Celine Dion halts tour due to rare neurological disorder
December 9, 2022
Stiff-Person Syndrome affects one in a million people. The star vocalist has cancelled performances and said she is receiving support from doctors to improve her condition.
Celine Dion made the announcement in an emotional video posted to InstagramImage: Graham Hughes/empics/picture alliance
Advertisement
Acclaimed singer Celine Dion has halted her upcoming tour and cancelled shows in Europe after she was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder.
The Canadian singer announced on Thursday that she had been diagnosed with Stiff-Person Syndrome, which causes spasms that affect her ability to walk and sing.
What did Celine say?
"Unfortunately, the spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I'm used to,'' Dion said in an emotional video posted to Instagram.
"It hurts me to tell you today this means I won't be ready to restart my tour in Europe in February," she added.
Most of those concerts have now been postponed until 2024, while others have been cancelled altogether.
What do we know about the disorder?
Stiff-Person Syndrome causes muscle stiffness and spasms. The exact cause of the condition is unknown, and there is no cure.
It affects around one in a million people, normally between the ages of 30 to 60, and affects twice as many women as men.
The 54-year-old singer is receiving support from doctors and her children to improve her condition.
"All I know is singing, it's what I've done all my life and it's what I love to do the most," Dion said, breaking into tears.
The performer from Quebec rose to worldwide stardom in the 1990s with hits like "The Power of Love," "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" and "Titanic" theme "My Heart Will Go On."
zc/rs (AP, Reuters, AFP)
Pop songs that moved us over the decades
Songs of love, truth and freedom that touched us heart and soul. As we enter the new decade, we look back on memorable torch songs from the postwar era, along with the stories behind them.
Image: picture alliance/ASSOCIATED PRESS
2019: No one is immune from death — Freddie Mercury's "Time Waits for No One"
"Time is running out for us all," Freddy Mercury sings in "Time" (1986), a previously unreleased version of which came out in 2019. Accompanied by solo piano, producer Dave Clark found the unpublished gem in the archives 30 years after the record was made. But for Mercury, the march of time caught up with him: he died in 1991.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Arndt
2012: Together through adversity — Adele's "Skyfall"
Following Shirley Bassey’s James Bond theme classic "Goldfinger" (1964) and Tina Turner’s "Golden Eye" (1995), 2012's "Skyfall" is another legendary Bond song that won singer Adele an Oscar. The dramatic ballad was written for the eponymous film starring Daniel Craig as Agent 007, with Adele singing of a person who, in the face of a great threat, falls from the sky but ultimately triumphs.
Image: Getty Images
1997: Love beyond death — Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On"
The ultimate sentimental torch song of the '90s, Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" captures the tumult of an ill-fated but passionate love aboard the Titanic. It was of course the theme song for James Cameron’s film "Titanic," based on the 1912 sinking of the ship upon which the lead characters Rose and Jack defy societal norms to pursue love till death did them apart.
Image: picture-alliance /dpa
1984: Love conquers all — Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time"
The music video to the iconic single "Time After Time" begins with a scene in a camper van where Cindy Lauper is watching the heart-wrenching final scene of Richard Boleslawski’s 1936 film, "The Garden of Allah." Lauper recites the lines as the lovers bid each other farewell, echoing the sentiment of her own song in which a woman must leave her lover, but will be there for him "time after time."
Image: Imago/MediaPunch/G. Gershoff
1970: A family saga — Cat Stevens' "Father and Son"
Under stage name Yusuf Islam, Cat Stevens sings of a different kind of relationship in "Father and Son." The song is about a boy who wants to participate in the Russian Revolution against his father’s wishes. Stevens' ballad speaks to the universal struggles of father-son relationships, with Johnny Cash and Rosie Nix Adams covering the song under the title, "Father and Daughter."
Image: picture-Alliance/Photoshot
1968: Giving hope to a child — The Beatles' "Hey Jude"
Dedicated to John Lennon’s son, Julian, Paul McCartney wrote this for the then 5 year-old dealing with his parents' divorce after Lennon began a relationship with Yoko Ono. "Remember to let her into your heart," sang McCartney in 1968. "Then you can start to make it better." Originally titled "Hey Jules," the name was changed to "Jude" for confidentiality. It spent weeks at number one.
Image: Imago/LFI
1956: Love and war — Elvis Presley's "Love me Tender"
One of the first great pop ballads, "Love Me Tender" had a long history. It first emerged out of the American Civil War, the tune featuring in the 1866 patriotic song, "Aura Lee." Elvis Presley then added his own lyrics to the melody in the theme for the Civil War romantic drama, "Love Me Tender," the film in which Presley plays Clint Reno, the youngest of four sons who suffers a tragic end.
