Though many viewers had issues with the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony, Celine Dion was the diamond in the rough with her performance. It's the first time she's performed since announcing her battle with stiff-person syndrome. She moved Kelly Clarkson, who was hosting the event, to tears.
"I actually can't talk," Clarkson said of her performance "A one-of-a-kind Opening Ceremony." She went on to praise Dion for her rendition of Édith Piaf's "Hymne A L'Amour." It's the first time Dion's performed since 2020
"I was not ready for that," Kelly continued. "If you know anything about Céline right now, she feels this is her purpose." Clarkson struggled to hold it together as she expressed her admiration for DIon.
"I'm so sorry, I'm trying to hold it together," Kelly said, "But that she got through that, that was incredible."
She added, "In my field, she is the gold winner for vocal athletes."
Kelly Clarkson gives Celine Dion the gold medal for vocal athletes. ???
? #ParisOlympics Opening Ceremony on NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/6j8medRkMg
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 26, 2024
Celine Dion Makes Comeback
It was a big night for Dion. The singer has previously been open about her struggles with the illness. She said it's been difficult to hold it together for her children at times.
"I barely could walk at one point, and I was missing very much living. My kids started to notice. I was like, 'Okay, they already lost a parent — I don't want them to be scared,'" Dion said via People. "I let them know, 'You lost your dad, [but] mom has a condition and it's different. I'm not going to die. It's something that I'm going to learn to live with."
"I've been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it's been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I've been going through," she said.
The disease has gotten so bad that Dion broke her ribs at one point.
"It can also be in the abdominal, can be in the spine, can be in the ribs. But it feels like if I point my feet, they will stay in a (stuck position), or if I cook — because I love to cook — my fingers, my hands will get in a position," she explained. "I have broken ribs at one point because sometimes, when it's very severe, it can break some ribs as well."
However, she's refusing to let it define her.
