Celine Dion (album)

Celine Dion is the eleventh studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and her second English-language album. It was released by Columbia Records and Epic Records on 30 March 1992, and features the Grammy and Academy Award-winning song "Beauty and the Beast", and other hits like "If You Asked Me To" and "Love Can Move Mountains". The album was produced by Walter Afanasieff, Ric Wake, Guy Roche and Humberto Gatica. It reached numbers one in Quebec and three in Canada, where it was certified Diamond for shipments of over one million copies. At the 35th Annual Grammy Awards, Celine Dion was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The album has sold over five million copies worldwide.

Background and content
Dion's real international breakthrough came when she paired up with Peabo Bryson to record the title track to Walt Disney Pictures animated film Beauty and the Beast (1991). The song captured a musical style that Dion would utilize in the future: sweeping, classical and soft rock influenced ballads with soft instrumentation. Both a critical and commercial smash, the song became her second United States top 10 hit, and also won many awards. As with Dion's earlier releases, the album had an overtone of love.

Dion worked with a new team of writers and producers on her eponymous album. Five songs were written by Diane Warren. "With This Tear" was a gift from Prince who wrote the song especially for Dion. The tracks were produced mainly by Walter Afanasieff, Ric Wake and Guy Roche.

By 1992, the release of her previous English-language album Unison (1990) and Celine Dion, as well as various media appearances, had propelled Dion to superstardom in North America. She had achieved one of her main objectives: wedging her way into the anglophone market and establishing fame. Apart from her rising success, there were also changes in Dion's personal life, as René Angélil would make the transition from manager to lover. However, the relationship was kept a secret as both feared that the public would find the twenty-six-year difference between their ages incongruous.

The European version of Celine Dion includes "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" as a bonus track. The album was re-released on 7 September 1992 in Australia with a bonus disc containing four songs which had been previously released as singles from Unison.

"Send Me a Lover" was a "leftover" from the recording sessions of the Celine Dion album and it was released in 1994 on the charity compilation Kumbaya Album 1994.

To support it, Dion toured as the opening act for Michael Bolton on his "Time, Love and Tenderness Tour" in the summer of 1992 through the United States. From August 1992 till March 1993, she toured Canada with her Celine Dion in Concert tour.

Singles
Because of the success of "Beauty and the Beast", the song was included on Celine Dion. The first proper single from the album was "If You Asked Me To", a cover of Patti LaBelle song. It became a hit in Canada and the United States, reaching number one on the Canadian Top Singles chart and number four on the US Billboard Hot 100. The next single, "Nothing Broken but My Heart" peaked at number 3 in Canada and 29 in the US. The third single, "Love Can Move Mountains" reached number two in Canada and 36 in the United States. The next single, "Water from the Moon" reached number seven in Canada. In July 1993, a promotional single "Did You Give Enough Love" was released in Canada with accompanying music video, and peaked at number 17.

Critical reception
The album has received varied reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic wrote that "Celine Dion's self-titled follow-up to her successful American debut is even stronger and more accomplished." Arion Berger from Entertainment Weekly commented, "She hits all the notes on Prince's graceful, desperate "With This Tear", but clearly she has more voice than heart". Music critic Robert Christgau called it the "worst album of the year—that I can remember". Jan DeKnock of Chicago Tribune said that the album "is even better, because the young singer-only 24-has developed enough confidence in her second language to really deliver the emotional nuances of a lyric, especially in the ballads that dominate this album. [...] Dion has clearly joined Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston as one of the premier voices on the pop scene". Parry Gettelman from the Orlando Sentinel felt that Dion "really excels" on the three dance tracks "in the Lisa Stansfield mold"; "Love Can Move Mountains", "Did You Give Enough Love" and "Little Bit of Love".

Commercial performance
The album has sold over five million copies worldwide. As of May 2016, Celine Dion has sold 2,400,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan, with an additional 624,000 units sold at BMG Music Club. SoundScan does not count albums sold through clubs like the BMG Music Service, which were significantly popular in the 1990s. It was certified 2× Platinum in the United States and reached number 34 on the Billboard 200 chart. Dion's popularity was also showing in Canada where the album topped the chart in Quebec for six weeks, peaked at number three on the Canadian Albums Chart and was certified Diamond for one million copies sold.

In other regions of the world, Celine Dion peaked at number 15 in Australia, number 31 in New Zealand, number 59 in Japan, and number 70 in the United Kingdom. It was also certified Platinum in Australia and Gold in the UK and Japan. Dion received her first World Music Award for Best Selling Canadian Female Recording Artist of the Year.

The most successful single from the album was "Beauty and the Beast," which peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Gold in the United States. Other singles, which reached the US top 40 included: "If You Asked Me To" (number four), "Nothing Broken but My Heart" (number 29) and "Love Can Move Mountains" (number 36). "Water from the Moon" peaked at number 11 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. "Did You Give Enough Love" was released as a promotional single in Canada and a music video was also filmed. The song reached number 17 on the RPM Top Singles chart.

Industry awards
Celine Dion was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female and Juno Award for Album of the Year. She also won the Female Vocalist of the Year and was nominated for the Canadian Entertainer of the Year. Dion also won the Billboard International Creative Achievement Award and was nominated for the Billboard Music Award for Hot Adult Contemporary Artist. She won the Félix Award for the Artist of the Year Achieving the Most Success in a Language Other Than French and Artist of the Year Achieving the Most Success Outside Quebec. Dion won the World Music Award for World's Best Selling Canadian Female Artist of the Year and Governor General's Award (Medal of Recognition for the Contribution to Canadian Culture).

