You know you missed something big when you see the most unlikely people (ike gangster style hip hop rappers) like pictures of Celine Dion's performance at the Billboard Music Awards. I couldn't wait to check it out and it lived up to all expectations.
She made an entrance in true classy, diva style worthy of her reputation. Without a move, but with a magnificent designer dress, she captivated the audience purely with the song, her newly added changes and that voice. I love her voice and I love the acrobatics between octaves, but I do have a problem with her squeezing her voice like she's putting through some sort of pressure test, at times. She did that in this performance as well.
You can tell that the audience was getting into it from the start. People in the audience were performing the song as if they were filming a sing-a-long vlog, while others were filming the performance in pure captivation of its magic. Once the lights that surrounded Celine got lifted, Celine's starlight took over. No wonder the twinkle lights were added at the end of the performance.
In this time, it's hard to tell whether someone is still singing live during any performance, but even more so when it comes to these important performances (just think back to how Mariah Carey started this year and you know what I mean). I have seen a few versions of this performance that were shot on cell phones by people in the audience, and I have no doubt that she's singing it live. She's standing still during the performance, holding the microphone close to her mouth and there are enough changes in the song to realize she's not just singing along to the record.
This performance marks the moment you would see that she's built up a ton of additional experience performing her Vegas show and the woman is a seasoned entertainment. According to some of the reviews of the Billboard Music Show, she single handedly saved the award show from becoming disposable altogether.
Apparently other performance chose spectacle over music, and I personally already knew that the Bruno Mars performance came from his shows on May 10th in Amsterdam, as I was there, and it even took a second take for "Versace On The Floor". Celine brought back true artistry with a simple, beautiful, but effective performance. Respect is all we have.
