Céline Episode 4: The Céline-aissance

Summary

Understood: Who Broke the Internet?

Episode: Céline Episode 4: The Céline-aissance

Release Date: November 5, 2024

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Introduction

In "Céline Episode 4: The Céline-aissance," hosted by CBC's Cory Doctorow, the podcast delves deep into the life and career of global superstar Celine Dion. Tracing her journey from the early days of her career alongside her late husband, Rene Angelil, to her struggles with a rare neurological disorder and her triumphant return to the stage, this episode offers a comprehensive look at what makes Celine Dion an enduring icon in the ever-evolving landscape of the modern internet and pop culture.

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Rene Angelil's Legacy and Celine's Rise

The episode opens with a poignant recollection of Rene Angelil's funeral, highlighting his pivotal role in discovering and propelling Celine Dion to international fame.

• Katherine Cullen reflects on the ceremony:
  "Celebrities and politicians of all stripes packed the pews, all here to honor the man who discovered a preteen Dion and made her a household name." [00:48]

Celine's performance at the funeral, marked by emotional gestures and personal touches, underscores the deep bond between her and Rene.

• Katherine Cullen adds:
  "As the family says goodbye in a ceremony watched by fans around the world." [02:37]

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The Evolution of Celine's Career

The podcast chronicles Celine's strategic moves in the music industry, from her niche success in Quebec during the 80s to her global crossover in the 90s, and her unexpected shift to Las Vegas in the 2000s.

• El Amin Abdel Mahmoud observes:
  "At her peak, Celine Dion sort of executed this playbook to a T and quite perfectly." [05:03]

Celine's ability to adapt is evident as she transitions to a Las Vegas residency, navigating the challenges posed by the digital revolution that drastically changed the music industry's dynamics.

• El Amin Abdel Mahmoud notes:
  "You get this period of time where, you know, Napster and Limewire end up affecting the industry's model. We suddenly have really no idea how the industry is going to cope with the Internet." [06:26]

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Fashion Transformation and the Selenaissance

A significant portion of the episode focuses on Celine's reinvention as a fashion icon post-Rene's passing. Her bold fashion choices and embrace of "camp" aesthetics have rejuvenated her image, making her a beloved figure in queer culture and among meme enthusiasts.

• Jason Markasoff highlights:
  "Celine isn't just a fashion icon. She's a queer icon. We've been championing her for a long time." [10:00]

• El Amin Abdel Mahmoud adds:
  "She is so incredibly watchable. She's someone who's, like, willing to make fun of herself." [10:54]

This "Selenaissance" marks a renaissance in Celine's career, blending her musical prowess with a fresh, vibrant persona that resonates with a new generation of fans.

• Jason Markasoff states:
  "If you let me know, I would have dressed appropriately. This so-called Selenaissance, starting around 2016 and growing from there is pretty remarkable." [12:55]

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Personal Struggles and Health Challenges

Behind the glitz and glamour, Celine faces profound personal challenges. The podcast delves into her battle with Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that severely impacts her mobility and vocal abilities.

• Thomas LeBlanc shares:
  "I've been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called Stiff Person syndrome." [21:16]

Celine's vulnerability is laid bare as she discusses the difficulties of performing while grappling with her illness, leading to the inevitable postponement and cancellation of her world tour.

• Katherine Cullen explains:
  "She was so concerned about her fans, so concerned about the people who worked for her. If she stops, they stop." [19:16]

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Triumphant Return and Cultural Impact

After years of battling her condition, Celine makes a heartwarming return to the stage at the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics in July 2024, symbolizing resilience and the indomitable spirit of an artist.

• El Amin Abdel Mahmoud recounts:
  "After four years away from performing, after all she'd gone through, Celine was back. It was a remarkable moment in this decades long, truly singular career." [25:01]

The episode also explores Celine's profound cultural impact, emphasizing her role as a unifying figure in a fragmented digital age. Her music's emotional depth and her authenticity have cemented her status as a beloved icon across diverse audiences.

