A New Day...

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For the album, see A New Day... Live in Las Vegas.
For the DVD, see Live in Las Vegas - A New Day....
A New Day...
Tour by Céline Dion
Start date March 25, 2003
End date December 15, 2007
Legs 1
Shows 723 in North America
723 in total
Céline Dion tour chronology
Let's Talk About Love Tour
(1998-99)		 A New Day...
(2003-07)		 Taking Chances Tour
(2008-09)

A New Day... was a highly successful show performed by Céline Dion from 2003 to 2007 at the 4,148-seat Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.[1] It was created and directed by Franco Dragone (Quidam, O, Mystère).

Contents

[edit] Record breaker

The deal that was done for A New Day... with Dion was the biggest contract ever negotiated for an artist for a live entertainment deal, the biggest deal in the history of music business.

The show started on March 25, 2003 and ended on December 15, 2007. After a 5 year run it set a record of more than 73% sold-out shows and 3 million spectators.

A New Day... grossed approximately US$400,000,000, one of the highest ever in music history.

Dion changed the face of Las Vegas because for the first time an international star at the height of her career came there to do a new show designed especially for Las Vegas, leading many superstars to follow her footsteps, such as Elton John, Barry Manilow, Toni Braxton, Prince, Cher, and Bette Midler.[2] It was also the first time a venue was built specifically for a recording artist to perform live shows. It included the $10M LED screen at the back of the stage.

[edit] Broadcasts and recordings

The originally scheduled Live in Las Vegas - A New Day... DVD release date (autumn 2004) was postponed because of changes and improvements made to the show since the initial filming. A New Day... was re-shot in high-definition during the January 17-21, 2007 week and released on DVD on December 7, 2007 and on Blu-ray Disc on February 5, 2008.[3] The two disc set contains more than 5 hours of never-before seen footage, including the concert and three exclusive documentaries: "Because You Loved Me (A Tribute to the Fans)," A New Day: All Access" and "A New Day: the Secrets."[4].

The CD A New Day... Live in Las Vegas was already released in June 2004.[5]

[edit] History, production, and technical aspects

The "A New Day: the Secrets" documentary on the second disc of the Live in Las Vegas - A New Day... DVD package revealed the underlying history of the show, as well as production and technical aspects.

Dion initially intended for the show to be named 'Muse', but the band of the same name owned worldwide performing rights. Dion offered $50,000 for the rights, but the band declined, with lead singer Matthew Bellamy explaining that he didn't want people to think they were Celine Dion's backup act. [6]

The original inspiration for the show occurred when Dion and her husband René Angélil visited Las Vegas in 2000, at a time when she was taking a break to start a family, and they watched a performance of O by Cirque du Soleil at the Bellagio. Dion was so moved and impressed by O that she insisted on going backstage afterwards to get to know the performers. Dragone in turn heard about Dion's favorable reception of his work, and several weeks later, wrote a letter to them to put forth the idea of an artistic collaboration. Angelil called Dragone, they arranged an in-person meeting, and A New Day... was the result.

The casting for the dance company took place worldwide and winnowed down a pool of over 1,000 candidates to a final company of around 50. The group then gathered in Belgium and rehearsed for months prior to their first meeting with Celine in October of 2002.

The Colosseum venue was built using fast-track construction processes in only about 14 months. The stage was designed to slope upward at 5.7 degrees away from the audience, to provide the best acoustics possible in a circular theatre. This proved extremely hard on the dancers' bodies, and a few were forced to leave the show early as a result of their injuries.

Because dry desert air is extremely hard on a professional singer's voice, Dion insisted upon 30% humidity onstage. She also breathed Broncho Saline solution (a now-discontinued Blairex Laboratories product) through a face mask from a nebulizer in her private car during her commute, and had humidifiers installed in her home.

The original plan for the stage backdrop was to simply use a giant video projector, but when the lighting designer, Yves Aucoin, pointed out that this would create unacceptable shadows when dancers ran in front of it, Angelil went back to Phil Anschutz, whose Anschutz Entertainment Group was underwriting the production, and persuaded him to contribute an extra $10 million for the construction of the largest indoor LED screen in the world.

[edit] Ticket sales

Year Tour gross sales Sold out shows
2003 $80.5 million n/a
2004 $80.4 million n/a
2005 $81.3 million n/a
2006 $78.1 million 75 / 149 (50.3%)
2007 $70.5 million 108 / 122 (88.5%)
TOTAL $390.8 million 528 / 723 (73.0%)

The top-grossing tours in North America, according to Pollstar:

  • 2003
  1. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - $115.9 million
  2. Celine Dion - $80.5 million
  3. Eagles - $69.3 million
  • 2004
  1. Prince - $87.4 million
  2. Celine Dion - $80.4 million
  3. Madonna - $79.5 million
  • 2005
  1. The Rolling Stones - $162.0 million
  2. U2 - $138.9 million
  3. Celine Dion - $81.3 million
  • 2006
  1. The Rolling Stones - $138.5 million
  2. Barbra Streisand - $92.5 million
  3. Tim McGraw & Faith Hill - $88.8 million
  4. Madonna - $85.9 million
  5. Cirque Du Soleil - Delirium - $82.1 million
  6. Celine Dion - $78.1 million
  • 2007
  1. The Police - $131.9 million
  2. Kenny Chesney - $71.1 million
  3. Justin Timberlake - $70.6 million
  4. Celine Dion - $70.5 million

