D'elles | ||||
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Studio album by CĂ©line Dion | ||||
Released | May 18, 2007 (see release history) |
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Recorded | December 2006 - February 2007 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | CD 47:52, DVD 24:00 | |||
Label | Sony Music, Columbia | |||
Producer | Erick Benzi, David Gategno, Tino Izzo, Jacques Veneruso, Thierry Blanchard, Patrick Hampartzoumian | |||
CĂ©line Dion chronology | ||||
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Singles from D'elles | ||||
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D'elles (French for About Them or From Them) is the title of CĂ©line Dion's French-language album, released between May 18 and June 1, 2007 in certain European countries, on May 22, 2007 in Canada, and February 27, 2008 in Japan.[1] It is her 23rd French album and 35th if counting all longplays.
Contents[hide] |
D'elles is a concept album that celebrates womanhood. The title is a spin-off of Dion's 1995 album D'eux. Both can be translated as About Them or From Them, with D'elles being specifically the feminine version.
The lyrics were written by ten prominent female writers from Quebec (Jovette Alice Bernier, Janette Bertrand, Denise Bombardier, Marie Laberge, Lise Payette) and France (Nina Bouraoui, Françoise Dorin, Nathalie Nechtschein, Christine Orban, George Sand). Jean-Jacques Goldman made a lyrics selection. Music was composed by David Gategno, who worked with Dion for the first time, and by Jacques Veneruso, Erick Benzi and Gildas Arzel, who worked with her before. One of the tracks was also composed by Marc Dupré and Jean-François Breau. Dupré recorded a duet with Dion in 2005, called "Tout prÚs du bonheur." Tracks were produced by Gategno, Veneruso, Benzi, Tino Izzo, Patrick Hampartzoumian and Thierry Blanchard.
Seven out of thirteen songs planned for the album were recorded on December 20-21, 2006 at the Piccolo Studios, Montreal. The second version of "A cause," called "On s'est aimé à cause" was recorded in New York, in early February 2007. Other tracks were recorded in Las Vegas.
The song "La diva" includes fragment of "SĂŹ. Mi Chiamano MimĂŹ" from the opera La bohĂšme performed by Maria Callas in 1956. The song is to pay tribute to Maria Callas, for her dedication to Opera. At the end of the song, Celine Dion sang "SĂŹ. Mi Chiamano MimĂŹ" with Maria.
D'elles was released in three formats: standard CD; double digipack (includes CD, "making of" DVD titled CĂ©line parle d'elle(s), a booklet of Dion photos, and a booklet including song lyrics and Dion's personal notes about each song); and collector's edition (includes CD, "making of" DVD titled CĂ©line parle d'elle(s), a mini-booklet of Dion photos and her personal notes about each song, a mini-booklet with song lyrics, and 4 postcards).
"Et s'il n'en restait qu'une (je serais celle-là )" was the first and only single from this album released on a CD. The song became a hit entering the French Singles Chart at number 1. Sony BMG released other songs as radio singles only: "Immensité" (France, Belgium, Quebec), "Le temps qui compte" (Poland), "On s'est aimé à cause" (Quebec), and "A cause" (France).
The album was nominated at the Juno Awards in categories: Album of the Year and Francophone Album of the Year.[2]
On September 26, 2008 D'elles was released as a 2CD set with D'eux in France, Switzerland and Belgium.[3]
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [4] |
The album met with positive reviews. Allmusic said that "this is Dion's most ambitious project in a long time, if not ever â really, the only rival is that musically adventurous 1 fille & 4 types, and if D'elles is a bit too careful musically, it nevertheless is unified as an album and shows some serious artistic ambition."[5]
CĂ©line Dion taped two TV specials dedicated to the issue of her album D'elles: one for TF1 in France, and another for TVA in Canada. The taping took place in Montreal on May 11-12, 2007.
During the first taping for TF1, Dion sang several songs live with French singers: "Stayin' Alive" with Vitaa, Shy'm and Amel Bent, "Hymne a l'amour" with Maurane and Johnny Hallyday, "Blueberry Hill" with Johnny Hallyday, "The Show Must Go On" with Christophe MaĂ© and David Hallyday, "My Heart Will Go On" with Lùùm and Amel Bent, "Caroline" with MC Solaar and Nolween Leroy, "Ătre Ă la hauteur" with Merwan Rim and Christophe MaĂ©, "Caruso" with Florent Pagny and then she sang three songs from D'elles: "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une (je serais celle-lĂ )," "A cause" and "ImmensitĂ©."