• El Amin Abdel Mahmoud reflects:
  "What great artists do is give you permission to feel your emotions. I think what Celine Dion does is something even greater than that, which is feel them for you." [27:50]

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Conclusion

"Céline-aissance" offers an intimate portrait of Celine Dion, showcasing her ability to evolve and remain relevant amidst personal and industry-wide challenges. From her early days with Rene Angelil to her battle with Stiff Person Syndrome and her inspiring comeback, the episode celebrates Celine's enduring legacy and her profound influence on pop culture and the modern internet landscape.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Katherine Cullen
  "As the family says goodbye in a ceremony watched by fans around the world." [02:37]

• El Amin Abdel Mahmoud
  "At her peak, Celine Dion sort of executed this playbook to a T and quite perfectly." [05:03]

• Jason Markasoff
  "Celine isn't just a fashion icon. She's a queer icon. We've been championing her for a long time." [10:00]

• Thomas LeBlanc
  "I've been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called Stiff Person syndrome." [21:16]

• El Amin Abdel Mahmoud
  "After four years away from performing, after all she'd gone through, Celine was back. It was a remarkable moment in this decades long, truly singular career." [25:01]

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Production Credits

Note: This section is for reference only and was excluded from the main summary as per instructions to skip non-content sections.

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the essence of Episode 4 of "Understood: Who Broke the Internet?" focusing on Celine Dion's remarkable journey, her personal battles, and her significant cultural contributions. Whether you're a long-time fan or new to her story, this episode provides valuable insights into the life of one of music's most enduring icons.

Transcript

[Jason Markasoff]

So our podcast, House Party was supposed to end right after the election, but we're really not done with the party yet.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

Yeah, there's way too much to talk about still with the new government and everything.

[Jason Markasoff]

That's right. House Party is now going until the.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

End of June, and I am excited.

[Jason Markasoff]

To keep nerding out about politics with you guys.

[Katherine Cullen]

I'm Katherine Cullen.

[Jason Markasoff]

I'm Danielle Thibault. And I'm Jason Markasoff.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

And you can find House Party in the feed for the house, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jason Markasoff]

This is a CBC podcast. It's a cold day in January. Fans and paparazzi are bundled in parkas and lined up outside the Notre Dame Basilica in Old Montreal.

[Katherine Cullen]

It was a farewell Rene Angelil had planned at the very church where he married his love, Celine Dion. Where than two decades ago, after years.

[Jason Markasoff]

Of throat cancer, Rene died in Las Vegas on January 14, 2016, just a few days shy of his 74th birthday, he was given what we call a national funeral here in Quebec. Flags across the province were flown at half mast.

[Katherine Cullen]

Celebrities and politicians of all stripes packed the pews, all here to honor the man who discovered a preteen Dion and made her a household name.

[Jason Markasoff]

Rene's instructions for his funeral were detailed. Celine enters the church in a black lace veil at exactly 3:20pm and the recording of her song Trois Auvins 3:20 starts to play through the sound system. Celine places dark purple lilies on Rene's coffin and does the sign of the cross. Then she touches his coffin one more time and makes a gesture that looks almost like sign language, like her side of their secret handshake, the one the couple would do together before she went on stage. Bonjour tout. There are several eulogies, including one from Renishal Celine and Rene's oldest son.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

You had a busy life, but we.

[Jason Markasoff]

Were communicating through golf, hockey, poker and smoked meat.

[Katherine Cullen]

As the family says goodbye in a ceremony watched by fans around the world.

[Jason Markasoff]

He'Ll be remembered as the man who.

[Katherine Cullen]

Discovered a story, stunning voice, and loved.

[Jason Markasoff]

The woman who has it. Celine doesn't speak at Rene's funeral, but the program from the ceremony includes a message from her. I understood that my career was, in a way, his masterpiece. I realized that if he ever left us, I would have to continue without him for him. Six weeks after Rene's death, Celine returns to the stage in Vegas.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

You know, Renee, I trusted him so much that I never really had the chance to worry about anything. Now, I guess it is only a natural impulse to constantly question myself. Would you let the kids play with these toys? And is this song too fast? Is this song too slow? Don't talk too much.

[Jason Markasoff]

For the first time in her decades long career, Celine is on her own. And as she steps out as Celine, without Renee, she'll find herself in a very different world. One that's ready to see her in a new light, even as a grave challenge lies ahead for her. I'm Thomas LeBlanc and this is Celine Understood. Episode 4 the Selionance.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

So Celine came up in a period of time where you could execute a playbook very successfully and it would work. And that is the idea of being ubiquitous through album release, tour, a big single, a movie soundtrack, and as you time those things properly, they can just kind of like build and build and build on each other.

