EXCLUSIVE: Celine Dion Opens Up About Singing New Song for 'Beauty and the Beast' 26 Years After the Original

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Celine Dion says it's a "privilege" to sing a new song for Disney's upcoming live-action Beauty and the Beast.

Nearly 30 years after the movie's 1991 release -- and Dion's iconic duet with Peabo Bryson -- the singer opened up to ET's Cameron Mathison about falling "in love" with the animated film, and how her late husband, Rene Angelil, convinced her to sing a new song -- titled "How Does a Moment Last Forever" -- for the new movie.


WATCH: Celine Dion Announces New Original Song for the Live-Action 'Beauty and the Beast'

"30 year later, they [came] back to me," Dion told ET while promoting "The Celine Dion Collection" of handbags, luggage and accessories with the Bugatti Group, which was unveiled at PROJECT WOMEN in Las Vegas on Tuesday, and will be available at select retailers across the globe in September.

"I saw the [new] movie, it's great, but there was something inside of me that was shaking little bit," she recalled. "They say, 'So what do you think? Would you consider singing this new 'Beauty and the Beast' song, 30 years later?' and I'm like, 'Uh, I have to listen to it again, because I need to be professional.'"

"To be honest with you, I said to them, 'That is so hard for me to commit [to] right now, because I felt like [I was] cheating [on] the first Beauty and the Beast," she continued, describing how "in love" she was with the first movie.

After much deliberation, however, Dion says it was speaking to the spirit of Angelil, who died last January after a long battle with throat cancer, that convinced her to go for it.


WATCH: Emma Watson Sings 'Belle' in 'Beauty and the Beast'

"I understood it was an amazing privilege again," she shared. "Beauty and the Beast had brought me to where I am today. I went back home, I listened to it… I kind of talked to Rene, and he said, 'You should.'"

As for how Dion feels about Ariana Grande and John Legend's rendition of "Beauty and the Beast" for the new movie? She couldn't be prouder.

"I can't refuse that," she said. "I'm so proud."


WATCH: Ariana Grande and John Legend Team Up for 'Beauty and the Beast' Soundtrack

Hear Grande and Legend's duet in the video below.