[edit] Set list

[edit] Regular

  1. "Nature Boy"¹ / "A New Day Has Come"
  2. "The Power of Love"
  3. "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"
  4. "Because You Loved Me"
  5. "To Love You More"
  6. "I'm Alive"
  7. "I Drove All Night"
  8. "Seduces Me"
  9. "If I Could"
  10. "Have You Ever Been in Love"² / "Et je t'aime encore"³ / "Pour que tu m'aimes encore"
  11. "I Surrender"
  12. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"†
  13. "Ammore Annascunnuto"
  14. "At Last"††
  15. "Fever"†† / "All the Way" (duet with Frank Sinatra on video screen)
  16. "I've Got the World on a String"
  17. "I Wish"
  18. "Love Can Move Mountains"
  19. "River Deep, Mountain High"‡
  20. "My Heart Will Go On"
  21. "What a Wonderful World"‡‡

¹ March 2003 - November 2004
² March 2003 - November 2003
³ November 2003 - November 2004
† March 2003 - August 2004
†† March 2003 - May 2006
‡ November 2006 - December 2007
‡‡ March 2003 - August 2006

[edit] Opening Night Setlist

  1. "Nature Boy"
  2. "The Power of Love"
  3. "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"
  4. "Because You Loved Me"
  5. "To Love You More"
  6. "I'm Alive"
  7. "Seduces Me"
  8. "If I Could"
  9. "At Last"
  10. "Fever"
  11. "I've Got the World on a String"
  12. Instrumental: "A New Love"
  13. "I Surrender"
  14. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
  15. Instrumental: "Aria Di Lucia de Lammermoor"
  16. "Ammore Annascunnuto"
  17. "Have You Ever Been in Love"
  18. "Love Can Move Mountains"
  19. "I Wish"
  20. "My Heart Will Go On"
  21. "What a Wonderful World"

[edit] Performed occasionally

  1. "God Bless America" (July 4, 2004)
  2. "In Some Small Way" (December 2004 - January 2005)
  3. "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" (December 2005)
  4. "Can't Help Falling in Love" (August 16 and 17, 2007)
  5. "Taking Chances" (November 29, 2007 - December 15, 2007)
  6. "The Christmas Song" (December 2007)

[edit] Performed instrumentals

  1. "Aria Di Lucia De Lammermoor" (2003-2004)
  2. "A New Love" (2003-2006)

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Band

  • Conductor and Piano: Claude (Mego) Lemay
  • Violin: Jean-Sebastien Carré
  • Guitar: André Coutu
  • Percussion: Paul Picard
  • Keyboards and Accordion: Yves Frulla
  • Bass: Marc Langis
  • Drums: Dominique Messier
  • Cello: Julie McInnes
  • Vocals: Mary-Lou Gauthier, Barnev Valsaint, Élise Duguay

[edit] Show

  • Director: Franco Dragone
  • Choreographer: Mia Michaels
  • Set Designer and Image Creator: Michel Crête
  • Lighting Designer: Yves (Lapin) Aucoin
  • Associate Director: Pavel Brun
  • Projection Content Designer: Dirk Decloedt
  • Musical Director: Claude (Mego) Lemay
  • Dion's Costumes: Annie Horth
  • Band and Dancers Costumes: Dominique Lemieux, Seble Maaza, Richard Ruiz
  • Sound Designer: Denis Savage

[edit] Awards

Year Award show Award
2005 6th Annual Visitors' Choice Awards Favorite Headliner in Las Vegas
2005 24th Annual Las Vegas Review Journal's "Best of Las Vegas" Awards Best Headliner in Las Vegas
2006 7th Annual Visitors' Choice Awards Favorite Headliner in Las Vegas
2006 25th Annual Las Vegas Review Journal's "Best of Las Vegas" Awards Best Headliner in Las Vegas
2006 MovieEntertainment Awards Entertainer of the Year in the category of Entertainment Industry's Most Influential Canadian
2007 26th Annual Las Vegas Review Journal's "Best of Las Vegas" Awards Best Singer
2007 26th Annual Las Vegas Review Journal's "Best of Las Vegas" Awards Best All-Around Performer
2007 26th Annual Las Vegas Review Journal's "Best of Las Vegas" Awards Best Show Choreography
2007 Nevada Commission on Tourism Entertainer of the New Millennium

[edit] References

  1. ^ A New Day... Final Countdown!. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
  2. ^ The Strip Sense: An appreciation of Celine. Retrieved December 6, 2007.
  3. ^ A New Day... DVD Filming. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
  4. ^ A New Day... DVD Info!. Retrieved February 9, 2007
  5. ^ A New Day... Live In Las Vegas. Retrieved June 14, 2004.
  6. ^ [1]
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Céline Dion