place	Saint Paul, MN, USA
Death date	August 11, 2003
Death place	near Forest Lake, MN, USA
Occupation	Former ice hockey coach
Spouse	Patti Brooks (1965-2003), His Death
Children	Danny (son)Kelly (daughter) }}

Herbert Paul Brooks, Jr. (August 5, 1937 – August 11, 2003) was an American ice hockey player and coach. He notably coached the United States' men's hockey team to a 4-3 upset of the heavily favored Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York on February 22, 1980. The victory was later dubbed the “Miracle on Ice” after ABC Sports television announcer Al Michaels' emotional call during the closing seconds of the game. The team defeated Finland two nights later to win the gold medal.

Herb Brooks played collegiately at the University of Minnesota. He was the final player cut from the Olympic squad which would ultimately win the gold medal over Czechoslovakia at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. However, he played on the 1964 and 1968 Olympic squads. He never played professionally. After retiring as a player, he became a coach, notably leading the Minnesota Golden Gophers to NCAA titles in 1974, 1976, and 1979. Soon after Minnesota won their third college championship, he was hired to coach the Olympic team. He named several of his Minnesota players to the team, but also named players from the their rival, Boston University, to the team and kept two players from the previous squad. The remainder of the team was players from other schools. To compete with the Soviet Union team specifically, Herb Brooks developed a hybrid of the methodical American/Canadian style and the faster European style, which emphasized creativity and teamwork, a difficult thing given the sometimes intense rivalry between the University of Minnesota and Boston University. He also stressed peak conditioning, believing that one of the reasons the Soviet team had dominated international competition was that many of their opponents were exhausted by the third period.

''Sports Illustrated'' named the team Sportsman of the Year. and in 1999, the victory over the Soviet Union was named the 20th century's greatest sports moment.

After the Olympics, Herb Brooks was hired as the head coach of the National Hockey League's New York Rangers. He also coached the Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars), the New Jersey Devils, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. He also coached the French hockey team at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan and again coached the United States men's hockey team at the 2002 games in Salt Lake City, Utah. They won a silver medal.

On August 11, 2003, Herb Brooks died in a single-car crash near Forest Lake, Minnesota. He was the Pittsburgh Penguins' director of player personnel at the time of his death.

Brooks was portrayed by Karl Malden in the 1981 television film ''Miracle on Ice'' and by Kurt Russell in the 2004 feature film ''Miracle''. Brooks was an adviser on the latter. He died soon after principal photography was completed and ''Miracle'' is dedicated to him. Before the closing credits, the film shows Brooks in the iconic shot of him looking up at the scoreboard after team captain Mike Eruzione scored what was ultimately the game-winning goal against the Soviet Union with exactly ten minutes remaining in the game. “He never saw it. He lived it”, reads the commemoration. He also appeared in an episode of HBO's ''Sports of the 20th Century'' program.

In 2003, the entire 1980 Olympic hockey team was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. The Olympic Center in Lake Placid, New York, the arena where the Miracle on Ice occurred, was renamed Herb Brooks Arena in 2005. On November 13, 2006, Brooks was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada as a Builder.

Biography

Early life

Herb Brooks was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Herbert Brooks, Sr. and Pauline Brooks, Brooks. He attended Johnson High School, where he won the 1955 state hockey championship.

Brooks continued his hockey career with the University of Minnesota Gophers from 1955-1959. Brooks was a member of the 1960 Olympic team, only to become the last cut the week before the Games started. Three weeks later, Brooks sat at home with his father and watched the team he almost made win gold. Afterwards, Brooks "went up to the coach [Jack Riley] and said, 'Well, you must have made the right decision—you won.; this humbling moment served as motivation for an already self-driven person.

From 1960-1970, Brooks set a record by playing on a total of eight US National and Olympic teams, including the 1964 and 1968 Olympic squads. Later, he coached the University of Minnesota Gophers hockey team to three NCAA championships (1974, 1976, and 1979). Brooks was approached by Michigan Tech after head coach John MacInnes died in 1983 but turned their offer down to instead coach at St. Cloud State University. There, he led SCSU to become a Division I hockey school. Brooks finished his collegiate coaching with a record of 175 wins, 101 losses and 20 ties. In 1980, he became the first coach of the United States to lead his hand-picked team to victory against the USSR in 20 years. The "miracle" team mostly consisted of University of Minnesota players and their rival Boston University players.

Later career

After his Olympic gold medal win, Brooks moved to Switzerland for a year to coach HC Davos in the National League A. From 1981-85, he coached in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers, where he became the first American-born coach in Rangers' team history to win 100 games. He also coached the Minnesota North Stars (from 1987–88), New Jersey Devils (1992–93), and Pittsburgh Penguins (1999–2000). He was a long-time scout for the Penguins from the mid-1990s, and held the role of Director of Player Personnel from 2002 to the day of his death.

He also coached France in the 1998 Winter Olympics.

He again coached the U.S. hockey team at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, leading them all the way to the tournament finals. This included a 3-2 win over Russia in the semi-finals, 22 years to the day after their famous "Miracle on Ice" game. Team USA lost to Canada in the final match to take the silver medal.

He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990, International Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Hockey Hall of Fame (posthumously) in 2006.

Death and legacy

At the age of 66, Brooks died in a single car accident on the afternoon of August 11, 2003, near Forest Lake, Minnesota, on Interstate 35. It is believed that he fell asleep behind the wheel before the accident after driving all night, and neither drugs nor alcohol was responsible. Brooks was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash, and according to the Minnesota State Patrol it is likely he would have survived the crash if he had been.

Disney released a film about the 1980 Olympic team in 2004 called ''Miracle'' featuring Kurt Russell playing the part of Brooks (Karl Malden had previously played Brooks in a 1981 television film called ''Miracle on Ice''). Brooks served as a consultant during principal photography, which was completed shortly before his death. At the end of the movie there is a dedication to Brooks. It states, ''"He never saw it. He lived it."''

Upon the 25th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, the Olympic ice arena in Lake Placid, New York, where the United States won the gold medal, was renamed Herb Brooks Arena. A statue of Brooks depicting his reaction to the victory in the "Miracle" game was erected in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 2003.

An award was created in Brooks' name, the Herb Brooks Award, which is awarded at the conclusion of the Minnesota State High School League's state hockey tournament to "the most qualified hockey player in the state tournament who strongly represents the values, characteristics, and traits that defined Herb Brooks."

In Blaine, Minnesota, there is a training center called Herb Brooks Training Center.

The road that surrounds the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota is called Herb Brooks Way.

In 2006, Brooks was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builders' category. The inscription reads: "A man of passion and dedication, Herb Brooks inspired a generation of Americans to pursue any and all dreams."

Speech

Pregame speech from the movie "Miracle" before the U.S. team plays the Soviets.

"Great moments are born from great opportunity, and that's what you have here tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game; if we played them ten times, they might win nine. But not this game, not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight we stay with them, and we shut them down because we can. Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world.You were born to be hockey players—every one of you, and you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It's over. I'm sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw 'em. This is your time. Now go out there and take it!"

Brooksisms

Brooks' original expressions were known by his players as "Brooksisms." According to Olympians John Harrington, Dave Silk, and Mike Eruzione, these are a few.

"You're playing worse and worse every day and right now you're playing like it's next month."

"You can't be common, the common man goes nowhere; you have to be uncommon."

"Boys, I'm asking you to go to the well again."

"You look like you have a five pound fart on your head."

"You guys are getting bent over and they're not using Vaseline."

"You look like a monkey tryin' to hump a football!"

"You're looking for players whose name on the front of the sweater is more important than the one on the back. I look for these players to play hard, to play smart and to represent their country.”

"Great moments are born from great opportunities."

"You know, Willie Wonka said it best: we are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams."

"This team isn't talented enough to win on talent alone."

"If you lose this game you'll take it to your grave...your fucking grave."

"You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours." "Write your own book instead of reading someone else's book about success."

"Boys, in the front of the net its a bloody nose alley."

"Don't dump the puck in. That went out with short pants."

"Throw the puck back and weave, weave, weave. But don't just weave for the sake of weaving."

"Lets be idealistic, but lets also be practical."

"You guys don't want to work during the game?"