[Jason Markasoff]

This is El Amin Abdel Mahmoud. He's the host of the CBC arts and culture show Commotion and he recently wrote a piece in the New York Times about Celine's lasting appeal.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

At her peak, Celine Dion sort of executed this playbook to a T and quite perfectly.

[Jason Markasoff]

Celine's career with Rene by her side spanned decades. The 80s were spent in the unique niche market of Quebec. In the 90s they hustled, crossing over both into the US and around the globe.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

The numbers that Celine Dion put up in the 90s are so wild and inconceivable by today's standards. Like, I mean, Celine's albums are among the top selling albums of all time.

[Jason Markasoff]

Then in the 2000s, Renee and Celine made their unexpected move.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

Vegas becomes kind of the home base of Celine. I mean, she literally moves to Vegas in this period of time. Hey, did you make the pilgrimage? Have you been to Vegas?

[Jason Markasoff]

I saw the show in 2011, the second residency.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

I'm so jealous. I actually can't cope with that. I have to leave now.

[Jason Markasoff]

Goodbye. Celine and Rene's retreat to Vegas was either very lucky or very savvy. Because while the pair were raking in millions through shows in the Colosseum outside, the world was changing.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

You get this period of time where, you know, Napster and Limewire end up affecting the industry's model. We suddenly have really no idea how the industry is going to cope with the Internet.

[Jason Markasoff]

Album sales plummeted and radio's influence waned.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

The itunes store says, hey, why don't you buy songs right on here? And then Spotify launches in the early.

[Jason Markasoff]

2010S, streaming takes over.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

So there's a general decline in the buying a CD habit. The idea that you would go out and buy the album that this artist put out.

[Jason Markasoff]

There was a time that Celine could command attention for months on end with just a single song. Now everything is consumed and tossed out so quickly. The culture that Celine had navigated with Rene was gone, and so was he. So after Renee's passing, everybody's wondering, what's going to happen with Celine?

[Katherine Cullen]

Sure, we. We were all going, what's going on here? What's going to happen here? What you going to do next?

[Jason Markasoff]

You know, TV host Sonia Benezra.

[Katherine Cullen]

She started slowly, but, I mean, you saw that she was taking control of, you know, and she wanted to work with people that she really liked. And I think she also wanted to live. Live. That's it.

[Jason Markasoff]

I started working with Celine when her husband died. So I came in. This is Law Roach, one of Hollywood's most powerful stylists. He's being interviewed for the online celebrity site Hollywood Unlocked. I was hired to come in and change the perception of who people thought she was. And that perception of who Celine was was not stylish. For a time, Celine had been mocked for her fashion sense. Like, she wore this white, drapey pantsuit to the Oscars in 1999, backwards with a fedora. It landed her on worst dress lists for years. But a little over six months after Rene's death, she shows up to Paris Fashion Week. She's seen wearing this oversized black hoodie with a pair of tight jeans and gold Gucci heels. And on the sweatshirt are Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet next to the sinking Titanic. The outfit felt ironic, cheeky, and just different. I couldn't imagine her stepping out in something like that when Renee was still alive. And so she started to be known as, like, a fashion icon. And, you know, all the designers wanted to dress her, take her to the Met. She had never been to the Met. She hadn't been to a fashion show in 20 years. And so I kind of opened that world back up for her.

[Katherine Cullen]

She wanted to do what she never did before. Go to parties, be extravagant. I mean, she wore some outfits that were fantastic and others that were like, wow, that's really gutsy. I don't know what that is, but I think I like it. I'm not sure. It was fabulous.

[Jason Markasoff]

Who are you wearing? This is Celine talking to Ian Cider on the red carpet at the 2019 Met Gala, the celebrity fashion event. She's shimmering in silver tassels and crowned in silver peacock feathers.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

I don't want to take it off. I'm going to go to bed with it.

[Jason Markasoff]

The theme of the Gala that year is camp.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

You look beautiful.

[Jason Markasoff]

What does camp mean to you?

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Well, it's like, you know, at first I was a little bit confused when I heard camp. I wasn't sure what it meant. Like, I thought, like, camping. I mean, we'll go camping.

