Yahoo News Celine Dion Opens Up About Health Battle, Possible Stage Return in Amazon Doc Trailer
Iconic superstar Celine Dion opens up about her battle with a life-altering illness and an uncertain return to concert performances and touring in the official trailer for the Prime Video documentary, I Am: Celine Dion, which dropped on Thursday.
Director Irene Taylor’s film for Amazon MGM Studios cycles between footage of a younger Dion hitting the highest notes during her earlier career, and her current health struggle with Stiff Person Syndrome, a life-altering disease first diagnosed in 2022.
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The trailer reveals Dion talking directly to her fans, including during vulnerable moments of emotion and release.
“I’m working everyday. But I have to admit, it’s been a struggle,” the iconic songstress says at one point in the trailer as she hints at a possible return to the stage and touring. The documentary offers behind-the-scenes looks at Dion and her children and a health journey that has her coping with her illness.
The incurable condition results in progressive, severe muscle stiffness, which has impacted Dion’s use of her voice to sing and perform. “I miss it so much, the people. I miss them,” an emotional Dion reveals before footage of her in the recording booth signals her battle to return to the concert stage — which includes physical and vocal therapy to regain control of her muscles — continues.
Also Thursday, in a separate interview with Vogue, Dion said diagnosing her life-changing illness and her subsequent physical and psychological rehabilitation were hardly simple and involved painstaking efforts. “It’s not just about vocal exercising and doing Pilates. It’s rehabilitation physically and vocally, emotionally and spiritually — the whole shebang. And I want this story to be told in a classy way. I respect my fans and myself enough for them to know the full truth,” Dion said of the Prime Video documentary charting her progress now.
The magazine account revealed Dion first had an inkling that controlling her voice had become difficult as far back as 2008. But, after her many concert tours and a Las Vegas residency, it took being sidelined by the pandemic in 2020 to allow doctors to finally do the detective work required to accurately identify her illness. “It probably sounds very strange to say this to you, but when I was diagnosed, I was happy. I was finally able to move with the wave, not against it,” she told Vogue.
Dion adds she hopes I Am: Celine Dion helps others who may have similar symptoms summon their own courage, speak to their doctor and find out whether they too have Stiff Person Syndrome. “I hope that the documentary doesn’t frighten people, but awakens people to SPS. … It took 17 years for me—please don’t wait that long,” she insisted.
As Dion slowly steps back into the public spotlight, she also is set to do a primetime interview with Today co-host Hoda Kotb — her first sit-down TV appearance since being diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome — to air on June 11 on NBC.
The Amazon documentary I Am: Celine Dion will debut on June 25.
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