Coaching statistics

''Note: GC = Games coached, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OL = Overtime loss, Pts = Points, Pct = Winning percentage'' {| cellpadding=5 |- bgcolor="#dddddd" ! Season || Team || League || GC || W || L || T || OL || Pts || Pct |- | 1972–73 || Minnesota Golden Gophers || NCAA ||34||15||16||3||—||33||0.485 |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" | 1973–74 || Minnesota Golden Gophers || NCAA ||34||17||12||5||—||39||0.574 |- | 1974–75 || Minnesota Golden Gophers || NCAA ||42||31||10||1||—||63||0.750 |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" | 1975-76 || Minnesota Golden Gophers || NCAA ||38||23||14||1||—||47||0.618 |- | 1976–77 || Minnesota Golden Gophers || NCAA ||42||17||22||3||—||37||0.440 |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" | 1977–78 || Minnesota Golden Gophers || NCAA ||38||22||14||2||—||46||0.605 |- | 1978–79 || Minnesota Golden Gophers || NCAA ||44||32||11||1||—||65||0.739 |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" | 1980 || USA Olympic Men's Team || IIHF ||colspan="7" align="center"| ''Olympic Gold Medal Team'' |- | 1980–81 || HC Davos || Swiss-A ||28||11||16||1||—||23||0.411 |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" | 1981–82 || New York Rangers || NHL ||80||39||27||14||—||92||0.575 (Lost Second Round) |- | 1982–83 || New York Rangers || NHL ||80||35||35||10||—||80||0.500 (Lost Second Round) |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" | 1983–84 || New York Rangers || NHL ||80||42||29||9||—||93||0.581 (Lost First Round) |- | 1984–85 || New York Rangers || NHL ||45||15||22||8||—||38||0.422 (fired) |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" | 1986–87 || St. Cloud State Huskies || NCAA ||36||25||10||1||—||51||0.708 |- | 1987–88 || Minnesota North Stars || NHL (missed playoffs) ||80||19||48||13||—||51||0.319 |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" | 1991–92 || Utica Devils || AHL ||80||34||40||6||—||74||0.463 |- | 1992–93 || New Jersey Devils || NHL ||84||40||37||7||—||87||0.518 (Lost First Round) |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" | 1998 || France Olympic Men's Team || IIHF ||colspan="7" align="center"| ''11th-place finish'' |- | 1999–2000 || Pittsburgh Penguins || NHL ||58||29||24||5||0||63||0.543 (Lost Second Round) |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" | 2002 || USA Olympic Men's Team || IIHF ||colspan="7" align="center"| ''Olympic Silver Medal Team'' |- ! || NCAA career totals || || 308 || 182 || 109 || 17 || — || 381 || 0.619 |- bgcolor="#dddddd" ! || NHL career totals || || 507 || 219 || 222 || 66 || 0 || 504 || 0.497 |}

See also

List of members of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame

References

External links

Biography – The Herb Brooks Foundation

Miracle (2004) Movie Origins

Coach known best for 1980 hockey gold – ESPN Classic

Herb Brooks killed in car accident – Sports Illustrated

Herb Brooks' U.S. Olympic Team bio

Gopher Hockey History Player Info

The Herb Brooks Foundation

wcha.com

Category:1937 births Category:2003 deaths Category:1980 US Olympic hockey team Category:American ice hockey coaches Category:Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Category:Ice hockey players at the 1964 Winter Olympics Category:Ice hockey players at the 1968 Winter Olympics Category:Lester Patrick Trophy recipients Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey coaches Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players Category:National Hockey League broadcasters Category:New Jersey Devils coaches Category:New York Rangers coaches Category:Olympic ice hockey players of the United States Category:Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota Category:Pittsburgh Penguins coaches Category:Road accident deaths in Minnesota Category:United States Hockey Hall of Fame

cs:Herb Brooks de:Herb Brooks fr:Herb Brooks it:Herb Brooks ru:Брукс, Хёрб fi:Herb Brooks sv:Herb Brooks

name	Emir Kusturica
birth name	Emir Kusturica
birth date	November 24, 1954
birth place	Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina,SFR Yugoslavia
other names	Emir
nationality	Serbian
ethnic	[Bosniak]]
occupation	Film director and screenwriter
years active	1978–present
spouse	Maja Kusturica
children	Stribor KusturicaDunja Kusturica
website	www.kustu.com }}

Emir Nemanja Kusturica (Cyrillic: Емир Немања Кустурица, ), (born 24 November 1954 in Sarajevo) is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films. He is a two-time winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes (for ''When Father Was Away on Business'' and ''Underground''), as well as being a ''Commander'' of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Since the mid-2000s, Kusturica's primary residence is Drvengrad, a village in the Mokra Gora region of Serbia. He had portions of the historic village reconstructed for his film ''Life Is a Miracle''.

Life and work

Early life and works

Born to Murat Kusturica, a journalist employed at the Sarajevo's Secretariat of Information, and Senka Numankadić, a court secretary, Emir grew up as the only child of a secular Bosnian Muslim family in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, then a constituent republic within Yugoslavia.

Emir was something of a delinquent while growing up in the Sarajevo neighbourhood of Gorica, according to his own account. Through his father's friendship with the well-known director Hajrudin "Šiba" Krvavac, 17-year-old Emir got a small part in Krvavac's 1972 ''Valter brani Sarajevo'', a partisan film funded by the Yugoslav state.

After graduating from the Film Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) in 1978, Kusturica began directing made-for-TV television shorts in then-Yugoslavia. He made his feature film debut in 1981 with ''Do You Remember Dolly Bell?'', which won the prestigious Golden Lion for Best First Work at that year's Venice Film Festival. From 1981 to 1988, he was a lecturer at the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo (''Akademija Scenskih Umjetnosti'') and art director of Open Stage Obala (''Otvorena scena Obala'').

His second feature film, ''When Father Was Away on Business'' (1985), earned a ''Palme d'Or'' at Cannes and five Yugoslavian movie awards, as well as a nomination for an American Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Kusturica wrote the screenplays for both ''Do You Remember Dolly Bell?'' and ''When Father Was Away on Business'' in collaboration with Abdulah Sidran. In 1989, Kusturica earned more accolades for ''Time of the Gypsies'', a film about Romani culture and the exploitation of their youth.

1990s

Kusturica continued to make highly regarded films into the next decade, including his American debut, the absurdist comedy ''Arizona Dream'' (1993). He won the Palme d'Or for his black comedy epic, ''Underground'' (1995), based upon a scenario of Dušan Kovačević, a noted Serbian playwright.

In 1998, he won the Venice Film Festival's Silver Lion for Best Direction for ''Black Cat, White Cat'', a farcical comedy set in a Gypsy (Romany) settlement on the banks of the Danube. The music for the film was composed by the Belgrade-based band No Smoking Orchestra.

Recent life and work

In 2001, Kusturica directed ''Super 8 Stories'', a documentary road and concert movie about The No Smoking Orchestra, of which he is a band member. He was appointed ''President of the Jury'' of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

His film, ''Maradona'', a documentary on Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona, was released in Italy in May 2007. It premiered in France during the Cannes Film Festival in 2008.

His film ''Promise Me This'' premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. During 2007, Kusturica prepared a punk opera, ''Times of the Gypsies''. The premiere took place in June 2007, at the ''Opéra Bastille'' in Paris. The next month, Kusturica directed the music video to Manu Chao's single "Rainin In Paradize", from the latter's forthcoming album.

On 8 September 2007, Kusturica was appointed a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia, alongside Ana Ivanović, Jelena Janković and Aleksandar Đorđević.

Since January 2008, Kusturica annually organizes a private Küstendorf Film Festival. Its first installment was held at Drvengrad, a village built for his film ''Life Is a Miracle'', from 14 to 21 January 2008.

His next film, ''Cool Water'', is a comedy set against the background of a Middle East conflict. Filming started in November 2010 in Germany. It is the first time Emir Kusturica directed a film which he did not write.

At the 64th Cannes Film Festival, held 11–22 May 2011, Kusturica presided over the jury of the ''Un Certain Regard'' section of the festival's official selection. On 14 May, in Cannes, he was invested with the insignia of Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, the highest decoration in France.

Acting

Kusturica first performed in ''The Widow of St. Pierre'' (2000), a movie by director Patrice Leconte. In 2002, Emir Kusturica appeared as an electric guitar player/security specialist in ''The Good Thief'', directed by Neil Jordan.

In the French movie ''L'affaire Farewell'' (2009), he played the role of Russian KGB agent Colonel Sergei Gregoriev, the central focus of a web of intrigue between warring governments and rival spy agencies. He conveyed effortless charisma, authority and humor.

Music

From 1986 until 1988, Kusturica played bass guitar in Zabranjeno Pušenje, a rock band from Sarajevo (SR Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Although Kusturica played a minor musical role in the band, he returned to the group following the ''Black Cat, White Cat'' film and the band's name changed to Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra. In 1999, the No Smoking Orchestra recorded a new album, ''Unza Unza Time'', produced by the Universal record company, as well as a music video, directed by Emir Kusturica. The band has been touring internationally since 1999.

The musician and composer Goran Bregović has created music for three of Kusturica's films: ''Time of the Gypsies'', ''Arizona Dream'', which featured Iggy Pop; and ''Underground''.

Writing

Kusturica's autobiography, ''Smrt je neprovjerena glasina'' (''Death is an Unverified Rumour''), was published in October 2010 in Belgrade by Novosti AD. The launch took place on 26 October during Belgrade Book Fair and was attended by Nele Karajlić, Dušan Kovačević, Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić, Vojislav Koštunica. Released only in Serbia, Montenegro, and Republika Srpska, the book was initially printed in 20,000 copies that were quickly sold. Second printing in 32,000 copies was out in November and it too sold within weeks. On 8 December, the third printing in 40,000 copies was out and promoted a day later at Belgrade's Dom Sindikata. In February 2011, fourth printing with further 10,000 copies was out and soon the sale of 100,000th copy was announced.

Translations were released in Italy on 30 March 2011 under the title ''Dove sono in questa storia'' ("Where am I in this Story"), in France on 6 April 2011 as ''Où suis-je dans cette histoire ?'', and in Germany in September 2011 as ''Der Tod ist ein unbestätigtes Gerücht''.

Controversy

Work

Kusturica and his work have provoked controversy at home and abroad. ''Underground'', scripted by Dušan Kovačević, was partly financed by state-owned Yugoslav television. It recounted the history of Yugoslavia from World War II until the conflict in the 1990s. Some critics claimed Kusturica promoted a pro-Serbian view of the Yugoslav Wars, including ethnic animosities during WWII. Some Bosnian and French critics claimed the film contained pro-Serb propaganda.

