Céline Dion Returns After Six Years With Emotional Paris Residency Opening Night

Céline Dion walked onto a stage Saturday night for the first time in six years, and she didn’t make it three steps before the tears came. The occasion was the opening night of her 26-date Paris residency at Plenitude Arena in Nanterre, her first headline concert since she went public with her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis. Thirty thousand fans packed the room, and every ticket across the run sold within hours.

The show itself was stripped down on purpose. No fireworks, no dance troupe, nothing to hide behind. She opened with“On Ne Change Pas,”leaned on the French-language songs from D’eux that made her a legend overseas, debuted her new single“Dansons,”and then surprised the whole arena with a disco stretch covering“I Feel Love”and“Sweet Dreams.”She also delivered“All by Myself”a cappella. The night ran nearly two and a half hours and wrapped just after 11 p.m. with“Pour Que Tu M’aimes Encore”and“S’il Suffisait D’aimer.”The demand said everything: more than nine million people entered the access lottery for a shot at a seat.

For country fans, this one lands close to home. We know what it looks like when an artist steps away for their health and the audience holds the door open. If you’ve ever driven three hours to see somebody who means something to you, you already understand those nine million entries. So tell us: which artist would you wait six years to see live?