Fun_People Archive
4 Nov
Celine! Our Obsequiousness Will Go On!

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Wed,  4 Nov 98 03:15:38 -0800
To: Fun_People
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Subject: Celine! Our Obsequiousness Will Go On!

X-Lib-of-Cong-ISSN: 1098-7649
From: "steven l. cantor" <stevenc@hevanet.com>

	Celine! Our Obsequiousness Will Go On!
	By Lisa Pollak
	(c) 1998, The Baltimore Sun

    We were sitting in the office, humming the love theme to *Titanic,*
wondering, _Will that brilliant diva Celine Dion ever get the exposure she
deserves?_ when something happened that made us want to rise to our feet
and beat our chest with one clenched fist, the way Celine does when she
sings *My Heart Will Go On.* That something, of course, was the arrival of
*A Voice and a Dream: The Celine Dion Story* (Ballantine Books, $5.99).
    Yes, Celine fans, we know what you_re thinking: Between listening to
Celine_s newly released French album and her coming Christmas album,
watching her just-around-the-corner holiday special and following her world
tour into the year 2000, however will we find the time to read 174 pages
about *the world_s hottest diva in a captivating story of a real-life
Cinderella* ?
    No need to worry, busy fans. For you, we now present: *A Voice and a
Dream* O the condensed version.
    Page XI: Author Richard Crouse recalls the *engrossing journey* that
was getting to know Celine Dion.
    Later, page XI: Author admits he has never actually met Celine Dion.
    Page XII: Nonetheless, *That she has been able to maintain a level head
amid the whirlwind of her career fascinated me, forcing me to dig deep and
study her background.*
    Page 6: Celine Dion is born in a village outside Montreal.
    Page 8: Celine speaks her first sentence O in French! *She absorbed the
French language very quickly, often able to memorize the entire lyrics to
songs at a very young age.* Digging deep, author finds Celine lives in
French-speaking village.
    Page 11: Celine, *not yet 10,* works up to eight hours a day rehearsing
and singing in parents_ nightclub.
    Page 12: Work takes its toll on Celine_s schoolwork. Lest her promising
career be cut short, *Ever-helpful siblings ... do her homework for her.*
    Page 20: Rene Angelil, famous manager, meets 12-year-old Celine.  *You
wouldn_t say she was a cute child,* he says. He is particularly put off by
her *long, pointed incisors.*
    Page 28: Teen-age Dion travels the world to perform for adoring crowds,
but begs family: *If you ever see that I_m changing, please ...  tell me.
I don_t want to change.*
    Page 32: Manager says Celine needs to change. New look will feature
makeup, *sassy* hair, revealing clothing O and capped teeth.
    Page 33: Despite impressive early mastery of French, Celine struggles
with English lessons. Gets feelings hurt at recording session when producer
calls her work _bitchin._ *
    Page 44: With Celine raking in the cash, manager invests in chain of
restaurants. Family members get glamorous jobs. *Brother Jacques is a night
manager.*
    Page 75: *She was on the threshold of becoming the world_s next
superstar, but Celine never forgot the people who got her there. Sitting in
the back of a stretch limo after one concert in Montreal, she insisted on
rolling down the tinted windows so her fans could see her.*
    Page 81: Celine uses newfound English skills to make passionate
declaration of love to manager: *Rene has been my manager for 15 years. He
is the only man of my life, I don_t know anything else.*
    Page 83: Celine prepares to wed Angelil. Because she has maintained a
level head amid the whirlwind of her career (Page XII), she will wear a
$25,000 wedding gown with two 30-foot trains, a 7-pound Austrian crystal
headdress and a *thirty-five skin* mink jacket.
    Page 107: Celine opines on favorite topics in recorded messages for
fans. Example: *I love high-heel shoes. ... They_re very feminine and sexy
and you walk differently than when you wear running shoes.*
    Page 129: Celine gains entry into *International Who_s Who* book, a work
of such prestige, the author notes, that *Pamela Anderson Lee ...  didn_t
make the cut.*
    Page 145: Having conquered French and English, Celine begins studying
Spanish. Her plans for future, long suspected, are finally confirmed:
*Learning new languages satisfied (Celine_s) desire to educate herself, but
also opened up new markets in her plan for world domination

© 1998 Peter Langston