"Beauty and the Beast" won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. It also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, Juno Award for Single of the Year, ASCAP Film and Television Music Award for Most Performed Song from Motion Picture and ASCAP Pop Award for Most Performed Song.

"If You Asked Me To" won the ASCAP Pop Award for Most Performed Song and was nominated for the Juno Award for Single of the Year and Billboard Music Award for Hot Adult Contemporary Single of the Year. "Nothing Broken but My Heart” won the ASCAP Pop Award for Most Performed Song. "Love Can Move Mountains" won the Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year and was nominated for the Single of the Year. The performance of "Love Can Move Mountains" at the Juno Awards of 1993 was nominated for the Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Variety Program or Series.

Track listing
Notes
 * $undefined$ signifies an additional producer

Personnel
Adapted from AllMusic.


 * Walter Afanasieff – arranger, bass, guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, orchestral arrangements, organ, hammond organ, producer, programming, synclavier, synthesizer, synthesizer bass, vocal arrangement, vocal producer
 * Ken Allardyce – engineer
 * René Angélil – management
 * Israel Baker – violin
 * Marilyn Baker – viola
 * Mickey Baker – viola
 * Greg Bannan – production coordination
 * David Barratt – production coordination
 * Kitty Beethoven – background vocals
 * Fred "Re-Run" Berry – flugelhorn
 * Frederick Berry – flugelhorn, soloist
 * Kyle Bess – engineer
 * David Betancourt – engineer
 * Rick Bieder – engineer
 * Teruko Brooks – violin
 * Peabo Bryson – guest artist, performer, vocals
 * Robbie Buchanan – arranger, keyboards, piano
 * Bob Cadway – engineer, mixing, tracking
 * Bruce Calder – engineer
 * Russ Cantor – violin
 * Dana Jon Chappelle – engineer, mixing
 * Gary Cirimelli – programming, synclavier, background vocals
 * Ronald Clark – violin
 * Liz Constantine – background vocals
 * Van Coppock – assistant engineer
 * Orion Crawford – copyist
 * Joey Diggs – background vocals
 * Céline Dion – primary artist, spoken word, vocals, background vocals
 * John Doelp – executive producer
 * Nancy Donald – art direction
 * Bruce Dukov – violin
 * Felipe Elgueta – engineer
 * Paul Ericksen – engineer
 * Clare Fischer – arranger, conductor, string arrangements
 * Chris Fogel – assistant engineer
 * Arne Frager – string engineer
 * Kenny G – guest artist, soprano sax
 * Bruce Gaitsch – guitar
 * Pamela Gates – violin
 * Humberto Gatica – engineer, mixing, producer
 * Claude Gaudette – arranger, keyboards, programming
 * Gary Gertzweig – violin
 * Michael Gilbert – engineer
 * Edward Green – violin
 * Sandy Griffith – background vocals
 * Noel Hazen – assistant engineer
 * Mark Hensley – engineer
 * Dan Hetzel – engineer
 * Jim Hughart – contrabass
 * Larry Jacobs – background vocals
 * Davida Johnson – violin
 * Jimmy Johnson – bass
 * Jude Johnson – cello
 * Melisa Kary – background vocals
 * Neill King – engineer
 * Ren Klyce – programming, sampling, synclavier
 * Dave Koz – guest artist, saxophone
 * Matthew "Boomer" La Monica – engineer
 * Manny Lacarrubba – engineer
 * Michael Landau – guitar
 * Norma Leonard – violin
 * Mario Lucy – assistant engineer, engineer
 * Vito Luprano – executive producer
 * Patrick MacDougall – mixing
 * Margot MacLaine – viola
 * Earl Madison – celli, cello
 * Larry Mah – engineer
 * Brian Malouf – mixing
 * Jean McClain – background vocals
 * Casey McMackin – assistant engineer
 * Vladimir Meller – mastering
 * Betty Moor – violin
 * Jorge Moraga – viola
 * Ralph Morrison III – violin
 * Michael Nowak – viola
 * Nils Oliver – celli, cello
 * Rafael Padilla – percussion
 * Victoria Pearson – photography
 * Joel Peskin – oboe, synthesizer
 * Ken Phillips – production coordination
 * Brian Pollack – assistant engineer, engineer
 * Simon Pressey – engineer
 * Vicki Randle – background vocals
 * Claytoven Richardson – background vocals
 * John "J.R." Robinson – drums
 * Guy Roche – arranger, engineer, keyboards, producer, synthesizer
 * Alejandro Rodríguez – engineer
 * Harry Scorzo – violin
 * Frederick Seykora – celli, cello
 * Dan Shea – keyboards, programming
 * David Shea – keyboards, synthesizer
 * Paul Shure – violin
 * David Stenske – viola
 * Mick Stern – engineer
 * Robert Stone – contrabass
 * Robert Jeffrey Stone – double bass
 * Barbara Stout – production coordination
 * Rich Tancredi – arranger
 * Pamela Thompkins – violin
 * Michael Thompson – guitar
 * Jeanie Tracy – background vocals
 * Jeffrey "C.J." Vanston – keyboards
 * Alan de Veritch – viola
 * Ric Wake – arranger, producer
 * Francine Walsh – violin
 * Diane Warren – background vocals
 * Frank Wolf – engineer
 * Terry Wood – background vocals
 * Thomas R. Yezzi – engineer
 * Richard Zuckerman – executive producer