Iconic Canadian pop singer Celine Dion has made an emotional comeback to the stage in Paris after six years.
The 58-year-old superstar was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome in 2022, which forced her to stop performing on stage.
Dion, one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, has not performed a full show since a 2020 concert in New Jersey.
In 2024, she performed just one song at the Paris Olympics closing ceremony.
Saturday marked the first of Dion's 26-show residency at the Paris La Defense Arena, Europe's largest covered concert arena.
"I made a promise," she told the Paris audience of about 30,000 people in her emotional return.
"I made a promise to come back, to be back on stage. And here I am. Singing for you, and singing for me," she said.
"I am everything I am because you loved me," she told the crowd.
She also broke down in tears after finishing a song, telling the audience: "I had promised myself not to cry."
"But I'm so happy to see you all. I missed you."
Dion will be performing in Paris throughout September and October and into the New Year.
She broke down in tears as the audience appreciated her.
Background
Singer Celine Dion got candid about the impact of Stiff-person syndrome has had on her voice. In an interaction with NBC News, the singer opened up about her condition and shared that it has had a significant impact on her voice.
She said, "It's like somebody is strangling you. It's like somebody is pushing your larynx/pharynx," she said in a preview from the conversation that aired on the Today show raising her voice to demonstrate the effect. "It was like talking like that, and you cannot go high or lower."
"It gets into a spasm," Dion continued. "It started (in the throat). (And I thought), 'No, okay, it's gonna be fine.' But it can also be the abdominal, can be in the spine, can be in the ribs."
She further added that the stiffness can sometimes feel like it's locked into place.
"It feels like, if I point my feet, they will stay in [that position]," said the "Power of Love" singer.
Or, if I cook - because I love to cook - my fingers, my hands, will get in position... It's cramping but it's like in a position where you cannot unlock them."
"I have broken ribs at one point because sometimes when its very severe, it can break," she said.
Ms Dion disclosed in December 2022 that she had been diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome, a rare and incurable neurological disorder that causes terrible muscular spasms, prompting her to postpone all scheduled performances.
