Featuring songwriting by Afanasieff, Diane Warren, and Prince, the self-titled effort entered the top 40 of the Billboard 200, eventually outselling Unison. Riding the success of "Beauty and the Beast" - included as the set's first single - Celine Dion made confident steps away from the youthful pop of her previous releases, presenting a matured rebranding for the singer on yearning ballads and confident, R&B-inspired dance numbers. Her second English-language album arrived in 1992. Produced by Walter Afanasieff and penned by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, the ballad was a Top Ten hit, winning Dion a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals. Unison's performance helped Dion attract the attention of Disney and she was recruited for 1991's "Beauty and the Beast," a duet with Peabo Bryson from the animated film of the same name. In addition to singles "Have a Heart" and "Unison," the album also included Billboard hits like "The Last to Know," "(If There Was) Any Other Way," and "Where Does My Heart Beat Now," which peaked at number four on the Hot 100 and number two on the Adult Contemporary chart. The leap paid off and Unison was a massive success, selling more than a million copies in the U.S. Released on Columbia Records in April 1990, Unison was Dion's first English-language album, following a concerted effort to improve her language skills and vocal training. pop mainstream at the turn of the decade. In the midst of Incognito's whirlwind success, Dion won the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, representing Switzerland with "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi." Poised for greater international exposure, Dion finally made her move beyond her French-language Canadian releases, taking aim at the U.S. The double-platinum set spawned five hit singles and was promoted with a Canadian tour that included a multi-month residency at the Saint-Denis Theatre in Montreal.
In 1987, Dion received a full pop makeover on her eighth LP, Incognito (CBS Records). A steady stream of releases followed into the late '80s, including four studio albums, a handful of compilations, and a pair of Christmas collections, which helped her make inroads into international markets like Belgium and Switzerland. The album was certified platinum in Canada while leaping to France, where it also became a hit. Under the guidance of producer and manager René Angélil, Dion went on to win "Top Performer" and "Best Song" at the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo and multiple Felix Awards in her native Quebec for her third effort, Tellement J'ai D'amour…, which won Best Pop Album, Newcomer of the Year, and Female Vocalist of the Year. Released in June 1981, the single peaked in the Top 20 of the Quebec singles chart and landed on her debut full-length La Voix Du Bon Dieu (Super Etoiles/Saisons), which was released in November of the same year. Pursuing her dream of becoming a singer, she wrote her first song "Ce N'etait Qu'un Rêve" (It Was Only a Dream) in 1980 with her mother and brother. She started singing at a young age, performing at the family's piano bar and at her older brother's wedding. Decades into her career, her status as a beloved pop icon was further cemented with a record-breaking Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace, making her one of the highest-grossing artists of all time.īorn on Main Charlemagne, Quebec, Céline Marie Claudette Dion was one of 14 children in a large family that fostered a love of music. Her award-winning contributions to film soundtracks helped expand her presence into the pop culture mainstream, most notably with songs like "Beauty and the Beast" from the 1991 Disney animated film and the blockbuster "My Heart Will Go On" from 1997's box office smash Titanic. In addition to winning first prize at the 1988 Eurovision song contest, Dion also scored multiple Grammy awards, including Album of the Year for 1996's Falling into You. From her humble roots as a French-language teenage pop singer to international superstardom, Canadian singer Celine Dion became a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning crossover success in the '90s after breaking into the English-language market with heartfelt ballads that shined a spotlight on her powerful and inimitable voice.