French philosopher and writer Alain Finkielkraut, a supporter of the Croatian nationalist leader Franjo Tuđman, denounced the Cannes Film Festival's jury award, saying,

"In recognizing 'Underground', the Cannes jury thought it was honouring a creator with a thriving imagination. In fact, it has honoured a servile and flashy illustrator of criminal clichés. The Cannes jury highly praised a version of the most hackneyed and deceitful Serb propaganda. The devil himself could not have conceived so cruel an outrage against Bosnia, nor such a grotesque epilogue to Western incompetence and frivolity."

It was later revealed that Finkielkraut had not seen the film before writing his criticism. French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy made a film criticizing ''Underground''.

In a discussion with Bernard-Henri Levy, the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek said,

"I hope we share another point, which is – to be brutal – hatred of [director] Emir Kusturica. ''Underground'' is one of the most horrible films that I've seen. What kind of Yugoslav society do you see in Kusturica's ''Underground''? A society where people fornicate, drink, fight – a kind of eternal orgy."

The Bosnian novelist Aleksandar Hemon, who was born in Sarajevo and emigrated to the United States before the war, said ''Underground'' downplays Serbian atrocities by presenting "the Balkan war as a product of collective, innate, savage madness."

Politics

Kusturica has been criticised for appearing to agree with Slobodan Milošević’s propaganda during the Bosnian War. Andrej Nikolaidis, a Montenegrin writer, said:

"Considering he proclaimed his dead father a Serb, and himself, Emir, an Orthodox Christian, he easily chose his own in the Bosnian War. He recognized them in Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić. He wasn't there to fire cannon barrages, but whenever he could, with his artistic and media get-up he provided them an alibi for every killed Muslim who didn't want to admit that he was originally an 'Orthodox Christian'."

The journalist quoted Kusturica's numerous pro-Milošević public statements, and used photos Kusturica hugging Jovica Stanišić (chief of Serbian State Security Service. Stanišić is being tried for war crimes in the Hague. He also showed Kusturica with Milorad Vučelić (director of Serbian television) and Zoran Lilić (at the time president of Yugoslavia). Kusturica sued Nikolaidis and the ''Monitor'' newspaper for civil damages at the Supreme Court of Montenegro. Andrej Nikolaidis, columnist for the Montenegrin weekly ''Monitor'', was ordered to pay $6,490 to Kusturica for calling the famed director a "media star of Milosevic's war machinery". The judge ruled that the evidence was not credible enough. In the end Nikolaidis and the paper were fined 12,000 euros for breaking the code of journalism by calling Kusturica "stupid, ugly and corrupt" in the article. The Bosnian Writers Association sponsored a petition calling for the recall of the verdict, because they believed it denied basic human rights (of free speech). The petition was supported and signed by prominent intellectuals and many students from former Yugoslavia and abroad.

In October 2010 Kusturica withdrew from the jury of Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival after being publicly criticized and accused by Turkish director Semih Kaplanoğlu and Turkish minister of culture Ertuğrul Günay over his alleged remarks and opinions about the Bosnian War. The Turkish media reported that Kusturica repeatedly downplayed the number killed and the rapes of Muslim women. It was not clear when Kusturica was supposed to have made those comments, but the daily ''Milliyet'' said that Kusturica denied the allegations. Public sentiment in Turkey was whipped up against Kusturica to the point that a couple of days after Kusturica left Turkey, there were news reports that a mob of youths in Antalya physically assaulted Swiss actor Michael Neuenschwander (in town to promote his movie ''180° – Wenn deine Welt plötzlich Kopf steht'') because they mistook him for Kusturica. Later Neuenschwander's press agent declared there was no physical assault and that Neuenschwander was only verbally abused by a small group.

Personal

Kusturica moved to Serbia, where he lives in a village which was constructed for one of his films. On Đurđevdan (St. George's Day) in 2005, he was baptised into the Serbian Orthodox Church as Nemanja Kusturica (Немања Кустурица) in Savina monastery near Herceg Novi, Montenegro. To his critics who considered this the final betrayal of his Bosnian Muslim roots, he replied that: "My father was an atheist and he always described himself as a Serb. OK, maybe we were Muslim for 250 years, but we were Orthodox before that and deep down we were always Serbs, religion cannot change that. We only became Muslims to survive the Turks."

He traces his family origin before the conversion to Islam, to the Babić family, precisely to a ''Kusturica'' that helped build the Arslanagić bridge in the 18th century, that hailed from Bileća (He took the surname Kusturica when Islamized).

At the 2007 parliamentary elections, he gave indirect support to Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica and his right wing Democratic Party of Serbia. In 2007, he also supported the Serbian campaign Solidarity - Kosovo is Serbia, a campaign against the unilateral separation of the Serbian province of Kosovo.

He is currently living in Drvengrad, Serbia, the village which he had built for his film ''Life Is a Miracle''. Kusturica holds Serbian and French citizenships.

Marriage and family

Emir Kusturica is married to Maja Mandić, daughter of a "Bosnian Serb (Miloš Mandić) and a Slovene-Croat (Ljerka Kušec), making their children, Stribor, 30, and Dunja, 24, Slovene-Croat-Bosnian-Muslim Serbs." Their children are much like the mixed population of the former Yugoslavia.

Filmography

;As director

''Guernica'', 1978, short

''The Brides Are Coming'' (''Nevjeste dolaze''), 1978, TV film

''Buffet Titanic'' (''Bife Titanik''), 1979, TV film

''Do You Remember Dolly Bell?'' (''Sjećaš li se Dolly Bell''), 1981

''Nije čovjek ko ne umre'', 1984, TV film

''When Father Was Away on Business'' (''Otac na službenom putu''), 1985

''Time of the Gypsies'' (''Dom za vešanje''), 1988

''Arizona Dream'', 1993

''Underground'' (''Podzemlje''), 1995

''Black Cat, White Cat'' (''Crna mačka, beli mačor''), 1998

''Super 8 Stories'', 2001, documentary

''Life Is a Miracle'' (''Život je čudo''), 2004

''Promise Me This'' (''Zavet''), 2007

''Maradona'', 2008, documentary

''Tweaker's Delight'', 2011 (pre-production)

''Cool Water'', 2012 (pre-production)

''Wild Roses, Tender Roses'', 2012 (pre-production)

;As actor

''The Widow of Saint-Pierre'', 2000

''The Good Thief'', 2002

''L'affaire Farewell'' (''Farewell''), 2010

Awards

1st prize on Student's Film Festival in Karlovy Vary, (1978) for ''Guernica''

Golden Lion for "Best First Work" in Venice Film Festival, (1981) for ''Do You Remember Dolly Bell?''

Golden palm Cannes Film Festival, (1985) for ''When Father Was Away on Business''

FIPRESCI prize Cannes Film Festival, (1985) for ''When Father Was Away on Business''

Best Foreign Language Academy Award Nomination, (1985) for ''When Father Was Away on Business''

Best Director award at Cannes Film Festival, (1989) for ''Time of Gypsies'' Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, (1993) for ''Arizona Dream'' Golden Palm at Cannes Film Festival, (1995) for ''Underground''

Silver Plate of best documentary at Chicago International Film Festival, (2001) for ''Super 8 Stories''

Cinema Prize of the French Education System at Cannes Festival (2004) for ''Life is a Miracle''

Best European Union Film at César Awards, (2005) for ''Life is a Miracle''

Philippe Rotthier European Architecture Award, (2005) for Küstendorf village in Serbia

On 10 February 2007, Kusturica received Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France's highest order in recognition of significant contribution to the arts.

Emir Kusturica is the winner of the ''Philippe Rotthier European Architecture Award'' for his Küstendorf ethnic village project (also called Drvengrad – a “wooden town”) on Mt. Zlatibor, Serbia, in 2005. The prize is awarded every three years by the Brussels ''Foundation for Architecture''.

In 2004, The Prix de l'Education nationale (National Education Prize) honored Emir Kusturica and his film ''Život je čudo'' (Life is a Miracle).

References

Bibliography

Gocic, Goran: "The Cinema of Emir Kusturica: Notes from the Underground", Wallflower Press, London, 2001.

Irodanova, Dina: Emir Kusturica. London. British Film Institute 2002.

Imsirevic, Almir: "Based on a Truth Story", Sarajevo, 2007.

External links

No Smoking Orchestra – Band official site

Komuna Belgrade

Interview with Kusturica on Black Cat, White Cat

RTS interview, 26 April 2006 Etno selo Nemanje Kusturice na Mećavniku, May, 2007 – www.ciode.ca

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:People from Sarajevo Category:Serbian film directors Category:Yugoslav musicians Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia Category:Yugoslav film directors Category:Bosnia and Herzegovina film directors Category:Golden Arena for Best Director winners Category:Roberto Rossellini Prize recipients Category:Venice Best Director Silver Lion winners Category:Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Category:Bass guitarists Category:Alumni of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague Category:Serbian former Muslims Category:Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Islam Category:UNICEF people Category:Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Category:Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina

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name	Celine Dion
background	solo_singer
birth name	Céline Marie Claudette Dion
birth date	March 30, 1968
origin	Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada
instrument	Vocals
genre	Pop, dance-pop, pop rock, soft rock, adult contemporary
occupation	Singer, songwriter-composer, actress
years active	1980–present
label	Sony Music Canada, Epic, 550, Columbia
networth	over US$250 million (Jan. 2007)
website
associated acts	Andrea Bocelli, R. Kelly, Peabo Bryson, Barbra Streisand, the Bee Gees, Luciano Pavarotti }}

Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , (; born March 30, 1968), is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. In 1990, she released the English-language album ''Unison'', establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.

