Celine Dion brings Vegas to Hyde Park with comedy, costume changes and all the hits

By Deputy Chief EditorJuly 6, 2019

143 3 minutes read

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 05: Celine Dion performs live on stage at Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time Hyde Park at Hyde Park on July 05, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images) — Celine is still the queen (Picture: Getty Images Europe)

Celine Dion has wrapped up her Las Vegas residency after 12 years, so youd understand if she wanted to be more low-key for a while.

But her show at Hyde Park as part of the Barclaycard British Summer Time series proved that Celine doesnt need to actually be in Sin City to bring the razzle dazzle.

The superstar delighted Hyde Park with a setlist crammed with 90s classic ballads, and threw in a bit of comedy and four costume changes for good measure.

Opening with The Power Of Love, Celine showed that her voice is strong enough to carry a show on its own with ease, hitting every high note effortlessly. But thats just not fun enough, so she wore a glittering blue jumpsuit with puffball sleeves and a pair of sunglasses.

Seguing into Thats The Way It Is and Im Alive, the 51-year-old got the singalongs into full swing before inviting the crowd to sing the final line of Because You Loved Me… after berating fans for missing their cue to applaud her vocal acrobatics.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 05: Celine Dion performs during Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time Hyde Park at Hyde Park on July 05, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images) — Think Twice was a major highlight (Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

Considering how emotional most of Celines back catalogue is, belly laughs may not be what you expect from a set like this, but in between songs, the songstress doubled as a stand-up, whether doing salsa dancing moves, believing she could win the Best Actress Oscar if she were cast in Deadpool 2, or agreeing with all of us that fellow Canadian Ryan Reynolds is crush-worthy.

This was a show straight out of Vegas – a showwoman, complete with sequins and stage presence, who just happened to be plonked in the middle of London. Celines Vegas chops were no more evident than the third act of the show, when she emerged wearing a pink sequinned jumpsuit to perform Princes Kiss and Purple Rain, followed by River Deep, Mountain High. It was fitting that Celines concert on 5 July preceded Pride in London, as the third act was pretty much a lesson in high camp.

However, the second act, containing some of Celines biggest hits, was the biggest success of the night. Walking out on stage in a stunning emerald gown and diamonds to the opening bars of Its All Coming Back To Me Now, the crowd essentially morphed into every hen do at a karaoke bar, and I mean that entirely complimentary. There is nothing more fulfiling than belting out baby baby when I touch you like this with 60,000 people with no care about whether youre actually hitting the notes or not – because Celine has us covered.

We were given a major nostalgia hit with Beauty and The Beast, before a beautiful rendition of her biggest French language hit Pour que tu maimes encore. My personal highlight of the entire night was Think Twice – an absolute banger which has been left out of Celines Vegas show due to it reaching a quite frankly shocking 95 in the US charts, but obviously reached number one all over Europe because were not going to ignore one of the best ballads of all time.

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Celine ended the show in a glorious yellow Christian Siriano gown to perform her biggest song, My Heart Will Go On, which transported us all back to 1997 and crushing on Leonardo DiCaprio. She chose to end the night on a cover of John Lennons Imagine – a beautiful track, but surely the Titanic theme would have been a more fitting ending.

The setlist wasnt perfect – Taking Chances, Falling Into You, A New Day Has Come and Loved Me Back To Life would have been welcomed additions. But we wanted a show, and Celine gave us a show.