[Jason Markasoff]

I mean, Celine is camp, and I just love that she couldn't see the water that she was swimming in. It's probably around here that I should state the obvious. Celine isn't just a fashion icon. She's a queer icon. We've been championing her for a long time. I can't tell you how many Celine drag queens I've seen. I think it's something about her personality that has always resonated with queer culture. She's authentic, she's earnest, she's over the top. It's a blend that starts to resonate online too.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

So Celine Dion has given us a lot of memes, and it's actually like something that you wouldn't necessarily expect out of someone like Celine Dion. Like, she's someone who in these little micro moments can just appear so deeply funny that people want to use that meme and that gif over and over and over and over again. She's so incredibly watchable. She's someone who's, like, willing to make fun of herself. She's played those silly games on Jimmy Fallon's show all the time.

[Jason Markasoff]

We're gonna hit this button here, right? This is Bluetooth.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

It activates the musical impressions.

[Jason Markasoff]

Here she is on the Tonight show with Jimmy Fallon singing in the style of Cher.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

I don't want to hear your.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

I mean, she. Selena just makes these faces all the time. Like, she can't help herself. She's just someone who's like, so animated.

[Jason Markasoff]

Here's Seline on carpool karaoke with a dramatic version of Baby Shark.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Baby Shark.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

I thought we were gonna get a chest bump there. She somewhat like, does not feel the need to hide her idiosyncrasies.

[Jason Markasoff]

So Celine's being memed all over. She's a goofy hit on late night tv. She's on the red carpet at the Met gala at the Billboard Music Awards. She meets Drake. You're very iconic. He tells her.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

I'm like a year away from a.

[Jason Markasoff]

Celine tat, so he wants a Celine tattoo.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

I don't know if you know this.

[Jason Markasoff]

But we're in the middle of a Selenaissance. That's a wonderful.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

If you let me know, I would have dressed appropriately.

[Jason Markasoff]

This so called Selenaissance, starting around 2016 and growing from there is pretty Remarkable. Here's a woman at around 50 finding new relevancy four decades into her career in this totally different landscape than the one in which she originally found stardom. For sure, part of it has to do with her fashion makeover and her kooky meme ability. But I also think that there's something else at work.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

You had this movement of poptimism that came in the early sort of 2010s, which is to say this movement that takes to heart sort of evaluating pop music on serious grounds. This reevaluation of how critics understood pop music was very useful for artists like Celine Dion, who were for a stretch of their careers dismissed as somehow too lowbrow, too pedestrian, too poppy, you know, dismissing kind of out of hand things that sort of overflowed with emotion. And then suddenly you have people who are like, you know what? I'm happy consuming the thing that makes me happy. And if you want to critically engage with it, you can, but you don't have to. And this has allow to sort of let go of here's highbrow and low brow that's kind of allowed us the opportunity to reevaluate our relationship with Selene. And suddenly we've reframed something that once used to be too much as now, like just enough.

[Jason Markasoff]

20 years after the peak of My Heart will go on. And the whole backlash that it inspired pop culture is taking another look at Celine and deciding, you know what, she's actually kind of cool. Even that 1999 Oscars pantsuit gets reassessed with one Vogue writer publishing a piece titled Celine Dion's backwards suit is my forever favorite Oscars look.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

So here we go. This brand new song is called Flying on My Own.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

Here we go.

[Jason Markasoff]

In 2019, Celine releases her 27th album, her first English album since Renee's death. It's called Courage, and it debuts at number one on the US Billboard. On the album cover is Celine in a long red sequin dress. Behind her is darkness and fire. It's very Phoenix rising from the ashes. She gives her audience in Vegas a sneak peek of the album with her single Flying on My Own. It's this dance pop track and the lyrics go, I'm finding my way. I'm flying on my own. Celine announces she's going on a world tour. She seems unstoppable, but behind the scenes, Celine was dealing with something nobody could understand. She was suffering.

[Katherine Cullen]

Hi, everyone, I'm David Duchovny. Join me on my podcast Fail Better, where we use failure as a lens to reflect on the past and analyze the current moment. I speak with makers and performers like Rob Lowe, Rosie o' Donnell, and Kenya Barris, as well as thinkers like Kara Swisher and Nate Silver, to understand how both personal setbacks and larger forces impact our world. Listen to Fail Better wherever you get your podcast.

[Jason Markasoff]

It's October 2019, less than a month into Celine's Courage World tour. Celine's just had to postpone four shows in Montreal. And in a video, she apologizes to her fans. She says, for me, it's a lot harder to cancel a show than to do a show, and I'm so sorry for disappointing you.