Dion had first gained international recognition in the 1980s by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Following a series of French albums in the early 1980s, she signed on to CBS Records Canada in 1986. During the 1990s, with the help of Angélil, she achieved worldwide fame after signing with Epic Records and releasing several English albums along with additional French albums, becoming one of the most successful artists in pop music history. However, in 1999 at the height of her success, Dion announced a hiatus from entertainment in order to start a family and spend time with her husband, who had been diagnosed with cancer. She returned to the top of pop music in 2002 and signed a three-year (later extended to almost five years) contract to perform nightly in a five-star theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

Dion's music has been influenced by genres ranging from rock and R&B; to gospel and classical. While her releases have often received mixed critical reception, she is renowned for her technically skilled and powerful vocals. Dion is the best-selling Canadian artist of all time, is the second best-selling female artist in the US during the Nielsen SoundScan era, and is the only female artist to have two singles sell more than a million copies in the UK. In addition, her 1995 album ''D'eux'', is the best-selling French-language album of all time. In 2004, after surpassing 175 million in album sales worldwide, she was presented with the Chopard Diamond Award at the World Music Awards for becoming the best-selling female artist of all time. According to Sony Music Entertainment, Dion has sold over 200 million albums worldwide.

Life and career

Childhood and early beginnings

The youngest of 14 children born to Adhémar Dion and Thérèse Tanguay, both of French-Canadian descent, Celine Dion was raised a Roman Catholic in a poverty-stricken, but, by her own account, happy home in Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada. Music had always been a part of the family (Dion was named after the song ''Céline'', recorded by French singer Hugues Aufray two years before her birth), as she grew up singing with her siblings in her parents' small piano bar called ''Le Vieux Baril''. From an early age Dion had dreamed of being a performer. In a 1994 interview with ''People'' magazine, she recalled, "I missed my family and my home, but I don't regret having lost my adolescence. I had one dream: I wanted to be a singer."

At age 12, Dion collaborated with her mother and her brother Jacques to compose her first song, "Ce n'était qu'un rêve" ("It Was Only a Dream"). Her brother Michel Dondalinger Dion sent the recording to music manager René Angélil, whose name he discovered on the back of a Ginette Reno album. Angélil was moved to tears by Dion's voice, and decided to make her a star. In 1981, he mortgaged his home to fund her first record, ''La voix du bon Dieu'' ("The Voice of the Good God"), which later became a local number-one hit and made Dion an instant star in Quebec. Her popularity spread to other parts of the world when she competed in the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan, and won the musician's award for "Top Performer" as well as the gold medal for "Best Song" with "Tellement j'ai d'amour pour toi" ("I Have So Much Love for You").

By 1983, in addition to becoming the first Canadian artist to receive a gold record in France for the single "D'amour ou d'amitié" ("Of Love or of Friendship"), Dion had also won several Félix Awards, including "Best Female performer" and "Discovery of the Year". Further success in Europe, Asia, and Australia came when Dion represented Switzerland in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest with the song ''Ne partez pas sans moi'' (''Don't Go Without Me'') and won the contest by a close margin in Dublin, Ireland. However, American success was yet to come, partly because she was exclusively a Francophone artist. At eighteen, after seeing a Michael Jackson performance, Dion told Angélil that she wanted to be a star like Jackson. Though confident in her talent, Angélil realized that her image needed to be changed in order for her to be marketed worldwide. Dion receded from the spotlight for a number of months, during which she underwent dental surgery to improve her appearance, and was sent to the École Berlitz in 1989 to polish her English.

In 1989, during a concert on ''Incognito Tour'', Dion injured her voice. She consulted the otorhinolaryngologist William Gould. He gave her an ultimatum: have surgery on her vocal cords, or not utilize them at all for three weeks. The album was largely influenced by 1980s soft rock music that quickly found a niche within the adult contemporary radio format. ''Unison'' also hit the right notes with critics: Jim Faber of ''Entertainment Weekly'' wrote that Dion's vocals were "tastefully unadorned", and that she never attempted to "bring off styles that are beyond her". Stephen Erlewine of ''Allmusic'' declared it as, "a fine, sophisticated American debut." Singles from the album included "(If There Was) Any Other Way", "The Last to Know", "Unison", and "Where Does My Heart Beat Now", a mid-tempo soft-rock ballad which made prominent use of the electric guitar. The latter became her first single to reach the top-ten on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number-four. The album established Dion as a rising singer in the United States, and across Continental Europe and Asia.

In 1991, Dion was also a soloist in ''Voices That Care'', a tribute to American troops fighting in Operation Desert Storm. Dion's real international breakthrough came when she duetted with Peabo Bryson on the title track to Disney's animated film ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1991). The song captured a musical style that Dion would utilize in the future: sweeping, classically influenced ballads with soft instrumentation. Both a critical and commercial hit, the song became her second U.S. top-ten single, and won the Academy Award for Best Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. "Beauty and the Beast" was featured on Dion's 1992 self-titled album, which, like her debut, had a strong rock influence combined with elements of soul and classical music. Owing to the success of the lead-off single and her collaboration with Foster and Diane Warren, the album was as well received as ''Unison''. Other singles that achieved moderate success included "If You Asked Me To" (a cover of Patti LaBelle's song from the 1989 movie ''Licence to Kill'') which peaked at number-four on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the gospel-tinged "Love Can Move Mountains", and "Nothing Broken But My Heart".

As with Dion's earlier releases, the album had an overtone of love. Also during this time, Dion released the Francophone album ''Dion chante Plamondon'' in 1991. The album consisted mostly of covers, but included 4 new songs, which included "Des mots qui sonnent", "Je danse dans ma tête", "Quelqu'un que j'aime, quelqu'un qui m'aime" and "L'amour existe encore". It was originally released in Canada and France during the 1991–1992 period, but then got an international release in 1994, the first French Celine Dion album to do so. "Un garçon pas comme les autres (Ziggy)" became a smash hit in France, reaching number-two and being certified gold. In Quebec, the album was certified Gold the day it was released.

By 1992 ''Unison'', ''Céline Dion'', and media appearances had propelled Dion to superstardom in North America. She had achieved one of her main objectives: wedging her way into the Anglophone market and achieving fame. However, while she was experiencing rising success in the U.S., her French fans in Canada criticized her for neglecting them. She would later regain her fan base at the Félix Award show, where, after winning "English Artist of the Year", she openly refused to accept the award. She asserted that she was—and would always be—a French, not an English, artist. Apart from her commercial success, there were also changes in Dion's personal life, as Angélil, who was twenty-six years her senior, transitioned from manager to lover. However, the relationship was kept a secret as they both feared that the public would find their relations inappropriate.

Popularity established: 1993–1995

In 1993, Dion announced her feelings for her manager by declaring him "the colour of [her] love" in the dedication section of her third English-language album ''The Colour of My Love''. However, instead of criticizing their relationship as Dion had feared, fans embraced the couple. Eventually, Angélil and Dion married in an extravagant wedding ceremony in December 1994, which was broadcast live on Canadian television.

As it was dedicated to her manager, the album's motif focused on love and romance. It became her most successful record up to that point, selling more than six million copies in the U.S., two million in Canada, and peaking at number-one in many countries. The album also spawned Dion's first U.S., Canadian, and Australian number-one single "The Power of Love" (a remake of Jennifer Rush's 1985 hit), which would become her signature hit until she reached new career heights in the late 1990s. The single "When I Fall in Love", a duet with Clive Griffin, achieved moderate success on the U.S. and Canadian charts, and was nominated for two Grammy Awards, winning one. ''The Colour of My Love'' also became Dion's first major hit in Europe, and in particular the United Kingdom. Both the album and the single "Think Twice" simultaneously occupied the top of the British charts for five consecutive weeks. "Think Twice", which remained at number-one for seven weeks, eventually became the fourth single by a female artist to sell in excess of one million copies in the UK, while the album was eventually certified five-times platinum for two-million copies sold.

Dion kept to her French roots and continued to release many Francophone recordings between each English record. Generally, they achieved more credibility than her English-language works. She released ''À l'Olympia'', a live album that was recorded during one of Dion's concerts at the Paris Olympia in 1994. It had one promotional single, a live version of "Calling You", which peaked at seventy-five on the French Singles Chart. She also recorded a bilingual version of Petit Papa Noël with Alvin and the Chipmunks for the 1994 holiday album ''A Very Merry Chipmunk''. ''D'eux'' (also known as ''The French Album'' in the United States), was released in 1995, and it would go on to become the best-selling French-language album of all time. The album was mostly written and produced by Jean-Jacques Goldman, and amassed huge success with the singles "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" and "Je sais pas". "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" reached number 1 in France and stayed at the top position for twelve weeks. It was later certified Platinum in France. The single also reached the top ten in the UK and Ireland, a rare accomplishment for a French song. The second single off the album, "Je sais pas", reached number-one on the French Singles Chart as well and was certified Silver in France. These songs would later become "If That's What It Takes" and "I Don't Know" on Dion's next English album, ''Falling into You''.

