Celine Dion Shares How Her Late Husband Helped Her Find 'Courage' to Perform Again (Exclusive)

ET was with the singer at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

There was a time when Celine Dion didn't know if she could ever sing again.

The "My Heart Will Go On" singer lost her husband, René Angélil, in 2016. Since then, she's been vocal about her loss and pain, and getting back on stage. ET's Nancy O'Dell was with the music legend at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles on Wednesday, where she touched on how the late producer helped her find the "courage" to perform again.

"If you look at the definition of courage, it's a big, big word. It's an important word and everything that I went through the last three years for example, even before any past, I was not even sure if I was going to go and sing again," Dion, 51, expressed. "But [Angélil] would want me to sing again, so I went back and forth and it was hard."

"He wanted me to go back at Caesar's [Palace in Las Vegas]," she shared of her late husband. "I wanted to be by his bedside, and he really wanted me to go back on stage. He wanted to see me perform again and I did. It was hard but I did and he could let go after, peacefully."

Angélil died of a heart attack at the age of 73 in January 2016 after a long battle with throat cancer. The two share three kids together -- 18-year-old René-Charles and 8-year-old twins Eddy and Nelson. While she's still mourning the loss of her beloved husband, Dion revealed there was a time she "was not singing at all" but her longtime love continued to encourage her to perform. 

"He did his will, and my will was to stay with him by his side," she shared. "But the thing is we all go through tough times. Like I said today, we get sick, we lose people, we find out things, we have to find the inner strength and we all do, and it's the courage. Life imposes things on you. You have no choice. You have to deal with them."

Dion is set to end her Vegas residency later this year, something she says will be "bittersweet." "I was supposed to be there for a few months, it's been 16 years. It's my home in a way," she said, before explaining that she "might shed a few tears" because so many life incidents have happened during her time at Caesar's.

"While I was there I lost my husband, I've lost my father, I've lost my brother," she explained. "Many, many things happened there. It will be bittersweet because it's my second home. My home away from home in a way. [Caesar's] gave me so many opportunities to present my fans [with] the best shows with dancers."

However, it's now time for Dion to "move on and turn the page." "Or move onto another chapter," she continued, "to kind of freshen up a little bit."

Up next, she will release her new album, Courage, later this year, and embark on her first world tour in ten years. The Courage Would Tour will kick off September 18 in Quebec City and make stops in over 50 cities.

 

 

Meanwhile earlier this week, Dion also spoke about mourning the loss of a loved one during an appearance on Good Morning America.

"You cannot stop living," advised Dion. "Go forward. And today's the first day of the beginning of my life, because I know that, I don't have to worry."

Hear more in the video below.

RELATED CONTENT:

 

Latest News