Celien Dion, driven by power of love, to debut in China

Canadian songstress Celine Dion has been an international superstar for decades and along the way there have been trials, tribulations and criticism. But she is back once again, and she has promised a show in China next month.

Dion will performs on the Chinese mainland for the first at the 50,000-seat Shanghai Stadium on April 11.

The power of love may drive French-Canadian pop superstar Celine Dion as a wife and mother, but there is no doubt the strength of her amazing voice has steered her on the course of international stardom for almost two decades.

In an industry where overnight stars come and go at a breakneck pace, Dion has succeeded staying on top, living up to her status as one of the best-selling female artists in the world.

And now, 10 years since her last world tour, Dion is taking her music to the world once more, playing to sold-out concerts wherever she goes.

The year-long tour is to promote her latest album "Taking Chances," released last November, and was kicked off last month in South Africa. Over the next 12 months Dion will perform more than 120 shows in more than 100 cities around the world, including Beijing and Shanghai next month, when she makes her Chinese mainland debut.

Earlier this month Dion performed at a packed Venetian Arena, Macau's newest concert venue with a capacity of 15,000 seats. Enthusiastic fans ranged from teenage girls to elderly couples.

Everything was perfect: the choice of songs, the classy costumes, the dazzling stage design, the beautiful choreography, and of course, the seasoned artist herself.

Dion looked spectacular, her body in catwalk model shape, so slim yet so powerful giving her the ability to hit those amazing high notes.

She displayed her vocal skills through some of her biggest ballads along with new songs from "Taking Chances."

The audience roared with delight and gave a standing ovation when she unleashed 1990s hits such as "The Power of Love," "Because You Loved Me" and "All by Myself."

And it came as no great surprise that the 90-minute concert should conclude with a spectacular rendition of the Canadian singer's signature, Academy Award-winning hit "My Heart Will Go On."

Dion has always attributed her prosperous career to her husband, Rene Angelil, who mortgaged his house to finance her first record. "I've been very lucky on a lot of fronts," she says.

"I have a great team around me, led of course, by Rene. He's always made the best decisions on my behalf, right from day one, and he's always made sure that I had the best songs, best producers to work with, and great opportunities to perform as an artist."

Dion once took a two-year break from the spotlight to dedicate herself to her husband after he was diagnosed with throat cancer, and to give birth to their son, Rene-Charles Dion Angelil. "I learned (from the hiatus) that I love to be a mother and a wife ... and to stay at home, cook and clean, do housework, and all those simple things," she says. "I learned that there is life after show business and it's something that is more important than anything else on Earth... that's family."

Dion's husband, son, mother and sisters are all traveling with her during the tour.

Her latest album "Taking Chances" features different music genres moving away, at times, from her best-known soft-rock style.

Dion explains: "It is a little edgier than my previous albums, but I'm still the same person who's been singing the ballads and love songs for most of my career." Besides positive, love songs, it also features heavy singles such as "This Time" which deals with the dark subject of spousal abuse.

When asked if she would ever get tired of singing her big ballads, the answer was a definite "no." "When you have such amazing songs like those, it's impossible to get tired of singing them," she continues. "'My Heart Will Go On' and all the things that happened around it was, and still is, a great highlight of my career."

Dion says she cannot wait to get to Chinese mainland. "I am so excited about doing my first show on Chinese mainland. I've heard from many people that my songs have been very popular there over the years.

"We've been asked to come before but it never worked out in our schedule. So it's going to be amazing to finally perform there.

"I know from pictures and from television that China has some beautiful and historical sites, so I'm hoping to get to see them. It's going to be a fantastic experience," she concludes.