During the mid-1990s, Dion's albums continued to be constructed on the basis of melodramatic ballads, but also with up-tempo pop and adult contemporary themed music. She collaborated with talented craftsman such as Jim Steinman and David Foster who helped her devise more adult contemporary songs. While critical reviews fluctuated, Dion's releases performed increasingly well on the international charts, and in 1996 she won the World Music Award for "World’s Best-selling Canadian Female Recording Artist of the Year" for the third time. By the mid-1990s, she had established herself as one of the best-selling artists in the world.

Worldwide commercial success: 1996–1999

''Falling into You'' (1996), Dion's fourth English-language album, presented the singer at the height of her popularity, and showed a further progression of her music. In an attempt to reach a wider audience, the album combined many elements, such as complex orchestral sounds, African chanting and elaborate musical effects. Additionally, instruments like the violin, Spanish guitar, trombone, the cavaquinho and saxophone created a new sound. The singles encompassed a variety of musical styles. The title track "Falling into You" and "River Deep, Mountain High" (a Tina Turner cover) made prominent use of percussion instruments; "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (a remake of Jim Steinman's song) and a remake of Eric Carmen's "All by Myself" kept their soft-rock atmosphere, but were combined with the classical sound of the piano; and the number-one single "Because You Loved Me", which was written by Diane Warren, was a ballad that served as the theme to the 1996 film ''Up Close & Personal''.

''Falling into You'' garnered career-best reviews for Dion. While Dan Leroy wrote that it was not very different from her previous work, and Stephen Holden of ''The New York Times'' and Natalie Nichols of the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote that the album was formulaic, other critics, such as Chuck Eddy of ''Entertainment Weekly'', Stephen Thomas Erlewine of ''AMG'' and Daniel Durchholz, lavished the album as "compelling", "passionate", "stylish", "elegant" and "remarkably well-crafted". ''Falling Into You'' became Dion's most critically and commercially successful album: it topped the charts in many countries and became one of the best-selling albums of all time. In the United States, the album reached number-one, and was later certified 11x Platinum for over 11 million copies shipped. In Canada, the album was certified diamond for over one million copies shipped. The IFPI certified ''Falling into You'' 9x Platinum, an accolade that has been given to only two other albums in history, with one of the two being Dion's own album, ''Let's Talk About Love''. The album also won Grammy Awards for Best Pop Album, and the academy's highest honor Album of the Year. Dion's status on the world stage was further solidified when she was asked to perform "The Power of the Dream" at the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. In March 1996, Dion launched the Falling into You Tour in support of her new album, giving concerts around the world for over a year.

Dion followed ''Falling into You'' with ''Let's Talk About Love'' (1997), which was publicized as its sequel. The recording process took place in London, New York City, and Los Angeles, and featured a host of special guests, such as Barbra Streisand on "Tell Him"; the Bee Gees on "Immortality"; and world-renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti on "I Hate You Then I Love You". Other musicians included Carole King, Sir George Martin, Bryan Adams and Jamaican singer Diana King, who added a reggae tinge to "Treat Her Like a Lady". As with ''Falling into You'', ''Let's Talk About Love'' was a major success for Dion, reaching number-one all over the world, attaining platinum status in twenty-four sales territories, and becoming Dion's fastest selling album of her career. In the United States, the album topped the chart in its seventh week of release, and was later certified 10x Platinum in the U.S. for over 10 million copies shipped. In Canada, the album sold 230,212 copies in its first week of release, which became, and still is, a record. It was eventually certified diamond in Canada for over 1 million copies shipped. The most successful single from the album became the classically influenced ballad "My Heart Will Go On", which was written and composed by James Horner and Will Jennings, and produced by Horner and Walter Afanasieff. Serving as the love theme for the 1997 blockbuster film ''Titanic'', the song topped the charts across the world, and became Dion's signature song; as well as winning the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song. The song also gave Dion two Grammy Awards for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" and the most coveted "Record of the Year", (the song itself won four awards, but two were presented to the songwriters). "My Heart Will Go On" and "Think Twice" made her the only female artist in the UK to have two singles to sell more than a million copies. In support of her album, Dion embarked on the Let's Talk About Love Tour between 1998 and 1999.

Dion ended the 1990s with three more extremely successful albums—the Christmas album ''These Are Special Times'' (1998), the French-language album, ''S'il suffisait d'aimer'', and the compilation album ''All the Way... A Decade of Song'' (1999). On ''These Are Special Times'', Dion became more involved in the writing process. She co-wrote the song, ''Don't Save It All For Christmas Day'' along with Ric Wake and Peter Zizzo. The album was her most classically influenced yet, with orchestral arrangements found on virtually every track. "I'm Your Angel", a duet with R. Kelly, became Dion's fourth U.S. number one single, and another hit single across the world. ''All the Way... A Decade of Song'' drew together her most successful hits coupled with seven new songs, including the lead off single "That's the Way It Is", a cover of Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", and "All the Way", a duet with Frank Sinatra. The album itself was also extremely successful worldwide, reaching number-one in the United States for three weeks. The album was later certified 7x Platinum in the U.S. for 7 million copies shipped. ''All the Way... A Decade of Song'' also topped the charts in the UK, Canada, and Australia. Her last French-language studio album of the 1990s, ''S'il suffisait d'aimer'', was very successful as well, topping the charts in every major French-speaking country, including France, Switzerland, Belgium Wallonia, and Canada. By the end of the 1990s, Celine Dion had sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, and had won a slew of industry awards. Her status as one of the music industry's biggest pop divas was further solidified when she was asked to perform on VH1's ''Divas Live'' special in 1998, with superstars Aretha Franklin, Gloria Estefan, Shania Twain and Mariah Carey. That year she also received two of the highest honours from her home country: "Officer of the Order of Canada for Outstanding Contribution to the World of Contemporary Music" and "Officer of the National Order of Quebec". A year later she was inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame, and was honoured with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.

During this time, the pop-rock genre that was more noticeable in her earlier releases, was replaced by a more adult contemporary feel. However, the theme of "love" remained in most of her releases, which led to some critics dismissing her music as banal. Other critics, like Elysa Gardner and Jose F. Promis, praised her vocals during this period, describing it as a "technical marvel". However, others, like Steve Dollar, who reviewed ''These Are Special Times'', stated that Dion is a "vocal Olympian for whom there ain't no mountain—or scale—high enough."

Career break: 2000–2002

After releasing and promoting thirteen albums during the 1990s, Dion stated that she needed to settle down, and announced on her latest album ''All the Way... A Decade of Song'', that she needed to take a step back from the spotlight and enjoy life. Angélil's diagnosis with throat cancer also prompted her to hiatus. While on break, Dion was unable to escape the spotlight. In 2000, the ''National Enquirer'' published a false story about the singer. Brandishing a picture of Dion and her husband, the magazine misquoted Dion, printing the headline, "Celine — 'I'm Pregnant With Twins!'" Dion later sued the magazine for more than twenty million dollars. The editors of the ''Enquirer'' printed an apology and a full retraction to Dion in the next issue, and donated money to the American Cancer Society in honor of Dion and her husband. A year after the incident, after undergoing fertility treatments, Dion gave birth to a son, René-Charles Dion Angélil, on January 25, 2001, in Florida. Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, Dion returned to the music scene, and in a televised performance sang "God Bless America" at the benefit concert America: A Tribute to Heroes. Chuck Taylor of ''Billboard'' wrote, "the performance... brings to mind what has made her one of the celebrated vocalists of our time: the ability to render emotion that shakes the soul. Affecting, meaningful, and filled with grace, this is a musical reflection to share with all of us still searching for ways to cope." In December 2001, Dion published her autobiography, ''My Story, My Dream'' which chronicled her rags to riches story.

Return to music: 2002–2003

Dion's aptly titled ''A New Day Has Come'', released in March 2002, ended her three-year break from the music industry. The album was Dion's most personal yet, and established a more mature side of Dion with the songs "A New Day Has Come", "I'm Alive", and "Goodbye's (The Saddest Word)", a change that resulted from her new-found maternal responsibilities, because, in her own words, "becoming a mother makes you a grown-up." She stated, "''A New Day Has Come'', for Rene, for me, is the baby. It has everything to do with the baby...That song "A New Day Has Come" represents very well the mood I'm feeling right now. It represents the whole album." ''A New Day Has Come'' debuted at number one in over 17 countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada. In the United States, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with first week sales of 527,000 copies; marking her first number one debut on the chart. It was eventually certified 3x Platinum in the United States, and 6x Platinum in Canada.

While the album was commercially successful, critical reviews suggested that it was "forgettable" and the lyrics were "lifeless". Both Rob Sheffield of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, and Ken Tucker of ''Entertainment Weekly'', stated that Dion's music had not matured during her break, and classed her music as trite and mediocre. Sal Cinquemani of ''Slant'' magazine called the album "a lengthy collection of drippy, gooey pop fluffer-nutter." The first single off the album, ''A New Day Has Come'' peaked at No.22 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, being an airplay-only release. On the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks, however the song spent 21 consecutive weeks at number 1, breaking the record for the longest span at the top. The previous record holders were Phil Collins' ''You'll Be in My Heart'' and Dion's own ''Because You Loved Me,'' both of which lasted nineteen weeks at number 1. During 2002, she performed for many benefit concerts, the famous VH1 Divas Live, a concert to benefit the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, alongside Cher, Anastacia, Dixie Chicks, Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, Cyndi Lauper, Shakira and Stevie Nicks.

