Canadian Singing Sensation Celine Dion Launches Her Taking Chances Tour

Canada has had its fair share of musical divas. Ask someone to name a famous Canadian chanteuse and you're likely to hear a range of possible candidates: Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne, K.D. Lang, Nelly Furtado, Shania Twain or Sarah McLachlan, perhaps. Maybe Anne Murray if you're talking old school. Throw in a few strategic hints, though, and that list suddenly shrinks down to one.

* Her record sales top 200 million worldwide.
* She's one of fourteen children born into a French Canadian family.
* Married to her long-term manager (who happens to be 26 years her senior).
* Her fragrance line has sold to the tune of an estimated $500 million USD.
* She's the subject of countless Saturday Night Live parodies.
* She sang "My Heart Will Go On," the Oscar-winning ballad from the film, Titanic.
* Recently finished an exclusive four-year stint playing at Las Vegas casino Caesars Palace, she's hitting the road again.

Unless you've been living under a rock, or avoiding pop radio, tabloids, commercials and pop culture in general for the past decade or two, you probably know that we can only be talking about Celine Dion. From her humble and relatively obscure beginnings as a child singing sensation in Quebec to her foray into English pop music and eventual conquering of the pop ballad world, Dion is unmatched as an entertainment juggernaut.

A singer first and foremost, Dion relies on a series of songwriters for the music on her albums and frequently covers previously released tunes. She's scored hits with cover songs like "I Drove All Night" (Roy Orbison and also covered by Cyndi Lauper), "The Power of Love" (Jennifer Rush) and "All By Myself "(Eric Carmen). Rather than collaborate with a team of writers, most Dion albums feature material adopted from a wide variety of sources.

Celine Dion's discography is extensive. This particular version of the list contains original studio albums only, and begins where Dion's releases first have an impact on national sales charts (it does not include the dozen or so French language albums from her youth).

1987: Incognito (French, double-Platinum certified in Canada).
1990: Unison (reached no. 74 on Billboard Top 200).
1991: Dion Chante Plamondon (French, double-Platinum certified in both Canada and France).
1992: Celine Dion (reached no. 34 on Billboard Top 200, included the title track to Disney's Beauty and The Beast).
1993: The Colour of My Love (reached no. 4 on Billboard Top 200 and included her first US no. 1 single "The Power of Love").
1995: D'eux (French, seven times Platinum certification in Canada, Diamond certification in France).
1996: Falling Into You (reached no. 1 on Billboard Top 200).
1997: Let's Talk About Love (reached no. 1 on Billboard Top 200, included the no.1 single "My Heart Will Go On").
1998: S'il Suffisait D'aimer (French, four times Platinum certified in Canada, Diamond certified in France).
2002: A New Day Has Come (reached no. 1 on Billboard Top 200).
2003: One Heart (reached no. 2 on Billboard Top 200).
2003: 1 Fille & 4 Types (French, double-Platinum certified in France).
2004: Miracle (reached no. 4 on Billboard Top 200).
2007: D'elles (French, double-Platinum certified in Canada, Platinum certified in France).
2007: Taking Chances (reached no. 3 on Billboard Top 200).

Dion has been the voice behind several Oscar-winning songs. In 1991, her title track to Beauty and the Beast won the Best Original Song Oscar for Disney and "My Heart Will Go On" won for the film Titanic. In all Dion has amassed a trophy collection that would be the envy of most record labels, let alone an individual artist. At last count, the tally includes the two Oscars, ten Grammys, twenty-one Junos (the Canadian Grammy equivalent), three Golden Globes, a Governor Generals' Award and the Order of Canada, among others.

Returning to her touring days after half a decade holed up in Las Vegas performing "A New Day" nightly at Caesars Palace, Dion launched her Taking Chances tour in South Africa on Valentine's Day, 2008. The tour is scheduled to cross five continents, with the final show planned for January, 2009. This will be the concert-going public's first opportunity to catch Celine Dion sing live in years and given the skills she's acquired after five years of Vegas performances, it should be quite a spectacle.