Celine Dion’s Billboard Awards Performance Is Long-Awaited

Celine Dion is set to deliver a performance of the theme song to Titanic, “My Heart Will Go On”, at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards. What’s interesting, is that Dion admittedly didn’t even want to sing the song when the idea of it first came about, as reported by the Huffington Post. It was her late husband Rene Angelil who convinced her to do it. Dion revealed to Billboard that:

I wanted to choke my husband. Because I didn’t want to do it! I just came out of “Because You Loved Me,” and then “Beauty and the Beast” was, like, huge. Why do we need to break our nose?

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WATCH: Celine Dion Performs ‘My Heart Will Go On’ at BBMAs 2017

In addition, Titanic creator James Cameron wasn’t a fan of it either. Dion tells Billboard that she actually did the demo in one take and was just anxious to get it over with. The day she recorded it, she had major menstrual cramps and she wasn’t excited to sing. She revealed that:

I was mad! I don’t feel good. I have belly pains. My girly days are starting to happen. I’m going to have a black coffee with sugar — which I never have on my studio days because it speeds up my vibrato. But I got to New York and I do that. And [Horner] is explaining to me what is the movie all about. He said, “Just think about that and do it.” I’m like (sarcastically), “All right, thanks. Thanks a lot.”

She also added that:

James Cameron didn’t want to have a song in his movie. “My movie is big enough, I don’t need something bigger, I don’t need any singer.” And I don’t blame him. But Horner says, “I’m not going to tell you who sang the song. Just please give me a favor and listen just one time.”

The song “My Heart Will Go On” came out a little bit before the film, but when Titanic premiered, the song was catapulted into iconic status. “My Heart Will Go On” equally helped Titanic and served as a reminder to continue watching the film in theaters. This might explain why Titanic was one of the highest-grossing films in U.S. history.

Dion continues to perform for her longtime residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.