Background
During a press conference following her win at the 25th Annual American Music Awards, Dion stated she would like to start touring during the summer of 1998. Following the award show appearance, the singer performed at the The Crown Showroom in Melbourne and the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu with a set list similar to that in the Falling Into You Tour, but also including "The Reason" and "My Heart Will Go On." The tour was officially announced in February 1998. Originally called Celine Dion: On Tour 1998, the tour was set to begin August in Boston, this would mark the third time Dion has begun a tour in the city. She says it is the closet U.S. city to Montreal and considers it a "lucky charm".
The tour was sponsored by Procter & Gamble (Canada), Avon (Europe) and Ericsson (United States). The telecommunications company initiated an aggressive campaign with Dion. Commercials were shown throughout the US and Canada showing concertgoers using their cell phones as lighters during Dion's performance. Those who purchased an Ericsson phone were given a special behind-the-scenes tour video entitled "Celine Dion: In Her Own Words". The tour was met early with controversy as the singer's performance at Madison Square Garden was subject to a ticket scam. During the trek, Dion opened the Broward County Civic Arena. The concert was attended by nearly 20,000 spectators and was sold out with 2 two hours.
Dion further remarked the setlist of the tour will contain songs from her current album, her hits and a few French selections. She continued:
"I'm going to definitely sing the new songs and a few French ones and definitely people's favorite. I can't do them all, unfortunately, because I have to do a two-hour show. It would take a long time to sing all my songs. I hope we have chosen the right ones for people to hear."
During the course of the tour, Dion released a French-language album entitled, S'il suffisait d'aimer and a Christmas album called, These Are Special Times. In November 1998, Dion had her first CBS special promoting the album. It featured Rosie O'Donnell performing "Do You Hear What I Hear?" with Dion. The show received two Emmy Award nominations. The singer ended the year with performing at the Billboard Music Award, Top of the Pops and an appearance on Touched by an Angel.
As the tour continued into 1999, Dion performed in Hong Kong, Japan and an additional outing for North America. During this time, Dion's husband René Angélil was diagnosed with skin cancer. This forced the singer to postponed the remaining dates in the U.S. and the entire European leg. Dion resumed the tour in mid-June and thanked fans for their support during the rough period. After her tour of Europe, Dion's team announced the singer would give a special New Year's Eve concert in Montreal. Dubbed "The Millennium Concert" the show featured a new setlist and special appearances by prominent Canadian singers. At the same time, David Foster began negotiations to have Dion, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston and Andrea Bocelli to conduct a mini-tour titled "Three Divas and a Tenor". The tour never came to fruition.
In October, Dion opened the new Pepsi Center in Denver, replacing the McNichols Sports Arena. Dion dedicated the concert to the victims and survivors of the Columbine High School massacre. All proceeds from the show were donated to Colorado Organization of Victim Assistance. The singer was joined onstage by the Colorado Children's Chorale to perform "Let's Talk About Love" and "Friend of Mine Columbine"— a memorial song written by Stephen and Jonathan Cohen. The singer stated it would be her last tour as she wanted to focus on becoming a mother. Later, Dion released her first English greatest hits album, All the Way... A Decade of Song. The album was promoted by Dion's second CBS special, taking place at Radio City Music Hall. The special featured Dion performing her classics along with new songs on the album. The show featured duets with 'N Sync and Gloria Estefan. After her break, Dion began her first residency show at the The Colosseum at Caesars Palace from 2003 to 2007. The tour serves as Dion's final concert tour until 2008 for the Taking Chances Tour.
Read more about this topic: Let's Talk About Love World Tour
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