[Katherine Cullen]

With all the interviews I've done with Celine, there is one thing that's a recurring theme with her. She always was afraid to disappoint Sonia Benezra again, not giving 100% of herself, disappointing somebody who actually bought a ticket. This is what she thinks of this person bought a ticket and they got to a hotel room and they had to pack their suitcase, and maybe they forgot the dress that they were gonna wear, so they had to buy a new dress. She goes through all of that.

[Jason Markasoff]

In the apology video. She says she was excited to see everyone at home in Montreal, but she's been hit by a throat virus. A few weeks later, Celine's back on stage in Ottawa. She seems off, nervous. She's not hitting those big, high Celine notes. Instead, her voice sounds small. She apologizes to the audience.

[Katherine Cullen]

Here's the Celine that we know and love. She was so concerned about her fans, so concerned about the people who worked for her. If she stops, they stop. Money stops coming to them as well. So she was concerned about all of these things.

[Jason Markasoff]

When Covid happens, Celine has to put off her whole tour. And just when it's about to resume in 2022, she cancels all her North American shows. She pretty much goes quiet for nearly a year. Then in December 2022, Celine posts a video on Instagram.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Hello, everyone. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to reach out to you. I miss you all so much, and I can't wait to be on stage talking to you in person. As you know, I've always been an open book. And I wasn't ready to say anything before, but I'm ready now.

[Jason Markasoff]

For years, Celine didn't know what was happening to her.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

I don't have a voice. It's weird. It's closing, so I'm having. I'm really having a hard time right now.

[Katherine Cullen]

She'd have these episodes, and sometimes it would just go away and she'd be able to perform, so you didn't have to think about it. But it was always in the back of her mind because it would come back sporadically. She went to every possible doctor, every specialist. I mean, imagine you're Celine Dion. You have access to the best of the best, and nobody could diagnose her. So in order to help her get through those years, she relied on medication.

[Jason Markasoff]

Eventually, Celine got an answer.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

I've been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called Stiff Person syndrome.

[Jason Markasoff]

Stiff Person Syndrome causes the body to suddenly tense up and spasm painfully.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

These spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I'm used to.

[Katherine Cullen]

This illness really is a progressive illness. There is no cure right now.

[Jason Markasoff]

At the end of her Instagram video, Celine says that she has to step back from performing while she focuses on her health.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

This is somebody who has told us outright over the years that basically nothing can stop her from performing. But this is where she gets her identity.

[Jason Markasoff]

Al Amin Adel Mahmoud.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

Again, for her to be saying, I don't know when I can return again, I need to take a pause. It's not Celine like we've ever seen her before. We're not used to that posture from Celine Dion.

[Jason Markasoff]

After going public with her diagnosis back in December 2022, Celine seems to step back a bit. She pops up at the Grammys, on the COVID of Vogue France, and most dramatically, in a raw documentary about her health struggles. But she disappears entirely from performing for her fans.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

I want to go back on stage. I need to know if I can. They need to know that I love them and I miss them.

[Jason Markasoff]

We had to confront the idea that maybe we'd never see Celine Dion sing again. And that felt like we were also losing something larger.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

You know, 20 or 30 years ago, you and I, we all sort of knew the same reference point. We don't have that really anymore, largely because of the Internet has kind of fragmented our listening experience. And so we all seem to exist in our own little cultural niches. We used to look to the North Star that is a diva. We used to have a lot of figures that earned the title. And we're talking about Mariah and we're talking about Whitney, and we're talking about Aretha, and we're talking about a class, particularly of women singers. And what's comforting to me about the existence of divas is that they become a sort of text that we all share a here's a thing that we all know in common. It doesn't mean we all like it in common. It just means, hey, we know the same things and we're engaged in somewhat the same conversation. And what I like about Celine as an artist, but also what I like about Celine as an idea is that Selene is a bit of a unifier, right? Like her music aims to do the largest possible thing to house the most amount of people. And in a world where we're all looking to be awestruck, we're all looking to be moved, and we're all looking to say we're, wow. That's an extraordinary thing that I don't experience every day. You need these figures that can just kind of cut through all the different niches we exist in, because we know them together. We all look in the same direction and there's Celine.