Drawing inspiration from personal experiences, Dion released ''One Heart'' (2003), an album that represented her appreciation for life. The album largely consisted of dance music—a deviation from the soaring, melodramatic ballads, for which she had once been given mixed reception. Although the album achieved moderate success, ''One Heart'' was met with mixed criticism, and words such as "predictable" and "banal" appeared even in the most lenient reviews. A cover of the 1989 Cyndi Lauper hit "I Drove All Night", released to launch her new advertising campaign with Chrysler, incorporated dance-pop and rock and roll. The advertising deal itself, however was met with mixed criticism, with some stating that Dion was trying to please her sponsors. However, people like Bonita Stewart, who was the director of Chrysler Group Marketing Communications stated that "Chrysler was taken by how her appeal crossed ethnic lines." She also added, "She brings sophistication, refinement, romance and passion to the brand."

After ''One Heart'', Dion released her next English Language studio album, ''Miracle'' (2004). ''Miracle'' was a multimedia project conceived by Dion and photographer Anne Geddes, and had a theme centering on babies and motherhood. The album was filled with lullabies and other songs of maternal love and inspiration, the two most popular being covers of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" and John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy". The reviews for ''Miracle'' were mixed. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic.com gave the album three of out five stars, stating, "The worst you can say about the record is that there are no surprises, but the audience for this record doesn't want surprises; they want comfort, whether it arrives in polished music or artsy photos of newborns, and Miracle provides both, which makes it appealing for those expectant or new mothers in Dion's audience. Chuck Taylor of ''Billboard'' magazine wrote that the single "Beautiful Boy" was "an unexpected gem" and called Dion "a timeless, enormously versatile artist", Chuck Arnold of ''People'' Magazine, however, labeled the album as excessively sentimental, while Nancy Miller of ''Entertainment Weekly'' opined that "the whole earth-mama act is just opportunism, reborn". ''Miracle'' debuted at number four on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and number one in Canada , and was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA.

The Francophone album ''1 fille & 4 types'' (''1 Girl & 4 Guys''), released in October 2003, fared better than her first two releases, and showed Dion trying to distance herself from the "diva" image. She recruited Jean-Jacques Goldman, Gildas Arzel, Eric Benzi, and Jacques Veneruso, with whom she had previously worked on two of her best-selling French albums ''S'il suffisait d'aimer'' and ''D'eux''. Labeled "the album of pleasure" by Dion herself, the album cover showed Dion in a simple and relaxed manner, contrary to the choreographed poses usually found on her album covers. The album achieved widespread commercial success in France, Canada, and Belgium where it reached number one. In France, the album debuted at number one and was later certified 2x platinum after selling over 700,000 copies. Critic, Stephen Erlewine of ''AllMusic'' wrote that Dion's vocals "are back at top of their game" and that she was "getting back to pop basics and performing at a level unheard in a while."

Though her albums were commercially successful, they did not achieve the sales or the reception of her previous works. Albums like ''The Collector's Series, Volume One'' (2000), and ''One Heart'' (2003) did not perform as well critically. Her songs received less airplay as radio became less embracing of balladeers like Dion, Carey, and Houston, and was focused on more up-tempo, Urban/Hip-hop songs. However, by 2004, Dion had accumulated sales of more than 175 million albums worldwide, and received the Chopard Diamond Award from the World Music Awards for her achievements. According to the official World Music Awards website, the award is rare; it's not even "presented every year" and an artist can only be presented with the award for selling "over 100 million albums during their career."

''A New Day... Live in Las Vegas'': 2003–2007

In early 2002 Dion had announced a three-year, 600-show contract to appear five nights a week in an entertainment extravaganza, ''A New Day...'', at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. This move was seen as "one of the smartest business decisions in years by any major recording artist". She conceived the idea for the show after seeing ''O'' by Franco Dragone early in her break from recording, and began on March 25, 2003, in a 4,000-seat arena designed for her show. Many stars attended opening night including Dick Clark, Alan Thicke, Kathy Griffin, and Justin Timberlake, who hosted the television special. The show, put together by Dragone, was a combination of dance, music, and visual effects. It included Dion performing her biggest hits against an array of dancers and special effects. Reviewer Mike Weatherford felt that, at first, Dion was not as relaxed as she should be, and at times, it was hard to find the singer among the excessive stage ornamentations and dancers. However, he noted that the show had become more enjoyable, due to Dion's improved stage-presence and simpler costumes.

The show was also well-received by audiences, despite the complaints of expensive tickets; the show routinely sold out until its end in late 2007. Ticket prices averaged $135.33. The show was choreographed by Mia Michaels, who is a world renowned choreographer. According to ''Pollstar'', Dion sold 322,000 tickets and grossed US$43.9 million in the first half of 2005, and by July 2005, she had sold out 315 out of 384 shows. By the end of 2005, Dion grossed more than US$76 million, placing sixth on ''Billboard's Money Makers list for 2005''. ''A New Day...'' was the 6th biggest selling tour in America in 2006. Because of the show's success, Dion's contract was extended into 2007 for an undisclosed sum. On January 5, 2007 it was announced that the show would end on December 15, 2007, with tickets for the period after October 2007 having gone on sale from March 1. During its entire run, the show accumulated a total gross of $400 million, while being seen by nearly 3 million fans. The ''Live in Las Vegas - A New Day...'' DVD was released on December 10, 2007 in Europe and the following day in North America.

Back to studio and world tour: 2007–2009

Dion's latest French language album, ''D'elles'' ''(About Them)'', released on May 21, 2007, debuted at the top of the Canadian album charts, selling 72,200 copies in its first week. It marked her tenth number-one album in the SoundScan era, and her eighth to debut at the top position. In Canada, the album has been certified 2× platinum, and within the first week had already shipped half a million units worldwide. ''D'Elles'' also reached No. 1 in France and Belgium. The first single "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une (je serais celle-là)" (meaning "And If There Was Only One Woman Left (I Would Be That One)") debuted at the top of the French singles chart a month earlier. She released her latest English album ''Taking Chances'' on November 12 in Europe, and on the November 13 in North America. Her first English studio album since 2003's ''One Heart'', it features pop, R&B;, and rock inspired music. Dion has collaborated with John Shanks and ex-Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody, as well as Kristian Lundin, Peer Astrom, Linda Perry, Japanese singer Yuna Ito, and R&B; singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. Dion stated, "I think this album represents a positive evolution in my career ... I'm feeling strong, maybe a little gutsier than in the past, and just as passionate about music and life as I ever was." She launched her year-long worldwide Taking Chances Tour on February 14, 2008 in South Africa, performing 132 dates in stadiums and arenas across five continents.

The Taking Chances Tour was a great success in the United States, reaching the Number 1 spot on the ''Billboard'' Boxscore and it sold out every concert in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, she appeared on Idol Gives Back for a second year in a row. Céline Dion was nominated for six Juno Awards in 2008, leading the group of Canadians to receive this honour,and adding to her 53 previous nominations. Her nominations included Artist of the Year, Pop Album of the Year (for ''Taking Chances''), Francophone Album of the Year (for ''D'elles'') and Album of the Year (for both ''Taking Chances'' and ''D'elles''). The following year, Dion was nominated for 3 Juno Awards including the Fan Choice Award, Song of the Year (for ''Taking Chances''), and Music DVD of the Year (for ''Live in Las Vegas — A New Day...'')

On August 22, 2008, Celine Dion presented a free show, exclusively francophone, outside on the Plains of Abraham, in Quebec City, Canada, for the 400th anniversary of Quebec City. The celebration gathered approximately 490,000 people (total with TV broadcast). The concert, called ''Céline sur les Plaines'', was released on DVD on November 11, 2008 in Quebec and was released on May 20, 2009 in France. The end of October saw the worldwide release of her first ever comprehensive English greatest hits album called ''My Love: Essential Collection'', available in two different album formats.

In May 2009, Celine Dion was named the 20th best-selling artist of the decade in the United States and the second-best-selling female artist of the decade in the United States, selling an estimated 17.57 million albums. In June 2009, ''Forbes'' reported that Dion earned $100 million during 2008. In December 2009, Pollstar announced that Dion was the best-selling solo touring act of the decade and the second-best-selling touring act of the decade, only to the Dave Matthews Band. Dion grossed $522.2 million during the decade, a large sum of that coming from her five-year residence at Caesars Palace.

Concert film and video release: late 2009–2010

On February 17, 2010 Dion released into theatres a documentary film about her ''Taking Chances Tour'', titled, ''Celine: Through the Eyes of the World''. The documentary shows behind-the-scenes footage of Dion both onstage and offstage, along with footage of Dion with her family as they traveled with her. The distributor is the Sony Pictures subsidiary, Hot Ticket. The film was later released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 4, 2010, along with the CD/DVD, ''Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert'', which chronicled her world tour of the same name. At the 52nd Grammy Awards in February 2010, Dion joined Carrie Underwood, Usher, Jennifer Hudson and Smokey Robinson to perform the song "Earth Song" during the 3-D Michael Jackson tribute.

