“Let’s dance above the abyss, at the edges of the peaks”: Céline Dion accompanies the announcement of her return to the stage with a new song, “Let’s Dance”, a ballad signed by her favorite author and composer Jean-Jacques Goldman, released Friday.
“Let’s fly, let’s waltz, let’s dance… Since the world no longer goes round…,” sings the 58-year-old Quebec star in this slow-paced French title.
She celebrates combativeness and resilience in the face of the chaos of the world, but also in resonance with her health problems.
The artist with 260 million albums sold, according to his record company, announced on March 30 his return to the stage after six years away from the public, between the Covid pandemic and persistent health problems. She will give 16 concerts at Paris La Défense Arena, for which tickets have been snapped up.
Celine Dion received this new title from Jean-Jacques Goldman in 2020 but it was only recorded this year, according to Sony. A listening session with some media, including AFP, had been organized a few days earlier, with a commitment to confidentiality.
“It was in 2020, the world stopped and people were dancing, confined to their homes,” said Jean-Jacques Goldman in a press release. “Six years later, no more viruses but no need to change a word, the world is not turning any smoother, and we are still dancing ‘above the abyss’.”
Voice intact
As of Wednesday evening, a short 12-second video without music, showing couples slow dancing in Paris on the banks of the Seine, near the Opera and the Saint-Lazare station, was broadcast on the singer’s Instagram account, with the mention “Céline Dion x Jean-Jacques Goldman”, leaving no doubt about this new collaboration.
“Let’s Dance” must be accompanied by a “lyrical clip, without participation in the image of Céline Dion”, specified Sony.
“Let us dance above the great voids/Let our breaths guide us, the bodies in unison (…)/Let us dance to be and remain straight/Because we owe it to all the immobile, the voiceless and lawless…/Despite everything since we can only dance standing up…”, continues Céline Dion, whose voice, particularly highlighted, appears intact.
The last collaboration with Jean-Jacques Goldman dates back to 2016 for the song “Encore un soir” and the eponymous album on which Serge Lama, Robert Charlebois, Francis Cabrel, Vianney and Grand Corps Malade also collaborated.
In 1995, Jean-Jacques Goldman was already at the helm of the album “D’eux” which remains the best-selling French-language record in the world with around 10 million copies, with the cult titles “Pour que tu m’aimes encore”, “Je sais pas” and “J’irai où tu iras”.
“I’m ready!”
Among around thirty titles for Céline Dion, Goldman also signed in 1998 “S’il suffisait d’aimer”, “En attendant ses pas” and “Dans un autre monde”.
“Jean-Jacques Goldman gave me the chance to be welcome in your home, in France, and that for me was worth a lot,” confided the Quebec star in a recent documentary.
For his part, Jean-Jacques Goldman said that he was inspired by all his interviews to write songs for him.
“He found a gem, but he knew how to highlight it,” summed up René Angélil, mentor and husband of Céline Dion, who died in 2016. The singer’s last album, “Courage”, an opus in English, dates back to 2019.
“I’m really good, I feel good, I feel strong. I’m ready!” assured Céline Dion in the video announcing her return to the stage. The singer has suffered from stiff person syndrome since 2022, a rare incurable neurological pathology.
She is due to give sixteen concerts in front of around 30,000 people each time, in September and October at Paris La Défense Arena, located in Nanterre, near the capital. The first show of this five-week residency is scheduled for September 12.
After a rush of some 9 million fans around the world to register for a lottery allowing access to an early sale, the 480,000 tickets were sold out in a few hours.
The record company has not confirmed press reports suggesting a second unreleased track and an album by the summer.
