Celine Dion Performs Edith Piaf Classic in Tribute to Paris
A performance by emotionally expressive French Canadian singer Celine Dion was the most poignant moment of this year’s American Music Awards. Taking the stage in a flowing black dress with a pink-and-white flower pattern at the bottom, she sang Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à L’Amour” in French as a stirring tribute to Paris in times of crisis.
Dion was introduced by 30 Seconds to Mars frontman and actor Jared Leto, who set the stage with a personal anecdote. “Earlier this year, my band was wrapping up a tour in Europe and we were looking for a good excuse to stop off at one of our favorite cities in the world, Paris,” he said. “We played a show at one of our favorite venues, the Bataclan. What a difference a day makes.”
The performance was backed by an orchestra who accompanies Dion’s quivering voice with weeping strings and reflective melodies. Equally moving was the slide show that accompanied the song. Images included national landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, scenic landscapes, and shots of mourners at memorials across the city.
The display brought tears to the eyes of many. Others stood stoically and watched, temporarily taken away from the celebration of the event. Some couples held their spouse or significant other tightly as they ruminated over the terror attacks that killed 129 people at various locations around Paris, including 89 fans at the Bataclan concert hall who were attending a show by the funk-fueled alternative rock band Eagles of Death Metal.
In the closing lines of “Hymne à L’Amour,” Dion sang, “Dans le ciel plus de problems/ Mon amour crois-tu qu'on s'aime/ Dieu réunit ceux qui s'aiment,” which translates to “No more problems my love, do you believe that we love each other/ God, reunite those who love each other.”
Piaf wrote “Hymne à L’Amour,” about Marcel Cerdan, a man she was madly in love with, and she first performed the classic in New York in 1949. The song took added significance a month later when, Cerdan died in a plane crash. The boxer was on board a Lockheed L-749 Constellation headed for New York, where he was to visit Piaf, when the plane crashed in Monte Redondo killing everyone on board.
Dion’s performance gave the number additional meaning for viewers of this year’s awards ceremony.
When the American Music Awards announced that Dion would be performing at the event, the show’s producer Larry Klein said, “We felt it was important to show our solidarity in light of the recent events in Paris and all around the world.”
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