FLASHBACK: 22-Year-Old Celine Dion Admires Madonna, Mariah and Whitney

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Before Celine Dion became a 5-time Grammy winner, the "My Heart Will Go On" songstress and a Las Vegas icon, she was just a young girl from Quebec, Canada trying to make it as a recording artist.

ET first sat down with Celine 25 years ago. The then 22-year-old was just about to release her first English-language album in America, going up against established pop divas of the early '90s such as Madonna, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.

"I think there is a little place for everyone," she told ET of her competition. "Of course I admire [Madonna, Mariah and Whitney] but there's one Madonna, there's one Whitney Houston and there's one Mariah Carey and nobody can sing like them -- nobody can be like them. But I think I have one record now and a style too and I just hope its going to work. I just want to be as I am."

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The songstress, who began singing at the tender age of 12, was born into a family of musicians. She long had dreams of becoming a performer.

"It's the only life I know because I started so young," she explained. "What I love the most is performing live with a band and in front of the people -- an audience."

While she had been an established artist in her native land of Quebec 10 years before coming to America, Celine's dream of crossing over was finally realized with the release of her debut album Unison in 1990.

"Music for me is an international language," she said. "It's a dream come true to come [to America] and to hear my songs on the radio because while I was recording my album I was telling myself, this is my first recording and it doesn't mean that its going to work."

"Every artist wants to be known in the world and go as far as possible in their career," she added. "I take it day by day, step by step and I just don't put any date or age to realize my dream. I just put all my life in it and hope to go as far as possible."

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And that she did! Now, 47, Celine has sold almost 250 million records during her 30+ year career, earning five Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards and 10 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

She will also make her triumphant return to the Las Vegas stage for her residency at the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace on Aug. 27.


Follow Denny on Twitter: @DDirecto
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