Céline Dion, Eurovision’s best-selling artist and the ninth best-selling artist of all time, will go on hiatus indefinitely.
On Wednesday afternoon the Québéçois artist revealed on her official Facebook page that she has voluntarily stopped all of her show business activities in order to focus on husband-manager René Angélil. Angélil underwent surgery last December in order to remove a malignant tumor, and the ordeal has placed immense stress on his family life and work life. This is his second battle with throat cancer.
To make matters worse, Céline herself has been having some health problems. She was diagnosed with an illness causing inflammation in her throat muscles, which has made it difficult to treat the world to her angelic voice since July 29. Sadly she has not made much progress.
Céline sends her sincere apologies:
I want to devote every ounce of my strength and energy to my husband’s healing, and to do so, it’s important for me to dedicate this time to him and to our children. I also want to apologize to all my fans everywhere, for inconveniencing them, and I thank them so much for their love and support.
She has cancelled her shows at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas until further notice. Her Asian tour, scheduled for this autumn, has also been cancelled. Although fans in Japan and the Philippines are disappointed, we all wish the best for Céline and her family.
Dion won the contest back in 1988 for Switzerland with the song “Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi”. It was one of the contest’s closest margins of victory ever (only a single point). Listen to the performance here.
Many of her songs to appeal to me, but she has a truly great voice. In spite of the fortune she has, I have the impression that her life hasn’t been easy.