[Jason Markasoff]

Holy shit. Dion's performance had been hinted at all week, creating a crescendo of anticipation. Wow. This past July, I watched with millions of others as Celine made her triumphant return at the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

I remember watching that moment and I was like holding hands with my wife and my daughter was like on the couch and she was just watching us openly weep as we were watching this thing.

[Jason Markasoff]

After four years away from performing, after all she'd gone through, Celine was back. It was a remarkable moment in this decades long, truly singular career from Charlemagne, Quebec, all the way to the Eiffel Tower.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

My dream is to be international star.

[Katherine Cullen]

I love to sing.

[Jason Markasoff]

No kidding.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Who is gonna stay a francophone Quebecer? All my life, all my life I want it to be the best of me. I am in charge.

[Jason Markasoff]

Bye. In your mind, what is the cultural impact of Celine Dion?

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

I think the cultural impact of Celine Dion is the vast and unyielding permission that she's given to people to feel their biggest possible emotions that they can, because she does that in her music.

[Jason Markasoff]

So we are Thursday night in Montreal's village, the gay village of Montreal. We're actually. We're actually not super far from Rene's first office where Celine did the audition. Kind of crazy. And we are going now to an institution like a karaoke institution in Montreal called Club Date. And it's where people go every night to sing songs, all eras, all genres. And every night there will be someone singing a Celine Dion song, I guarantee you. Let's go in, let's go inside, Club Date and sing a Celine Dion.

[El Amin Abdel Mahmoud]

What great artists do is give you permission to feel your emotions. I think what Celine Dion does is something even greater than that, which is feel them for you, I think. Like these power ballads, these big vocals, the thing that they can do is they can take the size of your pain or your love or your happiness, whatever it is that lives inside of you, and they can make it so much louder.

[Jason Markasoff]

As of the time we're recording this last episode in October 2024, Seline still seems to be working hard at dealing with the effects of stiff person syndrome, and she hasn't made any formal announcements of what exactly her plans are for the future. But Celine loves Vegas and Vegas loves Celine. So I'm kind of expecting a new residency. And what will be really awesome is a new album or two new albums, one in French, one in English. Or maybe something from the Vault. Maybe she has old stuff that we've never heard. I really want her to be healthy, but I know what it means for her to be with the fans. So for her and for us, really, really do hope that she gets to sing again. Celine Understood was produced by Crystal Duhaim, Zoe Tennant and showrunner Imogen Burchard. Sound design by Crystal Duhaim, Sound engineering by Julia Whitman. The karaoke was recorded at Club Date in Montreal. Thank you to singers Stephanie Khalil and Tamika Baudreau and the show was hosted by me, Thomas LeBlanc. The digital producer for Celine Understood is Roshni Nair. Our podcast art was designed by Tara Pocket. Our cross promo producer is Amanda Cox. Our video producers are Evan Aagard, John Lee and Tamina Aziz. Special thanks to the helpful and patient team at CBC Archives, Kate Zeman, John Scaife and Joseph Rogers in Montreal and also our CBC colleagues Hadil Abdelnabi, Kate Evans and Jonathan Mobitis. Additional thanks to all all the people who participated and helped on the series. Ghislaine Dion, Aaron Hurley, Sonia Benezra, Barry Garber, Carl Wilson, Alamin Abdel, Mahmoud Aldonova, Walter Elmore, Zaynab, Al Kasi, Efrem Onye Boulay, Vito Luprano, Mario Lefebvre and Karim Nosreddin. Celine Dion's team declined our invitation to participate in this podcast in order of appearance. Audio in this Episode from Celine Dion.com Fox Soul, NBC Universal, ZDF, Sony Music Entertainment, Apple TV, the AUC YouTube channel Meta the YouTube page of Enrique Acquaviva, Sony Music Entertainment and the International Olympic Committee. This has been Celine Understood. The series was produced by CBC Podcast and CBC News. Executive producers are Chris Oak and Nick McCabe. Lokos. You can follow Understood on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And before we go, if you like this show, try the ones you'll find earlier in this feed, like the pornhub Empire. Understood. It's all about that super popular site that you've probably only ever accessed on your browsers, Incognito mode. Or there's the most recent season, Modi's India, Understood, which takes a closer look at the divisive, powerful leader of the biggest country in the world, Narendra Modi. For more CBC Podcasts, go to CBC CA Podcasts.