Dion thrills fans at Quebec City concert
"Happy birthday, Quebec! Are you ready?" Dion shouted before swinging into the first song of the evening to get the event off to a rocking start.
She kicked off the show 20 minutes late with one of her French-language hits, but didn't waste any time once she hit the stage, marching around and pumping the air with her fist as she sang.
The crowd for the free show was estimated at about 250,000.
The mega-show has been the talk of the town this week as the prodigal pop star daughter came home to perform a series of concerts.
A galaxy of Quebec stars including rocker Eric Lapointe, Claude Dubois and Dan Bigras joined the concert.
Some of Dion's duets were big hits including an electrifying duet of Lady Marmalade with Nanette Workman and the closing song with beloved Quebec songstress Ginette Reno, marking the first time Reno and Dion had sung together. Dion said it was a dream come true for her.
The singing superstar performed 30 songs, all in French, spanning the rock, pop and blues genres, sprinkled with lots of traditional Quebec songs.
Heat hits fans
Quebec City police reported several fans fainted from the heat Friday after waiting hours for exclusive access to the concert grounds. Some people had waited since midnight to be the first in line and get closest to the stage.
One Dion fan drove for 10 hours from Long Island, N.Y., to see the superstar.
"I think that she's got an incredible voice," said Lois Morales.
"She loves her family — that's very important to me — and she's a very good humanitarian. I just think that she's very balanced since she had her son. I think that in all aspects of her life she's been very grateful for the gift that she has and she shares with other people. I just think that's great."
In fact, members of Dion's family joined her onstage to sing a medley of songs, telling the audience, "I want you to know what it was like to be in my family." She dedicated the songs to her late father.
Diana Farnham, of Weld, Me., got the trip to Quebec City to see Dion as a birthday gift from her husband.
"My birthday was in June so he booked this trip because he knew Céline was going to be here," she said. "She has such a beautiful voice. It's just so peaceful. It seems to be so natural."
The concert was a break for Dion from her multi-night run in Montreal, where she is headlining in her worldwide "Taking Chances" tour. The tour marks Dion's return to the road after a five-year gig in Las Vegas.
With files from the Canadian Press