Takeaways From Night 2 Of the Paris Residency

The show started at 8:35 p.m., when Dion appeared onstage to rapturous cheering from the more than 30,000 people gathered before her. While video from the opening night (Sept. 12) performance instantly went viral as fans captured Dion crying during the opening moments of her first live show in more than six years, on night two she appeared to get a little misty-eyed but ultimately held back the tears. Instead, she just extended her arms to acknowledge the audience and fist-pumped her tanned, perfectly-toned arms while smiling widely. Dressed in a black strapless Dior gown, a dress already Internet-famous after night one, she looked truly resplendent, like the picture of glowing good health.

As it did on night one, Wednesday’s show began with “On Ne Change Pas” from Dion’s 1998 French language album S’il suffisait d’aimer, the second best-selling French language album of all time, behind Dion’s own 1995 LP D’eux. Like on night one, roughly half of the setlist was made up of Dion’s French language songs, fitting, of course, for a comeback residency staged in France.

The majority of her statements from stage were also delivered in French, although she said in English that “I know there are many of you here tonight from all over the world. Thank you so very much for coming. If it’s your first time in Paris, I hope you fall in love with it just like I did. Finally, we’re all together. I made a promise to come back onstage, and here I am, singing for you, singing for me, singing live. Thank you so much for your support, your patience, and if I may say so, I am everything I am, because you loved me.”

The statement was an apt segue to her 1996 hit “Because You Loved Me,” a song that on Wednesday took on greater emotional significance in consideration of Dion’s illness and recovery.

For an American in the crowd less familiar with Dion’s French language catalog, the performance of these songs was revelatory, revealing a facet of the superstar U.S. audiences rarely get to see. Dion has been famous in the United States and English-speaking world since the early ’90s, when she entered the public consciousness with her 1993 breakthrough hit (and first Hot 100 No. 1) “The Power of Love.” So, to see thousands of native Francophones — from those who appeared to be in their 20s to those who looked to be in their 70s — singing along to every word of Dion songs lesser known to American ears did much to expand the idea of her as a global superstar with a far broader arsenal of hits than have been played on U.S. radio.

In this, for those without much knowledge of Dion’s French catalog, there was an interesting and arguably timely opportunity to hear her singing songs stripped of personal or cultural meaning. One could listen to and appreciate her voice for its own sake, creating then a chance to listen closely for how this famous instrument is doing now that Dion has rebuilt it while taking on SPS.

Given the elegance, perfectionism and world-class quality that has defined all of Dion’s output, it’s unlikely she would have ever gotten back on a stage without the ability to sing like, well, Celine Dion. But if anyone was worried that she wouldn’t be able to hit all the notes, those fears were soothed any time Dion sang on Wednesday night, and especially of course when she hit certain notes, like the soaring “the power of loooooooove” climax in the 1993 classic “The Power of Love,” a moment which found Dion singing with her eyes closed, her stance firm, her voice so powerful that it seemed to radiate from her entire being.

Later came the encore’s defining moment: the band stopped playing, the audience hushed, and Dion, singing a cappella, hit every run along with the high note of her 1996 showstopper “All By Myself.” The moment drew not only rapturous cheers, but found total strangers catching eyes across the rows to exchange “can you believe this?” looks.

Earlier in the evening, before the encore’s triumph, a cliff-like edifice rose from the stage and Dion marched to its precipice in a shimmering silver Givenchy dress and a stunning pink shredded organza cape. From this perch she sang “Ebben? Ne andrò lontana,” the famous aria from the Italian opera La Wally, and one closely associated with Maria Callas, the legendary opera singer Dion has frequently cited as an icon and inspiration. To take on a song so closely associated with an idol is a clear demonstration of where Dion’s confidence is currently at in regard to her voice. To watch her sing it, in that ensemble, with fake snow gently falling on her and over the crowd, was in and of itself worth the cost of the flight to Paris.

There were, of course, the global mega-hits: Four backup singers did the choral opening to “My Heart Will Go On,” from the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, with Dion then coming out (in custom Schiaparelli) and delivering the song with full force. (Dion is so closely associated with the movie that the merch stand was even selling replicas of the Titanic’s famous blue diamond heart of the ocean necklace.) She followed this cinematic classic with another: the theme song to Disney’s 1991 Beauty and the Beast, a one-two punch that, for those of a certain age, effectively played like reminders of childhood and teenage-dom.

The world has changed a great deal since these years, and even since Dion last performed in public. Things now feel meaner, harder, less certain. Which is perhaps why Dion’s return feels like more than a comeback; it feels like a correction. The world is more joyful, more elegant and more fun with Céline Dion in the spotlight. On Wednesday night in Paris, she arrived back not having to crawl, but with her arms raised in triumph, visibly overcome by the adoration of 30,000 people who perhaps needed her back as much as she needed to return. A world with this version of Céline Dion is the one we want to live in.