During the second taping for TVA, Dion performed many new songs: "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une (je serais celle-lĂ )," "ImmensitĂ©," "Je cherche l'ombre," "Berceuse," "La diva," "Le temps qui compte" and "On s'est aimĂ© Ă cause." They also showed the recording sessions for "Femme comme chacune," "Lettre de George Sand Ă Alfred de Musset," "Si JâĂ©tais quelquâun" and few footages taken from the Live in Las Vegas - A New Day... DVD.
The TVA special, telecast on May 21, 2007, was the most-watched television program in Quebec, with 1,508,000 viewers. The TF1 special on June 9, 2007 was also one of France's most-watched shows, with 4,987,440 viewers.
During her visit in France in November 2007, Dion performed "Immensité" in few TV shows. Later, "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une (je serais celle-là )" became a part of the Francophone set list of the Taking Chances Tour.
D'elles shot to the top of the Canadian albums chart, selling 72,200 copies (including 69,285 in Quebec)[6] in its first week, making it the biggest debut of the year, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.[7] It marked Dion's tenth number 1 album in the SoundScan era, and her eighth to debut at the top position. D'elles spent two weeks at number 1 and it was eventually certified 2x platinum in Canada.[8]
The album debuted also at number 1 in France, selling 55,244 copies, and spent two weeks at the top position.[9] It was certified platinum.[10]
In Belgium, D'elles has sold 15,000 copies in just few days after the release,[11] and it was certified gold.[12] It reached the top of the albums chart for three weeks in Belgium Wallonia. In Switzerland, the album peaked at number 3 and was awarded gold.[13] It was also certified gold in Russia.[14]
On the European Top 100 Albums, D'elles reached number 10. It charted also in many non-Francophone countries, peaking at number 10 in Cypriot, number 17 in Estonia, number 18 in Belgium Flandres, number 26 in Poland, number 27 in Greece, number 35 in Italy, number 50 in the Netherlands, number 52 in Germany, and number 64 in Hungary.
The album has shipped half a million units worldwide on the first week of sales,[15] and to date has sold over 1 million copies.[16]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une (je serais celle-là )" | Françoise Dorin, David Gategno | 3:32 |
2. | "Immensité" | Nina Bouraoui, Jacques Veneruso | 3:34 |
3. | "A cause" | Dorin, Veneruso | 3:14 |
4. | "Je cherche l'ombre" | Lise Payette, Veneruso | 3:12 |
5. | "Les paradis" | Bouraoui, Gildas Arzel | 3:56 |
6. | "La diva" | Denise Bombardier, Erick Benzi | 4:23 |
7. | "Femme comme chacune" | Jovette Alice Bernier, Benzi | 3:39 |
8. | "Si jâĂ©tais quelquâun" | Nathalie Nechtschein, Benzi | 3:57 |
9. | "Je ne suis pas celle" | Christine Orban, Gategno | 4:12 |
10. | "Le temps qui compte" | Marie Laberge, Veneruso | 2:54 |
11. | "Lettre de George Sand Ă Alfred de Musset" | George Sand, Benzi | 4:31 |
12. | "On s'est aimé à cause" | Dorin, Marc Dupré, Jean-François Breau | 4:04 |
13. | "Berceuse" | Janette Bertrand, Gategno | 2:39 |
Limited edition bonus DVD | |||||||||
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No. | Title | Length | |||||||
1. | "CĂ©line parle d'elle(s)" |
Charts |
Certifications
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Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
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Europe | May 18, 2007 | Sony Music, Columbia | CD | 88697047962 |
CD/DVD | 88697069102 | |||
CD/DVD/Postcards | 88697073002 | |||
Canada | May 22, 2007 | CD | 88697047962 | |
CD/DVD | 88697069102 | |||
Japan | February 27, 2008 | Sony Music Japan, Epic | CD | EICP-952 |
Europe | September 26, 2008 | Sony Music, Columbia | 2CD (with D'eux) | 88697333882 |