Celine Dion - 25th Anniversary of US Debut

[KateW]

25 years ago this month, Columbia Records released Celine Dion's first US album, Unison. The first single, Where Does My Heart Beat Now, would be released the following month. Celine Dion already had a decade long career in her native Canada and in Europe, but Columbia Records took a huge risk in bringing her into the US market in the female pop-heavy early 1990s. At the time, Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Janet Jackson were at their peak; Gloria Estefan, Taylor Dayne, and Paula Abdul were still going strong; and earlier in 1990 Columbia Records released the debut album of Mariah Carey. It took a few years, but Columbia Records's risk paid off.

 

A look back at Celine Dion's biggest hits on the Billboard Hot 100:

 

#1s

Power of Love (1993)

Because You Loved Me (1996)

My Heart Will Go On (1997)

I'm Your Angel (with R. Kelly) (1998)

 

Top 5s

Where Does My Heart Beat Now (1990, #4)

If You Asked Me To (1992, #4)

It's All Coming Back to Me Now (1996, #2)

All By Myself (1997, #4)

 

Top 10s

Beauty and the Beast (with Peabo Bryson) (1991, #9)

That's the Way It Is (1999, #6)

 

1996-1998 were the peak years, but after My Heart Will Go On, there was really nothing left to prove chart-wise. The last top 10 hit, That's the Way It Is, feels like a chart-career ending song. While performing in Las Vegas may been seen as a last resort for many artists, in Celine Dion's case it helped her career and allowed her to stay relevant even though she may never have another Hot 100 Top 10 hit again.