In January 2010, ''The Los Angeles Times'' presented its annual list of the top ten largest earners of the year, revealing that Dion took the top spot for the entire decade, with $US747.9 million in total revenue from 2000–2009. The largest haul came from ticket sales, totaling $522.2 million. Additionally, Dion was named "Artist of the Decade" in her native Canadian province of Quebec, announced by the Montreal-based newspaper, ''Le Journal de Quebec'' in 2009 December. A public online survey asked responders to vote for who they believe deserved the above-mentioned accolade.

Furthermore, in a May 2010 Harris Poll, Dion was named the most popular musician in the United States, ahead of U2, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles, while factoring in gender, political affiliations, geographic region of residence, and income. Specifically, Dion was the most popular musician in the female demographic, as well as among all Democrats, those who live in the eastern United States and southern United States, and those who have incomes between US$35k and US$74.9k.

In September 2010, she released the single "Voler", a duet with French singer Michel Sardou. The song was later included on Sardou's album. In addition, it was announced in October 2010 that Dion wrote and composed a new song for Canadian singer, Marc Dupré entitled "Entre deux mondes".

New Las Vegas show: 2011–present

In an interview with ''People Magazine'' published in February 2010, Dion announced that she will be returning to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for ''Celine'', a three-year residency for seventy shows a year, beginning March 15, 2011. She stated that the show will feature, "all the songs from my repertoire that people want to hear" and will contain a selection of music from classic Hollywood films. Dion has also announced that she is working on two new studio albums, in French and English.

In preparation for her return to Las Vegas, Dion, on February 21 made an appearance on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" during the show's final season, and spoke about her upcoming Caesars Palace shows, as well as her family. Additionally, for a record sixth time, Dion performed at the 83rd Academy Awards, where she sang the song "Smile," as part of the ceremony's "In Memoriam" segment.

Personal life

Dion first met her husband and manager, Rene Angelil in 1980, when she was 12 and he was 38, after she and her mother sent him a demo tape of a song they had written. They began a relationship in 1987, and became engaged in 1991. They married on December 17, 1994, at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec. On January 5, 2000, Dion and Angelil renewed their wedding vows in Las Vegas.

In May 2000, Dion had two small operations at a fertility clinic in New York to improve her chances of conceiving, after deciding to use in-vitro fertilisation after years of failed attempts to conceive. Their first child, Rene-Charles Angelil, was born on January 25, 2001. In May 2010, Angelil announced that Dion was 14 weeks pregnant with twins after a sixth treatment of in-vitro fertilisation. On Saturday, October 23, 2010, at 11:11 and 11:12 am respectively, at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, Dion, by Caesarean section, gave birth to two healthy fraternal twins weighing 5 pounds 10 ounces and 5 pounds 4 ounces. The twins were named Eddy, after Dion's favorite Algerian songwriter Eddy Marnay, and Nelson, after former South African President Nelson Mandela. Dion appeared with her newborn sons on the cover of the December 9, 2010 issue of the Canadian edition of ''Hello!'' magazine.

On October 15, 2010, Céline Dion was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Artistry and image

Dion grew up listening to the music of Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Carole King, Anne Murray, Barbra Streisand, and the Bee Gees, all of whom she would eventually collaborate with. Dion has also stated she grew up listening to artists such as Janis Joplin, the Doobie Brothers, and Creedence Clearwater Revival, but never got the chance to sing their genre of music. She also was inspired by fellow vocalist Whitney Houston, whom Dion has often been compared to. 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. After the birth of her child, her work also began to emphasize maternal bond and brotherly love.

Dion has faced considerable criticism from critics, who state that her music often retreats behind pop and soul conventions, and is marked by excessive sentimentality. According to Keith Harris of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, "[Dion's] sentimentality is bombastic and defiant rather than demure and retiring....[she] stands at the end of the chain of drastic devolution that goes Aretha-Whitney-Mariah. Far from being an aberration, Dion actually stands as a symbol of a certain kind of pop sensibility—bigger is better, too much is never enough, and the riper the emotion the more true." Dion's francophone releases, by contrast, tend to be deeper and more varied than her English releases, and consequently have achieved more credibility.

Critics have stated that Dion's involvement in the production aspect of her music is fundamentally lacking, which results in her work being overproduced and impersonal. However, coming from a family in which all of her siblings were musicians, she learned to play instruments like piano and guitar, and practiced with a Fender Stratocaster during the recording sessions of her album, ''Falling into You''. Also, she helped to compose many of her earlier French songs, and had always tried to involve herself with the production and recording of her albums. On her first English album, which she recorded before she had a firm command of the English language, she expressed disapproval of the record, which could have been avoided if she had assumed more creative input. By the time she released her second English album ''Celine Dion'', she had assumed more control of the production and recording process, hoping to dispel earlier criticisms. She stated, "On the second album I said, 'Well, I have the choice to be afraid one more time and not be 100% happy, or not be afraid and be part of this album.' This is my album." She would continue to involve herself in the production of subsequent releases, helping to write a few of her songs on ''Let's Talk About Love'' (1997) and ''These Are Special Times'' (1998).

Dion is often the subject of media ridicule and parody, and is frequently impersonated on shows like ''MADtv'', ''Saturday Night Live'', ''South Park'', ''Royal Canadian Air Farce'' and ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' for her strong accent and on-stage movements. However, Dion has stated that she is unaffected by the comments, and is flattered that people take the time to impersonate her. She even invited Ana Gasteyer, who parodied her on SNL, to appear on stage during one of her performances. While she is rarely politically outspoken, in 2005 following the Hurricane Katrina disaster, Dion appeared on ''Larry King Live'' and tearfully criticized the U.S. government's slow response in aiding the victims of the hurricane: "There's people still there waiting to be rescued. To me that is not acceptable...How can it be so easy to send planes in another country to kill everybody in a second and destroy lives. We need to serve our country." After her interview, she stated, "When I do interviews with Larry King or the big TV shows like that, they put you on the spot, which is very difficult. I do have an opinion, but I'm a singer. I'm not a politician."

Voice

Dion is often regarded as one of pop music's most influential voices. She has been described as a reigning "Queen of Pop" for her influence over the record industry during the 1990s, alongside other female entertainers, including Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. In a countdown of the "22 Greatest Voices in Music" by ''Blender Magazine'' and MTV, she placed ninth (sixth for a female), and she was also placed fourth in ''Cove'' magazine's list of "The 100 Outstanding Pop Vocalists." Dion is often compared to Mariah Carey for her vocal style and to her idol, Barbra Streisand, for her voice.

According to various sources, Dion possesses a five-octave vocal range. Regarding the power of Dion's voice, Regine Crespin states, "The volume as such is thin, but thanks to her perfect mastery of the nasal backing, her voice acquires an incisive and penetrating timbre, with a great harmonic richness." Dion states she is a mezzo-soprano, while Regine Crespin and André Tubeuf state she is probably a lyric soprano. However, attempts to adopt classical voice types to other forms of singing has been met with controversy. Without making a classification, maestro Kent Nagano remarked, "All you just sang was soprano," after Dion auditioned with two solos of ''Carmen,'' wanting to know if she could sing opera. Her timbre has been described as "fresh," as well as "thin, slightly nasal, nearly vibratoless," with a "raspy" lower register and "bell glass-like high notes." According to French soprano, Regine Crespin, Dion's voice is "comparable to oboe, because of its nasal and fruity timbre and it is mordant in high notes." Crespin is also circumspect about Dion's highest notes, stating, "She doesn't have a head voice," further remarking, "she uses falsetto," which is "disconnected to the normal voice body."

Dion is often praised for her technical virtuosity. Stephen Holden of ''The New York Times,'' writes, "Ms. Dion [...] is a belter with a high, thin, slightly nasal, nearly vibratoless soprano and a good-sized arsenal of technical skills. She can deliver tricky melismas, produce expressive vocal catches and sustain long notes without the tiniest wavering of pitch. And as her duets [...] have shown, she is a reliable harmony voice." In an interview with ''Libération'', Jean-Jacques Goldman states that she has "no problem of accuracy or tempo." According to Kent Nagano, maestro of the Munich Symphony Orchestra, Dion is "a musician who has a good ear, a refinement, and a degree of perfection that is envious." Mezzo-soprano, Cecilia Bartoli and soprano, Joan Sutherland have expressed that Dion has a very good legato, while Charles Alexander of ''TIME'' states, "[Her] voice glides effortlessly from deep whispers to dead-on high notes, a sweet siren that combines force with grace."

In her French repertoire, Dion adorns her vocals with more nuances and modulations, with the emotional intensity being "more tender and intimate." Additionally, Luc Plamondon, a French singer-songwriter who has written several works for Dion states that there are three chanteuse that Dion uses: the Québécois, the French, and the American. Her latest fragrance, ''Pure Brilliance'' is scheduled to be released in September 2010. Since its inception, ''Celine Dion Parfums'' has grossed over $850 million in retail sales. In October 2004, Air Canada hired Dion as part of their promotional campaign to unveil new service products and an updated livery. "You and I", the theme song sung by Dion, was written by advertising executives working for Air Canada.

Dion has actively supported many charity organizations, worldwide. She has promoted the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF) since 1982, and became the foundation's National Celebrity Patron in 1993. She has an emotional attachment to the foundation; her niece Karine succumbed to the disease at the age of sixteen. In 2003, Dion joined a number of other celebrities, athletes, and politicians, including Josh Groban and Yolanda Adams to support "World Children's Day", a global fundraising effort sponsored by McDonald's. The effort raised money from more than 100 nations and benefited orphanages and children's health organizations. In addition, Dion has been a major supporter of the T.J. Martell Foundation, the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, and many health and educational campaigns. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Dion donated $1 million to the victims of the storm, and held a fund-raising event for the victims of the 2004 Asian Tsunami, which subsequently raised more than $1 million. After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Dion donated $100,000 to China Children & Teenagers' Fund and sent a letter showing her consolation and support.

