At some point on Friday or Saturday, during the chaos of TIFF and running from interview to interview and prepping in between, I saw an article pop up on my feed about Céline Dion, ahead of her first show in Paris…something something about how she would require a backing track or some kind of vocal assistance during the concert. And the volcanic fury that erupted from my body startled the person I was standing next to. How f-cking dare you? This is insulting on multiple levels. First of all – the audacity to judge a world class artist, a legend, a pure diva, like some kind of fraud would be happening in the arena that night..!

But also the fraud coming from the report, because anyone who knows anything about Céline Dion would know that there’s never been a false note where she’s concerned. A bad note? Sure. A false note? Absolument pas. And where Céline is concerned, that’s actually the point. It’s also, if you’re willing and open to it, a lesson we can all take away, because there is always more to be learned from imperfection.

The problem, though, is that imperfection has become terrifying, in the same category of avoidance as cancellation. This is why there’s a whole generation of people who are afraid to try. Trying brings risk – the risk of screwing up, being criticised, mocked, laughed at, and failing.

So. If we’re being real here, Céline’s voice is different now. She’s singing in a lower register, and there were a few times, when she was going for it, that her voice cracked. You can hear it at the end of the video below. But the voice crack is not the takeaway. It certainly wasn’t for the thousands of people who were singing along with her all night and it definitely isn’t for the millions more who are thirstily watching online, desperately wishing they were there. The takeaway is everything BUT the imperfect note. Rather, it’s what the imperfection revealed: music’s purpose in its purest form should be the sonic expression of the human condition, something no AI could ever achieve.

Of course the Queen of All Feelings was allllll the feelings on Saturday night – they were coming out in her facial expressions, her body language, and because our girl is never subtle, she spoke them as often as she could.

“Here I am… singing for you, singing for me, singing life!”

That’s it. That right there. SINGING LIFE. This is music, this is what music is meant to do – to be the soundtrack of life, and all its struggles and imperfections, the pain, the thrill, when it’s breathtaking in ways that hurt and also nourish, and also all the medium moods in between. An artist’s relationship to the music, then, should never stay the same. Céline’s songs don’t sound how they sounded 20 years ago because she isn’t who she was 20 years ago. And instead of putting on a show that tried to reclaim what was, she gave the audience a show that represents who she is today, is in the present. In all her glory but also effort.

To the f-ckass doubter who suggested that there’d be anything artificial about Céline’s return, it’s actually the opposite. The effort is unmistakable – she is working harder than she ever has to sing, and she’s not hiding it, she’s not camouflaging it behind any trickery, she’s not even bothering to pretend getting up to those big moments in her signature songs isn’t exhausting and …this is SHOW YOUR WORK in the form of a diva who has always understood there is theatre in the effort, and that the work itself is the show!

Attached – Céline appreciating everyone appreciating her in Paris:

And below – no less than Oprah & Gayle taking in the artistry of Céline!

We are Squawking Céline today, of course. Please join us! (App link here)

Céline Dion performs at Plénitude Arena in Paris, September 12, 2026

Gayle King and Oprah Winfrey attend as Céline Dion performs at Plénitude Arena in Paris, September 12, 2026

Photo credits: Best Image/Backgrid

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