Word: angelil
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Celine Dion was first offered her own Las Vegas show by none other than Colonel Tom Parker. In 1987 Dion's husband and manager Rene Angelil was in Las Vegas to see a Wayne Newton tribute to the Colonel's client, Elvis Presley. "For $5 you could visit the suite at the Hilton where Elvis lived," says Angelil. "So I go, and the Colonel's there selling souvenirs. One of my friends points to me and says, 'Colonel, this guy manages a terrific girl singer.' The Colonel says, 'Who is she?' I say, 'She sings in French...
Fast-forward to 1994. Dion, now singing in English, had covered Elvis' Can't Help Falling in Love for a Disney Channel special. Soon after, says Angelil, the Colonel called: "He says, 'I've heard that song so many times since Elvis died, and I never heard it like that. I'm a consultant for the Hilton, and she's never played Las Vegas. I want her at the Hilton.'" Angelil told the Colonel that Dion's American career was just taking off and that she wasn't ready for Vegas. "He said, 'I respect that, but this girl could...
...when she saw O, Cirque du Soleil's bizarrely beautiful mime-gymnastics-diving show, at the Bellagio hotel. "The second it started," she says, "I was breathtaken. At the end I turned to Rene and said, 'If ever I do a concert again, this is what I want.'" Angelil, who loves his wife only slightly more than his personalized blackjack betting system, said it would be logistically impossible to mount such a complicated show profitably--unless, of course, she was willing to do it in Las Vegas permanently. "Sure enough," says Angelil, smiling, "she said, 'I could live here...
After meeting with Dragone, O's director, and negotiating with three casinos and various producers, Angelil put together a deal at Caesars Palace. Then he and Dion stood back and let Dragone try to create a show out of Dion's songbook. "At first I did not know at all the repertoire of Celine," says Dragone. "I do not listen to this music. It's very pop-ish, so it is not so easy to find a tableau behind the songs. There is not a theme, except love of course...
...television. I fear that Shania's quest for privacy, including her move to Switzerland, may alienate some country-music fans. I also don't understand why her husband and record producer Mutt Lange feels that he needs to be out of the limelight. Celine Dion's husband Rene Angelil certainly has no problem appearing in public with his wife. And if it weren't for Rene, I suspect that Celine would not have the career she enjoys. Even without Lange, Shania would probably be a Nashville star. She might not, however, be the country and pop superstar she is. Lange...