In 1999, Dion received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame and also a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2004. She dedicated her star to her father, who died the month prior. In 2007, Celine Dion was ranked by ''Forbes'' as the 5th richest woman in entertainment with an estimated net worth of US$250 million. She also received France's highest award, the Légion d'honneur, in May 2008. In August 2008, she received an honorary doctorate in music from the Université Laval in Quebec City. In October 2010, Dion was named a Goodwill Ambassador, a program created by the UN in 1999. She shared this accolade with Oscar-winner, Susan Sarandon.

Discography

1981: ''La voix du bon Dieu''

1981: ''Céline Dion chante Noël''

1982: ''Tellement j'ai d'amour...''

1983: ''Les chemins de ma maison''

1983: ''Chants et contes de Noël''

1984: ''Mélanie''

1985: ''C'est pour toi''

1987: ''Incognito''

1990: ''Unison''

1991: ''Dion chante Plamondon''

1992: ''Celine Dion''

1993: ''The Colour of My Love''

1995: ''D'eux''

1996: ''Falling into You''

1997: ''Let's Talk About Love''

1998: ''S'il suffisait d'aimer''

1998: ''These Are Special Times''

2002: ''A New Day Has Come''

2003: ''One Heart''

2003: ''1 fille & 4 types''

2004: ''Miracle''

2007: ''D'elles''

2007: ''Taking Chances''

Tours

!Year	!Title	!Releases
1983–1984	Les chemins de ma maison tournée	None
1985	C'est pour toi tournée	Vinyl ''Céline Dion en concert''
1988	Incognito tournée	None
1990–1991	Unison Tour
1992–1993	Celine Dion in Concert	None
1994–1995	The Colour of My Love Tour	VHS/DVD ''The Colour of My Love Concert''; CD ''À l'Olympia''
1995	D'eux Tour
1996–1997	Falling into You Tour	VHS ''Live in Memphis''
1998–1999	Let's Talk About Love World Tour
2003–2007	''A New Day...''	DVD/BD ''Live in Las Vegas - A New Day...''; CD ''A New Day... Live in Las Vegas''
2008–2009	Taking Chances Tour	DVD ''Céline sur les Plaines''; DVD/BD ''Celine: Through the Eyes of the World''; DVD/CD ''Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert''
2011–2014

Filmography

''Touched by an Angel''

''The Nanny''

''All My Children''

''La fureur de Céline''

''Des fleurs sur la neige''

''Céline sur les Plaines''

''Celine: Through the Eyes of the World''

See also

List of awards received by Celine Dion

Celine Dion videography

List of best-selling music artists

Notes

References

}}

''Céline Dion''. Artist direct. Retrieved on December 18, 2005.

"Celine Dion." ''Contemporary Musicians, Volume 25''. Gale Group, 1999.

"Celine Dion." ''Newsmakers 1995'', Issue 4. Gale Research, 1995.

''Céline Dion'' Rock on the Net. Retrieved November 20, 2005.

Céline Dion ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Retrieved July 2, 2006

''Céline Dion'' provided by VH1.com Retrieved August 16, 2005.

''Dion extends long Las Vegas stint'' bbc news. com. Retrieved November 5, 2005.

Durchholz, Daniel. ''Review: One Heart''. ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch''. St. Louis, Mo.: April 24, 2003. p. F.3

''The 100 Outstanding Pop Vocalist'' covemagazine.com Retrieved November 1, 2005.

''Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Nineties'' (ISBN 0-89820-137-3)

''The Journey so far'' celinedion.com. Retrieved August 16, 2005.

World Music Awards ''Diamond Award'' Retrieved November 1, 2005, (Search by year required)

Céline Dion's biography ''Biography'' Retrieved April 7, 2006.

Céline DTV Series ''TV Series'' Retrieved April 15, 2006.

Further reading

}}

External links

CelineDion.com – Official website operated by Sony Music Canada (English, French).

Celine Dion YouTube Channel

Celine Dion at WN

[ Celine Dion] at Allmusic

Celine Dion at Billboard.com

FAO Goodwill Ambassador website

Johnny Loganwith "Hold Me Now"}} Rivawith "Rock Me"}}

Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats Category:1968 births Category:Ballad musicians Category:Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Category:Canadian female singers Category:Canadian child singers Category:Canadian dance musicians Category:Canadian philanthropists Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian people of French descent Category:Canadian Roman Catholics Category:Canadian sopranos Category:Canadian voice actors Category:Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Category:Companions of the Order of Canada Category:English-language singers Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1988 Category:Eurovision Song Contest winners Category:French-language singers Category:French Quebecers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Juno Award winners Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Montreal Category:Officers of the National Order of Quebec Category:Swiss Eurovision Song Contest entrants Category:World Music Awards winners Category:People from Martin County, Florida Category:People from Henderson, Nevada Category:People from Las Vegas, Nevada Category:People from Toronto Category:Miscarriage victims

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name	Ian Campbell
background	solo_singer
birth name	Ian Campbell
born	March 22, 1965Hyson Green, Nottingham, England
genre	Hip-house
occupation	Rapper, songwriter, painter
years active	1989–present
label	DWA RecordsPolydor Records
website	http://icemc.co.uk }}

Ian Campbell aka ICE MC (born 22 March 1965, Nottingham, England) is a hip-house/eurodance rapper.

Early life

Campbell's parents were from Jamaica, and he grew up in the Hyson Green area of Nottingham. When he was in high school his initials IC quickly got him a nickname ''ICE'' (lately he interpreted it as Ian Campbell Esquire). In 1983, he joined a group of breakdancers and started touring Europe with them.

Singing career

The first albums

In 1989 in Italy, he met Roberto Zanetti - singer, composer (as Savage), and producer (as Robyx). Their first single called "Easy", made in a hip-house style, came out in 1989. It became successful all over Europe, reaching the top 5 in Italy and the top 3 in Germany. The two next singles, "Cinema" and "Scream", and the subsequent debut album, ''Cinema'' (released later in 1990), were also successful. In 1992 his second LP, ''My World'', came out but failed to achieve the success of its predecessor.

The most successful hits

His third album, ''Ice'n'Green'', was released in 1994 and featured Alexia on vocals. Three of his most successful songs, "Think about the Way", "It's a Rainy Day" and "Take Away the Colour", made the charts all over the world. Campbell got a new look and new style, known as raggamuffin. The album was also released in the US, where the two biggest singles saw substantial club play and moderate dance music radio airplay. In 1995, ''Ice'n'Green - The Remix Album'' was released. This contained various remixes of previous hit singles.

Collaboration with Masterboy

In 1996, ICE MC decided to leave Zanetti and Alexia due to some disagreement between them. Shortly after that a new album, ''Dreadatour'', (produced by Masterboy) was released. The hit from the album was "Give Me the Light", but the album itself was not very successful. Later on in 1998, also with Masterboy, he released two promos, "Busy Body" and "Energy".

At the end of 2002, he decided to return to Italy and to contact Zanetti again. Together they started writing some new material and, at the beginning of 2004, they began recording a new album, ''Cold Skool''. Campbell is also a painter, and sells his paintings via his website.

Discography

Singles

1989 - "Easy"

1989 - "Easy (Attack Remix)"

1990 - "Scream"

1990 - "Scream (The U.S. Remix)"

1990 - "Cinema"

1990 - "OK Corral!"

1990 - "OK Corral! (The Cotton Remixes)"

1990 - "The Megamix"

1991 - "People"

1991 - "People (Remix)"

1991 - "Happy Weekend"

1991 - "Happy Weekend (Remix)"

1992 - "Rainy Days"

1993 - "Take Away the Colour"

1993 - "Take Away the Colour (Remixes)"

1994 - "Think about the Way" (UK release was named "Think About the Way (Bom Digi Digi Bom...)") - UK #42 / and #38 on re-issue in September 1996)

1994 - "Think about the Way" (Bom Digi Digi Bom remixes)

1994 - "It's a Rainy Day" - UK #73

1994 - "It's a Rainy Day (Remixes)"

1994 - "It's A Rainy Day (The Christmas Remix)"

1995 - "Take Away the Colour ('95 Reconstruction)"

1995 - "Ice'n' Mix" (Triple set remixes) (Italy Only)

1995 - "Megamix" (France only)

1995 - "Run Fa Cover" (US only)

1996 - "Russian Roulette" (Sweden only)

1996 - "Funkin' With You" (France only)

1996 - "Give Me the Light"

1996 - "Give Me the Light (Remixes)"

1996 - "Music for Money"

1997 - "Let's Take It Easy"

2004 - "It's a Miracle"

2004 - "My World"

Albums

1990 - ''Cinema''

1991 - ''My World - The Early Songs''

1994 - ''Ice'n'Green''

1995 - ''Ice'n'Green - The Remix Album''

1996 - ''Greatest Hits and Remixes''

1996 - ''Dreadatour''

2004 - ''Cold Skool''

References

External links

Official website

Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:People from Nottingham Category:Club DJs Category:Eurodance musicians Category:English people of Jamaican descent

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